Technology

• Check Point spots hackers sending fake Google Calendar invites
• The invites point to a phishing page where they can lose sensitive information
• Google recommends turning on "Known senders" feature in Calendar

Cybercriminals have been spotted impersonating Google Calendar, sending emails which look to steal victim's private, and business, information.

A report from Check Point Security notes how the criminals would tweak the sender email header to make the message look as if it’s a Google Calendar invite coming from a known contact. In the body itself, they would add a .ics attachment, a calendar app file, together with a link to either Google Forms, or Google Drawings. On these links, the victims would then be asked to click on another link, which usually looks like a reCAPTCHA, or support, button.

This link would lead the victim to a website that looks like a cryptocurrency mining, or Bitcoin support site.

Successful attack

"These pages are actually intended to perpetrate financial scams," Check Point Research said in its report. "Once users reach said page, they are asked to complete a fake authentication process, enter personal information, and eventually provide payment details."

The campaign seems to have been a success, with Check Point claiming roughly 300 brands have been infected so far, and more than 4,000 phishing emails sent over the course of four weeks.

Commenting on the findings, Google said the best way to defend is to enable “known senders” in the Calendar. This feature helps, since it will alert the user when they get an invitation from someone who is not in their contacts list, or from someone with whom they’ve not interacted before.

“Known senders” aside, users should also use common sense, and just be careful when receiving any unsolicited message, particularly around those that come with attachments or links. If they are unsure if the message is legitimate or not, they should reach out to the alleged sender via other means, and confirm the authenticity of the received message.

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• The OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R launch globally on January 7
• The OnePlus 13 previously launched in China on December 4
• Neither phone's pricing has been announced yet

The long-awaited OnePlus 13 is officially launching worldwide on January 7, alongside its newly-announced midrange sibling, the OnePlus 13R.

OnePlus confirmed the phone's release date for the US and the rest of the world in a press release following the launch of the OnePlus 13 in China on December 4.

A January launch date positions the OnePlus 13 and 13R as direct competitors to the Samsung Galaxy S25 lineup, which we expect to launch in the same month next year.

With this announcement, we also have some newly confirmed official specs for the global versions of the OnePlus 13 and 13R.

The OnePlus 13 in Arctic Dawn (Image credit: OnePlus)

The OnePlus 13 will come equipped with the class-leading Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and a display with a 2k resolution, a 1-120Hz variable refresh rate, and 4500nits of maximum brightness. It is the first OnePlus phone to have both an IP68 and IP69 water and dust resistance rating.

OnePlus says the display used for the OnePlus 13 is the first to be rated A++ by DisplayMate, an independent display rating organization.

The OnePlus 13 will be available in three color options at launch: Black Eclipse, Arctic Dawn (white) and Midnight Ocean (blue). The Midnight Blue option is apparently the first phone to feature micro-fiber vegan leather, which improves scratch resistance.

The OnePlus 13R features a triple-camera system, a 6,000mAh battery, and Gorilla Glass 7i on the front and rear panels. It features a flat display – unusual for OnePlus – and measures in at 8mm thick.

The OnePlus 13R will launch in two colorways: Nebula Noir and Astral Trail – though we don’t have any confirmation of what these titles exactly describe.

We expect OnePlus to announce the price of both phones at the OnePlus 13 launch event on January 7, but the latest rumors suggest the 13 will cost as much or a little more than its predecessor, the OnePlus 12, which still starts at $899 / £849 (it’s not available in Australia).

The announcement also marks the first time OnePlus has confirmed the existence of the OnePlus 13R, the latest addition to the company’s lower-end flagship phone series a la the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE.

In our OnePlus 12 review, we found the most globally available Chinese phone to be a stylish, speedy, and altogether superb handset, and hype for its follow-up has been building over the last few months (as our OnePlus coverage can attest).

If you find yourself intrigued by this one-of-a-kind brand, feel free to check out our guide to the best OnePlus phones.

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• Disney has cut a trans storyline from Pixar's Win or Lose
• This isn't the first time it's cut LGBTQIA+ themed stories
• Many brands have been subject to huge pile-ons for inclusivity

If you're looking for a Christmas present for the LGBTQIA+ folks in your life, Disney would very much like to sell you items from its Pride collection: there's a Pride version of Mickey Mouse, a Disney Pride pin, a Disney Stitch... you get the idea. As the page says: "The Walt Disney Company proudly works with nonprofits throughout the year to support the LGBTQIA+ community globally."

So, it's a shame that that pride doesn't seem to extend to including LGBTQIA+ characters in the best Disney Plus shows or best Disney Plus movies any more. The Hollywood Reporter has learnt that Disney has excised a trans storyline from the upcoming Pixar series Win or Lose, which follows a softball team and focuses on a different character each episode.

All the lines referring to the trans character's gender identity have been excised, and the decision was made months ago – possibly while LGBTQIA+ people were spending their pink pounds at the Disneyland After Dark Pride Nite in California.

Why has Disney removed trans representation from its Pixar show?

If you ask the people on my socials, many of whom are working in the entertainment industry and many of whom are LGBTQIA+, the answer is simple: they think it's cowardice. LGBTQIA+ inclusion in TV shows, media and pretty much anything else has been the subject of orchestrated pile-ons by right-wing "anti-woke" activists, and all kinds of firms from Budweiser to Target have rolled back or abandoned inclusion altogether. With the incoming administration determined to wage a "war on woke" and diversity under attack, you'd need to be as brave as a Disney princess to stand up for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Disney's management, it seems, are not as brave as their princesses.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney said: “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”

This isn't the first time Disney has self-censored, although it denies that that's what it's doing: earlier this year, the Disney Channel series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur cancelled an episode centered on a recurring trans character. Disney says it hasn't banned it; it's just decided not to show this particular episode because reasons.

This isn't just bad news for LGBTQIA+ viewers. It's bad news for LGBTQIA+ talent: the character whose storyline Disney cut from Win or Lose is played by Chanel Stewart, who is trans – the casting call was specifically for a trans actress – and is now "very disheartened". If Disney is scared of simply featuring trans characters for fear of backlash it doesn't bode well for the actors, animators and other employees currently working for the company – or for the LGBTQIA+ folks hoping to see even a sliver of representation in Disney's shows and movies.

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• Apple has brought its Look Around feature to web browsers
• This is Apple’s Street View rival in Apple Maps
• It brings Apple Maps closer to Google Maps in terms of features

Apple Maps and Google Maps have been rivals for years, and each one can lay claim to doing certain things better than the other. Both services let you view maps from a pedestrian’s perspective, but until now Apple’s version has been limited to the Apple Maps app, not its web view (which launched in July 2024). With the latest update, though, that’s all changing.

As noted by Chris Carley on Threads (via 9to5Mac), you can now get Apple’s Street View rival (called Look Around) when using Apple Maps in any of the best web browsers, including Safari, Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. According to 9to5Mac, this feature was likely added around December 11.

Look Around lets you take a street-level look at any area that’s covered, moving the view around 360 degrees and moving up and down along streets and paths. It’s currently available in the US, Canada, UK, the European Union, Australia, Japan, and a handful of other locations. Apple has a full list of its available locations on its website.

Breaking free of Apple’s apps

(Image credit: Apple)

With Look Around now supported in browsers, you’re no longer limited to using the feature on Apple devices. Previously, you needed to have the Apple Maps app on your iPhone, iPad or Mac, but now that you can access it from a browser you can use Look Around from a Windows PC if you want to (although it still doesn’t work on any of the best Android phones).

That could help make Look Around a much more popular feature, as it won’t be dependent on the user having an Apple device. Instead, anyone can now use it, provided they have a compatible web browser.

Carley added that the web version of Look Around doesn’t appear to have the parallax effect (whereby background objects appear to move more slowly relative to your viewpoint than foreground ones) that can be seen when moving the view around in the iOS and macOS versions. This effect does seem to work when you move forward or backwards in Look Around, however, and it seems probable that Apple will update the web view to bring this in line with its app versions of Apple Maps.

Apple Maps’ web view is currently in beta, and many features – like transit maps, viewing 3D buildings, and signing in and saving locations, are unavailable. But with addition of Look Around, you’ve just got another reason to switch over from Google Maps.

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• Some monthly costs are going up for Adobe's Photography plans
• The cheapest option will no longer be available for new users
• Changes come into effect from January 15, 2025

Brace yourself for price rises if you're signed up to one of the Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom photography plans – these are the subscription options that just give you access to the photo applications, rather than the whole of Creative Cloud.

As per the Adobe blog (via PetaPixel), these new prices come into effect from January 15, 2025. At the moment we just have US pricing, but you can calculate the equivalent price rise for your region. Long story cut short: the users currently paying Adobe the least money will have to cough up more cash, or start paying annually.

The new pricing structure – the plan on the left is going away for new subscribers (Image credit: Adobe)

The Photography plan with 20GB of storage (including Photoshop, Lightroom, and Lightroom Classic) will be $14.99 a month rather than $9.99 – a bump of over 50%. You'll need to commit for a year ($179.88) or pay an unspecified termination fee, or switch to the $119.88-per-year plan, which remains unchanged (and locks you in for longer).

On top of all that, this cheapest plan is going away, and won't be available to new subscribers next year, so these changes are only for existing subscribers. If you're signing up for Photoshop after January 15, the cheapest option will be twice as much as it currently is (though you do get 50 times as much cloud storage).

Going up

Photoshop recently added a reflection removal tool (Image credit: Adobe)

There's no change to the more expensive monthly ($19.99) or yearly ($239.88) Photography plans with 1TB of storage, which of course send more revenue Adobe's way. As mentioned above, from January 15, these plans will be the only way to just get Photoshop without the rest of Creative Cloud.

Prices for the Lightroom-only plan with 1TB of storage are going up too, though you will now get Lightroom Classic as well as Lightroom. Going forward you need to pay $11.99 per month rather than $9.99 a month – so it's 20% more expensive. Again, you need to commit for a year ($143.88) or pay a penalty.

Adobe would prefer you to lock yourself in to the $119.88-per-year plan, the cost of which remains unchanged. If these prices are now a little too rich for your blood, then you might want to check out our guides to the best Adobe Lightroom alternatives and the best Adobe Photoshop alternatives.

These new prices "better reflect the value that the apps deliver" Adobe says, noting it hasn't raised subscription prices since it started demanding continuous monthly or yearly payments for Photoshop rather than one-off fees for each version. If you're an existing subscriber, look out for an email from Adobe close to renewal time.

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The biggest fight of the year, Fury vs Usyk 2, is just a few days away and the heavyweight title fight will go down in history as the first boxing bout to feature an AI judge.

The AI experiment will be "free from bias and human error" according to Turki Alalshikh the man behind the tool branded by Ring Magazine, which he purchased in November.

Alalshikh has yet to reveal the technology behind the AI-powered judging, although according to Forbes it could be Jabbr, a company that has provided AI-powered stats for combat sports for a while now.

This is an interesting move for the world of boxing, considering the human-error that is often criticized when it comes to scoring fights. While the AI judge will not be used for the official scorecards in Fury vs Usyk 2, it could ultimately be incorporated into future title fights down the line.

This opens up a lot of discussion about using AI in sports, especially without human input. In Premier League Soccer, VAR (Video Assistant Referee), while controversial due to human error, is still overseen by a qualified team of officials who use the technology to come to a decision. Automated offside decisions are used across European soccer leagues, however, there's no room for interpretation with the offside rule: it's either onside or offside. With boxing, however, there's an element of subjectivity that comes into play, like the intent of a fighter for example, so relying solely on AI could in fact be a hindrance.

AI judging in boxing

AI models are trained on huge amounts of data, but that means there's a human element to the training that ultimately decides how any AI reacts to certain situations. Would an AI boxing judge's model lean in favor of specific fight styles? Would this lead to athletes evolving their skills to cater to an AI judge rather than the traditional aspects of the sport?

An AI judge in boxing is an intriguing development and one that might end up making its way into official scoring cards further down the line. I expect the best compromise is AI-powered monitoring of judges' scorecards to remove contentious decisions from the sport for good.

Looking for how to watch Fury vs Usyk 2? The first fight in May saw Oleksandr Usyk win by split decision in 12 rounds (115–112, 114–113, 113–114). As we head towards the second fight Fury is very slightly favored to win by some, but most critics find it hard to separate the two.

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• Samsung is launching four new AI-enhanced appliances at CES 2025.
• The oven, fridge, washer, and dryer will have AI Home displays built in
• Apple is also rumored to be launching an AI smart display very soon

Samsung appears to be following in Apple's footsteps by taking a 'screens everywhere' approach to smart-home tech – and it's starting with your kitchen. Samsung has revealed four new smart appliances that it will be showing off at CES 2025 in Las Vegas: a refrigerator, a washing machine, a dryer, and an oven, all of which are equipped with screens and AI assistants.

Samsung already sells fridges with 21.5-inch and 32-inch Family Hub smart displays built in, which let you control compatible devices (such as Samsung's robot vacuums and air conditioners) without an extra display unit cluttering up your countertop, but with its new appliances the company is focusing less on screen size and more on smarts.

Instead of the Family Hub, each of the new appliances is equipped with one of Samsung's much smaller AI Home screens, which range in size from 9 inches to just 4.3 inches.

Samsung's smart ovens offer recipe suggestions, cooking temperatures and times, and let you check on your meal via your smartphone (Image credit: Samsung)

So why would you want AI in your oven as well? Well, it could potentially make you a better cook. Samsung's new Bespoke Wall Oven, for example, can recommend times and temperatures for specific recipes, monitor your food while it's cooking, and let you check in on its progress via the SmartThings app and the oven's internal camera. No more worrying about your cake sinking if you open the door too soon.

It can also suggest recipes based on the ingredients you have to hand, help you prepare a shopping list for those you don't have, and even suggest dishes based on your workout stats and diet goals when connected to Samsung Health.

The updated Bespoke Fridge lets you control third-party devices compatible with the SmartThings ecosystem (such as Ring video doorbells and Philips Hue lights), see their locations, and control everything using voice commands.

Meanwhile, the Bespoke AI washer and dryer set gives you real-time updates on washing cycles and energy monitoring. We'll aim to bring you a good look at all four new appliances when we see them in person at CES, so stay tuned.

Built-in or standalone?

Last month, rumors emerged suggesting that Apple is planning to release a new smart-home display, potentially running a new operating system and sporting a 6-inch screen.

Building screens into appliances is an interesting approach that means you won't need additional devices cluttering up your home, though it does raise the issue of upgrades. If Apple does indeed release a new smart home display next year, it might have a regular update schedule, similar to the company's tablets, with a new model launched every few years.

You won't be able to replace your fridge's built-in smart hub so easily, meaning you'll be stuck with the same hardware for a lot longer. Samsung does release regular updates for its smart appliances, improving security and adding new features, but opting for a standalone tablet means you can benefit from advances in hardware more quickly.

On the other hand, how advanced does even the best smart display really need to be? You aren't going to be running Photoshop or generating AI videos on your washing machine, and any truly heavy lifting could be done in the cloud.

Both systems have their merits, and it'll be interesting to see how the two compare when (and if) Apple unveils its new 'screens everywhere' system in the new year.

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Salesforce has revealed the second generation of its AI agent platform in the latest sign of the technology becoming a truly transformational change for businesses everywhere.

The launch of Agentforce 2.0, just three months after the platform's initial launch in September 2024, promises even more tools and services for companies looking to get to grips with growing AI demand.

Set to be available in February 2025, although some tools will get an earlier release, Agentforce 2.0 offers more customization options for enterprises eyeing up the next step in their AI journey.

Agentforce 2.0

The launch of Agentforce 2.0 forms part of what Salesforce calls its "digital labor platform", which looks to augment and boost worker experiences and productivity.

The release will include a new library of customizable pre-built skills and workflow integrations for Salesforce's entire portfolio, covering its CRM, Slack, Tableau, MuleSoft and more, alongside advancements in agentic reasoning and retrieval augmented generation (RAG), greatly improving the response time and accuracy of agents.

There's also new CRM skills to make agents smarter and more effective, such as helping sales teams nurture leads and even join calls to provide instant feedback on interactions with customers.

There will also be the ability to deploy Agentforce in Slack, with Slack Actions now available in Agent Builder, meaning the platform could send a direct message providing a summary of a project's status.

Agent Builder has also been give a major upgrade that will let users create a new agent in seconds using natural language descriptions, and can even auto-generate relevant topics and instructions from its skills library to get your work up and running.

“Agentforce 2.0 takes our revolutionary Salesforce digital labor platform to another level, with new reasoning, integration and customization features that supercharge autonomous agents with unprecedented levels of intelligence, precision and accuracy,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO, Salesforce.

“The demand for Agentforce has been amazing — no other company comes close to offering this complete AI solution for enterprises. We’re seamlessly bringing together AI, data, apps, and automation with humans to reshape how work gets done. Agentforce 2.0 cements our position as the leader in digital labor solutions, allowing any company to build a limitless workforce that can truly transform their business.”

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A few notable mortgage rates ticked up. Here's what to expect if you're in the market for a home loan.

Several important refinance rates trended upward this week, but rates are expected to trend down in the coming months.

• Gemini 2.0 now available to Gemini Advanced subscribers
• Currently in 'Experimental Advanced' mode
• It's faster than Gemini 1.5 and better at complex topics

Gemini 2.0 launched last week with the release of 2.0 Flash Experimental, but now the full version is finally available to the public via the Gemini home page, so long as you are a subscriber to Gemini Advanced, Google's AI subscription service.

Both of the Gemini 2.0 LLMs you can choose are still in beta version. The new Gemini 2.0 LLMs available are 2.0 Flash Experimental, the new lightweight LLM designed for everyday help, and 2.0 Experimental Advanced, designed for tackling complex tasks.

When Gemini Advanced customers go to the home page they'll now get the options for 2.0 Flash Experimental and 2.0 Experimental Advanced from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen. Options to use the older 1.5 Pro, 1.5 Flash 1.5 Pro with Deep Research, still exist.

The drop-down menu on the Gemini homepage now has two options for Gemini 2.0. (Image credit: Google)

If you choose either Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental or Gemini 2.0 Experimental Advanced, you'll continually get warnings that the AI "might not work as expected" before every answer, indicating that this is still very much a beta version. Mobile users of the Gemini app are currently still on the 1.5 Flash LLM.

I've tried the new 2.0 Experimental Advanced and it seems to work as well as the older LLMs for most things, although 2.0 Flash Experimental did keep trying to generate an image of whatever I'd asked it, even though I hadn't asked it for an image.

The new Gemini 2.0 LLM is described by Google as having "significantly improved performance on complex tasks such as coding, math, reasoning and instruction following."

Gemini Advanced costs $19.99 (£18.99/AU$32.99) per month and comes as part of the Google One AI Premium subscription.

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• Yes you read that right, Skibidi Toilet is reportedly coming to Fortnite
• The crossover could include a new skin
• It is expected to go live later today

Viral internet series Skibidi Toilet is reportedly going to be next in a long line of weird Fortnite crossovers.

That’s judging by a teaser posted to the official Fortnite X / Twitter account. The post contains three emojis, a toilet, a plunger, and a camera - all associated with Skibidi Toilet. There is also a date, “12.18.2024” - or today which suggests that we might not have to wait long to see what this is all about.

Popular Fortnite leakers have also chimed in, including X / Twitter user ‘SpushFNBR’. They claim that a Skibidi Toilet bundle will be added to the game and will be available for 2,200 V-Bucks. It will allegedly include a Plungerman skin, Skibidi Toilet backpack, and Plungerman’s Plunger Pickaxe. The skin and backpack will also be available together for 1,500 V-Bucks, while the Pickaxe will reportedly cost 800 V-Bucks on its own.

The leaker also clarified that a Lego-style version of the skin will be included too. They have also since posted an image, purportedly showing the skin ahead of its release. It looks pretty much how you would expect it to if you’re up to date with the latest Skibidi Toilet lore, with a figure dressed in a black suit with a security camera instead of a head.

If you’re not familiar with the source material, Skibidi Toilet is a popular animated series that was first released on YouTube Shorts. It was created using Source Filmmaker, using a handful of models taken from games including Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source.

The series depicts a post-apocalyptic world controlled by the Skibidi Toilets - evil creatures that look like toilets with human heads in the bowl. The enigmatic Cameramen serve as the protagonists, fighting back against the Skibidi Toilets in increasingly dramatic battles.

It’s quirky and weird, which is probably why it is such a hit with younger teens. Still, Skibidi Toilet appearing in Fortnite in an official capacity is not something that I ever saw coming. We’ll have to wait and see whether the leaks come to fruition later today.

Fortnite is available now as a free-to-play title on platforms such as PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Amazon Luna, and Nintendo Switch.

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• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle's latest patch has been released
• Update 2 addresses a series of gameplay bugs and a save file issue
• Xbox players should now find a dramatic improvement to global illumination

MachineGames has released a new patch for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle that addresses a number of quality-of-life issues.

The developer detailed the new changes in the Update 2 patch notes, which you can check out below, and it looks like it has primarily focused its attention on fixing general bugs, ranging from gameplay and graphics.

Namely, the latest patch has now fixed an issue where users' Game Slot was reported as "damaged" or missing, even though there was no actual problem.

In terms of gameplay, the first-person action game will now let players equip Indy's whip without any issues, his camera should no longer be permanently equipped, and it should no longer disappear after they use the quick-equip function.

Players on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will be glad to know that MachineGames has also massively improved Global Illumination. Now, shadowed areas in-game should appear as they should be instead of unusually bright.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Update 2 - Patch Notes

General

• Fixed an issue where users Game Slot may be reported as being damaged, or may appear to be completely missing, when no actual problem had occurred.

Gameplay

• Fixed an issue where player may be unable to equip Indy’s whip.
• Fixed an issue where a player may end up with Indy’s camera permanently equipped.
• Fixed an issue where player may drop and lose their camera if they use the quick-equip (“key item”) prompt to equip their camera while they are inspecting another nearby pick-up item.

Graphics

• Fix to prevent “Double vision” getting stuck on screen when Indy has almost drowned. To players who have already encountered this issue, repeating the near-drown should clear the issue.
• Some further improvements to reduce “stutter” from duplicated frames during cutscenes.

Missions and quests – Please note this section contains some small spoilers

• Fixed an issue where Gina may not approach the secret entrance to the Vatican Treasure Chamber, blocking the mission from progressing.
• Fixed an issue where Gina may go to pick the lock to the exit from the Vatican Treasure Chamber as soon as you enter the room, meaning you may miss some very important story developments.
• Fixed a big hole in the floor collision around the edge of the wall around the Ziggurat in Sukhothai that the player could fall through.

PC Specific fixes

• Fixed an issue where Nvidia DLSS may cause performance problems when enabled.
• Fixed an issue where Nvidia Frame Generation wasn’t activated properly if HDR is in use.
• Fixed an issue where Nvidia Low Latency Mode could cause performance problems when used with Frame Generation.
• Fixed an issue where global illumination may be completely disabled when playing with below minimum VRAM graphics cards.
• Fixed an issue where Lighting may be over bright in interior spaces if Path Tracing (Full Ray Tracing) is set to Medium or High Quality.
• Known Issue: Nvidia Frame Generation may be temporarily disabled if HDR is activated for the first time. To work around this issue, disable and then re-enable DLSS. This only needs to be done once.

Xbox Specific fixes

• Improvements to Global Illumination on Xbox, to fix issues where shadowed areas had appeared brighter than expected.

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• Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse's directing team has been revealed
• One of its producers has debunked a wild fan theory about the film's production
• The animated movie series' final entry has been in development for some time

Sony has finally confirmed who's directing Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse – and one of the movie's producers has already had to debunk a wild fan theory about its production following the announcement.

Yesterday (December 17), Deadline was first to report that Justin K. Thompson and Bob Persichetti were leading development on the highly anticipated animated film. Less than an hour later, the official Spider-Verse X/Twitter account confirmed this was the case, too.

News from the #SpiderVerse. Please join us in welcoming back your friendly neighborhood filmmakers, Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson, who will serve as the directing team behind Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. pic.twitter.com/aXzMGEZPORDecember 17, 2024

Thompson and Persichetti's hirings make perfect sense for the final installment of the Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen-led animated movie trilogy. Thompson was one of three individuals who directed 2023's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – a stunning film that I gave four and a half stars out of five in my Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse review. Thompson also served as a production designer on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the movie series' groundbreaking first entry that earned critical acclaim and won multiple awards after its December 2018 release.

Persichetti, meanwhile, has also been an integral cog in the Spider-Verse machine. He was one of three filmmakers who directed Into the Spider-Verse, and was an executive producer on last year's sequel. Clearly, Sony Pictures' next animated Spider-Man film is in very capable hands with this duo at the helm.

In a statement provided to Deadline, Persichetti and Thompson said: "We have had the immense privilege of being part of Miles’ journey from the very beginning, and directing the conclusion to his story is beyond exciting. The creativity and care poured into every minute of this project has been truly inspiring. We have crafted what we feel is a very satisfying ending, and we can’t wait for fans to experience it – we’re bringing everything we’ve got!"

Why have Spider-Man fans reacted with indignation to this Beyond the Spider-Verse reveal?

Trying to hold the Spider-Verse fanbase together like... (Image credit: Sony Pictures)

Let me be very clear: Persichetti and Thompson's hiring isn't the reason why Spider-Man fans reacted angrily in the immediate aftermath of this announcement. In fact, given the duo's work on two of the best Spider-Man movies of all-time, the reaction to their installation as Beyond the Spider-Verse's directing team has been positive.

Instead, frustrated observers hit out at Sony and the Spider-Verse movie series' chief creative team about what this reveal meant for Beyond the Spider-Verse's actual development. Originally, the franchise's third and final chapter was supposed to debut in theaters sometime in 2023. However, when Across the Spider-Verse's release was delayed from October 2022 to June 2023, Beyond the Spider-Verse was pushed back to March 2024.

In the months after Across the Spider-Verse's theatrical launch, though, reports emerged that its sequel wouldn't make its March 2024 release date due to various production issues, allegations of poor working conditions for its artists and animators, and the 2023 Hollywood strikes. In light of those reported troubles, Beyond the Spider-Verse has been stripped of an official release date. Indeed, the latest intel, which comes courtesy of Deadline, suggests it'll be 2026 before the film eventually debuts in theaters.

Me and who watching the Beyond the Spider-Verse directors reveal fallout (Image credit: Sony Pictures)

All of this brings us to the fan ire surrounding yesterday's announcement. Following the confirmation of Persichetti and Thompson as its directors, numerous Reddit threads were lit up by fans either mocking Sony over how long it was taking to make Beyond the Spider-Verse, asking the same question about whether its March 2024 launch date was even possible.

Personally, I didn't buy into the outrage. Yes, this movie has clearly been beset by various problems since it was first announced, and it's likely that some original ideas and/or work has been scrapped over the past few years. However, I refuse to believe that we've been duped as to how much (or, in some people's minds, how little) has actually been developed so far, and nor do I think that Persichetti and Thompson's hiring means that work has only just started.

Taking to X/Twitter, Chris Miller, one of the Spider-Verse franchise's producers, confirmed as much, writing: "To anyone confused: Bob and Justin are not the *new* directors, they have been the directors of BTSV the entire time – and doing a great job. They were just announced today."

So, there you have it. We might not have got an exciting Beyond the Spider-Verse announcement that we were hoping for in November, nor did we get a much-needed update on its eventual release. Nevertheless, work has been ongoing for the past few years, so take a breath, everyone. While we wait for the final film's arrival, you can remind yourself what happened in its forebear's final minutes by reading my Across the Spider-Verse ending explained article.

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• New rumors predict that a Fujifilm X-E5 camera will launch in mid-2025
• The X-E series are compact rangefinders with large APS-C sensors
• Separate rumors predict that a new X-Pro model won't land in 2025

It's that time of year again – not just for panicked Christmas shopping, but for the camera rumors to go into overdrive ahead of the new year. And of all the speculation I've seen for 2025 so far, a new rumor for the Fujifilm X-E5 has piqued my interest the most.

Inevitably, the speculation has come from the reliable Fuji Rumors , whose source has predicted that a new model in the X-E series – which are typically compact, affordable rangefinders with large APS-C sensors – "will come in the summer of 2025".

A new X-E5 is appealing for a number of reasons, not least because it'd effectively be a Fujifilm X100VI with the benefit of interchangeable lenses (which, as a Fujifilm user, I have plenty of). But what's made this rumor particularly interesting is a new one today that a new Fujifilm X-Pro model surprisingly isn't coming in 2025.

At this stage, these are just rumors. But if they turn out to be true, then the X-E5 could potentially become even more interesting as the only new rangefinder-style sibling to the X100VI that we see in 2025. Well, unless you include the rumored medium format Fujifilm GFX100RF, which will likely be beyond my budget.

Since its launch back in 2012 – not long after the original X100 – Fujfilm's X-E series has gradually shed some of its more enthusiast-friendly features, like its rear command dial and comfortable handling. With an X-Pro sequel still potentially a way off, and the Fujifilm X-M5 recently arriving for beginners and video shooters, the X-E5 could again be free to lean harder into its photographic roots.

What I'd want from a Fujifilm X-E5

(Image credit: Fujifilm)

As the owner of a Fujifilm X-T5 – which is still one of the best cameras for photography, in my opinion – my main hope for a Fujifilm X-E5 is that it replicates as much of that camera as possible, in a more compact form factor.

There is already the Fujifilm X-T50, but that has more of a mini-DSLR design than the sleeker X-E series, whose electronic viewfinder is tucked away neatly in the top-left corner (like the X100VI and X-Pro 3).

As much as I'd like an X100VI – which is arguably camera of the year – I don't think I could live with its fixed 23mm f/2 lens. I prefer longer focal lengths to isolate subjects in street and travel photography, so a compact body that could be permanently paired with my XF35mm f/2 and XF50mm f/2 lenses would be an ideal daily carry when I don't want a larger setup. The Xf27mm f/2.8 R WR would also be a great partner for it.

With the X100VI getting in-body image stabilization (IBIS), that feature seems almost certain for an X-E5 – as does the latest 40MP APS-C sensor, which is handy for cropping. Dare I also hope for weather-sealing? That might be a step too far, but in the absence of a new X-Pro model, perhaps Fuji might take the X-E down a more premium route. I could also probably live with a single card slot and old-school NP-W126S battery.

There are undoubtedly going to be more powerful and innovative cameras than an X-E5 in 2025. It's been a quiet year for Sony, so I'm expecting it to launch a Sony A7 V and perhaps an A7R VI. Who knows, maybe the rumored Ricoh GR IV or even a Sony RX1 successor will arrive to tempt me elsewhere.

But for my needs, a modern, updated version of the X-E4 sounds like the ideal fit – as long as Fujifilm manages to avoid the stock nightmares that have afflicted that camera and the X100VI in 2024.

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The Nvidia App has been out for just over a month now – it’s Team Green’s replacement for GeForce Experience – but the new software is reportedly slowing down gaming performance for some folks.

A user named Sebastian Castellanos on X flagged up this issue, noting that with the Nvidia App installed, their gaming PC was being slowed down to the tune of 15%, and also suffering “horrendous” frametime issues (essentially jittery gameplay).

Yikes, looks like having the NVIDIA app installed was destroying perf in some of my games (mainly UE5 ones) like Black Myth Wukong and The Talos Principle 2. Uninstalling the NVIDIA app fixed some horrendous frametime issues and gave me an extra 15%+ of performance! pic.twitter.com/KimvcahJ1PDecember 15, 2024

Castellanos said that this mainly happened with games using Unreal Engine 5 (specifically Black Myth: Wukong and The Talos Principle 2). Other X users also chimed in on the thread to note slowdowns to the tune of 10% to 15% or thereabouts.

First of all, Castellanos observed that the issues occurred with or without the Nvidia App’s overlay running in games, and subsequently posted again to say that they’d pinned down the problem to the ‘Game filters and Photo mode’ option in the app’s settings.

Apparently, turning this off cured the observed frame rate blues. Running some benchmarks with the game filters mode turned on, then off, Castellanos found that Black Myth: Wukong ran 22% faster with the mode disabled.

Stuttering was also way more pronounced with the mode enabled, as you can see in the graphs provided (check out the 1% percentile lows – the biggest dips in the frame rate) in the below post.

Now that I have some time, I made a couple of benchmark runs with this option disabled vs enabled in both Black Myth: Wukong and The Talos Principle 2 using @CapFrameX, and I'm seeing some huge perf gains by turning the "Game filters and Photo mode" option off: pic.twitter.com/7QuxCEqKmQDecember 16, 2024

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler) Analysis: Hopefully this fudge will work for most gamers

As Tom’s Hardware reports – which also found similar levels of slowdown due to this bug – Nvidia has confirmed that it’s now investigating the purported glitch.

Team Green advises as follows: “We are aware of a reported performance issue related to Game Filters and are actively looking into it. You can turn off Game Filters from the Nvidia App Settings > Features > Overlay > Game Filters and Photo Mode, and then relaunch your game.”

It’s certainly worth trying that suggested fix, although Castellanos cautions that this might not work for everyone affected. If it doesn’t cure any sluggishness you might be experiencing with the Nvidia App, then about the only other option is to simply uninstall it and go without – until Team Green applies a fix. You can run with just the bare Nvidia graphics driver without needing the app, in case you were wondering.

Hopefully Nvidia will be able to swiftly implement a patch to resolve this one, as it’s a pretty nasty bug by all accounts – one that should arguably have been caught in the lengthy beta for the Nvidia App.

Via Wccftech

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