Technology

• RayNeo announces launch month for RayNeo Air 3s glasses at MWC
• They're landing in April and only cost $259
• Despite being cheaper, they boast better specs than the last-gen Air 2s

RayNeo has set a release month for its RayNeo Air 3s XR glasses at MWC 2025 – with their budget-friendly smart specs due to land in April at a price of $259 (UK pricing to be confirmed). Based on what we’ve seen, these could be the affordable smart specs we’ve been waiting for.

These smart glasses serve as a wearable display for compatible tech like your phone, tablet, console, or RayNeo’s accessories such as its Pocket TV. They virtually project the screen in front of you like your own private movie theater – and even have in-built speakers to complete the package (though the small speakers can struggle at times)

Plus the Air 3s glasses boast several upgrades over the RayNeo Air 2s, with a 650 nits peak brightness, a larger eye box field of view, improved colors and contrast ratio, and all in a 2g-lighter 76g package.

They even look to handle the typically unimpressive audio you get from smart glasses with RayNeo promising its Air 3s glasses offer a 200% superior sound with improved highs, mids, and bass thanks to a new dual-speaker design. If that wasn’t enough, they’re also uber affordable with the new glasses costing almost half of what the $399 RayNeo Air 2s would set you back.

This marks the first of three smart glasses TCL and RayNeo plan to launch this year, with the RayNeo X3 Pro and RayNeo V3 (which we saw at CES 2025) due to land at some point too, though no specifics have been given yet.

The budget specs we've been missing

Smart glasses aren't cheap (Image credit: Future)

We’ll need to test them out for ourselves, but the RayNeo Air 3s glasses might just be the next best cheap smart glasses on our list of the best smart glasses if they can stick the landing.

These wearable displays are some of my favorite gadgets for travelling – whether commuting on a train or taking a flight – but also for using at home when I want to lie back in bed and still enjoy a big-picture experience with a show or movie. I just used a pair of Xreal specs I’m testing for a review on flights to and from Italy and they were perfect.

Unfortunately, many of this style of smart glasses aren’t the most affordable – typically landing around $400 / £400. What’s more, they can seem a little disappointing, usually offering audio that necessitates you get a pair of headphones (due to quality and sound leakage). They also typically offer merely full-HD image resolution, and you may need to buy an add-on like RayNeo’s Pocket TV or Xreal’s Beam Pro to feel like you’re getting a complete package.

At a lower $259 price, the RayNeo Air 3s makes some of these issues easier to stomach, and it sounds like the specs aren’t just settling for mediocrity either – lowering the price while simultaneously bringing upgrades over last-gen’s specs.

If they can live up to the hype, the RayNeo Air 3s specs might have put everyone on notice, and could be the glasses you need to buy if you want to dip your toes into the world of XR beyond the best VR headsets.

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• The US government's General Services Administration department's 18F has been dissolved
• Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency seems to be behind the cuts
• 18F was a software and procurement group which helped a range of government agencies

A technology unit from the General Services Administration (GSA) has had its budget all but eliminated, affecting around 70 software engineers and strategists, as well as researchers, service designers, and procurements specialists.

The cuts were masterminded by Elon Musk’s Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE), and are part of an ongoing campaign to slash government spending.

Founded in 2014, the Unit, 18F, developed key public-facing IT services, like Login.gov - the central login system for services like Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare. 18F was also responsible for helping government agencies buy and build technology, improve user experience, and make services accessible, and the unit collaborated with many departments, so the effects of the cuts will be felt across the board.

A sledgehammer approach

The department had previously been labeled as a ‘far left government wide computer office’ by a Musk supporter, to which the de-facto DOGE director replied “That group has been deleted”.

“All 18F's support on that work has now abruptly come to a halt,” the group said in a statement.

“Since the entire staff was also placed on administrative leave, we have been locked out of our computers, and have no chance to assist in an orderly transition in our work. We don’t even have access to our personal employment data. We’re supposed to return our equipment, but can’t use our email to find out how or where.”

These are not the first federal workers to be laid off, with over 110,000 federal employees leaving their posts since Trump took office, although around 77,000 of these accepted the administration’s deferred resignation program.

“Dismantling 18F follows the gutting of the original US Digital Service. These cuts are just the most recent in a series of a sledgehammer approach to the critical US teams supporting IT infrastructure.”

DOGE was also recently hit with a wave of lawsuits following complaints about the department breaching the privacy of millions of Americans by accessing “extraordinarily sensitive” details about federal workers and anyone who has ever applied for a federal job.

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We tested and selected the best camera phones, including the iPhone 16 Pro Max, Galaxy S24 Ultra and Pixel 9 Pro.

If you're all-in on digital weight training, you'll want to splurge on this fancy slab for sweating.

The company's luxury-level gaming phone will be on display along with a pink Mora edition.

The future of Windows game handhelds can't improve until Microsoft gets involved. Go with a Steam Deck, or wait for the SteamOS version of this handheld.

• The iPad Air and 10.9-inch iPad could be upgraded very soon
• They’re expected shortly after the upcoming M4 MacBook Air launch
• But one source says they “probably won’t come in the next few days”

If you’re in the market for one of the best iPads, you might want to hold off buying one for now. That’s because freshly updated models are supposedly just around the corner, and they could bring a powerful chip upgrade that will make it worth the wait.

Specifically, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman says in his latest Power On newsletter that stock of the iPad Air and 10th-generation iPad are running low at Apple Stores. This is usually a sign that new models are coming soon, as Apple often stops refreshing supplies of its soon-to-be-replaced devices in preparation for new arrivals.

However, while a new MacBook Air with M4 chip could launch as soon as this week, Gurman says that the new iPads “probably won’t come in the next few days.” The timeframe hasn’t been narrowed down any more than that, but it suggests that the tablets could launch within weeks rather than days.

Minor upgrades

(Image credit: Future)

Both the iPad Air and entry-level iPad are expected to receive minor upgrades this year, with new chips among the only changes anticipated. The iPad Air could get the M3 or M4 chip, while the 11th-generation iPad is likely to be outfitted with either the A16 Bionic or the A17 Pro chip.

Don’t bet on wide-ranging changes to the designs or displays of these devices, though. The rumor mill has been very quiet on this front, suggesting most of the changes will come to the tablets’ internals. It’s possible there will be other new features, with Wi-Fi 7 and a new Magic Keyboard both potentially in the cards.

Despite these models reportedly being imminent, the same can’t be said for the iPad Pro and the iPad mini. The iPad Pro probably won’t get an update until Apple’s M5 chip launches later this year, while the iPad mini was only just refreshed a few months ago.

If you’re looking at buying one of those devices, you should be safe to go ahead. But if the iPad Air or entry-level iPad are on your shopping list, it would be best to wait a while longer until the new models come out.

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The Dwarf 3 is great for astrophotography beginners, but has loads of useful tools for more experienced hobbyists.

Watch great films like Adaptation, Apocalypse Now and other free titles this March.

Far from feeling gimmicky, the Find N5 proves foldables can be useful, as well as enjoyable.

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• The two latest patches for Windows 11 24H2 are causing some users problems
• Allegedly, the worst affected hardware is the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
• Game crashes and slowdown appear to be exclusive to the latest updates

Some users of Windows 11 24H2 have been experiencing some issues, including slowdown and even crashing, with people quick to blame the latest update of the popular operating system.

As spotted by Neowin, two of the most recent Windows 11 24H2 patches (KB5050094 and KB5051987) have caused crashing and instability problems. Neowin forum user kiddingguy first observed game crashes with the latest update halting The Settlers: New Allies in Ubisoft Connect, but others have experienced far worse issues since.

Writing to Borncity, one Windows 11 24H2 user running an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor on an ASRock Z890 Pro RS motherboard could only get the newly built system running with a beta bios. The failure to launch was attributed to the Intel microcode update integrated into the bios, despite the latest version of Windows 11 being installed as normal.

The performance issues did not stop once the new hardware was up and running either. With Windows 11 24H2, it's claimed that a "new massive performance problem" was impacting the system as soon as a program was minimized or not the main "focus". It's claimed that applications are "massively throttled", so much so that the CPU's clock rate was even decreased. Screenshots show the differences in utilization.

Arguably, the most worrying thing about the impact of the two most recent Windows 11 patches is the fact that this user was able to replicate the problems with different applications. These include 7Zip and Prime95, proving it doesn't seem to be tied to any one specific program with incompatibility or stability issues with either KB5050094 or KB5051987.

The user claims that the performance in 7Zip's benchmark was effectively halved when minimizing the program and that distributing the workload across all available cores (for which the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K has 24 in total) did not alleviate the issue. No solid fix is yet to be implemented, other than a workaround of forcing the maximum energy-saving plan to push "full CPU performance" in the background processes, which is far from ideal for long-term use.

Interestingly, it's claimed that the same problems did not occur with the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X processor as it did with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, nor with the older Intel Core i9-12900K. Because of this, it's possible that the bulk of severe issues could be specific to Intel's latest LGA 1851 platform, but this does not seem to be as widespread as the software crashing and incompatibilities seen so far.

To double-check your processor's compatibility with Windows 11 24H2, you can read through Microsoft's official supported processors list, which outlines AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm CPUs that are confirmed to run without issue. If you're experiencing any slowdown or crashing, then it may be time to revert to a previous version of the operating system until things begin to stabilize.

The problems with Windows 11 continue

Recently, it seems that there's been no shortage of issues with Windows 11, with the 24H2 version of the operating system having a few outstanding problems. As well as the newly reported crashing and slowdown, this variant of the OS included more advertising in the Settings menu, high CPU utilization from Task Manager, and consistent reminders to back things up.

Another strange Windows 11 24H2 bug even featured half the interface displayed in one language, with the latter half mixed up in another. This glitch was apparently tied to a faulty installation where two language options were layered upon each other, something which was previously unheard of until last month.

Of course, artificial slowdown and software crashes are more severe than advertising, throttling, and language errors, but it culminates in a user experience which has been less than ideal since the most recent version rolled out on October 1, 2024. The two most recent problematic patches are optional, at least, so if you're having trouble with them, we recommend reverting to a previous (more stable) version or freshly reinstalling Windows 11 altogether.

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Last night’s 2025 Oscars marked the 97th annual ceremony of the biggest night in Hollywood, and out of the 10 Best Picture nominees, Sean Baker’s drama Anora came out on top and took home the trophy. Out of all the recent releases, Anora has sat in my Letterboxd watch list for a while and now that award season has come to a close, there’s only a few weeks left before it arrives on one of the best streaming services – and I can’t wait to finally watch it.

In addition to winning Best Picture, which was the icing on the cake of what was a huge night for Baker and the Anora squad, it triumphed four out of the ‘big five’ categories including Best Actress for Mikey Madison, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay for Sean Baker, as well as Best Film Editing. If Anora’s five Oscar wins isn’t enough to convince you to stream it this month, perhaps its contemporary rags-to-riches story will entice you.

If you’re in the same boat as I, and was foolish for not catching it in theaters on time, fear not, as Hulu will be the place to go in the coming weeks.

Anora (2024) will be available to stream on March 17. (Image credit: Neon) Where can I stream Anora?

Anora lands on Hulu on March 17 and this month it really has its ear to the ground with its new March 2025 titles, from previous Oscar-winning movies to yet another slew of titles with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, but there’s no hiding that Anora is the one I’m most excited for. You might need to sign up to Hulu to watch Anora, though if you’re a student then you can reap the benefits of a Hulu student discount and pay only $1.99 a month. There's also the excellent Hulu and Disney+ bundle, bringing you both services from $9.99 per month.

If you’re based outside of the US, then you might have to wait a little longer before you can stream Anora. At the moment, you can rent it from the likes of Apple TV or Amazon for £4.99 / AU$19.99, or buy it for £11.99 / AU$24.99.

It's also coming to 4K Blu-ray in May, as part of the Criterion Collection, with a load of interesting features, including two separate commentary tracks. Collectors with one of the best 4K Blu-ray players might want to take this route regardless of whether you've got Hulu or not.

What's Anora about?

Brooklyn sex worker Ani (Mikey Madison) has her life turned upside down when she meets Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a notorious and incredibly wealthy Russian oligarch who she hastily marries.

At first, her new, modern Cinderella tale life seems like the best thing that could ever happen, but things turn ugly when news of the marriage reaches Vanya’s family back in Russia, which ignites a mob chase to hunt down the young couple and end the marriage.

It's far more of a comedy than a thriller, and really is laugh-out-loud funny for huge section – but as is typical from Sean Baker, it's also dark and emotional.

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• Google has added memory ability to the free version of Gemini in a browser
• It can now remember anything about you that you tell it to
• Mobile app version will hopefully roll out soon

Google has added the ability to remember personal information to the free version of Gemini, just a few weeks after launching the feature for Gemini Advanced subscribers.

The ability to recall information is one of the most useful features of an AI Chatbot, and makes it feel much more personal. That ability has been available in Gemini rival ChatGPT for about a year now, so Google are late to the game, but making the 'saved info' feature available to all Gemini users so quickly is a really great move.

Talking to a friend

'Saved info' means you don’t keep having to tell Gemini the names of your children or what job you have, which makes the conversations with it feel much more natural. For example, I’m currently working on writing a book, and once I’ve asked Gemini to remember this, and a few things about it, I can simply refer to it as “my book” in future conversations and it knows what the subject is and what level it’s aimed at, meaning our conversations about it feel much more natural. It really is like talking to a friend.

If you’ve been using Gemini for a while now with the app on your phone or through a web browser then you’ll know that it’s a powerful chatbot, on a par with ChatGPT, and you can also voice chat with us using Gemini Live, which comes with 10 different voices, just like you’re having a conversation with a human.

Gemini Live requires a Gemini Advanced subscription on an iPhone, but Android users get it free.

(Image credit: Google) Free vs Advanced

With a Gemini Advanced subscription Gemini’s ability to remember things works in both the standard chatbot interface and in Gemini Live. To get Gemini to remember something just say, or type, “Remember that” or “keep in mind”, followed by what you want me to remember. On a free account you'll now notice that 'Saved info' has been added to the web interface so you can now use it in the same way Gemini Advanced subscribers can, however we haven't been able to access it in the mobile app yet for free users. Hopefully it will roll out in the next few days.

Gemini doesn’t have to remember what you've told it to remember forever, either. To delete something you’ve saved just write or say, for example, “Forget everything I told you about my sci fi novel”. You can also manage what Gemini has saved for you on the ‘saved info’ page accessible from tapping on your profile image.

You might be wondering if it’s still worth being a Gemini Advanced (via Google One AI Premium) subscriber, which costs $19.99 / £18.99 / AU$32.99 a month, since a lot of the benefits have now transferred over to the free Gemini, including use of the latest Gemini 2.0 Flash LLM. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that the premium service gives you access to a number of other new LLMs like 2.0 Experimental. You also get 2TB of storage and access to NotebookLM Plus.

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The best-known budget bidet maker successfully counters high-end electric bidets (with a few minor quirks).

You don't need me, or HMD (Human Mobile Devices), to tell you that there's a screen time epidemic among young people, but the latter's new research into the subject does highlight just how badly smartphones (and specifically social media) are actively harming an entire generation.

Of 12,000 teens surveyed by the Nokia phone maker for a recent study, over half said they’re worried that they may be addicted to their phone, while 37% said they’ve had a stranger approach them and try to move them into an encrypted chat like WhatsApp. 53% said they’ve seen something that they wish they hadn’t – which for most respondents was content of a sexual or violent nature – and 56% said they’ve seen bullying online. The bleak stats go on.

Parents, too, know that these issues exist, but existing smartphone safeguards like screen time apps are easily circumvented by any curious teenager with access to YouTube or Reddit. To address this, HMD has partnered with smartwatch manufacturer Xplora to develop the ‘first smartphone for teens’ – a seemingly regular-looking handset that gives parents greater control over their child’s (potentially first) smartphone experience.

Launching in May for £229 (international pricing is yet to be confirmed), the HMD Fusion X1 – when purchased alongside an Xplora subscription – will allow parents to remotely enable, disable, or limit access to apps of their choosing. This subscription also includes continuous location tracking at 20-second intervals, emergency SOS calling for the smartphone-owning teen, as well as low battery alerts and remote device access for parents.

Additionally, a dedicated School Mode function will minimize distractions during school hours by locking specific apps and features as desired, and HMD has also confirmed that its SafeToNet software – which uses AI to detect and block harmful content before it reaches the user – will begin rolling out to compatible devices (the Fusion X1 included) later this year.

I know what you’re thinking: no teenager would willingly give their parents this level of control over their smartphone. And that may have been true a few years ago. But young people are absolutely becoming more aware of the dangers of social media addiction (HMD’s findings are by no means anomalous) and if the draw of ‘just one more scroll’ is too strong to resist, perhaps teenagers are now more willing to give someone else the keys (after all, ‘brain rot’ was named the 2024 Oxford Word of the Year for a reason).

A promotional tease for the upcoming HMD Fusion X1 (Image credit: HMD)

Indeed, as HMD Founder Jean-Francois Baril put it at MWC, the Fusion X1 is “the phone teens want, with the safety parents desire.” It won’t have an infantilizing design, either, with the company teasing a conventional-looking, industrial-style handset at MWC.

HMD also has two new feature phones on the way: the HMD Barca 3210 and the HMD Barca Fusion. The first is a rebranded version of the Nokia 3210, featuring exclusive, Barcelona-themed notes and easter eggs like an engraved logo, hidden messages from players, custom wallpapers, and, yes, even a Barcelona-themed version of Snake.

@techradar

♬ stellar (Sped Up) - .diedlonely & énouement

HMD Barca Fusion, meanwhile, is a custom version of HMD’s Fusion handset with 11, glow-in-the-dark player signatures engraved into its rear panel. Like the 3210, the Fusion is also designed with TikTok doom-scrollers in mind, so it features a detox mode to keep users focused on the things that matter.

@techradar

♬ original sound - TechRadar

Drew Barrymore also appeared on stage at HMD’s MWC keynote to tease ‘Project Wildflower,’ an upcoming collaboration between the actor and HMD to tackle the aforementioned screen time epidemic. We don’t have the details just yet, but the involvement of one of Hollywood’s biggest names will no doubt bring much-needed attention to an issue that HMD is clearly intent on addressing.

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• V-Copter Falcon Mini features two tilt-rotors for "unmatched agility"
• It follows the V-Copter Falcon from 2020 as a lighter, sub-250g model
• 4K camera is stabilized with a 3-axis gimbal

Zero Zero Robotics has unveiled the V-Copter Falcon Mini. It looks like a beginner drone with a difference, and a compelling DJI alternative from the makers of our favorite selfie drone – the HoverAir X1 Pro – especially for people who want a longer period of flying fun.

Most drones are quad-copters in that they feature four propellers, but the V-Copter Falcon Mini is a bi-copter, meaning it has just two propellors, positioned in a V-shape above the drone's body.

The pay-off is what Zero Zero Robotics claims is "lightning fast acceleration" and "unmatched agility", compared to the likes of the DJI Mini 4K, while aerial photographers are served by a three-axis stabilized 4K camera.

We've seen this tech before in the V-Copter Falcon from 2020, but that chunkier model weighs over 700g and is in a different category of drones hit with various flight restrictions and regulations. The 'Mini' version on the other hand weighs less than 250g, which makes it a much simpler option for beginners.

Currently, this is a soft reveal on the V-Copter website and we don't have pricing info or a sales start date yet. However, you can subscribe on the website for early bird offers and the launch announcement.

(Image credit: Zero Zero Robotics) Half the propellors, twice the fun?

The V-Copter Falcon Mini's two rotors are positioned above the drone's body and, within miliseconds of the drone being engaged, tilt downwards to optimize airflow and thrust for fast and powerful acceleration.

Those twin rotors can work independently too; by tilting in opposite directions, sharp turns and precise maneuvers are possible. There's also a video on the V-Copter site showcasing the drone's flight stability, which is seemingly the fruit of real-time flight adjustments and a 0.01 rotor angle precision. Together with that three-axis gimbal, users should enjoy smooth 4K video footage.

V-Copter is also showcasing a Reverse Flight Kit, which unleashes new flight skills and tricks, including upside down flight and a reverse one foot spin – these look like a bit of fun and not for aerial shots.

The tech all sounds very impressive and has certainly piqued my interest, but is it any good? We plan to review the V-Copter Falcon Mini once it's available to find out.

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• The charging case can charge your phone too
• Distinctive hinged design
• £179.99 (about $227 / AU$365)

HMD's new Amped Buds are very different from your average earbuds: the buds themselves have a very distinctive hinged design instead of the AirPods style of so many headphones. And their charging case looks more like a power bank than an earbuds case – because that's exactly what it is.

The charging case is also a Qi2 wireless power bank with a 1,600mAh battery, and that's a very beefy battery for a case – so beefy in fact that if you only use it for charging your earbuds, you can expect nearly 100 hours of playback time before you need to hunt for a USB-C charger.

To clarify, 1,600mAh isn't as big the battery you'll get in a dedicated power bank – they tend to come in multiples of 10,000mAh – but it's enough to charge an iPhone 16 Pro to about 20%, so still pretty useful if you're running dangerously low on juice.

(Image credit: HMD) HMD Amped Buds: key features and pricing

The quoted battery life is 95 hours, although as ever that's with ANC off: put the noise cancelling on and you can expect a still impressive 58 hours. The buds by themselves will run for 8.1 hours without ANC and 4.9 hours with.

Of course it doesn't matter how long the battery lasts if your earbuds don't sound good. But the drivers here are 10mm so they should be pretty punchy, and the buds support Snapdragon Sound; there are also three mics for clear voice calling and for yelling at your chosen virtual assistant.

Bluetooth is 5.4 with fast pairing, and on Android there's support for Find My Device. They're IP54 rated for dust and water resistance and you can choose from black, cyan or pink.

We don't have news of a US launch or pricing as yet, but the HMD Amped Buds will be £179.99 in the UK and €199.99 in Europe. The UK launch will be "VERY soon", HMD says.

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• Samsung has announced 5 key upgrades coming to its third-gen earbuds
• The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro/Buds 3 upgrades are exclusive to One UI 7
• …which means that right now, you need a Galaxy S25 to get them

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Buds 3 just got several key upgrades – for those of you who just bought one of the company's newest Galaxy S25 or S25 Ultra smartphones, that is.

I'll list the updates coming to Samsung's July 2024-issue earbuds in detail momentarily – there are five to get through – but you should know right from the get go that to enjoy them, you'll need to be running One UI 7 (read: Samsung's answer to Android 15). It's the much-touted OS that made its debut in Samsung's S25 lineup, introducing a UI overhaul with all-new AI and navigation perks, including the Now Bar.

But as any Galaxy S24 or S24 Ultra owner knows, you could be waiting until May to get One UI 7, owing to Samsung's apparent plan for multiple beta versions for anything not in the S25 lineup – and if Google goes ahead and announces Android 16 in May, that might instantly make the update feel, ahem, outdated before it gets its full rollout.

Anyway, back to the upgrades for some of you and, following an announcement on February 27, Samsung has explained five changes to be on the lookout for if you own an S25 or S25 Ultra along with a set of 3-suffixed Galaxy Buds.

The first is new Galaxy Buds 3 settings, found within the rejigged One UI 7 Quick Settings panel. Basically, you'll no longer have to fire up the Galaxy Wearable app in order to tweak your Buds’ settings – you’ll now be able to do it right from Quick Settings. Less clunky!

Also mentioned by Samsung was the ability to set sound preferences for individual apps (also within Quick Settings), a tailored sound experience for those with hearing issues, Galaxy AI with Interpreter in 20 languages, and a new microphone software upgrade that should interpret the ambient sound around you to adjust volume.

Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Buds 3: the 5 upgrades

• Tweak sound settings more easily: with One UI 7, you won't need to go in through the Galaxy Wearable app on your smartphone, you can do it directly in the quick settings panel.
• App-specific personalized sound settings: you can set sound preferences for individual apps within the quick settings panel.
• Tailored sound for specific hearing needs: an updated Adapt sound feature expands on ambient sound capabilities for more clear and accurate in-call experiences or when watching videos and so on.
• Easy communication in 20 Languages: thanks to Galaxy AI with Interpreter in Listening Mode, you'll be able to hear translations for conversations piped directly into your Galaxy Buds.
• Intelligently optimized sound: Adaptive Noise Control will use your Buds' onboard mics to analyze your immediate surroundings and automatically adjust the optimal level of noise-nixing, without the need to tweak it yourself.

The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Galaxy Buds 3 were launched in July 2024 and to stay sitting pretty on the cutting-edge of technological advancements, these upgrades – especially within Samsung's flagship earbuds – feel both necessary and welcome.

The issue, of course, is whether or not you've got the necessary software to enjoy it, which is currently tied exclusively to whether or not you've bought a 2025 Samsung phone. Of course, if you need to have the newest and best, updating to the latest handset as and when it lands, this is no stumbling block for you. But that's not all of us.

As we noted in our review of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, Samsung chose to take a leaf out of Apple's playbook last year, by introducing a swatch of decidedly 'walled garden' features with the proposition – perks you'll always need a new-ish Samsung source device to enjoy. And that's all well and good if there's reasonable backwards compatibility. But if the electronics giant can't deliver its latest One UI 7 update to its wider fanbase (and by that I mean people who bought one of the company's newest phones and earbuds in 2024) sooner rather than later, that could be an issue.

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• Truffle Security found thousands of pieces of private info in Common Crawl
• The archives are used to train some of the biggest LLMs today
• The researchers notified the vendors and helped fix the problem

Cybersecurity researchers have found thousands of login credentials and other secrets in the Common Crawl dataset.

Common Crawl is a nonprofit organization that provides a freely accessible archive of web data, collected through large-scale web crawling. As of recent estimates, the organization hosts over 250 petabytes of web data, with monthly crawls adding several petabytes more.

Recently, security researchers from Truffle Security analyzed roughly 400 terabytes of information, collected from 2.67 billion web pages archived in 2024. They said that almost 12,000 valid secrets (API keys, passwords, and similar) were found hardcoded in the archive. They found more than 200 different secret types, but the majority were for Amazon Web Services (AWS), MailChimp, and WalkScore.

Training AI

“Nearly 1,500 unique Mailchimp API keys were hard coded in front-end HTML and JavaScript,” the researchers said, noting many secrets were found in multiple instances. In fact, almost two-thirds (63%) were found on multiple pages, with one WalkScore API key appearing “57,029 times across 1,871 subdomains”.

Software developers often leave login credentials and other secrets in the code, to simplify the process during development. However, many seem to forget to remove the data, leaving a simple backdoor for malicious actors to exploit.

Cybercriminals could scour the archives for the secrets themselves, but there is an ever bigger problem here. Many of the world’s most popular large language models (LLM), such as the ones from OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google, Meta, and others, are trained using Common Crawl’s archives, meaning that crooks could use Generative AI to uncover login credentials and other secrets.

LLMs don’t use entirely raw data, and it is filtered to remove sensitive information, but the question remains how well the filters work, and how many secrets make it through.

That being said, Truffle Security allegedly reached out to impacted vendors and helped them revoke compromised keys.

Via BleepingComputer

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