Technology

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 12.

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #581) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• COMETS
• INVENTION
• COIN TOSS
• DEFENDER
• COURT
• ASTEROIDS
• FAIRY TALE
• DRESS COAT
• FICTION
• ROMANCE
• SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
• CENTIPEDE
• CHARM
• FANTASY
• BREAKOUT
• PURSUE

NYT Connections today (game #581) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: All made up
• GREEN: Dating 
• BLUE: Video classics
• PURPLE: Flipside

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #581) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: FABRICATION 
• GREEN: WOO 
• BLUE: CLASSIC ATARI GAMES 
• PURPLE: THINGS FEATURING TAILS 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #581) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #581, are…

• YELLOW: FABRICATION FAIRY TALE, FANTASY, FICTION, INVENTION
• GREEN: WOO CHARM, COURT, PURSUE, ROMANCE
• BLUE: CLASSIC ATARI GAMES ASTEROIDS, BREAKOUT, CENTIPEDE, DEFENDER
• PURPLE: THINGS FEATURING TAILS COIN TOSS, COMETS, DRESS COAT, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

• My rating: Hard
• My score: Fail

I started today’s Connections completely baffled and unable to see any links at all before writing every word down and noticing – after a brief thought that we were looking for book genres – the words that made up FABRICATION and WOO.

Blue and Purple defeated me. Games are a blindspot for me. If I enjoy a game I get locked into it for years – Tetris, Sim City, Balatro – playing absolutely nothing else until a new game takes over, or as was the case with a dinner party game called RSVP I played every day on my phone, accidentally delete and then find out it is no no longer available. I realize this is a bit odd and it’s left me completely ignorant of everything else. But even if I was aware of the video game canon of the late 20th century I would have definitely included SONIC THE HEDGEHOG as an Atari game (it’s Sega), instead of the THINGS FEATURING TAILS category.

After Googling “does Sonic The Hedgehog have a tail?” (I’m not the first to do this) I eventually discovered that Tails is the name of a character within the Sonic The Hedgehog universe – and yes Sonic does have a tail. Every day’s a school day.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, 11 January, game #580)

• YELLOW: DISPLAY OF ROWS AND COLUMNS ARRAY, GRID, MATRIX, TABLE
• GREEN: THINGS TO DO AT A WORK EVENT CIRCULATE, CONVERSE, MINGLE, NETWORK
• BLUE: OLYMPIC EVENTS SINCE 2000 BREAKING, SURFING, TAEKWONDO, TRAMPOLINE
• PURPLE: -_COURT FOOD, KANGAROO, SUPREME, TENNIS

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #315) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Wait what?

NYT Strands today (game #315) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• BALE
• RAIL
• SOLID
• BOOM
• NUTS
• BEAR

NYT Strands today (game #315) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Bewildered

NYT Strands today (game #315) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: top, 4th column

Last side: bottom, 3rd column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #315) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #315, are…

• STUN
• ASTONISH
• GOBSMACK
• SURPRISE
• FLABBERGAST
• SPANGRAM: MINDBLOWN

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

There’s a couple of brilliant words in today’s Strands that feel as if they belong in boy’s comics from the 1950s and have not been heard much since – GOBSMACK and FLABBERGAST.

I was pleased – although not particularly gobsmacked – to learn that Flabbergast originated in Sussex, which is the English county where I was born, although quite why that particular area popularized a word which originally meant “shocked tubby person” is uncertain.

Gobsmack is also interesting and again began as a portmanteau of two slang words – Gob (for mouth, coined in Ireland in the 16th century) and Smack, which describes the sound of a flat hand hitting something – so hitting your mouth in shock. Something I instantly imagine Stan Laurel doing.

Meanwhile, today’s big SURPRISE was that I completed Strands again without any hints.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, 11 January, game #314)

• DAWN
• DUSK
• NOON
• EVENING
• MORNING
• DAYBREAK
• TWILIGHT
• SPANGRAM: TIMING

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1084) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1084) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #1084) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1084) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1084) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• B

• P

• W

• F

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1084) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1084, are…

• BRIEF
• PETAL
• WOMAN
• FELON

I don’t know if it’s the fact that I’m playing a lot of Quordle (and Wordle), but I’m reaching that stage where I’m kidding myself that I’m achieving synergy with the puzzle setters.

The reason for this is that today I landed two words, PETAL and FELON, without really thinking about it or looking at what letters I had left – they just landed in my head.

Of course, the other possibility is sheer luck, but it’s nice to kid myself for a little while.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Daily Sequence today (game #1084) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1084, are…

• THEIR
• GRIMY
• AGATE
• RIVER

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1083, Saturday 11 January: ASCOT, FIBER, ROGUE, SMELL
• Quordle #1082, Friday 10 January: BIGOT, INLET, LEECH, TUNIC
• Quordle #1081, Thursday 9 January: RESET, HUMOR, TENOR, IMAGE
• Quordle #1080, Wednesday 8 January: MINCE, SADLY, RISEN, VOUCH
• Quordle #1079, Tuesday 7 January: CREED, FILET, ROUTE, TAPER
• Quordle #1078, Monday 6 January: PIVOT, WOOLY, GRUNT, GROOM
• Quordle #1077, Sunday 5 January: BORAX, JUDGE, CADET, SALON
• Quordle #1076, Saturday 4 January: CORER, CRATE, QUASI, EXIST
• Quordle #1075, Friday 3 January: PERKY, QUARK, NAVEL, SHEEN
• Quordle #1074, Thursday 2 January: UNIFY, SWORE, DEPOT, INTRO
• Quordle #1073, Wednesday 1 January: CLING, SUITE, WORRY, TONIC
• Quordle #1072, Tuesday 31 December: PLUMP, TUBER, IRATE, ICILY
• Quordle #1071, Monday 30 December: TODDY, GROIN, GROWN, VERVE
• Quordle #1070, Sunday 29 December: PURER, SPLAT, RABID, EMCEE
• Quordle #1069, Saturday 28 December: BUNCH, LABOR, TRIPE, BUNNY
• Quordle #1068, Friday 27 December: BRAWL, LYING, ORGAN, CRONY
• Quordle #1067, Thursday 26 December: TATTY, OVERT, FLOUR, SWEPT
• Quordle #1066, Wednesday 25 December: LIVER, CRIER, SHORE, MURKY
• Quordle #1065, Tuesday 24 December: TIPSY, SCALE, FLYER, VALVE
• Quordle #1064, Monday 23 December: SNAKE, SAVVY, ELBOW, TWEED

Looking for internet in Wilmington? Our broadband experts have found the fastest speeds and most affordable pricing available in the area.

• At CES 2025, Morse Micro presented a working demo of a HaLow router that can deliver data at up to 250Mbps in a 10-mile radius
• TechRadar first covered HaLow back in 2016, but the technology is only just maturing
• HaLow's long range without the need for a repeater could be attractive for commercial setups

The future of Wi-Fi technology may have taken a major leap forward at CES 2025 with the debut of Wi-Fi HaLow routers from Morse Micro.

Its new prototype (via Yanko Design) boasts a 10-mile range, potentially making a home Wi-Fi network available locally.

Unlike conventional routers which can struggle to penetrate walls when operating at 2.4GHz and 5GHz, HaLow’s sub-GHz frequency waves travel through obstacles, offering reliable connectivity across a distance.

HaLow’s roots: From concept to reality

Designed to operate on the 900MHz band, HaLow was created for low-power, long-range connectivity. Potential use-cases include industrial setups as well as connecting to Internet of Things (IoT) devices and smart homes from afar.

TechRadar reported back in 2016 that HaLow’s initial speeds ranged from 150KBps to 18Mbps; decidedly unimpressive with hindsight - but nine years down the line, advancements showcased at CES 2025 have demonstrated speeds up to 250Mbps, a significant improvement which broadens its potential applications.

In February 2024, Morse Micro demonstrated the potential of Wi-Fi HaLow by setting a record for long-range connectivity using the 802.11ah standard. The company achieved a 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) video call at the time.

More impressive still, in a test at Joshua Tree National Park in September 2024, a rural area with vast open spaces and minimal RF interference, Morse Micro achieved a 16-kilometer (10-mile) range.

While HaLow’s 250Mbps speed isn’t as fast as 5GHz Wi-Fi, it’s more than sufficient for everyday tasks such as browsing, emails, and IoT communications.

Morse Micro says it envisions a future where HaLow routers coexist with current Wi-Fi bands, creating tri-band systems combining 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and sub-GHz frequencies.

Currently, common devices like smartphones and laptops aren’t yet equipped to support this technology, however, Morse Micro is working with engineers to integrate HaLow chipsets into future devices.

Nevertheless, HaLow's long-distance coverage holds notable commercial and industrial potential for environments like warehouses, where robots and IoT devices could communicate without hubs or repeaters.

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Here are some hints -- and the answers -- for Connections No. 581 for Sunday, Jan. 12.

Here are some hints and the answer for Wordle No. 1303 for Sunday, Jan. 12.

• Teamgroup's 8TB PCIe 5.0 SSD will be the first of its kind to hit the market
• The T-Force GE Pro won't top the best PCIe 5.0 SSD but should be fast enough for most use cases
• Samsung, XPG and Crucial have demoed 8TB PCIe 5.0 SSDs but none have gone on sale

TEAMGROUP has announced the T-FORCE GE PRO PCIe 5.0 SSD, which is on track to be the first of its kind to be commercially available.

Though Samsung, XPG, Micron and Crucial have all showcased 8TB PCIe 5.0 SSDs in the past, none have hit the market.

The device comes with read and write speeds of 13,500 MB/s and 11,000 MB/s respectively, while the company claims it is designed for gamers, content creators, and other professionals who need ultra-fast storage solutions.

Optimized cooling for sustained performance

The T-FORCE GE PRO tackles heat management with its patented graphene heatsink to enhances dissipation.

The company also adds the T-FORCE AirFlow1 SSD Cooler with active cooling, and this ensures sustained peak performance during demanding tasks.

Furthermore, the T-FORCE GE PRO supports advanced 4K LDPC (Low-Density Parity Check) to improve data transfer accuracy, reducing errors and extending the SSD's lifespan.

Users can also monitor the SSD's health and performance using TEAMGROUP’s proprietary S.M.A.R.T. monitoring software.

According to the company, the GE PRO's manufacturing process complies with RoHS environmental standards, with all packaging materials being recyclable.

Personally, I don't expect that the GE PRO will be too expensive, in part because it won't surpass the very best PCIe 5.0 SSDs in benchmarks while probably still being fit for purpose.

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• MSI is the latest vendor to jump on the AI PC bandwagon
• The Cubi NUC AI+ 2M is a mini PC with 11 ports and 1 card reader but no TB5
• It comes with a dedicated Copilot button as well as a fingerprint reader

MSI unveiled two new Cubi mini PC offerings at CES 2025, and it likely won’t come as any surprise these models include AI in their names. The Cubi NUC AI+ 2M and the Cubi NUC AI 1UM offer on-device AI capabilities and are designed to deliver powerful performance in a compact form factor suitable for any workspace.

The larger Cubi NUC AI+ 2M measures 0.826 liters and is powered by Intel's Core Ultra processors from the Lunar Lake platform, with configurations up to the Core Ultra 7 258V. It features Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics and up to 32GB of LPDDR5X on package memory. Storage is supported via a single M.2 2280 SSD slot. The device can deliver up to 115 TOPS of processing power through a dedicated Intel AI Boost NPU.

The Cubi NUC AI+ 2M offers a total of 11 ports. On the front, there are two 10Gbps USB Type-A ports and a microSD card reader, as well as a one-touch fingerprint power button for added security, and a Copilot button for instant access to AI tools such as CoCreator, Windows Studio Effects, Live Captions, and Live Translation. There’s also a built-in microphone and speaker for voice commands.

No Copilot button on the smaller model

The rear panel houses dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, one of which supports PD-in up to 100-watts (it’s a shame MSI hasn't yet embraced Thunderbolt 5 for even faster data transfer speeds), dual HDMI ports, and two 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports. The Cubi NUC AI+ 2M can drive up to three screens and supports WiFi 7 for high-speed wireless connectivity.

The Cubi NUC AI 1UM is a smaller and presumably more affordable alternative, with a 0.51-liter volume. It is powered by Intel Core Ultra 100 Meteor Lake processors, including options up to the Core Ultra 7 155H.

It supports dual SODIMM DDR5 memory slots and two M.2 SSD drives, and like its larger sibling, it includes dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI outputs, and 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports. It can drive four screens, but doesn't have a Copilot button.

Both models support MSI Power Link, allowing power control through select MSI monitors and reducing cable clutter, especially when mounted behind a monitor. Pricing details for both have yet to be announced.

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So far Meta has only abandoned fact-checking in the US. If and when it expands, the move will be a major blow to the Latin American news ecosystem.

In an age where even casual music fans know how measly streaming services can be regarding artist pay, the return of physical media was perhaps inevitable. Just last year, vinyl record sales grew by 10.5% with 6.7 million discs sold thanks to artists including Taylor Swift and Fleetwood Mac. Though CD sales remained constant, cassette tape sales have also been making a strong comeback as well.

From 81,000 units in 2015 to 436,400 in 2022, the resurgence has been driven by Gen Z’s embrace of nostalgic formats and affordability. Artists are releasing albums on tape for as little as $10, which is a fraction of newly released vinyls, which are significantly more expensive. So it makes sense for French brand We Are Rewind to have a goal of delivering a sleek yet incredibly functional cassette tape player, inspired by the original Sony Walkman. During my time with the device at CES 2025, it delivered on its promise.

(Image credit: Future)

Available in four colorways for around $160, there’s so much to appreciate about this audio device. We Are Rewind’s cassette tape player works with all versions of tapes, from I (which have only write-protect notches) to IV (which has a third notch set near the middle of the top of the cassette shell). When it comes to playback, the device supports two-track stereo with a quoted frequency response of 30Hz to 12,500Hz, signal-to-noise ratio of 50dB, and minimal distortion.

The player uses Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity to connect to the best wireless headphones and best Bluetooth speakers. We Are Rewind also has $52 retro-styled EQ-001 over-the-ear headphones that come with three interchangeable ear cushions. Those feature a 12-hour battery life and three equalizer modes for tailored audio experiences. The headphones also work on smartphones, alongside offering voice assistant support.

(Image credit: Future)

If you want to keep it old school, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack for the best wired headphones, and an additional 3.5mm jack for recording onto Type I tapes, which I absolutely love. Recording quality is fairly high, featuring a frequency response of 30Hz to 10,000Hz, a signal-to-noise ratio of 45dB, and 1% typical distortion. The We Are Rewind cassette player is powered by a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery that provides an estimated 10 to 12 hours of extended use.

During my time with the device, there were a handful of cassette tapes to use including The Weeknd, Linkin Park and The Saints among others. Thanks to the tech inside of the cassette player, I enjoyed the warm and soft audio quality, but it skips the fuzzy hiss sound. I think the best way to explain it is a cross of the gutsy sonics of vinyl with the clarity of a compact disc.

(Image credit: Future)

Add the headphones into the situation and it does become a uniquely retro listening experience and combo, and had a great time. Users are going to have to be intentional with what tapes they have with them, whether it be an album or a mixtape of their own, but that's all part of the fun.

Avalible now, We Are Rewind has purposefully embraced the past while keeping up with modern audio player trends. A blend of slick style with enough technical sophistication makes this more than a novelty but a different way of consuming music in an instant accessibility age for better or worse. Now I can't wait for when We Are Rewind eventually releases its big $429 portable boombox Blaster player…

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TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2025 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

If you're struggling to find fast internet in Alaska, we know where you should look.

• The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max could have a smaller camera sensor
• However, a boost in megapixels is also expected
• The changes may not make much of a difference to photo quality

The expected launch might still be some eight months off, but we're already hearing numerous leaks and rumors around the Apple iPhone 17 – and the latest tidbit from those in the know suggests the cameras on the Pro and Pro Max models may get both downgrades and upgrades.

According to recognized tipster Digital Chat Station (via MacRumors), the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will sport a triple-lens 48MP+48MP+48MP camera on the back – a jump in megapixels from the triple-lens 48MP+48MP+12MP camera fitted to the rear of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

That's the upgrade, but the downgrade is that the primary 48MP camera is expected to use a 1/1.3-inch sensor rather than a 1/1.28-inch sensor – a small reduction in size. Generally speaking, the larger the sensor the better, as it's able to capture more light and more detail in whatever it is you're taking a photo of.

Rumors around the telephoto camera getting an upgrade from 12MP to 48MP have actually been floating around since last year, but this is the first we've heard about the primary camera having a smaller sensor size.

Spot the difference

The iPhone 16 Pro Max (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

As for how much difference the changes in sensor size and megapixel rating will make, it's hard to say – especially as modern day phones apply so much image processing to photos and videos after they've been captured. The actual hardware doing the capturing is only partly responsible for picture and clip quality.

If the main camera sensors on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are indeed going to be smaller, it may free up some space for other components – like a bigger battery or a more powerful communications chipset (the rumor is that the 2025 iPhones will be the first to use an Apple-made Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip).

This particular rumor doesn't say anything about what might happen to the cameras on the standard iPhone 17. As our iPhone 16 review will tell you, the current model and the iPhone 16 Plus use a dual-lens 48MP+12MP camera setup on the back – and it's possible there will be changes here too.

Perhaps you might even want to wait until 2026 and the iPhone 18: there's been talk that the handset will include a variable aperture on the cameras of the Pro and Pro Max models, meaning better low light shots and more control over depth of field.

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Schlage came to CES 2025 with a new trick: This smart lock uses ultra-wideband to predict exactly when you're reaching for the door.

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• Lenovo stand has motors to move the display to fit the user's position
• It can be voice-controlled as well to make adjustments without accessing the monitor control panel
• The yet-to-be-named curved monitor is likely to be launched under the ThinkVision banner

Lenovo has announced a range of AI-driven concept devices at CES 2025, including an AI-powered display prototype which promises to be more than just a screen.

According to Lenovo (via Yanko Design), this curved AI display adapts to user behavior, monitoring a users' physical activity and nudges them when it detects extended periods of inaction.

Fitted with motors and advanced sensors, the monitor adjusts its tilt, rotation, and height to match the user’s posture in real-time.

Lenovo’s AI-powered monitor

Lenovo claims the focus of the AI display, which comes with a built-in voice control, is to create a healthier, more productive environment.

The company adds this display addresses privacy concerns by featuring sensors which blur the screen when the user steps away, protecting sensitive information from prying eyes.

Though Lenovo has yet to name this curved display, it is expected to debut under the ThinkVision brand, known for its premium monitors.

Though still in the prototype stage, Lenovo's monitor invites an important discussion about the privacy trade-offs we’re willing to make for smarter technology in our lives.

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As a technology journalist, I am open to technological change and the impact of it. But the recent rise of generative AI has left me with a lack of galvanized enthusiasm.

This is not necessarily down to the existential threat generative AI can have on ‘content’ – a big part of my job – and various jobs, art forms, information decimation, and more. Instead, my lackluster view on AI stems from a feeling that it should be pushed further to augment human experiences and society instead of simply taking on usually human-centric work.

Don’t get me wrong, generative AI can do some very useful things; I’ve been impressed with AI-powered transcription and live translation. I also appreciate the likes of Google’s Magic Eraser when it comes to removing unwanted objects from photos. And AI can help with one’s day-to-day organization.

On top of this, Google’s NotebookLM can act as a form of education tool by making podcasts out of articles it’s been fed; an evolution of this, reportedly dubbed Daily Listen, could transform articles in the Google Discover section of Chrome and Android phones into podcasts; this sounds genuinely useful.

However, nearly every advert or use case I’ve seen for generative AI stems from making run-of-the-mill human tasks easier, and often in a way I perceive as mundane at best and utterly joyless at worst.

Sure, Generative Edit via Galaxy AI on the Samsung Galaxy S24 can wholly rework a photograph, but where’s the thrill of going out and creatively snapping the photo you want from the beginning?

Apple’s recent adverts for Apple Intelligence show how generative AI can rework a casual, poorly written email into a formal missive. But, forgive me for sort of sounding elitist, if you’re a professional who can’t write a proper email then maybe you should consider some tutoring rather than rely on AI.

The same goes for artwork; sure, generative AI can help rework a few art assets for, say, games, but if it does it all, where’s the real artistic merit? Also, AI art is painfully mid.

I’ve also been served adverts touting how generative AI can help marketers better create content and generate leads, which is effectively an auxiliary tool for an, arguably, auxiliary business function. It’s all so dull. Where are the AI systems that will really revolutionize things for the greater good rather than help speed up the creation of spreadsheets or flyers?

This push to make human-led tasks easier also has a sting in its tail, with tales of students using the likes of ChatGPT to write their essays, people using it to mass apply for jobs, and other ways of churning out content, potentially without any real thought process and at the risk of eroding education and understanding.

Don’t do as the human do

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The crux of my argument is I don’t think AI shouldn’t be trying to do jobs for humans – sure, it might make businesses in a capitalist world a little bit more money to tout in their yearly financial reports, but at the cost of a creative and vibrant human-led labor market.

Not to sound too socialist, but ultimately, companies exist as a mechanism to help society function so we don’t all go bashing each other’s heads in for a loaf of bread. If AI does replace a lot of work humans do, where does that leave society? Generative AI could free up people to do different things, but its functions so far seem to be doing human-esque tasks wholesale rather than augmenting them and this makes me question what future jobs AI will unlock rather than replace.

I don’t think AI should be doing art, poetry, or other creative pursuits. Ultimately, generative AI simply regurgitates an amalgamation of what we already have based on the way large language models are trained. It doesn’t really create anything truly new like humans do; granted, there’s a whole argument to be had here into what’s really ever new – see Alan Turing’s paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence” – but that’s for another time.

My point here is that generative AI is seemingly being created to take on tasks humans can already do; maybe not always easily, but with some training and effort pretty much everything these AIs can do are within the reach of bipedal organic meatbags.

It’s the same idea as generative AI systems that can seemingly beat the Turing Test; they’re programmed to mimic humans rather than being their own thing.

And it all seems so painfully uninspired despite the technical prowess to get to this point.

Think different

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Sansoen Saengsakaorat)

Instead, I’d much rather see generative AI be used in ways that actually augment human lives and society as a whole by supporting them in tasks and functions instead of replacing them.

Recent reports in the US and UK have shown a lack of qualified teachers to fill vacancies in the education systems. So, to make up for that shortfall, I could see generative AI used as a support tool in teaching, letting students ask questions of a smart system while their teachers are busy, or to host auxiliary classes. Generative AI could also be used to support people with learning difficulties on a 24-hour basis or provide a framework for homeschooling for children who live remotely or struggle with a traditional schooling environment.

On the other end of the spectrum, with a growing elderly population, there’s a burden of care on families and society that wasn’t as acute as before, especially in Western families where families tend to be more spread out. As such, the provision of care, delivered by the state or privately, has become more challenging.

It’s here I could envision a generative AI-powered system with natural-language comprehension acting as a form of 24-hour support, helping answer questions from elderly people and – with the help of robotics – complete tasks such as grocery shopping for them when a human care worker might not be available or overburdened with other tasks.

The same could apply to farming, whereby AI-powered robots could fill a shortage of farmhands. Or said robots could help farm workers, say feeding livestock or stacking hay bales, monitoring lambing season overnight, and supporting human workers rather than just doing a task for them.

There’s also scope for generative AI to be increasingly used to help people seeking therapy but might not feel comfortable opening up to a human; this wouldn't replace the function of human therapists but augment access to therapy for a wider population.

Look, I’m not against generative AI in its current form. It has numerous shortcomings, issues, and a negative environmental impact, all of which need to be worked on for a secure AI future. Yet its potential is vast, ranging from a useful tool to potentially transformative tech.

It's the latter point that I want to see pushed further. Essentially, I’d like to see AI be used to address issues in society, not just help Joe Idle write an email or Sandra Snappy rework a photo in lieu of learning proper photo editing.

There’s already a lot of research being done in AI technology, but we’re still far from a utopia of smart tech; heck, self-driving car systems, which are almost certainly safer than the majority of human drivers, aren’t commonplace despite their use of advanced tech.

Ultimately, I feel if tech behemoths like Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google could put their tech nous into generative AI designed to benefit society rather than deliver punitive profits and erode learning. We could see AI that actually could make the world a better place to the benefit, not replacement, of humans.

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The League Two team makes the short trip to the Etihad Stadium to take on Pep Guardiola's men.

The next generation of Samsung flagships is nearly here – we’re expecting to hear official news of the Samsung Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra by the end of the month – and I suspect that this year's most consequential Galaxy upgrade will have nothing to do with the new phones' appearance.

It’s easy to get excited about the prospect of cutting-edge tech whenever a phone maker announces a new flagship model, but in reality, we’ve generally seen year-on-year progress slow down when it comes to the major components and functions of modern smartphones – at least those that you can see.

The Samsung Galaxy series, for its part, has inhabited roughly the same form factor for half a decade; the Google Pixel series has focused on stabilizing performance with each version; and the iPhone 16 is the first truly new-feeling handset from Apple in years.

We’re again expecting to see a slew of marginally improved specs for the S25 lineup this January, particularly so on the base-model S25 and its identically-specced big sibling, the S25 Plus; both will miss out on the highest-end upgrades destined for the S25 Ultra. For the two ‘standard’ models, the latest S25 specs predictions suggest a bit more RAM, a slightly larger screen, and maybe some bumped-up storage options. Cameras and battery sizes are due to stay the same. It's hardly Christmas, is it?

There is, however, one category where we’re expecting to see much more of an improvement this year, and it’s not one you can see – not without ripping your phone in half, anyway (which TechRadar famously advises against).

Each and every Galaxy S25 model is tipped to launch with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, the latest in Qualcomm’s line of class-leading mobile chipsets. Put simply, this could be a game-changer for performance and instantly rocket Samsung to pole position in the performance race with Apple. Allow me to explain why.

Elite by name, elite by nature

The S25 may look similar to the S24 (pictured), but big boosts under the hood could make for a radically different experience. (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

For those not in the know, the Snapdragon 8 Elite follows up the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 – already one of the most powerful mobile chipsets ever produced – and improves (by Qualcomm’s own metrics) on that chipset's single and multi-core performance by 45%; it also offers vastly improved power efficiency.

When TechRadar’s US Mobiles Editor Philip Berne ran preliminary benchmarks on the 8 Elite, he found that Qualcomm's latest effort almost doubled the scores attained by the A18 Pro in the iPhone 16 Pro.

Keep in mind that, at a predicted price of $799 / £799 / AU$1,399, the baseline S25 will compete with the iPhone 16 and its less powerful A18 chipset, rather than with the iPhone 16 Pro. Should these benchmarks translate into real-world performance, the race between Apple and Samsung could end up resembling me chasing after a Dodge Charger on foot (as per our Google Pixel 9 Pro review, Google’s Tensor chipsets aren’t quite in the conversation yet).

What does this mean for the average user? Essentially, an even faster Galaxy handset – speedier load times, smoother app switching, and expanded AI possibilities. "Benchmarks aren’t everything," Qualcomm told us at Snapdragon Summit last year, and even though, as mentioned, the 8 Elite's benchmark scores are indeed mightily impressive, Qualcomm is equally keen to shout about the tangible, real-world benefits of its latest chipset.

The key specs of the Snapdragon 8 Elite (Image credit: Qualcomm)

With rumors swirling of a massive AI push from Samsung this year, we could see the S25 lineup enter our list of the best AI phones thanks to this increased hardware power, which should empower users to make better use of Samsung’s productivity and generative AI alike. What’s more, the S25 and S25 Plus are tipped to launch with 12GB of RAM, 4GB more than the previous generation, giving these new phones even more headroom for AI and multitasking.

We don’t even need to wait for the S25 series to launch to see the Snapdragon 8 Elite in action – the first globally available phones to sport the new chipset landed in December 2024 in the form of the Asus Rog Phone 9 and Rog Phone 9 Pro gaming phones. In our Asus Rog Phone 9 Pro review, the latter attained a 5/5 score for performance thanks to its exceptional consistency, improved gaming, and excellent graphical performance. It’ll be up to Samsung to optimize around the needs of the everyday user with the S25 series.

Samsung has never been a slouch when it comes to performance – in our Galaxy S24 review, we found the company’s most recent baseline flagship to be hot on the heels of the S24 Ultra in the power department – but the gains brought about by the Snapdragon 8 Elite could prove truly superlative, and may even offer S24 users a compelling reason to upgrade this year.

All that being said, most of the above is still based on rumors for the time being, so be sure to keep up with our Samsung phones coverage for the latest official information as wear hear it from Samsung.

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