Technology

• Google is offering the US government a “temporary” 71% discount
• Gemini was the first AI assistant to get FedRAMP High Authorization
• $2 billion in savings, a 99% uptime SLA, interoperability and more are promised

Google has revealed plans to shatter Microsoft’s dominance when it comes to being the main software provider for the US government by introducing significant discounts to become more competitive.

Google Workspace is now being offered to all federal agencies at a huge 71% discount via a government-wide deal, Tony Orlando, GM Specialty Sales for Google Public Sector, confirmed in a blog post.

“Government agencies rely on IT providers to provide secure, compliant, and efficient technology to help complete their vital missions,” Orlando wrote.

Google Workspace now 71% cheaper for US government agencies

Orlando confirmed that “Workspace is a FedRAMP High authorized communication and collaboration platform,” combining popular apps like Drive, Docs and Meet with more modern developments like Gemini AI and enhanced collaboration. Gemini was also the first AI assistant to receive FedRAMP High Authorization.

Google already supports “hundreds of thousands” of workers from across the Department of Energy and the Air Force Research Laboratory with its software, and it hopes to be able to attract more users away from Microsoft’s ecosystem.

The company reckons Federal agencies could save up to $2 billion over three years with government-wide adoption, and although the comparison is not cited, it’s possible that this is a dig to current Microsoft contracts.

The 71% discount across Google Workspace Enterprise Plus and Assured Controls Plus is seen as a temporary discount to coincide with Trump’s desire for the government to be treated as a single buyer through the centralization of IT contracts and purchasing.

Speaking about the benefits of Google Workspace, Orlando noted strong security, a 99% uptime SLA, excellent interoperability, AI-enhanced productivity and new efficiencies.

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• Audeze LCD-S20 are its cheapest planar magnetic headphones
• Closed-back, with SLAM tech for big bass
• Available from May 2025, for £499 / $499 (about AU$1,045)

There are two things I know to be true: planar magnetic headphones sound fantastic, and planar magnetic headphones are often terrifyingly expensive. But the newly announced LCD-S20 headphones from Audeze are a fraction of the price of the same firm's flagship cans, at a mere £499 / $499 / about AU$1,045.

That's still high-priced among the best wired headphones, but these could be excellent: we've reviewed Audeze's planar magnetic gaming headphones, the Audeze LCD-X, and thought they were phenomenal (and heavy, something of an Audeze tradition: these new headphones are 550g).

We said that "The LCD-X goes toe to toe with some of the best dynamic driver headphones on the market without breaking a sweat." So I'm intrigued by the new LCD-S20, which promise similar sonics for considerably less cash.

Audeze's headphones promise serious sound for people with strong necks: they're 550g (Image credit: Audeze) Audeze LCD-S20: key features

The Audeze LCD-S20 headphones are closed-back models, meaning they'll passively block out some outside sound, and they're the first planar headphones to get Audeze's SLAM technology. That's short for Symmetric Linear Acoustic Modulator and we first saw it in the flagship – and nearly $6K / £4.5K – CRBN2 electrostatic headphones last year.

SLAM uses finely tuned acoustic channels to deliver more linear diaphragm movement, and according to Audeze that means significantly improved and more accurate bass as well as better imaging. The promise here is something closer to open-back sonics with closed-back isolation.

The drivers are 90mm and feature a trio of Audaze technologies: Fluxor magnets, Fazor waveguides and Uniforce voice coils that "deliver the accurate, ultra-low distortion sound quality that Audeze is known for."

The chassis is based on the one from the Maxwell headset and features a spring-steel headband, forged aluminum yolks and high-strength glass-infused nylon parts.

The LCD-S20 is the first Audeze headphone with a new magnetic earpad attachment system that enables you to quickly and easily swap or replace the earpads. And the cable is detachable and swappable between left and right to suit your setup.

They're out in May 2025, and we can't wait to compare them to the best over-ear headphones – we love a planar.

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• Wix introduced Astro, a new AI chatbot
• The tool is designed to track and optimize websites, and more
• It is available for English users right now

Wix, one of the best website builders on the market, has just launched a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) business assistant, designed to track and optimize websites, create new content, expand business, and more. The AI tool, called Astro, boasts “hundreds” of different skills and capabilities, with more being added every day.

“Astro seamlessly integrates powerful capabilities into a single interface, making it easier than ever for users to manage their businesses efficiently,” said Guy Sopher, Head of the AI Platform Group at Wix. “With this being the largest collection of skills we’ve ever incorporated into a single assistant at Wix, boasting hundreds of different skills and capabilities, with more added every day, Astro acts as a trusted guide, and provides real-time insights and personalized recommendations to help users optimize their sites.”

With Astro, users will be able to query and perform different business and back-office tasks through conversational input.

Available now

In a press release shared with TechRadar Pro earlier this week, Wix explained the different capabilities of the business assistant, including data-driven insights and optimization (users can track their site’s performance and analyze visitor behavior), content creation (users can generate and manage blogs, media, email marketing, and social copy), business expansions (by adding new products, exploring dropshipping options, and more), and seamless subscription and permission management (users can manage premium plans, personalized recommendations, and more).

At first, the tool will be available for Wix and Wix Studio users in English, with a “gradual” rollout for other languages.

The company also said that Astro will be the first in a series of agents planned to be rolled out to Wix users, “setting the stage for enhanced productivity and providing more opportunities to monetize and grow their businesses.”

Wix has been adding AI assistants to different parts of its offering for a while now, including the AI theme assistant, a virtual agent for customers, and the Business Launcher.

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• QR code phishing is on the rise
• These attacks claimed over 1,300 victims in 2024
• Cybercriminals are disguising their QR codes as legitimate payment methods

A relatively new cyber threat, “Quishing”, or QR code phishing is claiming more victims in the UK than ever, with Action Fraud receiving 1,386 reports of incidents last year, a serious increase from 2019 where 100 attacks were recorded, the BBC reports.

These are especially prevalent in “contactless payment hotspots” like parking meters and restaurant menus, where criminals will stick their own malicious QR code over an existing legitimate QR code.

Victims of these scams are urged to scan a malicious QR code using their phones, and then redirected to websites controlled by criminals, and are prompted to hand over their financial information by a fake payment page, or malware is deployed to their device.

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Caution is key

These attacks are difficult to spot even after the fact, as criminals often take smaller amounts but more frequently, disguising the payments as legitimate-looking subscriptions or parking charges for example - which fly under the radar and aren’t always reported.

“QR codes were designed to make things more convenient but threat actors have taken advantage of this and cleverly made cloned and fake sites that look authentic at the end of a click,” comments Jake Moore, Global Cybersecurity advisor at ESET.

“QR scams can often be difficult to protect against as there is very little that immediately meets the eye to make the user aware of anything fraudulent. It can be difficult to tell these codes apart especially when the link that the QR code generates doesn’t look any different to what you may expect such as a parking payment website.”

As with all social engineering attacks, the key to staying safe is staying vigilant. Only scan QR codes you are 100% certain are safe, and never hand out your payment information to an unverified source.

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Bungie is bringing back one of its oldest franchises.

The Nintendo Switch's best games include Pokemon, Zelda, Mario and Metroid games, alongside indie hits and multiplayer party games.

"It's very hard to get artists and creators to use models that have been trained on their own work," said co-founder and CEO Naeem Talukdar.

• Visual Suite 2.0 brings lots of new AI features to Canva
• Canva Sheets sits somewhere between a spreadsheet app and a project manager
• You can build your own custom, interactive mini-apps with Canva Code and Anthropic

In a bid to maintain its market share of the creative market amid increased pressure from Adobe, which has bid big on artificial intelligence, Canva has announced a series of upgrades to enhance worker efficiency.

With the Canva AI Assistant, users can generate images, copy and design ideas to set them off in the right direction, with document and mock-up creation handled by the assistant.

AI’s utility deepens with the launch of Canva Code, via a partnership with Claude-maker Anthropic, because users can also create their own min-apps like maps and calculators without extensive coding or development knowledge.

Canva launches more powerful AI tools

Canva co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins shared an overview of all the new features in a blog post, noting the company’s goal to make design “simple, joyful, collaborative, and truly accessible.” The self-proclaimed “biggest product launch yet” comes in the form of Visual Suite 2.0, which promises to bring together all use cases such as presentations, videos, whiteboards and websites into one new format.

Among the key launches is Canva Sheets, a new spreadsheet template that sits somewhere between being a conventional spreadsheet for quantitative data and a project management app. Magic Insights and Magic Formulas use AI to “do the heavy lifting for you,” and the integration with the rest of Visual Suite 2.0 makes it easy to link to other content.

Boasting about the more than 16 billion times users have access Canva Magic Studio, Perkins shared some other handy AI enhancements, such as a text-filling Magic Write tool and Magic Resize for creating images in different aspect ratios for social media campaigns.

Adding even more functionality into the creative suite, Canva Code allows users to use natural language prompts to describe ideas for interactive elements, which are then built automatically without the need for any hardcore programming.

Visual Suite 2.0 is now available to try from the Canva homepage.

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• ChatGPT's next big upgrade could arrive next week
• GPT-4.1 would be the successor to 4o
• Just yesterday, Sam Altman announced major memory upgrades coming to the chatbot

The next generation of OpenAI's GPT models could launch as soon as next week, with a new report hinting at the arrival of ChatGPT 4.1 to replace 4o.

An exclusive from The Verge reveals sources close to OpenAI have confirmed that the next major ChatGPT release is just around the corner. The report claims "one source describes [the new model] as a revamped version of OpenAI’s GPT-4o multimodal model."

The source claims OpenAI will launch "GPT-4.1 alongside smaller GPT-4.1 mini and nano versions as soon as next week." This release would mark a major step forward for ChatGPT.

Over the last few months, Google Gemini and DeepSeek have continuously improved, closing the gap with OpenAI's flagship model. You'd expect these new models to propel OpenAI back to the top spot.

AI engineer Tibor Blaho found code in the new ChatGPT web app version mentioning "o4-mini", "o4-mini-high" and "o3" which would imply the new GPT models are likely to arrive very soon.

Just yesterday, OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, announced major memory upgrades coming to ChatGPT which means the AI chatbot can remember every conversation it has with a user.

This upgrade, which is likely to be part of any new GPT means ChatGPT can now take that next step to becoming your personal assistant. Whether that's referencing previous conversations or the AI having full awareness of your past interactions, a new memory upgrade is a major improvement coming to ChatGPT.

we have greatly improved memory in chatgpt--it can now reference all your past conversations!this is a surprisingly great feature imo, and it points at something we are excited about: ai systems that get to know you over your life, and become extremely useful and personalized.April 10, 2025

What's in a name?

The name of the incoming update is not confirmed, although The Verge believes it will be called GPT 4.1.

If OpenAI goes down the 4.1 route, it will continue to make the AI giant's model naming scheme incredibly convoluted. At the end of last year, OpenAI mentioned that the company hoped to create an all-encompassing model in the future, which would not require the user to select between models.

If ChatGPT 4.1 releases next week, we'd really be hoping to see that all-encompassing model sooner rather than later, as trying to explain the differences between 4.1, 4.5, and o3 would start to get very complicated indeed.

Naming aside, a new OpenAI AI model is a huge deal, and if these sources are correct and we see a new launch in the next week or so, it could be another major step towards the AI future these tech CEOs are pursuing.

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• Microsoft’s published a new article featuring Windows 11 tips that doubles as a prod to upgrade to the newer OS
• The trouble is there’s a baffling selection of ‘strong’ points highlighted
• There are some good reasons to upgrade to Windows 11, but none of them are presented by this document

In case you hadn’t noticed (unlikely), Microsoft wants Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11 – if it’s at all possible and their PC fulfils the spec requirements for the newer operating system – and we’ve just caught wind of another attempt to prod folks to make that leap.

This is a new article on Microsoft’s ‘Learning Center’ portal noticed by Neowin which is called ‘7 tips to get the most out of Windows 11,’ and is an effort to persuade Windows 10 holdouts.

Microsoft begins the piece: “So, you’ve heard the buzz about Windows 11, but is it worth the upgrade? From productivity tools to sleek designs, Windows 11 is packed with features that make your life easier. If you’re still on Windows 10, now’s a good time to make the switch – especially with support for Windows 10 ending in October 2025.”

Essentially, the idea appears to be that it’s a list of tips which double as strong points of Windows 11. So, buckle up, let’s take a look at this collection and see what we make of it.

The initial tip is to ‘Make the Start Menu your own’ and it points out that it’s easy to customize said menu. Microsoft informs us: “You can pin your favorite apps, rearrange tiles, or even resize the whole thing to suit your vibe.” You can indeed, but highlighting the Start menu is an odd choice here, seeing as it’s a piece of Windows 11 that a lot of folks aren’t that happy with for one reason or another.

Also, customization is relatively limited in some respects. For example, want to get rid of the ‘recommendations’ section? You can’t – but to be fair, this ability might be inbound in a major redesign for the Start menu, so Microsoft appears to be listening to feedback, thankfully.

Then we have a couple of tips for rather niche features. The second point is to use snap layouts, which consist of multiple apps ‘snapped’ or fitted neatly together to enable them to be viewed simultaneously across your monitor screen. They’re a nice idea, but really something that you’ll use, or you won’t – and there are a good many folks in the latter category. The third tip, to use virtual desktops to keep, say, your work life and personal desktop separate, is something that the majority of Windows users won’t ever go near.

Then we’re told widgets are great – hmm, some folks might enjoy them, but again, they’re more of a minority thing, albeit a feature Microsoft seems unhealthily obsessed with – and we’re reminded that you can use focus sessions for better productivity (once more, most people won’t, though).

Tip six points out that you can use Windows Hello for login (you can on Windows 10, too, though to be fair, the feature is enhanced on Windows 11), and Microsoft’s final tip is to use dark mode (again, this is present on Windows 10, albeit the implementation is better on the newer OS once more).

(Image credit: Shutterstock) Analysis: Some odd choices indeed

Overall, this represents an odd collection of tips and possible reasons to hop on the Windows 11 train. There are certainly more compelling arguments to take the plunge with Microsoft’s newest OS, including better security under-the-hood for starters, and smoother overall performance compared to Windows 10.

Indeed, there are some neat features for PC gamers, such as Auto HDR mode, or DirectStorage for speeding up games considerably (where it’s supported, and that’ll eventually be a much wider array of titles).

Or what about some of the great accessibility features that Windows 11 has introduced? Or the new AI features that’ve been drafted in (some of which are for Copilot+ PCs only, admittedly, but not all of them).

Microsoft’s article fails miserably in terms of the meat here to persuade people to pull the upgrade trigger, and even rather falls flat when it comes to pointing out the bits of Windows 11 that you really need to know about for those who’ve just installed the OS and need some initial tips to help find their way around.

Of course, with Windows 10’s End of Life now looming very large, you’re going to have to examine the realities of a Windows 11 upgrade before long, anyway – that or the alternatives such as paying to maintain Windows 10 support for another year through to October 2026.

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• Amazon sees itself as the world’s largest startup
• Aggressive AI investments are key to future growth
• CEO Andy Jassy continues to advocate for in-person working

Emphasizing how aggressive investments into artificial intelligence can realize long-term financial gains, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy noted in his most recent shareholder letter that the ecommerce and cloud computing giant intends to spend over $100 billion on capital expenditure in 2025, with most of it going to AWS AI projects.

He described the tech as a “once-in-a-lifetime reinvention of everything we know,” with promises to revolutionize everything from customer experiences to workplace productivity.

The letter came around two months after the company posted its fourth-quarter and year-end financial results for 2024, with total revenue up 11% year-over-year to $638 billion.

Andy Jassy believes aggressive AI investment is the best plan for the future

Jassy noted that the “rapid rate of change in technology, customer habits, and new products” makes it hard for Amazon to deliver year after year on its core goal: “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company.”

On a similar note to Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke’s recent comment about long-term learning, Jassy also advocated for leaders and workers to continue learning throughout their entire career.

It’s not just aggressive investments that liken Amazon to some startups – the CEO highlighted how organized chaos can also create a more innovative environment. “[Tolerate] messy meetings,” he said… “You can’t book 60 minutes to invent Amazon Prime, or AWS.”

Where Amazon might differ from smaller and more modern companies is in workforce agility and flexibility, because Amazon is notoriously pro-office-based working. In recent post-pandemic years, the company has pushed for a widespread return-to-office, and Jassy reiterated the purported increase in ad-hoc collaboration and brainstorming when workers are together.

As his letter draws to a close, Jassy highlights seven traits that make Amazon similar in nature to startups: a focus on solving a real customer problem or meaningfully improving a customer experience; a need for ‘builders’ who dissect and improve; a desire for ‘owners’ who take responsibility; speed; relative team leanness; a willingness to take risks; and a commitment to deliver results for customers.

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The promise of a lot what we currently call AI is that these tools can streamline some of the most tedious bits of life. They can summarize that meeting you missed without having to read a transcript or they can trim a video without you manually cutting every silent second. Adobe has taken that to the next stage with its new range of AI agent features.

Adobe’s new agentic AI actively takes on full tasks, not just bits of larger projects. It can suggest edits in Photoshop and make them happen with a click. The AI can analyze hours of raw video footage in Premiere Pro, then make a judgment call about the best clips, assemble a rough cut, and even make color corrections. The AI agents will build an animated flyer from scratch in Express and read your PDFs in Acrobat, highlighting what they believe matters. They will even use them to produce a full sales pitch.

The idea of delegating the mind-numbing roles to AI so you can focus on the parts that engage your mind creatively is appealing. Adobe isn’t wrong when it says this could significantly shift how people carry out these projects. But it's also a moment fraught with uncertain implications.

The more we let the AI handle the heavy lifting, the fewer hours we spend manually adjusting every image or organizing the minutes of every meeting, and the easier it becomes for those passing out those assignments to devalue the creativity underlying the toil.

It’s easy to tell ourselves we’re still in control. That we’re just tweaking what the machine gives us. But at some point, if all we’re doing is picking from drop-downs and nudging sliders, how much of the “creative” in the “creative process” is left?

Creative business

Adobe says this isn’t about replacing creativity but amplifying it. The AI isn’t the artist; it’s the assistant. And in many ways, that’s true. The AI doesn’t know your brand voice, your weird sense of humor, or your obsession with putting subtle frog references in every campaign.

It can’t feel the rush of a good idea or the gut instinct that something just works. It doesn’t daydream in the shower or scribble storyboards on napkins. It just calculates.

Artists, whether professional painters, commercial designers, or guerrilla documentarians, all understand that the AI's help is only as good as the human vision. Even so, there are plenty of people who would reason that if an AI can generate 10 polished options in seconds, then it's not worth paying a human to spend hours coming up with one that may not work out.

After all, why wrestle with structure, tone, or typography when your digital agent is happy to make those calls for you?

In a business context, speed and cost often win out. If the AI can generate something that’s “good enough,” will anyone fight for the slower, messier, more human-made alternative?

If a marketing department can produce entire campaigns in minutes that are on-brand, on-message, and 85% ready to go, how long before creative teams become more like editors, checking the machine’s work rather than making their own?

Uncertain visions

This isn't happening today or tomorrow or even next year. There are still a thousand tiny decisions that only a human can make, or at least make well. The inevitable mockery and outrage that greets attempts to delegate creative tasks to AI fully makes that clear.

Remember the ad Google had for the Olympics suggesting a little girl use AI to write a fan letter? There's a reason Google had to answer a lot of questions about the point of that ad. There’s still a soul in the work. But the slope is starting to feel a little slippery.

I don't claim to have all the solutions, but I do have a few ideas on how to think about AI's place among creative tools. I do think there's a place for it, but at the same time, the more people and companies that reserve space in a project for actual creative exploration, the better.

Related to that, talking about the value of AI is certainly worthwhile, but it shouldn't outweigh highlighting human creativity. AI might be 'good enough' almost always, but rough ideas, weird experiments, and even bad drafts are still worth making. Sometimes, they're the only things worth remembering.

Creative future

Adobe does seem to get this. They talk a lot about keeping the human in the loop in their announcement, about making the creator the director and the agent the crew. They describe how these tools are transparent, responsive, and in service of creative goals. And for now, that feels mostly true. You can reject suggestions. You can still do things the long way. You’re not being forced to hand over the reins.

It still feels like a potential cultural shift as much as a technological one. The future Adobe is working toward is one where creative professionals may be expected to do more, faster, with fewer people, by relying on agents that never sleep and don’t charge hourly rates. That’s great for productivity. Maybe less great for careers built on the slow, joyful chaos of making stuff.

Agentic AI is not the death of creativity, but it might constrain its presence without conscious effort. If we don’t pay attention and let speed and convenience dictate artistic efforts, creativity might become mostly a hobby and not something valued outside of that. If ideas come from prompts and output comes from agents, humans will mostly be there to sign off.

That doesn’t have to happen. These tools can be incredible if we use them intentionally. They can give beginners a head start and help pros focus on what matters most. They can democratize design and storytelling in ways we’ve never seen. I'm sure we can come up with all new ways for creativity to flourish beyond the reach of any AI if we use our imagination.

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