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• Similiarweb data claims DeepSeek’s usage doubled to 12 million people worldwide in the space of two days
• Release of DeepSeek’s R1 model has prompted panic in Western AI leaders worried about their bottom line
• ChatGPT continues to outperform DeepSeek in sheer page hits, but not in growth

In the space of two weeks, open source and MIT-licenced Chinese large language model (LLM) DeepSeek has taken the AI tool world by storm, sending Western AI-leader Nvidia stock plummeting and prompting OpenAI’s Sam Altman to accuse DeepSeek’s developers of using its models to train theirs.

Western AI figureheads are right to be on their toes, as new data shared exclusively with TechRadar Pro from Similarweb has shown DeepSeek’s centralised web and mobile app version (the nature of open source means that users can run various models locally on their own hardware, which Similarweb would not have data for) is seeing considerable growth.

ChatGPT versus DeepSeek

Let’s zero in on late January, as that’s when DeepSeek’s new, advanced ‘R1’ model was released. Between January 24 and January 26 2025, worldwide daily visits to DeepSeek doubled from 6.2 million to 12.4 million.

Blips in DeepSeek’s page traffic did come in the week before the model’s release, with a pronounced drop of 900,000 page views between January 15 and 18. Since January 19 (the day before the model’s release), however, the service saw steady, albeit inconsistent growth, culminating in that two-day surge; the latest data we have.

ChatGPT, meanwhile, has seen precipitous drops in page traffic before and during the release period for R1, indicating it may have already become old-hat in the eyes of many with their eye on the LLM space without DeepSeek entering the fray. The service lost 43.1 million views between January 15-18, while the biggest fall post-R1’s release came between January 23-25, with a loss of 41.3 million views.

It’s possible these are natural ebbs and flows, and that ChatGPT is bound to see bigger losses because it’s a larger operation that has been in the public consciousness for longer. It’s also important to note, although ChatGPT has seen these recent drops, the losses still amount to four times the amount of views that DeepSeek has amassed according to the latest SimilarWeb data. ChatGPT is hardly ‘dying’, either; it still managed a strong peak of 140.6 million views on January 23, three days after the release of DeepSeek R1.

The main worry, then, is growth; ChatGPT seems to have run out of it; amassing an average of 126.9 million page views in the week of DeepSeek’s latest model release, and only being able to achieve sporadic daily peaks of around 140 million views over non-consecutive days in that period. Both of these figures don’t represent growth over previous months according to the data. A glance at the available SimilarWeb figures tells me that ChatGPT was pulling in comparable numbers as late as December 2024 and as early as September.

DeepSeek may have only amassed a mean average of 7.45 million views in the same period, but that two-day doubling will concern interested competitors. The questions in play, that we just don’t know the answer to yet, are ‘how long will this rate of growth continue’ and ‘can DeepSeek become a meaningful long-term competitor in AI’? While anyone keen on competition in the space (specifically from a model able to be hosted locally) might be hopeful about the latter, the fact remains ChatGPT is a juggernaut, and it’ll be no easy feat.

What is DeepSeek?

In case you missed it, DeepSeek is a Chinese company that has managed to train R1, a model “on par with ChatGPT” and Copilot for $6 million (£4.8 million), a fraction of the cost of the $78 million] spent by OpenAI in training its latest GPT-4, all while the country endures an embargo of powerful high-end graphical processing units (GPUs) from the West.

DeepSeek began as a startup in May 2023, with founder Liang Wenfeng putting his stockpiling of Nvidia GPUs down to “curiosity” as opposed to business acumen in 2021 - before former US President Joe Biden introduced export sanctions on semiconductors to China in October 2022.

For SMBs, DeepSeek R1 is freely available on Github, and, being MIT-licensed, represents a significant opportunity for low-cost AI chatbot implementation. It’s a powerful model that, unlike ChatGPT or Copilot, can be run locally, and on modest hardware.

While rumbles of data leaks have emerged surrounding the web and Android app versions, it’s important to note that running the model yourself allows for sidestepping these concerns.

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• Squarespace teams up with Barry Keoghan for new Super Bowl ad campaign
• A comedy teaser video is available to watch
• The ad will air between the 1st and 2nd quarters at Super Bowl LIX

When I woke up this morning I didn’t think I’d be talking about bath water drinking actors, donkeys, and one of the world’s most watched sporting events - but here I am - thanks for making my day a little weirder Squarespace.

Earlier this month Squarespace, one of the best website builders, released a short teaser from the company's upcoming Super Bowl 2025 ad campaign. It offered few details beyond an unidentifiable man riding a donkey down a country track.

Yesterday, everything became a little clearer after I received a press release from Squarespace detailing some exciting new details about the ‘A Tale As Old As Websites’ Super Bowl ad campaign.

It is now revealed that the mystery man is Barry Keoghan, the Irish actor, perhaps best known for that scene in Saltburn. In this ad campaign Barry ditches his questionable methods of hydration in favor of a furry four legged friend.

Although the actual ad remains a closely guarded secret, the company has released a comedic short film titled Barry and Moseley to help build anticipation. The clip includes behind-the-scenes footage of Barry along with his co-star, discussing the donkey’s career prospects and creating a website using the Squarespace website builder.

Squarespace’s Super Bowl 2025 campaign

This is the 11th Super Bowl appearance from Squarespace. With costs for a 30-second spot reportedly sky rocketing from $7 million in 2024 to $8 million in 2025, it is clear that the company continues to see the value of this insanely expensive ad spot.

Squarespace will be hoping to continue a string of Super Bowl ad successes following its 2024 Super Bowl ad, directed by and starring legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese, which was seen by a share of a predicted audience of 210 million.

We heard from Nate Skinner, Senior Director of Brand and Creative Strategy at Squarespace:

"In today’s media landscape, the Super Bowl remains one of the rare opportunities to captivate millions at once. It’s more than a moment to advertise - it’s a chance to share a story that resonates with a massive and diverse audience. To capitalize, you have to entertain and find creative ways to stand out.” Nate shared “By teaming up with the incredibly talented Barry Keoghan and crafting a humorous tale set in a bygone era, we’ve created a campaign that’s designed to inspire entrepreneurs to dream big and take their ideas to the next level."

The new ad was directed by Steve Rogers and will be run between the 1st and 2nd quarters. It will be shown alongside ads from other big businesses including website building and hosting company GoDaddy, Budweiser, Hellmann’s, and Uber Eats.

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OpenAI showed off its first AI Agent, Operator, last week, but it already has a scrappy competitor offering an AI tool called Browser Use that can complete tasks online for you. This Computer-Using Agent (CUA) can write, search, click buttons, and copy information from websites without you needing to touch the mouse or keyboard and without the $200-a-month ChatGPT Pro subscription.

Browser Use is actually free, at least if you're willing and able to spend some time playing with API code. I'm not very code-literate, but I naively thought I knew enough of how GitHub works to use the API version. Hours of sifting through documentation, tweaking settings, and watching examples later, I decided this would need a deeper level of coding knowledge than I have, let alone the average person browsing the web.

Happily, for me, Browser Use just debuted a cloud version that employs OpenAI's own GPT-4o model. It cuts out a lot of the heavy technical lifting and streamlines things into a more familiar chat format without any extra work. It has its limitations and costs $30, but after my inept API mess, it felt like a bargain. And even in this (still obviously unfinished) form, you still need to put some effort into engineering prompts and negotiating how the AI functions. The most limiting aspect is that you can only issue one prompt before having to start a new interaction. Despite the text box, you can’t respond to what the AI does and refine your request.

Buying AI

(Image credit: Screenshots from Browser Use)

With everything set up, I put Browser Use through a few real-world tests. First up was a price comparison task. I entered the prompt: "Navigate to Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart and search for 'MacBook Air M2'. Extract the product name, price, and stock availability from the first five results on each site. Compare the prices and identify the lowest one. If discounts or coupons are present, record them. Provide a final summary with the best deal and where to buy it."

It did the job well, though it didn’t find any hidden discounts or coupons. Still, the fact that I could automate price tracking across multiple sites was pretty exciting. That said, a continuing issue for any agent like this comes when a website wants to check that you're human. Browser Use has a button that lets you take over whenever you want, but it will also alert you when there's a need. You can prove your humanity and then hit resume to let the AI take over again.

(Image credit: Screenshots from Browser Use) Fly AI

(Image credit: Screenshots from Browser Use)

Next came a travel planning task with the prompt: "Search for a round-trip flight from New York to London on Dec 15, 2025 on British Air. Select the cheapest option and extract details, including price, airline, and departure time."

Browser Use delivered, pulling up a British Airways flight at $750, complete with departure time and other relevant details. This could be incredibly useful for people who book a lot of travel, especially if you automate it to check for price drops regularly.

Fair weather AI friend

(Image credit: Screenshots from Browser Use)

Finally, I tested out weather prediction and planning with the prompt: “Check the 7-day weather forecast for New York City on weather.com and summarize temperature trends, rain chances, and any severe weather warnings and then suggest how to dress for it.”

Weather is one of the most popular uses for voice assistants, so I wanted to see how the AI handled a more complex request in that vein. It did very well, not only extracting the information from the forecast but suggesting which days to wear a light coat and which days I should “insulate with a warm coat and scarf, as it will be chilly with low rain chance.”

Power trip

The key difference between the two is accessibility. Browser Use is like a Swiss Army knife for developers. It has the flexibility to do almost anything within a browser, but you need to know how to use the tools. You can dig into the code, tweak it, and mold it to your exact needs. If a feature is missing, nothing’s stopping you from adding it. Browser Use, being open-source, also has an active developer community constantly refining it. That means if you run into issues, there are forums and GitHub discussions where you can likely find answers.

OpenAI’s Operator, on the other hand, is like hiring a butler. It does a lot for you but within certain constraints. Operator’s strength is its integration with OpenAI’s broader AI ecosystem, giving it access to proprietary models that can make more nuanced decisions. However, you’re locked into OpenAI’s pricing structure and limited customization options.

Browser Use isn’t perfect. Even its cloud version demands some patience. You need to craft your prompts carefully, brace yourself for troubleshooting, and occasionally start over. The cloud version may make up for some of this later, but for now, the limits of not being able to edit or respond within the conversation put hard limits on its otherwise flexible nature.

And the speed can be frustrating as well. Check out a video of my second test; this is four times the speed of the actual process.

Right now, Browser Use is best suited for people who enjoy tinkering, such as developers, researchers, and automation geeks who don’t mind getting their hands dirty. If you’re willing to put in the effort, you’ll get a powerful, flexible tool that costs way less than its competition.

But if you’d rather not spend your weekend wrestling with configuration files, Operator may be the more forgiving option. Either way, web automation is ready for a boom.

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Here's everywhere you can hail a ride, and where else Waymo will soon arrive.

Clinical trials may have to be scrapped, research applications will be pushed back, and unpaid researchers will quickly leave the sector—even if the Trump administration’s funding pause is only temporary.

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 #1104) - 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 #1104) - 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 2.

Quordle today (game #1104) - 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 #1104) - 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 3.

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 #1104) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• F

• B

• F

• F

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

Quordle today (game #1104) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1104, are…

• FACET
• BLISS
• FLUFF
• FRANK

Another very tricky set of words and very close to being an F for Fail.

In order to complete today’s Quordle I had to tune in to the setters' mindset and think about how they would make it difficult, so I went with FLUFF instead of the other options I had, and gambled that the final word would be a double-letter too. It worked.

Sadly, I didn’t employ the same intuition for the Sequence and failed to guess DIZZY. Kudos if you got that.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1104) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1104, are…

• TWINE
• BLUSH
• LEAVE
• DIZZY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1103, Friday 31 January: PARER, SYNOD, BRAWN, BANJO
• Quordle #1102, Thursday 30 January: WEEDY, CHIRP, STALE, SUGAR
• Quordle #1101, Wednesday 29 January: CROWN, SCENE, AGILE, CRANK
• Quordle #1100, Tuesday 28 January: TOKEN, DAISY, INANE, PLIED
• Quordle #1099, Monday 27 January: ANGEL, GLOBE, MAYOR, BRAVE
• Quordle #1098, Sunday 26 January: WATER, ORBIT, BRIDE, TOUCH
• Quordle #1097, Saturday 25 January: GIVER, GROOM, GUSTO, MAKER
• Quordle #1096, Friday 24 January: GRIND, STOCK, SERVE, TOUCH
• Quordle #1095, Thursday 23 January: RUGBY, SASSY, WORRY, BANAL
• Quordle #1094, Wednesday 22 January: SLANT, TRUNK, WOOZY, EATEN
• Quordle #1093, Tuesday 21 January: CHART, VIGOR, PRINT, SPAWN
• Quordle #1092, Monday 20 January: SIXTY, THONG, TATTY, ROBIN
• Quordle #1091, Sunday 19 January: WREST, RINSE, SCOUR, CANNY
• Quordle #1090, Saturday 18 January: BLARE, ITCHY, BICEP, PIPER
• Quordle #1089, Friday 17 January: CATCH, WEARY, SWOON, LATHE
• Quordle #1088, Thursday 16 January: PARTY, BLUNT, TWEED, PLANT
• Quordle #1087, Wednesday 15 January: RISEN, PLATE, RURAL, ENVOY
• Quordle #1086, Tuesday 14 January: SWARM, SCRAP, ONION, BELCH
• Quordle #1085, Monday 13 January: EYING, GIDDY, CHEAP, PETAL
• Quordle #1084, Sunday 12 January: BRIEF, PETAL, WOMAN, FELON

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 #601) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• MATCH
• SHADE
• CHALLENGE
• CLUE
• CONTEST
• SUSPECT
• CHORD
• TONE
• DEAL
• HUE
• DETECTIVE
• QUESTION
• POSE
• ALIBI
• DISPUTE
• TINGE

NYT Connections today (game #601) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Colorful words
• GREEN: Whodunnit? 
• BLUE: “.. and another thing”
• PURPLE: Begin with two words that rhyme with biker

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 #601) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: TINT 
• GREEN: COMPONENTS OF A MYSTERY 
• BLUE: TAKE ISSUE WITH 
• PURPLE: STRIKE A __ 

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

NYT Connections today (game #601) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #601, are…

• YELLOW: TINT HUE, SHADE, TINGE, TONE
• GREEN: COMPONENTS OF A MYSTERY ALIBI, CLUE, DETECTIVE, SUSPECT
• BLUE: TAKE ISSUE WITH CHALLENGE, CONTEST, DISPUTE, QUESTION
• PURPLE: STRIKE A __ CHORD, DEAL, MATCH, POSE

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 2 mistakes

There were a couple of words today that crossed over and I struggled to narrow down TAKE ISSUE WITH, wasting two mistakes as I was including SUSPECT and POSE. Getting “One away” once is OK, but twice is annoying.

All this meant that I completed today’s Connections with a feeling that I’d been defeated – especially as I failed to spot the very gettable STRIKE A __ group.

That dust will have to stay on my shoulders until tomorrow.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, 31 January, game #600)

• YELLOW: STORAGE CONTAINERS CASE, CHEST, CRATE, TRUNK
• GREEN: SCHNOZZ BEAK, HONKER, SNOOT, SNOUT
• BLUE: ONES WITH DISCERNING TASTES CONNOISSEUR, CRITIC, EXPERT, SNOB
• PURPLE: STARTS OF SWIMMING STROKES BACK, BREAST, BUTTER, FREE

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Hunt and peck

NYT Strands today (game #335) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• PROP
• NATURE
• ROLE
• TOLD
• COLD
• POST

NYT Strands today (game #335) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Birds of prey

NYT Strands today (game #335) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 2nd row

Last side: right, 8th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #335) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #335, are…

• KESTREL
• EAGLE
• HAWK
• CONDOR
• FALCON
• OSPREY
• VULTURE
• SPANGRAM: RAPTORS

• My rating: Easy
• My score: 1 hint

You know an animal is fierce and not to be messed with when a sports team is named after it and in the bird world that means the RAPTORS that make up today’s puzzle.

There are hundreds of teams around the world nicknamed EAGLEs, FALCONs and HAWKs, just as there are Bears, Lions and Tigers – and not so many prepared to be called “the cats” or “house flies”.

It’s all very macho. But perhaps I’m only saying this because the football/soccer team I support – Brighton & Hove Albion – are nicknamed the Seagulls, a type of bird that’s not so much known for sweeping majestically from the sky to hunt its prey as it is for stealing fries and pooping on shoulders.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, 31 January, game #334)

• MAMA
• DADA
• KITTY
• MINE
• BOTTLE
• YUCKY
• BYE BYE
• MORE
• SPANGRAM: FIRST WORDS

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.

• The Teamgroup 2TB Pro+ sells for just over $170, but you can make an offer at a lower price
• The device has a lifetime warranty and comes with a card reader
• We reviewed a different version of this card and gave it a highly recommended badge

The Teamgroup 2TB Pro+ microSDXC UHS-I/U3 is a high-capacity and performance memory card bundled with a USB Type-C Ultra CR I card reader, and Newegg currently has an offer which could lower the price, currently listed for $172.99, even further

This microSD card delivers a read speed of up to 160MB/s. Rated A2, U3, UHS-I, and V30, it's optimized for 4K video recording and continuous shooting.

Performance and Speed

The Teamgroup 2TB Pro+ includes a lifetime warranty, making it ideal for long-term reliability.

SD cards certainly have their issues that make such a warranty worthwhile; their small size and physical fragility make them easy to break, and putting one in constant use (as the boot drive for an operating system on a device like the Raspberry Pi 5, for instance) can shorten their lifespan.

In a previous review, we tested TeamGroup’s EXPERT S.M.A.R.T microSDXC card with drones, action cameras, and a Sony A7 IV and found that it demonstrated consistent performance and handled professional tasks effectively.

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• Lego has set up Botanical Gardens in NYC, Atlanta, and Nashville this weekend.
• It's your chance to see the latest flower sets being added to the Lego Botanical theme.
• The Mini Orchid, Lucky Bamboo, and Flower Arrangement stole the show.

Alongside impressive ships from Star Wars and a highly-detailed replica of the Endurance ship, some of the most popular sets in recent history from The Lego Group have been from the Botanical theme, specifically flower offerings.

And alongside the latest sets in the line, like a Mini Orchid and a Flower Arrangement, Lego is celebrating its latest drop – not with a drone show, like it did for its space theme – but with pop-up Botanical Gardens in New York City, Atlanta, and Nashville. These are free to the public for this weekend, and you can score some freebies if you’re a Lego Insider – a free reward program – and check out the latest sets in real life.

I got the chance to head over to the New York City location to get a feel for the pop-up and to see the latest and greatest from the Lego Botanical lineup. Now I’m sharing my three favorites from the collection and where you can get them cause we all deserve a little treat as the first month of 2025 comes to a close. And with gift-giving moments on the horizon already, the Lego flower sets are some of the most-wanted.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Standing over 11 inches tall after you build the 325 pieces, Lucky Bamboo has to be my favorite addition to the Botanical lineup. It not only looks great but is ready to be displayed as you’ll build the small pot and stand complete with little Lego pebbles. You’ll end up with three bamboo stems at various heights in what will likely be a relaxing build.

The Lego Lucky Bamboo set is available now from Lego or Amazon for $29.99.

Also available at Amazon here.View Deal

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

So new that it’s still up for preorder only is the Flower Arrangement, which is a set that goes a bit further than some of the previous bouquets that have been released. With this, you’ll build a range of flowers, including ranunculus, lilies, hydrangea, and peonies, among many others of varying sizes, but also a white vase that you’ll construct out of Lego bricks. This one could easily sit on a kitchen counter, a dining table, a nightstand, or even on a shelf.

Depending on which route in the building manual you choose, you can create one of two designs and add other Lego flowers to the vase. This is pretty neat and infinitely customizable. This set, which includes 1,161 pieces, is available for preorder at Lego for $109.99.

While the Flower Arrangement isn't available for preorder at Amazon yet, you can score the Flower Bouquet set, which you can add to this set at a rare discount for $47.99 from $59.99. View Deal

(Image credit: Future)

The full-sized Lego Orchid set is one of the originals and most popular – it’s actually been purchased over 10,000 times on Amazon this month – and now there is a miniature version that strikes its own chord. At just 274 pieces, it stands at over 10 inches with plenty of pedals, and like all other Lego flower sets, it never needs to be watered.

More precisely, you’ll build five Orchid flowers, a few leaves, and the pot on a faux-wooden plinth. This would likely make a great gift and an epic desk or living space addition.

The Mini Orchid is available now from Lego or Amazon for $29.99. The full-size Lego Orchid is also discounted on Amazon to just $39.99 from $49.99.

Also available at Amazon here.View Deal

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

While these three are my current favorites in the Botanicals lineup from Lego, a few other sets are also on display, including some of the original flower themes.

Additionally, another standout was seeing the forthcoming, up for pre-order now, Lego take on Van Gogh's classic Sunflowers painting. Constructed out of 2,615 pieces, the Lego Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers adds another dimension to the classic painting as you'll build the flowers so that they protrude from the art itself. It's stunning in person and looks well worth the $199.99 price.

If you're sold, Lego is taking preorders now, and the set will ship from March 1, 2025.

@jakekrol

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• Infineon's OC1230 is less than 4mm^2, smaller than a grain of rice
• You can fit nearly 40 of them in one nano SIM, the smallest physical SIM card on the market
• Infineon says it could fit in wearables like smart glasses or rings

Infineon Technologies has unveiled the world’s smallest GSMA-compliant eSIM solution - with dimensions of just 1.8 x 1.6 x 0.4 mm, the OPTIGA Connect Consumer OC1230 is smaller than a grain of rice and reduces printed circuit board (PCB) space requirements.

For scale, it's also 37 times smaller than the industry standard Nano SIM and 130 times smaller than a standard SIM.

The OC1230 supports remote SIM provisioning (RSP) and multiple-enabled profiles (MEP), allowing users to store and manage multiple network operator profiles remotely.

Ultra-compact eSIM technology

The company claims its eSIM is built on Infineon’s Integrity Guard 32 architecture and Arm v8 technology, delivering a 25% gain in power/performance ratio compared to existing eSIMs.

In addition to 5G connectivity, this ultra-compact chip could fit in wearables like smart watches, glasses or even rings, reduce energy consumption by up to 50%, and sustain the health of a device's lithium battery over time.

If you're yet to get in on the eSIM craze as a business smartphone user, I'd recommend it if you need to switch providers seamlessly on the move.

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• Apple's reportedly shelved plans for a pair of smart glasses that connected to the Mac
• According to Bloomberg, the glasses would have had "advanced projectors" for layering AR elements
• The smart glasses would have required a tether to the Mac

If there’s one thing for sure about 2025, it’s that the smart glasses sector is heating up with plenty of rumors about future Meta glasses that stretch beyond the readily available Ray-Ban ones, Samsung and Google working on a pair, and countless other competitors.

However, it seems that Apple’s reported work on a pair of AR smart glasses that would have connected to a Mac for power has been canceled or shelved this week, according to new reporting from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

The glasses themselves would have taken the design of regular glasses – much like Ray-Ban’s Meta smart glasses – with built-in displays and the ability to connect to a Mac to unlock fresh experiences. The product itself has been rumored for quite some time, and like the Apple Watch, it wouldn't have been an entirely standalone device.

The project, reportedly dubbed N107, would have had “advanced projectors that could display information, images and video in the field of view for each eye,” as described by Gurman. There can be comparisons made to Project Orion, which TechRadar got to demo and was impressed by, and like the Vision Pro – Apple’s $3,499 spatial computing headset – it can layer elements over the real world.

According to Gurman, the idea was to create smart AR glasses products for the masses, and the purported smart glasses would have fit that bill quite nicely, even if they required a connection to another device. It could have given Apple an offering at a lower price point than the Vision Pro and more in line with Ray-Ban Meta’s smart glasses or even the X-Real’s, which can also take a screen and broadcast it much larger with a pair of glasses.

Gurman writes, “The company shuttered the program this week, according to people with knowledge of the move.” Additionally, he shares that the internal testing wasn’t hitting the right mark with testers and that before Apple opted for the route of these connecting to a Mac, the original goal was an iPhone.

While this pair of Apple smart glasses is reportedly shelved – though, in classic Apple fashion, the company did not ever confirm its existence or development – the tech giant is reportedly still working on a more affordable Vision Pro, likely without ‘Pro’ in the name. At some point in the future, the goal is still to create “a set of standalone AR glasses.”

It’s clear that the eventual goal is glasses, as they are the most familiar design to consumers. Heck, I wear glasses every day, as do countless others, and this would likely lead to larger adoption. We’ve gotten a taste of these with Ray-Ban Metas, and while those lack a screen, the built-in cameras, speakers, and microphones do add some affordances, like snapping a photo without having to pull out your phone or listening to music while in a full, completely unobtrusive transparency mode.

This news comes right after Gurman shared more information on reportedly in the works AirPods with cameras, which could be seen as a way to go after the market currently filled by Meta's Ray-Ban. Potentially, even helping Apple Intelligence and Siri be more helpful through sight.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

We also know that Samsung and Google are working together on a pair of smart glasses running Android XR, but a headset dubbed ‘Project Moohan’ or whatever the actual product name might be will have to arrive first. Snapchat has a new pair of glasses that TechRadar’s editor-at-large Lance Ulanoff has tried, and Meta has Project Orion, which will likely arrive as a consumer product as early as 2027.

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

The experience that Apple created with Vision Pro is a compelling one, and definitely among the best mixtures of hardware, software, and features that I’ve tried. One of the biggest issues, though, is price – at $3,499, it’s not a product that you might just buy on a whirl, and Apple needs to work to get the price down. It’s clear that is a goal as well as giving future iterations a more comfortable, everyday form factor.

Gurman reaffirms that a more affordable Vision Pro headset is in the works and promises to share more soon in this latest report. Additionally, smart glasses that don’t require a tether from another device and other wearables, including AirPods with cameras, are still an eventual goal.

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