Technology

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• Google Maps is testing the rollout of more incident reports
• These are weather-related options such as ‘flooded road’ or ‘low visibility’
• The growing library of incidents is a source of annoyance for some drivers

Google Maps is introducing new incident reporting options, fresh additions that pertain to weather-related conditions.

Android Police spotted these new kinds of report, and they include the likes of ‘flooded road’ for when there’s been a huge deluge of rain, or ‘low visibility’ for when it gets foggy. And indeed ‘unplowed road’ for when, well, you should probably turn around and find a plowed road that’s not wheel-deep in snow.

The site noticed these new options in Google Maps for Android Auto first off, and then in the iPhone app.

The not-so-great news for those keen on being able to benefit from a wider variety of untoward happenings being reported is that these new introductions have not yet made it to the Android version of Google Maps.

However, it surely won’t be long before the ability to report a flooded or snowed-up road arrives on Android.

Is an ever-growing library of incidents a good thing?

(Image credit: Future)

This is a continued expansion of the reporting of incidents in Google Maps, on top of clearly-labeled Waze reports being piped through alongside native reports since last year. There’s already a wide range of incidents that can be flagged, such as road traffic accidents, stalled cars, lanes being closed, speed traps, and so on.

Sometimes, these kind of alerts can be very useful, of course, and plenty of folks are grateful to have been warned of an incoming thorny issue on the road ahead.

However, not everyone is keen on being subject to more and more of these reports being highlighted in Google Maps – with complaints about them being too frequent only likely to multiply, as Google further expands the library of incidents that can be reported.

The problem is compounded by errant reports – incidents that aren’t there, or were resolved some time back – and there being no easy way to switch off said reports.

It looks like this is a road Google is insisting on driving down, though, despite the ‘stop’ signs being waved by some of the drivers who use its navigation app.

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• Waze's new button allows for faster navigation to favorite spots
• The recent update follows a general update of the user interface
• Speed bump alerts and lane-merging notifications also now feature

Waze has long been a firm favorite with motorists thanks to its early use of crowd-sourced data for the most up-to-date travel information and accurate route guidance. Granted, the likes of Google and Apple Maps have now caught up but it remains a popular app for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay users.

If you use the latter, you’ll find that Waze has quietly updated its Apple CarPlay user experience so the interface not only looks cleaner and more modern, but is also now easier to use thanks to a shuffling around of key functionality.

A shortcut for favorite or most-visited destinations now sits on the right-hand side of the main screen, just beneath the search button, before navigation commences. This makes it much easier to get routing to a home or office address with a couple of prods.

It's smart too, as this favorites hot key will adapt depending on the time of day and predicted driving behavior. For example, one press of the button in the morning will navigate directly to the office if that’s part of your routine. Similarly, it will navigate back home in the evenings.

The auto-hiding bar at the very top of the display now features a favorites button (for manually inputting and managing addresses), as well as notification volume and voice-enabled search.

However, during navigation, search functionality is now housed in this auto-hiding bar, so it requires a click to open when driving, which can be frustrating.

In addition to the user experience updates, Waze also recently announced a raft of new features, including speed bump alerts and notifications of upcoming dangerous curves or sharp corners, which adds to its existing community-based features that handily mark out obstructions or disruptions along the route.

On top of this, the Waze UX also now offers merging lane notifications, which sees all appropriate lanes appear on the map with an indication of the correct lane to be in to safely continue a journey.

Your Waze are numbered

(Image credit: Future)

It is no coincidence that Google Maps has started to feel a lot more like Waze in recent years, with the tech giant adding things like user-generated hazard alerts and cute interchangeable icons to its own mapping service since it purchased the company for $1.3billion in 2013.

While Waze was once the go-to application for real-time traffic notifications and almost instantaneous alerts concerning nearby congestion or accidents, Google Maps has now caught up and the fact it has the might of Google behind it means that it is altogether the more powerful tool for navigating to obscure restaurants or places of interest.

What’s more, many automotive manufacturers are now running Android Automotive as the infotainment OS of choice, allowing said carmaker to introduce vehicle-specific information to Google Maps.

This is especially important for electric vehicles, where remaining battery range and the proximity of nearby chargers, the price per kilowatt and live status (lots of them don’t work) is essential for stress-free journeys.

Despite this, Waze users have increased tenfold since the Google acquisition in 2013, according to an interview with its founder in Forbes, indicating that it remains extremely popular with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay users in general.

But for how long Google will continue to allow its developers to work on and introduce new functionality is anyone’s guess.

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While we wait patiently for the arrival of The Last of Us season 2 (see trailer below), you’ll be excited to learn that its story could be extended into a third and possibly a fourth season.

Since HBO brought one of the most popular video games to life for the small screen, The Last of Us has earned notoriety for being one of the best shows on Max, so the possibility of more seasons to come is welcome news to fans.

There’s still a while before season two arrives in April 2025, but HBO bosses are already hinting at the bright future that The Last of Us has with the network and one of the best streaming services.

The news of its potential third and fourth instalments comes from HBO’s head of drama Francesca Orsi. When giving an interview at the premiere of The White Lotus season 3, Orsi had a few things to say about the upcoming season of The Last of Us and seemingly confirmed its renewal for two more inserts, stating: “We don’t have a complete or final plan, but I think it’s looking like four seasons. I wouldn’t want to confirm that, but it’s looking like this season and then two more seasons after this and we’re done."

Since Orsi’s interview with Deadline, there’s been no additional comment on how many more seasons of The Last of Us are in the pipeline. Right now season two, which introduces Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, is the network’s priority, says Orsi, adding that fans of the show may be surprised by this time around. “There’s certain elements in terms of the various factions that are competing for survival that reveal themselves as a really intriguing survivalist group, and I think they just have a quality to them that feels distinct in how they present it” Orsi added.

Kaitlyn Dever has been cast as Abby in The Last of Us season two. (Image credit: HBO)

While we must take Orsi’s statement with a pinch of salt, it’s a pretty bold thing to say and one that fans could take for gospel, especially when it comes from the mouth of HBO’s head of drama. Based on Orsi’s comment, we can only assume that HBO plans to conclude The Last of Us to coincide with how its story ends in the video game. All we can do now is just wait, and you still have The Last of Us season 2 to look forward to before you start fretting about its future seasons.

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• Prime Video is rolling out a new app for Apple TV devices
• There are six notable improvements from the previous version
• Better responsiveness and accessibility features have been added

Prime Video is deploying a major upgrade for anyone who uses the streaming service's app on an Apple TV, aka one of the best streaming devices.

The new and improved Prime Video app will be available on all Apple TV devices globally, including the original Apple TV HD all the way through to the third generation of the Apple TV 4K, which is the latest iteration of the streamer released in 2022.

It brings a wide range of improvements to Apple TV owners who are also subscribed to Prime Video, most notably making the app faster and easier to navigate by introducing new features specific to the device.

As Prime Video's announcement about the new app says, the updated version for Apple TV combines "the best of Prime Video with Apple TV’s user interface to deliver customers an improved streaming experience".

What's new about Prime Video's app on Apple TV?

Predictive text has come to search on the new Prime Video for Apple TV. (Image credit: Prime Video)

Prime Video, aka one of the best streaming services, has certainly been busy refining the app experience on Apple TV devices. The biggest improvements include faster responsiveness, an improved search function, and new ways to scrub through content, but there's much more.

One of the biggest upgrades I'm keen to try out is the new in-app search function that now automatically makes suggestions for what you might want to look up based on your first few prompts. It sounds like it will be similar to the predictive text feature that you find on one of the best iPhones.

The upgraded search function will also allow users to search for content using their voice via the Siri remote. Indeed, some of the best new upgrades to the app leverage the features exclusive to Apple TV devices, like using the Siri remote for faster navigation control. Prime Video says that it has made the gesture controls on the remote faster to help find one of the best Prime Video shows or best Prime Video movies more seamlessly. There are also new touchpad gestures, including the ability to fast forward and rewind by simply swiping left or right on the remote.

You'll be able to scrub through movies and shows a lot easier on the new Prime Video app for Apple TV. (Image credit: Prime Video)

Perhaps most notably, the new Prime Video app got a big boost on the picture quality front. Amazon's streaming service says the app now has higher-resolution images throughout, giving the overall look and feel of the app a major enhancement.

Prime Video says it has also added some new sound effects for when you're swiping through the app, however, we don't yet know what these sound like. On the visual front, we can also expect to see a new parallax effect when scrolling up and down through the app, which essentially means the background images will appear to move at a different speed from the tiles in front of it.

Lastly, Prime Video subscribers can also access Apple's best accessibility features, including VoiceOver to enable a screen reader, Hover Text to enlarge the text displayed on the screen, and Bold Text to make copy bolder and easier to see.

As long as you have automatic updates enabled on your Apple TV device settings, you'll be able to see all the above new Prime Video app features.

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• Nvidia confirms a new bug in Container Toolkit, and GPU Operator
• The bug allows malicious actors to execute code remotely
• A fix was already deployed, so patch now

The Nvidia Container Toolkit for Linux, a set of tools that allows devs to build and run GPU-accelerated containers using Docker, or other container runtimes, carries a vulnerability that allows threat actors to gain access to the host file system and thus execute malicious code remotely, run denial of service attacks, escalate privileges, steal sensitive information, or tamper with the victim’s data.

The company confirmed the news in a security advisory, noting both the Nvidia Container Toolkit, and Nvidia GPU Operator (a Kubernetes-native solution that automates the deployment, management, and monitoring of Nvidia GPU resources in a Kubernetes cluster) are vulnerable to the bug which is being tracked as CVE-2025-23359.

It was assigned a severity score of 8.3, and was said to affect all versions of Container Toolkit up to and including 1.17.3, and all versions up to and including 24.9.1 of GPU Operator.

Patch bypass

The bugs were fixed in versions 1.17.4 and 24.9.2 respectively. It is also worth mentioning that the flaw is only present on Linux, and does not impact use cases where CDI is used.

Cybersecurity researchers from Wiz claim this is actually a bypass for another vulnerability. Apparently, the previous bug is tracked as CVE-2024-0132, and has a 9.0 severity score, making it critical, as it could allow malicious actors to mount the host's root file system into a container, granting them free access to virtually anything. What’s more, the access can be used to launch privileged containers and achieve full host compromise.

Nvidia says the issue was fixed in September 2024, and to address the issue, users are advised to apply the released patches, and make sure not to disable the "--no-cntlibs" flag in production environments, it was said.

Via The Hacker News

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• A free content update for Astro Bot has been released, adding five new levels
• These levels will be available weekly starting February 13 and until March 13
• A new "constant best resolution" 60FPS mode has also been added for PS5 Pro

Team Asobi has released a free content update for Astro Bot that will add five new levels to the game starting today.

The developer shared the details in a new PlayStation Blog post, where it said that these five levels will be released every week starting today from February 13, until March 13.

The first is called Tick-Tock Shock and can now be found inside the brand-new Vicious Void Galaxy. You can check out the teaser trailer below, as well as the dates and names for the upcoming levels.

Team Asobi said these levels are harder compared to the last Winter Wonder patch, to "test your jumping skills", and will each feature a new Special Bot to rescue. The levels can then also be replayed in Time Attack mode with online rankings, once completed.

In addition to the content update, PS5 Pro users will now be able to access an "improved version of Astro Bot" with a "constant best resolution" 60FPS mode.

"We hope you enjoy it. We want to take this chance to thank you, sincerely, for the ongoing support," Team Asobi added. "We could not be happier with the way Astro was welcomed into so many new homes. Your comments, positivity and kind words have carried us through the months and continue to warm our little robotic hearts. Thank you for your loyalty and we shall see you around."

New levels coming to Astro Bot

• February 13: Tick-Tock Shock
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• The Garmin Instinct 3 is one of Garmin's newest outdoor watches
• A new Tactical Edition may have just been leaked
• A now deleted Instagram post from an influencer revealed a new colorway and Tactical branding

Hot off the heels of the new Garmin Instinct 3, and following the unveiling of a brand new Descent G2 and Garmin tactix 8, a new Tactical Version of the Garmin Instinct 3 has just been leaked in full online.

We love the Garmin Instinct 3, and it has immediately taken its place in our best Garmin watch guide as our top outdoor pick. Currently, there are AMOLED and solar options, as well as the Garmin Instinct E, which has neither an AMOLED screen or solar-charging Power Glass. However, keen Redditors have spotted a new variant leaked by an Instagram influencer.

The post from Kristian Hansen details an experience with the new Garmin Instinct 3 solar, however, as users on the Garmin Reddit noticed, there's something strange about this one. "Hi guys, I just stumbled this post by someone on Instagram that promoting instinct 3 product on his page," the original poster said. "But surprisingly the color is not the same with the one that already launch. And if you zoom in on the watch there is the tactical logo on the bottom of the dial. Is this the instinct 3?"

The watch in the post clearly features Garmin's Tactical branding. So what could it mean?

Garmin Instinct 3 going Tactical? Here's what we know Instinct 3 Tactical seen in the wild? from r/Garmininstinct

The surest sign that this indeed a leak of an unreleased Tactical variant of the Garmin Instinct 3 is that Hansen's Instagram post has since been deleted, a sure-fire suggestion this watch was posted ahead of its time.

As to what a Garmin Instinct 3 Tactical could bring, we've got a pretty good idea based on Garmin's previous form. Garmin's Instinct 2 had a Tactical edition that brought all the features of the solar model (like the watch pictured in this leak) in an identical design package. However, it also came with a green flashlight mode, a stealth mode that switches off GPS and communication, dual-position format for syncing your location with others, a ballistics calculator from Applied Ballistics for long-range shooting, a kill switch to wipe the device, a jumpmaster mode for parachute jumps, and a tactical activity profile.

It's a very similar lineup to that of the brand new Garmin tactix 8 unveiled this week, and would be another excellent addition to the Instinct 3 lineup.

There's no confirmation as yet, but we've reached out to Garmin and will report back accordingly.

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• Tim Cook just teased an 'Apple Launch' for February 19
• While not an event, he writes we'll 'meet the newest member of the family"
• It's likely Apple will unveil the much-rumored iPhone SE fourth-generation

Are you ready to meet Apple’s latest and greatest? Well, the rest of my colleagues and I are after an especially active few days for rumors, and Apple’s CEO Tim Cook just teed up that it’s debuting something new next week on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.

Don’t call it an Apple Event, though. The post on X (formerly Twitter) ends with #AppleLaunch. The post reads, “Get ready to meet the newest member of the family.” Simply, pretty leading, and heavy with the tease.

Could it be the much-rumored iPhone SE fourth-generation? Or potentially new Macs, a second-generation AirTag, a new iPad, or something entirely new? Aside from the text, the only other hint is this six-second teaser video.

Get ready to meet the newest member of the family.Wednesday, February 19. #AppleLaunch pic.twitter.com/0ML0NfMeduFebruary 13, 2025

It's set to some joyful backing music, but the real star is the Apple logo with various shades of silver, black, and some color flowing through it. This could be light reflecting off the surface or edges of the forthcoming product as it flows through space.

Additionally, there is a circular ring around the Apple logo, which might just be to set it within the space of this launch teaser but it could also hint at the top of a HomePod or HomePod mini, which is circular with the set of LEDs in the center. There are also rumors of a new AirTag, which is a circular product as well.

The leading rumor though is likely that of the iPhone SE fourth-generation, which Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims that this is teasing a launch of.

Considering Tim Cook writes, "the newest member of the family," it appears to be hinting at one product being unveiled versus an entire next-generation lineup. That gives some credence to the iPhone SE and likely pushes out the wait for the M4-powered MacBook Air' (remember, it's a 13-inch and a 15-inch) or new iPads a bit more.

Judging by the latest rumors, though, I think we have the highest chance of seeing the next-generation iPhone SE. Teasing with this colorful video, potentially showing us the new edges, does align with leaks promising a large redesign that resembles an iPhone 14.

The iPhone is still a central part of Apple's lineup, and a new model – even a more affordable one – is a big deal. It would make sense that Apple wants to build up the hype around it further. The next-gen iPhone SE is expected to offer a bigger display with Face ID, a faster processor that can handle Apple Intelligence, and an entirely new design.

It's likely that alongside whatever Apple announces, the company should seed the first beta to developers of iOS 18.4, which brings with it the next set of Apple Intelligence features, including the actually smarter Siri.

Of course, it could also be ushering in something entirely new, which would be a surprise. It's all speculation for now, but either way, TechRadar will be closely analyzing this teaser further, and come February 19, 2025, we'll be breaking down all the news as it hits.

But, do you have a take or a theory? Let us know in the comments below what you think the February 19 Apple Launch will bring us.

This story is developing...

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