Technology

• The US government has been confirmed as a Paragon customer
• Paragon was recently accused of targeting journalists by WhatsApp
• Paragon "explicitly prohibit(s)" the targeting of journalists

Notorious Israeli spyware manufacturing company Paragon Solutions has confirmed the US government is a purchaser of its products.

Speaking to TechCrunch, Paragon’s executive chairman John Fleming said, “Paragon licenses its technology to a select group of global democracies — principally, the United States and its allies.”

The confirmation comes days after WhatsApp revealed Paragon had attempted to illegally install its spyware on the devices of up to 90 journalists and members of civil society through a zero-click deployment.

Paragon prohibits targeting journalists, does it anyway

Fleming's statement continued, saying Paragon, “requires that all users agree to terms and conditions that explicitly prohibit the illicit targeting of journalists and other civil society figures. We have a zero-tolerance policy against such targeting and will terminate our relationship with any customer that violates our terms of service.”

TechCrunch said Fleming did not respond to a number of other questions, such as who Paragon considers as a US ally, and the specifics on the terms of service regarding the targeting of journalists, among other targeted questions about the accusations made by WhatsApp, and if Paragon investigates allegations of abuse or had severed a contract because of violations.

Two of the journalists targeted in the WhatsApp campaign have come forward. Italian journalist Francesco Cancellato, director of Fanpage.it, which published undercover video recordings of the youth wing of Italy’s ruling party, Fratelli d’Italia, making racist and anti-semitic remarks, and chanting Nazi and pro-fascist slogans of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

Libyan activist Husam El Gomati, who is based in Sweden, has criticized efforts made between the Italian and Libyan governments to stop Libyan immigrants from crossing into Europe via the Mediterranean Sea. Both Cancellato and Gomati confirmed they had been targeted by Paragon in the spyware attack.

Via TechCrunch

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• Gemini notifications now look like phone calls on some phones
• This should make it easier to tell when Gemini is Live
• Could be an early roll.out of a feature or an A/B test

Last week Google’s Gemini Live service received its 'Talk Live about this' update, which allows the AI to have a real-time chat with you about the images, files, and YouTube videos showing on your device’s screen. Now it appears that Google is making a subtle tweak to the service’s notification to make it look more like you’re phoning a friend than chatting with a robot.

Usually when you’re in a Live chat with Gemini and not in the app, the only on-screen sign is a small notification symbol at the top of the screen, and a message in your notification centre that your mic is on and Gemini can hear and respond to you. Now, as spotted by 9to5Google, some Pixel smartphones are instead showing this notification as if it were a phone call – with a more obvious on screen chip saying you’re live with Gemini , and the option to Hang Up or put Gemini on Hold.

While this change does seem to offer some user-friendly advantages – more on that below – we can’t help but feel that this is a not-so-subtle trick from Google to make Gemini feel more like a friend you’re calling rather than some ethereal, impersonal AI.

We should note that most people still aren’t seeing the style change. This means it could have been rolled out by accident to a select few, or is still in the A/B testing stage. We haven’t been able to see call-style notifications on any of our devices, with 9to5Google saying it appeared on one “Pixel 9 Pro running Google app beta version 16.4” – which suggests this may not yet be a change that's ready for the mass market.

Phone an AI friend

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

We hope this notification change does make it to more devices, as one major advantage is that it serves as a more constant reminder that Gemini is listening in. The previous notification was more hidden, so it was easy to forget that you were still in a live chat with Gemini even though you'd left the app (until it responded seemingly out of nowhere).

Now there’s a constant obvious on-screen reminder that the AI is still on the other end of the line – with an easy option to either leave the conversation by hanging up, or, if you just want to pause the conversation, put the AI on hold (I wonder what Gemini’s preferred choice of hold music would be?).

This privacy awareness will be particularly useful as Gemini grows its ability to respond to on-screen stimulus. Currently, its more limited feature set means there's not too much reason to leave it running in the background – so you can just end the conversation before leaving the app. But as Gemini gets better at helping you understand a recipe you’re reading, or summarizing a complex science video, or performing some other trick which relies on it ‘seeing’ a different app on your screen, it’ll likely be a lot easier to forget to turn the AI off when you’re finished using it.

At least that would be the case with the old-style of notification, and turning the conversation into a call should be a lot more obvious – although we’ll have to wait and see when or even if this style tweak will be rolled out more widely at some point in the future.

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• Panasonic's president is considering a sale of its TV business
• The manufacturer is struggling in a crowded TV market
• No interested buyers have been confirmed so far

Panasonic is one of the best TV makers on the market today – but given how crowded that market has become, even Panasonic is having to consider whether its TV business is sustainable in the long term.

According to a report in Nikkei (via FlatpanelsHD), the Japanese electronics manufacturer is considering a sale of its TV business, after company president Yuki Kusumi declared on an online earnings call that "We are prepared to sell it if necessary, but we have not yet decided on a plan."

The news comes only months after Panasonic confirmed an 80% sale of its projector business with financial services group ORIX, suggesting more measures may be required to balance the company books.

But given the sheer quality of so many Panasonic TVs – many of which I've had the pleasure of reviewing – it'd be a true shame if we had to say goodbye to its TV lineup as we know it.

The Panasonic Z95B is coming this year, and it looks stunning. (Image credit: Future) What's the issue?

Panasonic is a name of some prestige in the TV market, thanks partly to the company's great history in plasma TVs, partly to glowing reviews of models such as the Panasonic Z95A, and partly to its close links with Hollywood colorists, with Panasonic touting its OLED TVs has being used as master monitors during film production.

Panasonic TVs tend to excel at accurate color reproduction and good motion processing, and have often led the way with high-end features such as automatic brightness adjustment (Dolby Vision IQ) or advanced built-in Dolby Atmos speaker systems, resulting in its TVs ranking among the best TVs for sound.

Panasonic's MyHomeScreen smart platform has often lagged behind other TV operating systems such as Samsung's Tizen or LG's webOS, but its products are still a consistent contender among elite TVs.

However, despite its commercial connection to Hollywood, Panasonic TVs haven't been on sale for US citizens in around a decade. The company pulled from the US consumer market in 2016 in the face of widespread, low-cost LCD production, which coincided with flagging sales of the plasma TVs Panasonic had become synonymous with.

These days, Panasonic makes some of the best OLED TVs, but then again so does LG, Sony, Philips, and even the long-time OLED detractor Samsung.

And while Panasonic has since re-entered the US market, and released a series of OLED TVs featuring Amazon's Fire TV smart platform, it may be a little too late for the company to catch up with the competition.

A new era?

Of course, a sale of Panasonic's TV business could see the line-up continue under the guidance of another electronics company – and it's possible that the Panasonic name could continue to be used on TVs under license, much as with Toshiba or Sharp TVs today.

As a fan of Panasonic's TVs, I'd certainly be concerned of a drop in quality in this case, or a pivot away from Panasonic's blockbuster OLED reputation – the models it makes feel so uncompromized, and it's hard to imagine them staying that way if another company took over.

By the sounds of it, there isn't a confirmed buyer yet for Panasonic's TV business, and executives are looking to address several areas of Panasonic's expansive electronics empire, including consumer appliances, industrial devices (motors, sensors, compressors) and mechatronic systems – meaning the TV business might not be the first thing on the auction block.

But Kusumi spoke of "drastic measures" to come by the end of the 2025/2026 financial year, so it's clear that everything is on the table. I just hope that the fruits of Panasonic's TV labor won't disappear in the process.

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• The Find N5 is coming in "two weeks" according to an Oppo exec
• The super-thin foldable will be launched internationally at the same time
• The OnePlus Open 2 should follow in certain markets

We've been waiting a while for a follow-up to the Oppo Find N3 – known outside of China as the OnePlus Open – but thanks to an Oppo executive we know that the foldable's successor is going to get its grand unveiling in two weeks' time.

This comes from Oppo's Zhou Yibao on Chinese social media site Weibo (via Android Authority), and the post backs up claims that this is going to be the thinnest foldable in the world when it arrives – beating the Honor Magic V3, which is 4.4mm-thick when unfolded.

Oppo representatives have been busy on social media in recent weeks, showing us just how thin the Oppo Find N5 is going to be. It's been compared to an M4 iPad Pro, and put up against an iPhone 16 Pro Max, in official images.

As well as giving us that two-week time frame – putting a launch on February 19 or February 20 – Yibao has also said this will be the first of Oppo's foldable phones to be available globally under its original name.

What about the OnePlus Open 2?

We've already seen some images of the Oppo Find N5 (Image credit: Oppo)

That global availability raises some questions about the OnePlus Open 2, as the Oppo Find N3 was rebadged globally as the OnePlus Open – a foldable that we were very much impressed with, as you'll see from our OnePlus Open review.

We might get some clues from the Oppo Find X8 Pro, which launched last year and was released in several places internationally as well as China: it's currently available in the UK, Australia, and Europe, though not in the US.

If Oppo follows that plan again, the OnePlus Open 2 may land in the US, UK, and Europe – essentially the same phone but under a different name and branding. That means UK and European shoppers would have two pretty much identical foldables to choose between.

All should be revealed in a couple of weeks – at least as far as the Oppo Find N5 and its availability is concerned. Besides the ultra-thinness, we're also expecting a titanium build, the biggest battery yet in a foldable, and a substantial camera upgrade.

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• Ferrari says its first EV is due in October this year
• CEO Benedetto Vigna says it will be “unique”
• Early spy shots hint at crossover body shape

Ferrari boss Benedetto Vigna has announced that the first electric vehicle from the famed sports car manufacturer will be debuted on October 9 this year, going on to state that it will be just one of six new models to arrive in 2025.

However, the pure electric vehicle marks a pivotal moment for the Italian brand, as it attempts to replicate its monumental sales success with a car that doesn’t boast a sonorous V8 or V12 engine.

If Ferrari succeeds, it is highly likely that Lamborghini, Aston Martin and more luxury brands will gain the confidence to push on with their own projects.

Understandably, Ferrari has remained as tight-lipped as a mafioso informant about detailed specifics, with spy shots of development vehicles doing little to answer questions.

Some believe it is likely to come in the form of a sporty SUV or crossover, but test mules (complete with comic ‘stick-on’ exhaust pipes) deliberately used tweaked body parts to throw journalists off the scent.

We do know that Ferrari has built a dedicated EV complex (dubbed the E-Building) at its Maranello factory, which indicates that the Italian marque is designing its EV from the ground up, rather than buying in the majority of components from suppliers.

In addition to this, it has been made public in several news reports and interviews that Apple’s former chief design officer, Sir Jony Ive, has been involved in the Ferrari EV project from the very beginning.

After leaving Apple, Ive set up the creative collective LoveFrom with fellow designer Marc Newson and one of its first clients was the Italian carmaker. Ive, a long-standing classic Ferrari collector, mentioned that LoveFrom worked on a steering wheel and parts of a touchscreen infotainment system during an interview with The New York Times last year.

According to that interview, John Elkann, the chief executive of Exor and a member of the Agnelli family, which owns Ferrari, admired how Ive’s Apple Watch had turned an analog device into a digital product. He wanted the same touch on Ferrari’s first electric vehicle.

Analysis: Ferrari operates outside of the automotive norms

(Image credit: Ferrari)

Speaking at Ferrari’s Q4 financial results event, CEO Benedetto Vigna revealed that the company made a staggering €2.56 billion ($2.64 billion) in 2024, increasing the number of cars it sold year-on-year and predicting that 2025 will be even bigger.

The company makes around €111,000 ($115,000) profit per car sold, a figure fellow automakers could only dream of, and enjoys order books that are full until the end of 2026. This fact alone will stand Ferrari in good stead to launch its debut EV.

Not to take anything away from Ferrari’s first stab at an electric sports car – especially as we haven’t even seen it yet – but the Prancing horse badge is among the most coveted in the world, so it likely won’t matter what it is attached to. Ferrari fans will lap it up either way.

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• Monster Hunter Wilds' second open beta test kicks off this week
• Two sessions will be held across two weekends ending February 16
• Players will be able to take on the game's flagship monster Arkveld

Capcom has revealed new details about Monster Hunter Wilds and its two upcoming open beta weekends ahead of the game's official release on February 28.

The latest comes from Capcom's Spotlight + Monster Hunter Wilds Showcase for February 2025, where fans were treated to a 15-minute presentation about the upcoming game alongside a new trailer.

This trailer offered a first look at a new location players will be able to explore, the Iceshard Cliffs, a vast icy biome with snowy blizzards home to many leviathan Hirabami, which can be seen being attacked by another unknown monster. It was also confirmed that the Nerscylla and the Gore Magala will also be returning in Monster Hunter Wilds.

The game's flagship monster, Arkveld, made another appearance too, and Capcom revealed that players will be able to hunt the monster during the second open beta test in a more difficult advanced quest.

Speaking of the upcoming open beta, there will be two sessions due to take place between February 6 and February 16 and will both feature identical content, as well as the same content as the open beta test held last November, including character creation, story trial, and a Doshagma Hunt.

Players will also be able to take on the Gypceros, a poisonous Bird Wyvern, experience the Training Area exclusively built for solo play, and create private lobbies with a maximum capacity of 16 players. There will also be an online single-player mode where players can explore the wilds themselves without joining a lobby.

To take part, players must head to the Monster Hunter Wilds Steam page and download the open beta client. Pre-loading begins on February 5 at 7 PM PT.

Participants will also be rewarded with an exclusive 'Bonus Pendant' and a 'Bonus Item Pack' featuring 54 consumable in-game items.

Monster Hunter Wilds - Open Beta Test 2 - Start Times:

Weekend 1

• February 6 at 7PM PT / 10PM ET (February 7 at 3AM GMT) - February 9 at 6:59PM / 9:59AM ET (February 10 at 2:59AM GMT)

Weekend 2

• February 13 at 7PM / 10PM ET (February 14 at 3AM BST) - February 16 at 6:59PM / 9:59AM ET (February 17 at 2:59AM GMT)

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• China wants to know if Google’s Android OS is harming its smartphone market
• Nvidia under fire following its acquisition of Mellanox Technologies
• Intel dominates the Chinese CPU market

Chinese antitrust regulators have reportedly reopened probes into US tech giants Google and Nvidia, with Intel also potentially facing an investigation.

The news comes after President Trump introduced an additional 10% tariff on imports coming from China – the People's Republic retaliated with its own import tariffs on goods received from the US.

Despite the scarcity of details, we know that the Google investigation is set to focus on its Android operating system.

China launching probes into major US companies

Antitrust investigators are reportedly examining whether the Android operating system harms Chinese smartphone makers like Oppo and Xiaomi, according to sources familiar with the matter (via The Financial Times). The probe dates back to 2019, but after being put on the back burner, it hit the headlines once again in December 2024 when China reopened the probe.

This month, State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) workers visited Google’s Beijing office.

Elsewhere, Nvidia is facing allegations of anticompetitive behavior on the back of complaints by other industry members. China’s competition authority permitted its acquisition of Mellanox Technologies on the basis that it would ensure a stable supply to Chinese customers and continue to support competition.

No official confirmation has been received of an Intel investigation; it could target the company’s dominance in China’s CPU market.

Although antitrust investigations are not unique to China – the US, the EU and the UK have all launched their own probes into many American and international tech giants – the timing coincides with heated tensions between the US and China, following months of increasing restrictions on Chinese access to US AI and advanced technologies.

On the flip side, China has introduced restrictions to its tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium exports – all critical elements in the tech industry.

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• A new rumor suggests the Xiaomi 15 Ultra will sport a main camera with a 1-inch sensor and a 200MP telephoto zoom
• On paper, these specs beat competition from Samsung, Apple, and Google
• The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is expected to launch in global markets in early March

The next high-end flagship phone from Xiaomi could rival the best camera phones, with a cutting-edge array of four high-res cameras, if a new rumor proves to be true.

According to noted tipster Yogesh Brar on X (formerly Twitter), the Xiaomi 15 Ultra will come equipped with a 50MP main camera utilizing the Sony LYT-900 1-inch sensor.

For reference, the main camera found on the iPhone 16 Pro uses a 1/1.14-inch sensor, which is roughly 13% smaller than the LYT-900. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro both have an even smaller 1/1.3-inch main sensor.

In camera parlance, the sensor is the surface that light is focused onto by the lens. A larger sensor means more light can be captured, allowing for better low-light performance, improved dynamic range, and less noise (or graininess).

Brar adds that the Xiaomi 15 Ultra also apparently sports a 50MP ultra-wide camera, a 50MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, and a 200MP telephoto camera with 4.3x optical zoom.

On paper, that’s an extremely impressive array of cameras, and I can already imagine that such a mix of high-resolution cameras at multiple zoom lengths would offer users a lot of versatility and flexibility for photography.

The 200MP periscope camera jumps out as an exciting addition to Xiaomi’s highest-spec phone – the equivalent camera on the current-generation Xiaomi 14 Ultra is a 50MP camera offering 5x optical zoom.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is famed for its excellent quad-camera system (Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer) A big sensor to go with all those megapixels

While resolution alone isn’t a reliable indicator of quality, Brar notes that this 200MP zoom camera utilizes the 1/1.14-inch Samsung HP9 sensor – that’s the same size as the main camera on the iPhone 16 Pro and even larger than the main sensor found on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro.

In theory, that combination of a large sensor and high resolution should offer optically zoomed images that are bright, colorful, and detail-rich.

Our Xiaomi 14 Ultra review found that the phone boasts “the best cameras of any phone, ever”, and with improvements like these rumored to be on the way, it seems like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra could continue this winning streak.

As PhoneArena notes, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is expected to be revealed in China on February 26, with an official reveal sometime during MWC, which spans from March 4 to March 6.

The only problem is availability: Xiaomi doesn’t sell in the US, period – this means the company’s phones are nearly impossible to get ahold of in the States (they’re also ineligible for our list of the best phones). That said, I’m sure the Xiaomi 15 Ultra will easily nab a spot on our list of the best Xiaomi phones instead.

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Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, February 5 (game #339).

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… I'm a person of my word

NYT Strands today (game #340) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• SUCK
• LUCK
• SILK
• CARD
• SLIM
• SLAM

NYT Strands today (game #340) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Great bunch of fellas

NYT Strands today (game #340) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: top, 3rd 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 #340) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #340, are…

• FRANK
• WILL
• DREW
• MILES
• CHASE
• CHUCK
• ROBIN
• JIMMY
• SPANGRAM: FIRST NAMES

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I spent a lot of this puzzle drifting off, first thinking about what links all these names – 1970s sit-coms? Elvis Presley hangers-on? Eventually, I decided they were all first names that were also words for other things. They all sound like very solid trustworthy names, too. I wish I knew someone called CHUCK, I bet they’d be excellent.

I did think that JIMMY was the odd one out, until I remembered that it is an excellent word for forcing something open with a crowbar. Meanwhile, in Scotland “Jimmy” is what you call a man whose name you don’t know.

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

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, 5 February, game #339)

• LATEX
• SMOKE
• DUST
• MOLD
• DANDER
• POLLEN
• FRAGRANCE
• SPANGRAM: ALLERGENS

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.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, February 5 (game #605).

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 Connections hints.

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 #606) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• GREAT
• LAMP
• DIZZY
• GIRAFFE
• COUNT
• LIGHT
• NOBLE
• FAINT
• GUITAR
• DUKE
• CAB
• GRAND
• SOFT
• BOTTLE
• LOFTY
• MILD

NYT Connections today (game #606) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Dainty words
• GREEN: Over-sized in spirit 
• BLUE: They all share a bodypart 
• PURPLE: Big in New Orleans

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 #606) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: DELICATE 
• GREEN: MAGNANIMOUS 
• BLUE: THINGS WITH NECKS 
• PURPLE: FIRST NAMES IN JAZZ 

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

NYT Connections today (game #606) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #606, are…

• YELLOW: DELICATE FAINT, LIGHT, MILD, SOFT
• GREEN: MAGNANIMOUS GRAND, GREAT, LOFTY, NOBLE
• BLUE: THINGS WITH NECKS BOTTLE, GIRAFFE, GUITAR, LAMP
• PURPLE: FIRST NAMES IN JAZZ CAB, COUNT, DIZZY, DUKE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I briefly hovered over NOBLE, DUKE and GRAND, thinking there could be a group linking wealthy people – la-di-da types with chauffeurs and mansions. However, I quickly saw sense and remembered my father’s classic jazz collection containing CAB Calloway, COUNT Basie, DIZZY Gillespie and Duke Ellington.

Ellington was called “the Duke” because of his refined mannerisms, elegant speech and slick suits, but it’s great to know that his bandmates had another name for him. They called him Dumpy, after his love of food – and habit of overeating. As well as music, he was a prolific eater, with his biography recounting that he would regularly wolf down three meals in a row and follow it with an “Ellington dessert” – “a combination of pie, cake, ice cream, custard, pastry, jello, fruit, and cheese”.

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

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, 5 February, game #605)

• YELLOW: PARTS OF A COMPENSATION PACKAGE BONUS, INSURANCE, SALARY, VACATION
• GREEN: INDICATION FLAG, GIVEAWAY, SIGN, TELL
• BLUE: THINGS TO DO WITH A DECK OF CARDS CUT, DEAL, FAN, SHUFFLE
• PURPLE: WHAT "BILL" MIGHT REFER TO BANKNOTE, BEAK, INVOICE, WILLIAM

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.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, February 5 (game #1108).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 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 #1109) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 2*.

* 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 #1109) - 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 #1109) - 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 #1109) - 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 #1109) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• M

• S

• F

• T

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

Quordle today (game #1109) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1109, are…

• MADAM
• SCAMP
• FAUNA
• TRACK

With every word containing an “A” I switched my second start word to STARE, which helped narrow things down a little. Having a limited number of vowels also helped bring down the number of possibilities – although I must admit it took me a bit of head scratching before I finally got FAUNA.

All in all I was pleased to finish with a line to spare.

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

Daily Sequence today (game #1109) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1109, are…

• LIMIT
• ENDOW
• ROCKY
• BLINK

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1108, Wednesday 5 February: SIXTH, VERVE, BLURB, CACTI
• Quordle #1107, Tuesday 4 February: BIRTH, DRAWN, MILKY, JOIST
• Quordle #1106, Monday 3 February: SLEET, TENSE, SEIZE, SCAMP
• Quordle #1105, Sunday 2 February: LOUSY, PENNE, CHUMP, SALVE
• Quordle #1104, Saturday 1 February: FACET, BLISS, FLUFF, FRANK
• 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

Tree-mounted sensors and new satellites promise a way to detect wildfires before they get out of hand—but no early detection method is foolproof.

• Daisy, an AI grandma, wastes scammers’ time with small talk about scones, knitting, and nostalgia for 40 minutes at a time.
• O2’s experiment proves AI can disrupt fraudsters by keeping them on pointless, never-ending calls.
• Future versions of Daisy could feature different accents and personalities to further frustrate scammers.

Daisy, an AI-powered bot built to annoy scammers, was announced two months ago – and now O2 has released some examples of the AI grandma in action.

Scammers can waste your time even if they don't take your money, but O2 has proven that Daisy (or dAIsy) can mess with con artists just as well as they mess with others. Daisy loves reminiscing about the good old days, and she’ll happily waste a fraudster’s time talking about scones instead of handing over personal banking details. Instead of just blocking fraudulent calls, Daisy picks up, engages, and keeps scammers on the line, frustrating them with a never-ending stream of dithering small talk.

O2, a British telecommunications provider, developed Daisy at the end of last year to demonstrate how artificial intelligence could be used to fight back against phone fraud and it has proven to be quite successful since. The bot was trained using real scam call data, so it recognizes the tricks scammers use to manipulate their victims. But instead of falling for their tactics, Daisy responds with an expertly crafted mix of confusion, politeness, and sheer time-wasting. When a scammer tries to convince her to download a malicious program, she might spend five minutes looking for her glasses, then another ten reminiscing about how her grandson usually helps her with “all this newfangled technology.” By the time she’s asking whether they prefer biscuits or pastries, the scammer is already losing patience, and it's 40 minutes later.

Thanks Grandma

One of the calls O2 shared features a scammer attempting to convince Daisy that her computer is full of viruses. The fraudster, expecting an easy mark, instead finds himself stuck on the line with a woman who can’t seem to figure out where her Internet Explorer icon is. “Oh dear, I see something here that says ‘Save As’—does that help, dear?” she asks sweetly. When the scammer finally snaps that her “profession is bothering people,” she responds with an innocent, “Oh, I wouldn’t want to bother anyone. I just thought we were having a nice chat!”

O2 deployed Daisy into the wild, planting fake contact numbers on websites that scammers often target. Once the calls started rolling in, Daisy went to work, engaging fraudsters in conversations that led absolutely nowhere. Some scammers eventually caught on and realized they were speaking to an AI bot, but not before wasting a lot of time that they could have spent targeting real victims. In some cases, scammers even passed Daisy’s number around their call centers, each one trying and failing to get useful information out of her.

In a world where scammers operate at an industrial scale, wasting their time is more than just a minor inconvenience; it’s a real disruption to their business model. The more time they spend talking to Daisy, the less time they have to con actual people. Even if Daisy doesn’t single-handedly bring down the scamming industry, she does her bit and can help raise awareness of how common it is for scammers to try and trick people.

O2 hasn't mentioned any plans to roll Daisy out on a larger scale, but the experiment has proven that AI has the potential to be a powerful tool in combating fraud. Future versions of Daisy could include different accents, personalities, or even local slang to make her even harder to detect as an AI. Until then, we’ll have to settle for the idea of an AI grandmother wasting scammer time, armed with nothing but a warm demeanor and an endless supply of off-topic anecdotes.

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• Replacement Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra S Pens have a similar price tag to S24 Ultra ones, despite the lack of Bluetooth
• A teardown has also revealed that the S25 Ultra may be capable of charging a Bluetooth S Pen
• Yet Samsung has stated it has no plans to sell a Bluetooth one

There’s a lot to love about the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, but one thing a lot of people very much don’t love is the changes to the S Pen, which unlike the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s, lacks Bluetooth – meaning it also lacks various Bluetooth-enabled features.

This was likely a cost-cutting exercise by Samsung, which claimed in defense of the change that not many people made use of the Bluetooth features anyway. But if you need to buy a replacement S Pen, none of those savings will be passed on to you, as the company is charging just as much for its Bluetooth-free S Pen as for the more high-tech Bluetooth model it offered with previous phones.

Specifically – as spotted by 9to5Google – Samsung has added this new S Pen to its store at a price of $50 / £49 / AU$62.30. That's the same price as the previous model in the US, while in the UK this new S Pen actually costs marginally more than the £47 S Pen for the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

At full price it’s also slightly more expensive in Australia, but Samsung is selling it at a reduced price there for whatever reason, bringing it below the price of the S24 Ultra’s S Pen. So the current price isn’t too objectionable in Australia, but in the US and the UK buyers might find it hard to stomach.

The parts are in place

And this isn’t the only odd S Pen news, as in a teardown video, JerryRigEverything has found that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra still seemingly has an inductive charger inside the S Pen slot. This would be used to charge the S pen if it had Bluetooth, but with the stylus we actually got there’s seemingly no need for this charger.

So why has Samsung still included the inductive charger? JerryRigEverything posits that rather than being a charger it could just be there to sense whether the S Pen is in its dock or not, but also notes that it looks almost identical to the charging component in previous Ultra phones, so likely is capable of providing power to a stylus.

Another possibility is that Samsung plans to sell a Bluetooth S Pen separately, and in fact a Samsung blog post specifically said that would happen, but bafflingly the company has since stated that no Bluetooth versions will be made available.

So maybe Samsung initially planned to sell a Bluetooth S Pen separately and then changed its mind, but we can’t say for sure. If so though, it’s always possible that the company will change its mind again – especially as there’s a fan petition for a Bluetooth S Pen.

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