Technology

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 380 for Tuesday, March 18.

Hints and answers for the Connections puzzle for Tuesday, March 18.

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 176, for March 18.

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle No. 1,368 for March 18.

There's no need to brave the outdoors: These indoor bike trainers help you build up and tone your muscles at home.

• Aoostar G-FLIP mini PC sports a 5.5-inch 1920×1080 touchscreen display
• OCulink’s 64 Gbps bandwidth enables seamless external GPU connectivity
• Expandable memory up to 96GB RAM and 8TB SSD storage

Aoostar has introduced the G-FLIP, a mini PC featuring a 5.5-inch Full HD touchscreen with a 1920×1080 resolution, a 60Hz refresh rate, and a hinged design that tilts between 0 and 65 degrees for system monitoring, quick controls, and secondary tasks.

Per Aoostar (via Androidpc, originally in Spanish), the G-FLIP is powered by AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, a high-end Zen 5 processor built on a 4nm process with 12 cores, 16 threads, and a 5.1GHz boost clock, delivering smooth performance for tasks from office work to demanding creative applications like 3D modeling and video editing software.

A major advantage of this chip is its 80 TOPS AI engine, which enhances AI-driven workloads and automation, while the Radeon 890M GPU, running at 2.9GHz with RDNA 3.5 architecture, delivers strong gaming and graphical performance, allowing the G-FLIP to handle modern AAA games at 1080p with solid frame rates, rivaling entry-level discrete GPUs.

Expanding storage and memory options

This business computer supports up to 96GB of DDR5 RAM via dual SODIMM slots and includes two M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 slots with a total capacity of up to 8TB, delivering fast read and write speeds and positioning it as a capable workstation for professionals.

The standout feature of the G-FLIP is its OCulink interface, a 64Gbps high-speed connection for external GPUs, offering superior performance and stability over USB4’s 40Gbps bandwidth, particularly for gaming and content creation.

It features dual 2.5G Ethernet ports, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, USB4, four USB-A 3.2 ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, HDMI 2.1, and DisplayPort 2.1 with 8K HDR at 60Hz, supporting three external displays alongside its built-in screen.

Despite its compact size, the G-FLIP features a large vapor chamber cooling system and a bottom-mounted fan, ensuring optimal thermal management for sustained high performance.

While the G-FLIP pushes the boundaries of an all-in-one PC, its reliance on external peripherals and lack of an integrated battery, keyboard, or trackpad keep it desktop-bound rather than a fully portable solution.

The Aoostar G-FLIP will be available soon through AliExpress and Amazon, with pricing yet to be revealed.

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• Western Digital unveils 26TB Red Pro NAS drive, priced at $569.99
• Built for RAID-optimized systems it promises 6Gb/s and 287MB/s transfer speeds
• Supports 550TB/year workloads and has a 5-year warranty

Although some companies believe the end is nigh for hard disk drives, makers like Seagate and Western Digital disagree. In February 2025, we reported on WD’s roadmap to the future of HDD technology which includes targeting over 100TB capacities in the not-so distant future.

Western Digital says that by 2026, its HDD capacity will reach 36TB–44TB thanks to HAMR, but before we see those drives arriving, the company has launched a new 26TB model at a surprisingly affordable price.

Designed to address the growing storage demands of NAS environments, the 26TB WD Red Pro HDD promises improved performance, scalability, and reliability in multi-bay RAID-optimized systems. The company is pricing the new NAS drive at $569.99 - for context, the same as it's charging for the 26TB WD Gold Enterprise Class model.

Capacity and reliability

“At Western Digital, we are constantly redefining what’s possible to meet the evolving storage demands of creatives and professionals, from 4K and 8K video production to AI analytics and critical workload storage,” said Nitin Kachhwaha, Director of Product Management at Western Digital.

“With the introduction of our expanded 26TB-based Professional lineup and WD Red Pro HDDs, we’re offering the capacity and reliability that today’s consumers and businesses need to stay ahead in an increasingly data-driven world. These solutions represent our ongoing commitment to delivering innovative storage solutions that empower creativity and drive digital transformation.”

The 26TB WD Red Pro HDD (WD260KFGX) helium-based CMR drive is designed specifically for NAS environments and promises a maximum interface transfer rate of 6Gb/s and an internal transfer rate of 287MB/s. It’s rated for up to 550TB/year workloads and boasts 2.5 million hours MTBF.

The drive comes with OptiNAND technology (which uses integrated iNAND embedded flash to perform key housekeeping functions) for improved data tracking and efficiency, and WD says the new model is built for 24/7 multi-user environments, supporting everything from creative workflows to enterprise-level NAS systems.

It comes with a whopping five-year warranty, but still no free data recovery, unfortunately.

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Amazon is killing its “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” privacy feature on March 28 as the company aims to bolster Alexa+, its new subscription assistant.

Since its inception in 2020, YouTube Shorts has been TikTok’s fierce competitor in the short-form content sector, but as of recently YouTube has been having a bit of run-in with issues that many users have picked up on. As reported by people on Reddit (see below), a new bug auto-plays the Shorts tab as soon as you open the YouTube app.

YouTube app opens to shorts from r/youtube

This issue has been quite on and off for YouTube and has somehow resurfaced for more and more people over the past few weeks. For many users, the app will automatically open to show its Shorts tab if it was the last thing viewed/ used, as opposed to opening the YouTube homepage as it usually would.

However, according to 9to5Google, it’s noticed a growing trend where YouTube automatically launches Shorts no matter what was previously viewed - and this is the case for both free users and paying subscribers of YouTube Premium. As it stands, it’s not certain if this issue is cropping up for iOS users, however 9to5Google has noticed that Android devices - notably the Nothing Phone (3a) and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold - have fallen victim to this annoying bug.

There’s no doubt that YouTube has contributed a substantial amount of attention to launching its answer to TikTok’s popular short video feed, and even gained an edge over it with a music video remix feature last year. But it’s hard to tell if this bug is a minor fault in the system, or a tactic to get more users to ride the YouTube Shorts train.

How you can fix the YouTube Shorts bug

If you’re an Android user who’s having issues with YouTube playing you Shorts as soon as you launch the app, then there’s a way you can change this. As recommended in 9to5Google’s report, opening and force-stopping the app won’t be enough to solve the issue, but clearing your storage/ cache will help.

Though this is the trick to getting YouTube to stop auto-playing the Shorts tab when you open the app, 9to5Google says that the issue will return when Shorts are opened again. YouTube has yet to comment on its efforts to fix the issue, but we’ll update this story if any new information surfaces.

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This weekend was one of the first days of sunshine I'd experienced in 2025 so far – after all, living in Scotland doesn't lead to many days of sun in the winter and spring takes a long while to come.

So for me to pass up on Edinburgh's first day of sunshine in maybe five months, there had to be a good reason, and that reason was Netflix's brand new drama Adolescence, which was one of seven new movies and shows released this past weekend.

Staying inside and binge-watching four hours of deeply emotional and harrowing television instead of sitting in the sunshine is the best compliment I can give for a TV show or movie, and while it might sound like I'm exaggerating, anyone who's experienced a Scottish winter will know exactly what I mean.

You see, I'm a huge fan of the 2021 movie, Boiling Point, directed by Philip Barantini, and starring Stephen Graham. It's a one-shot anxiety-inducing kitchen drama that showcases the stress of hospitality throughout one eventful evening based on a short film of the same name.

The pair collaborated again in 2023 with a four-part mini-series titled, you guessed it, Boiling Point, which is set after the events of the movie. Adolescence is the pair's fourth collaboration (fifth if you include both as actors in Band of Brothers), and the new Netflix drama might be the best use of the one-shot production yet.

Adolescence is one of the best shows of 2025

(Image credit: Netflix)

Adolescence is a four-part limited series with each episode filmed as one single shot. It's an incredibly impressive filming technique that highlights the outstanding acting from the ensemble cast as well as inducing anxiety due to the sheer pace of the show.

Following a 13-year-old who is accused of murder, Adolescence highlights the impact of crime on a whole family and the wider community, with its frantic pace meaning you don't have a second to take a breath or check your phone.

With only four episodes you could realistically watch Adolescence in one evening, and that's an amazing selling point for one of the best pieces of television you'll see all year. I'm a huge fan of limited series that don't overstay their welcome and I think due to its originality, Adolescence has a significant chance of picking up awards at the Emmys in November

Graham and Barantini have already showcased they have the secret sauce to one-shot success, and with Netflix’s wild one-take mystery thriller Adolescence I'm completely sold on the format.

I don't want to say much more because spoiling any of the story of one of the best Netflix shows would ruin the experience. Just know episode 3 is one of the best TV episodes I've ever seen, up there with Breaking Bad's fly episode, and Succession's funeral.

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• An over-the-air update has "bricked" many Samsung HW-Q990D soundbars
• The update has been pulled by Samsung
• It's unclear what those affected can do

Owners of Samsung's five-star soundbar, the Samsung HW-Q990D, are having a less than five-star experience right now. In what appears to be a faulty firmware update, many users are reporting huge problems that are effectively turning their Samsung soundbars into little more than long black bricks.

If you have a Samsung soundbar and you're not currently affected by this, it would be wise to turn off its auto-update feature (if it has it) for the time being. According to The Verge, the same issues may be affecting the Samsung HW-Q800D and HW-S801D – albeit in significantly smaller numbers so far.

So far, all a Samsung spokesperson had to say about the issue is: "Samsung is investigating the cause of the issue, and is taking immediate action to resolve the firmware error."

That leaves a lot of unanswered questions, so here's what we know so far.

What's going wrong with Samsung's soundbar firmware?

The firmware update, version 1020.7, has rendered some soundbars completely unresponsive: you can turn them on, but they appear to freeze and cannot be adjusted via Samsung's SmartThings app. Right now there's a 31-page (and growing) thread on the Samsung support site, with unhappy owners also turning to AV forums and Reddit.

Towards the end of that thread there's a screenshot apparently of a UK Samsung moderator, who says that "we have received feedback from our AV product specialists that this issue is a result of an OTN (Over The Network) software update... the OTN is now suspended, and customers that have updated via USB are not affected."

The post continues: "if your issue is the result of an OTN update, then it will be necessary to arrange an engineer's inspection and repair in order to get this resolved." The customer is then asked to contact Samsung support directly.

As yet we don't know if that's the only solution, or if there's a way for Samsung to use an OTN update to fix the last one. We've followed up with Samsung to request instructions for those affected as soon as possible.

Whatever the fix, this is a bad look for Samsung: this is a soundbar with a launch price of $1,799 / £1,699 / AU$1,995, not some cheap buy from a no-name brand. And as we've seen from the Sonos app disaster, if issues aren't resolved quickly they can do serious damage to brands among the early adopters and big spenders they work so hard to attract. Especially with the Samsung HW-Q990F soundbar that replaces the Q990D due for release in a matter of weeks…

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• Intel's Panther Lake lineup won't come to consumers until Q1 2026, according to a leaked presentation slide
• This comes after the expected full launch in late 2025, but that is only for the Early Enablement Program
• Rumors suggest the delay is due to Intel's 18A production process

Intel's Lunar Lake Core Ultra 200 processors are already here, present across powerful laptops (such as the MSI Prestige EVO AI+ lineup) and handhelds (notably the MSI Claw 8 AI+). Now, it's time to look forward to Team Blue's Panther Lake lineup - but it may not come as soon as initially promised.

As reported by VideoCardz, a leaked slide from a special event in China has seemingly revealed that Intel's Panther Lake processors won't launch until Q1 2026, while its EEP (Early Enablement Program) will start later this year in preparation. This is contrary to former interim CEO Michelle Holthaus' previous confirmation of the lineup's launch and availability in the second half of 2025, indicating a delay. Ultimately, it means consumers may have to wait until 2026 to get their hands on Intel Panther Lake-powered products.

Reasons for the delay reportedly stem from difficulties with managing Team Blue's 18A manufacturing process in terms of the original production schedule. It's not exactly clear why this delay is in place, but if the setback is significant enough, it could have an impact on Intel's placement in the market (especially up against AMD).

We know that AMD still has its Ryzen AI 400 series processors set to be announced, and we still don't know if it will launch around the same time as Intel's Panther Lake.

It's also worth noting that Team Red's Ryzen AI 300 series APUs have already made huge leaps in processing power, notably the Ryzen AI 395+ Max - so if its new lineup does arrive in Q1 2026, it will be interesting to see how it fairs against the Panther Lake chips using the Xe3 architecture.

(Image credit: Tester128 / Shutterstock) What does this mean for handheld gaming PCs?

With Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V processor, we've seen the new MSI Claw 8 AI+ (the same chip is also used in Dell's XPS 13 laptop) work wonders at providing huge improvements in gaming - especially in comparison to the previous MSI Claw A1M. Spoiler: it wasn't good.

With Panther Lake processors now on the (somewhat distant) horizon, I'm hopeful that we can get even stronger gaming ultrabooks and handheld gaming PCs based on these new chips. Intel's Technical Marketing Vice President, Robert Hallock, confirmed Team Blue's plans to support gaming handhelds (as reported by LaptopMag) and this could work perfectly for competition.

AMD's Ryzen Z2 Extreme is slated for 'early 2025' as a part of the Ryzen AI 300 series family - it will be used for handhelds like the Lenovo Legion Go 2 (still a prototype), but it's still not clear when that will launch. It also seems as though it will rival the Core Ultra 7 258V processor, which may end up being a good indication of how both Team Red and Team Blue's upcoming lineups could perform against each other.

I hope that both lineups provide drastic leaps in power for handhelds across the board, further placing handheld gaming within the limelight where it belongs - let's just hope that these delays don't make it a long wait...

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• A popular tool for automated software updates was compromised via GitHub
• A piece of malicious code was added, exposing user secrets
• Dozens of organizations were harmed already, researchers said

Tens of thousands of organizations, from SMBs to large enterprises, were at risk of inadvertently exposing internal secrets after a supply-chain attack hit a GitHub account.

A threat actor compromised the GitHub account of the person(s) maintaining tj-actions/changed files, a tool that is part of a larger collection called tj-actions, which helps automate software updates, and is reportedly used by more than 23,000 organizations.

Once in the account, the hacker silently modified the software so that instead of working as intended, it also stole sensitive information from the computers running it. Many developers apparently trusted the tool without checking for changes, executing the malicious code and exposing sensitive credentials. The report claims AWS access keys, GitHub Personal Access Tokens (PATs), npm tokens, private RSA Keys and more, were added to a plaintext log and thus exposed.

Dozens of victims

The stolen credentials could allow attackers to access private systems, steal data, or compromise the services mentioned above, which means that the effects of this attack are yet to be seen in the weeks and months to come.

GitHub addressed the incident, saying that the company and its platform were not compromised in the attack, but it still helped remedy the problem.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we suspended user accounts and removed the content in accordance with GitHub's Acceptable Use Policies," GitHub was cited saying.

"We reinstated the account and restored the content after confirming that all malicious changes have been reverted and the source of compromise has been secured."

Users should "always review GitHub Actions or any other package that they are using in their code before they update to new versions," GitHub concluded.

Ars Technica noted security researchers from Wiz already found “dozens of users” who were harmed in this attack.

“Wiz Threat Research has so far identified dozens of repositories affected by the malicious GitHub action, including repos operated by large enterprise organizations. In these repositories, the malicious payload successfully executed and caused secrets to leak in workflow logs,” they concluded

If your system is using tj-actions, make sure to inspect it thoroughly for any signs of compromise.

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• Pebble is teasing a major smartwatch announcement
• A countdown timer on its website confirms there's a reveal coming on March 18
• The company has previously confirmed its iconic smartwatches could make a comeback

Just weeks after confirming its iconic smartwatch would make a return, Pebble is teasing a major announcement for March 18 with a countdown timer on its website.

9to5Google reports that the company sent an email to those who signed up for updates on the company's anticipated new project which states:

Time to get excited!

Set your alarm for March 18 (tomorrow!) at 9am PDT – 12 noon EDT – 4pm GMT – 9:30pm IST – Midnight CST – 1am JST

If you want to keep track , you can watch the countdown timer here.

Pebble teases major announcement

(Image credit: Pebble)

As to what Pebble is going to announce on March 18, it's impossible to say, but we do have some ideas based on what the company has already said this year.

In January, Google Made Pebble's source code available for download, and founder Eric Migicovsky confirmed he was working on a new smartwatch using PebbleOS soon after.

In February, he confirmed that his latest project would be "a Pebble and almost exactly as you remember it." He's also confirmed it'll feature the always-on e-paper display, long battery life, buttons, simple user experience, and hackability that made the original Pebble line so iconic.

"Please don’t get your hopes up that the new watch will have X/Y/Z new feature," he said in February. "It’s going to be a Pebble and almost exactly as you remember it, except now with open-source software that can you can modify and improve yourself. More hardware details will be shared in the future."

With Pebble's announcement just hours away, we don't have long to wait and find out what the company has in store.

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Users will need an active Microsoft 365 account to access some of the new AI features in these apps.

Whether you’ve got the best Apple Watch on the market, a humble Apple Watch SE 2, or even an older model, watchOS is home to a plethora of options, buried in the nooks and crannies of the settings menus, that can make or break your Apple Watch experience.

There are some settings I always change when I’m using my Apple Watch, be it the notification sounds, raise-to-wake tweaks, and others. But there are also a few settings that people often overlook when using their Apple Watch.

I’ve been using Apple Watch for 10 years, both as a tech writer and an Apple employee, and these are some of the most common mistakes people make – myself very much included.

1. Not updating your fitness goals

(Image credit: Future)

Even beginner Apple Watch users will be familiar with Apple’s addictive Activity rings that track your move, exercise, and stand goals throughout the day. Closing your rings is a great way to stay healthy and active, with fun rewards and badges on offer to make taking care of yourself ever-so-slightly easier.

That being said, there’s one aspect you might have forgotten about, and that’s your fitness goals. You select your fitness goals whenever you set up a new Apple Watch for the first time.

If you don’t buy a new Apple Watch every year, or you restore your new model from a backup, there’s a chance that you haven’t looked at your goals in years, and as such it might be time to change them.

If you set relatively modest goals when you first got your Apple Watch, and find that you’re crushing them on the daily, perhaps it’s time to increase those targets and push yourself a bit more.

Suppose your move goal is a very low number of calories, or you set your stand goal to a paltry one hour because you just wanted to get on with using your Apple Watch. Why not revisit those goals and give yourself a boost? Conversely, if you're struggling to hit goals that are too ambitious, why not revise them to more modest levels to help increase your motivation?

To change your fitness goals, simply head to the Activity app on your watch, scroll down, and tap the -+ icon in the bottom right-hand corner to change your goals. Remember to apply the principles of progressive overload here. If you’re happily managing 10 minutes of exercise, maybe try 15 or 20, but don’t overdo it and go for 60-plus – even 15 is a 50% increase.

Not managing your notifications

(Image credit: Future)

Even the most basic notification management on your Apple Watch is going to save you a world of frustration. Having on-wrist dings and pings sounds great, but after 10 minutes you’re going to find Apple Watch notifications hilariously annoying.

Notifications from your Apple Watch, especially superfluous ones, are distracting and drain your battery. At the very least, use the Apple Watch Do Not Disturb to get some reprieve – just remember that this also silences your iPhone.

A more effective way to manage your notifications is to use the Focus Mode feature on your iPhone, which can help sift notifications while you’re at work, exercising, or just trying to get some personal downtime.

Finally, head to the Notifications section of the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and toggle which apps from your iPhone you want to see notifications from on your Apple Watch – I guarantee you’ll turn off half of them, and your wrist will thank you for it.

Not using your Emergency Contacts

(Image credit: Future)

Formulating this list, I settled on Emergency Contacts as my final pick with a chuckle. “Who doesn’t have Emergency Contacts set up on Apple Watch?” I scoffed to myself quietly.

Me. That's who. I didn’t have Emergency Contacts set up on my Apple Watch.

I thought I did, but I’m not sure why. Maybe I assumed it was automatic, or maybe I thought about doing it once and then never got around to it.

In your Apple Watch app head to Emergency SOS, scroll down to Emergency Contacts to check yours. If your Apple Watch automatically calls emergency services after a crash or fall, or if you do it manually by holding the Side Button, your Watch can also automatically notify relatives and friends of your plight, including information about your location.

You should absolutely check you have a list of contacts including friends and loved ones in there. You should also check that any contacts you've set up are still relevant, and that their numbers haven’t changed. The Apple Watch Emergency SOS feature is a vital safety tool even Tim Cook has used, so don’t be a plum like me.

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• Researchers uncovered a brute-forcing tool called BRUTED
• It was used since 2023 against VPNs and firewalls
• BRUTED allows for automated brute-force and credential stuffing attacks

The infamous Black Basta ransomware actors created an automated framework for brute-forcing firewalls, VPNs, and other edge networking devices.

The “BRUTED” tool has apparently been in use for years now, according to cybersecurity researchers EclecticIQ, who have been sifting through the recently-leaked Black Basta chat logs, which were leaked and subsequently uploaded to a GPT for easier analysis.

Besides being used to analyze the group’s structure, organization, and activities, researchers used it to identify the tools, too. Apparently, BRUTED was in use since 2023 in large-scale credential stuffing and brute-force attacks. The endpoints being targeted include SonicWall NetExtender, Palo Alto GlobalProtect, Cisco AnyConnect, Fortinet SSL VPN, Citrix NetScaler (Citrix Gateway), Microsoft RDWeb (Remote Desktop Web Access), and WatchGuard SSL VPN.

High confidence often leads to victimization

The tool first identifies potential victims by enumerating subdomains, resolving IP addresses, and appending prefixes such as “vpn”, or “remote”. It then pulls a list of potential login credentials and combines them with locally generated guesses, executing as many requests as possible.

To narrow the list down, BRUTED extracts Common Name (CN) and Subject Alternative Names (SAN) from the SSL certificates of targeted devices, as well, the researchers said.

Finally, to remain under the radar, BRUTED uses a list of SOCKS5 proxies, although its infrastructure is apparently located in Russia.

To protect against brute-force and credential stuffing attacks, businesses should make sure all their edge devices and VPN instances have strong, unique passwords, consisting of at least eight characters, both uppercase and lowercase, numbers, and special characters. They should also enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all possible accounts, and apply the zero-trust network access (ZTNA) philosophy, if possible.

Ultimately, monitoring the network for authentication attempts from unknown locations, as well as for numerous failed login attempts, is a great way to spot attacks.

Via BleepingComputer

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• Google unveils new AI initiatives, including expanding UK data residency for Agentspace and AI upskilling projects
• Chirp 3 will also be coming to Vertex AI
• Follows Google’s $1 billion commitment to building a new data center in 2025

Google has announced the expansion of UK data residency for Agentspace, offering extra security by allowing British businesses to store their information locally.

Speaking at the launch in its DeepMind’s London HQ, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian outlined the opportunities Google’s UK data residency extension brings for organisations that use Agentspace.

“It's an important element to give companies confidence that they can use our systems and their data will be private to their own use and that they have full control to keep the data where they need it," he noted.

Agentspace inclusion

The existing data residency programme in the UK gives Google Cloud users and customers the ability to conduct machine learning processing for Gemini 1.5 Flash, but Google has strengthened its commitment to UK AI by expanding this to include Agentspace.

“Recognizing the importance of the United Kingdom, we already have a cloud region here," Kurian added. "We're expanding our program with a new large scale data center, and we host these solutions and models here in the UK so that you can keep your data in the country and meet regulations to train and serve models right here.”

Agentspace is a business-specific AI agent platform, which combines Gemini AI, Google search, and company data all in one place, using emails, documents, tables, and even third party services like Confluence and ServiceNow within a multi-model search agent, designed to help answer complex questions and boost productivity.

That’s why its data residency is “super important”, said BT Group Chief Executive, Allison Kirkby, praising the move for offering “a bit more sovereignty and protection” for UK users.

“Because our overall mission as a company is to be the most trusted connector of people, business, and society. And considering the world we live in, certainly have customers that want to ensure that their data is safe and secure and it's on platforms that are encrypted in the right way with the right people handling it”

Skills investments

The news follows Google’s $1 billion commitment to building a new data centre, set to open later in 2025.

This comes alongside significant investment into skills and training initiatives, and a Google Cloud Startup Program, offering up to £280,000 for AI startups across the country - all part of a Google’s reinforced commitment to the UK market.

Google is looking to expand AI skill initiatives in the UK, having trained over a million students, educators, and developers in the last ten years. This includes 35 free Skills Boost credits per month for the Google Cloud Skills Boost programme, with a focus on generative AI in the workplace.

When polled, over half of TechRadar Pro readers (54%) said they use AI daily in their work, with a further 22% saying they use AI tools at least once or twice a week. This outlines just how crucial AI safety and skills training is, especially given only 17% of respondents told us they never use AI at work. If you want to take a look at our polls, or participate in the next one, you can do so by signing up to our Whatsapp here.

“We're investing heavily in startups,” said Kurian. ”For example, smaller companies who use models to run the business. There's a whole range of these that we're doing. We have programs at universities to teach computer science programs on how to use models as part of their work. There's a broad range of things.”

Over 60% of startups in the UK are already working with Google Cloud, and the “Gemini for UK” event confirmed cloud credits for UK startups, alongside technical resources and training. These startups will also gain a community of Google Cloud experts, as well as investors, partners, and other startups.

Chirp 3

Also announced at Google’s event was the introduction of Chirp 3 on Vertex AI - an audio generation model, available in 31 different languages. This ‘groundbreaking’ model will offer 248 distinct voices and eight speaker options, with detailed speech functionality that “captures the nuances of human intonation.”

Whilst impressive, this does raise some questions about its potential for harm. Chirp3 does currently come with significant restrictions in order to mitigate the risk of abuse, but Google is, "working through some of those things with [our] safety team,” Kurian confirms.

Deepfake AI calls have been on the rise thanks to the advancement of similar technologies, and although AI is frequently used in threat detection, accessible tools like these could lower the barriers for cybercriminals looking to impersonate trusted figures to trick victims into handing over personal or financial information.

Researchers recently hijacked AI agents into writing and sending phishing emails for them, proving that AI agents and tools can be a useful accessory for cyberattackers - so Google will have to ensure strict guardrails and safety controls are in place.

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The design would represent a handful of big changes coming to future iPhones, according to Bloomberg.

• Nintendo Switch 2 likely to have AI upscaling
• A patent has been updated with new information showcasing a 540p image upscaled to 1080p output
• New info on the console is scarce but this could mean older games look better on Nintendo Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 is likely to have AI Upscaling which could drastically improve performance and graphics on Nintendo's upcoming console.

A patent that previously used vague language hinting that the Switch 2 would be able to "convert images through the use of a trained neural network." has now been updated to showcase how the Switch 2 would go about upscaling 540p to 1080p.

Initially reported by Mike Odyssey on X, the updated patent all but confirms Nintendo Switch 2 to be capable of upscaling for much-improved graphics when playing games. With the ability to double resolution from 540p to 1080p, handheld games could look significantly better on the Switch 2 than its predecessor.

Backward-compatible games like Super Mario Odyssey or The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom could run much better on this new hardware with AI upscaling. This feature would be a huge reason to upgrade for current Nintendo Switch owners.

Nintendo just released an update for Nintendo Switch 2 on AI resolution Upscaling. It's happening, folks! pic.twitter.com/6GZUEXeBliMarch 16, 2025

Better graphics, better performance

With the Nintendo Switch 2 likely to have AI upscaling similar to Nvidia's DLSS or PS5 Pro's PSSR there's a huge reason to be excited for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 reveal on April 2. At the time of writing, official information on the Nintendo Switch's successor is scarce following Nintendo's trailer reveal in February.

That said, we expect to hear more about performance and the console's hardware in April when Nintendo pulls the cover on one of the most-anticipated console launches of all time.

As a huge Nintendo fan, and a sucker for good performance, I think Switch titles that have been released over the last few years have struggled with the aging hardware. One of the main reasons I'm excited to upgrade to the Nintendo Switch 2 is to play my old Switch games because I hoped that Nintendo would find a way to improve them with better hardware.

Now, thanks to this patent there's a real possibility that Nintendo Switch games will look and play better on the new console. For me, even if there were no new games at launch, that would be enough to part with my hard-earned cash.

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