Technology

The Samsung Galaxy S25 leaks continue to trickle out, and we now have what are supposedly the full dimensions of all three phones in the series: the standard Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25 Plus, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

This information comes from the usually reliable Yeux1122 (via @Jukanlosreve), who says the standard Galaxy S25 will have dimensions of 146.94 mm x 70.46 mm x 7.25 mm​. That compares to 147 mm x 70.6 mm x 7.6mm for the Samsung Galaxy S24.

Then we have the larger Galaxy S25 Plus, which will apparently measure 158.44 mm x 75.79 mm x 7.35 mm​. The dimensions of the current Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus, for comparison, are 158.5 mm x 75.9 mm x 7.7mm.

Lastly, there's the largest of the lot, the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The dimensions of this handset are said to be 162.82 mm x 77.65 mm x 8.25 mm​, and those measurements compare to 162.3 mm x 79 mm x 8.6 mm for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Matching previous leaks

Final detailed dimensions of the Galaxy S25 seriesS25 146.94 x 70.46 x 7.25 mm​(* S24 147.0 x 70.6 x 7.6mm)​S25 + ​158.44 x 75.79 x 7.35 mm​(* S24 + 158.5 x 75.9 x 7.7mm)​​S25 U ​162.82 x 77.65 x 8.25 mm​(*S24 U 162.3 x 79.0 x 8.6mm)​Source: yeux1122October 19, 2024

As you can see from those comparisons, there's not going to be a whole lot of difference in terms of sizes for next year's models – though each one is going to be thinner than the Galaxy S24 model it's replacing.

They're also more or less the same as the measurements that have been mentioned in previous rumors, adding to the likelihood that these figures are right. The phones are expected to be revealed in January, a year after the Galaxy S24 series.

Just a couple of days ago we saw a leaked image featuring dummy units of all three Galaxy S25 phones, another indicator that the shapes and sizes will match up with the current models (though perhaps have slightly thinner bezels).

There remains some debate about the internals of the Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25 Plus, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra, however – with most rumors now suggesting they'll all come running the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.

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When it comes to printers, the price of ink cartridges often becomes a major factor for both home and office users. While a cartridge might appear affordable at first glance, the real cost lies in how much ink you’re getting for your money.

The price of an ink cartridge can be deceptive - as a cartridge that costs $20 may only contain 2ml of ink, which might print around 100 pages. In contrast, a $50 cartridge could contain 20ml of ink, enabling you to print 1,000 pages. While the $20 cartridge seems cheaper, it may end up costing more in the long run due to the need for frequent replacements.

To help shed light on the true cost of printing, I surveyed 100 ink cartridges using publicly available information from the official websites of four major brands: HP, Canon, Epson, and Brother.

The hidden costs of Ink cartridges

To accurately analyze the long-term cost of printing, we assessed the price per litre of ink rather than focusing on the upfront cartridge cost. This approach provides a clearer picture of how much users will spend over time, as it factors in the volume of ink and the total number of pages each cartridge can print.

Among the 100 cartridges surveyed, 31% were classified as cheap (< $1000 per litre), 51% as affordable (between $1000 and $5000), and 18% as expensive (> $5000). Interestingly, Canon and Epson each held a 35% share of the cheap ink data, with HP making up the remaining 30%. This suggests that all three brands ensure they have affordable options available.

However, Canon emerges as the leader in affordability, offering the world’s cheapest original ink by the bottle.

The Canon GI-290 stands out with a price of only $171.29 per litre, making it the most affordable option on the market. Additionally, Canon’s GI-25 series sells for just $9.99 per cartridge, translating to a price of $270 per litre making it also one of the most affordable in the surveyed data. These low prices highlight Canon's focus on providing cost-effective printing solutions, especially for consumers who print frequently and want to minimize their ink expenses.

While HP is often perceived as a cheap brand, the data tells a different story when you look at the cost per litre of ink.

HP dominates the affordable ink category, with 53% of its cartridges falling between $1,001 and $5,000 per litre. Canon follows with 43% in this range, while Epson and Brother contribute just 2% each. Interestingly, 18% of the surveyed inks are expensive and HP takes the entire 18%. This means that the American tech company produces some of the most expensive ink cartridges in the world.

Although HP cartridges often sell for between $20 to $60, the price per litre can be extraordinarily high, making these cartridges some of the most expensive to use over time. For example, the HP 65 and 67 Tri-Colour cartridges have a staggering price per litre of $9,995 and $9,495 respectively, the highest in the entire dataset.

While some cartridges may seem expensive upfront, they can offer significant savings for users who print in high volumes.

Cartridges like the HP 32XL and Canon GI-290 have an exceptionally low price per page, effectively bringing the cost down to $0.00 in some cases. These cartridges are ideal for consumers who need to print large quantities of documents or photos, as they reduce the need for frequent cartridge replacements and save money in the long run.

High-capacity cartridges such as the Epson T636100 and Canon PFI-1000, which hold between 700ml and 800ml of ink, are also excellent choices for high-volume users. Though these cartridges have a higher upfront cost, their large capacity reduces the frequency of replacements and minimizes long-term costs.

Another interesting trend from the data is that black ink cartridges generally offer a lower cost per page and per litre compared to color cartridges.

Black ink is more commonly used for everyday document printing, which explains its lower cost. However, consumers who require color printing, such as for photos or graphics, face a much higher price per litre. For instance, color cartridges like HP 902 and Canon CL-276 have a much higher price per litre, especially for magenta, cyan, and yellow inks.

Users with frequent color printing needs may want to consider brands like Epson, which offers more affordable options for color ink. The Epson T664220-S cartridges in cyan, magenta, and yellow, for example, are priced at around $177 per litre, making them a reasonable option for those needing a balance between black and color ink costs.

The analysis reveals distinct strategies among the four brands: HP offers products across all three price categories—cheap, affordable, and expensive—but its high price per litre for some cartridges indicates a focus on short-term affordability at the expense of long-term savings. Canon, on the other hand, prioritizes cheap and affordable inks, making it the best choice for cost-conscious consumers. Epson primarily targets the cheap ink market, while Brother plays a smaller role overall, offering fewer options across the price spectrum.

If you print large volumes of document or you run a small business that requires heavy printing, then ink tank printers are the way to go. They are designed for designed for large volume of printing, offer lower costs per page and you do not need to refill regularly.

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Artificial intelligence is increasingly making its presence felt in more areas of our lives, certainly since the launch of ChatGPT. Depending on your view, it’s that big bad bogeyman that’s taking jobs and causing widespread copyright infringement, or a gift with the potential to catapult humanity into a new age of enlightenment.

What many have achieved with the new tech, from Midjourney and LLMs to smart algorithms and data analysis, is beyond radical. It’s a technology that, like most of the silicon-based breakthroughs that came before it, has a lot of potency behind it. It can do a lot of good, but also, many fear, a lot of bad. And those outcomes are entirely dependent on how it’s manipulated, managed, and regulated.

It’s not surprising then, given how rapidly AI has forced its way into the zeitgeist, that tech companies and their sales teams are equally leaning into the technology, stuffing its various iterations into their latest products, all in the aim of encouraging us to buy their hardware.

Check out this new AI powered laptop, that motherboard that utilizes AI to overclock your CPU to the limit, those new webcams featuring AI deep-learning tech. You get the point. You just know that from Silicon Valley to Shanghai, share-holders and company execs are asking their marketing teams “How can we get AI into our products?" in time for the next CES or the next Computex, no matter how modest the value will actually be for us consumers.

My biggest bugbear comes in the form of the latest generation of CPUs being launched by the likes of AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm. Now, these aren’t bad products, not by a long shot. Qualcomm is making huge leaps and bounds in the desktop and laptop chip markets, and the performance of both Intel and AMD’s latest chips is nothing if not impressive. Generation on generation, we’re seeing higher performance scores, better efficiency, broader connectivity, lower latencies, and ridiculous power savings (here’s looking at you, Snapdragon), among a whole slew of innovative design changes and choices. To most of us mere mortals, it’s magic way beyond the basic 0s and 1s.

Despite that, we still get AI slapped onto everything regardless of whether or not it’s actually adding anything useful to a product. We have new neural processing units (NPUs) added to chips, which are co-processors that are designed to accelerate low-level operations that can take advantage of AI. These are then put into low-powered laptops, allowing them to use advanced AI features such as Microsoft’s Copilot assistant to tick that AI checkbox, as if it makes a difference to a predominantly cloud-based solution.

The thing is though, CPU performance, when it comes to AI, is insignificant. Like seriously insignificant, to the point it’s not even mildly relevant. It’s like trying to launch NASA’s JWST space telescope with a bottle of Coke and some Mentos.

Everything’s an AI powered this or that these days (Image credit: Future) Emperor's new clothes?

I’ve spent the last month testing a raft of laptops and processors, specifically in regard to how they handle artificial intelligence tasks and apps. Using UL’s Procyon benchmark suite (makers of the 3D Mark series), you can run its Computer Vision inference test, and that can spit out a nice number for you, giving you a score for each component. Intel Core i9-14900K? 50. AMD Ryzen 9 7900X? 56. 9900X? 79 (that’s a 41% performance increase, by the way, gen-on-gen, seriously huge).

Here’s the thing though: chuck a GPU through that same test, such as Nvidia’s RTX 4080 Super, and it scores 2,123. That’s a 2,587% performance increase compared to that Ryzen 9 9900X, and that’s not even using Nvidia’s own TensorRT SDK, which scores even higher than that.

The simple fact of the matter is that AI demands parallel processing performance like nothing else, and nothing does that better than a graphics card right now. Elon Musk knows this – he’s just installed 100,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs in xAI’s latest AI training system. That’s more than $1 billion worth of graphics cards in a single supercomputer.

Obscured by clouds

To add insult to injury, the vast majority of popular AI tools today require cloud computing to fully function anyway.

LLMs (large language models) like ChatGPT and Google Gemini require so much processing power and storage space that it’s impossible to run them on a local machine. Even Adobe’s Generative Fill and AI smart filter tech in the latest versions of Photoshop require cloud computing to process images.

Large language models just require too much processing power to function on your home rig, sorry (Image credit: Google)

It’s just not feasible or possible to really run the vast majority of these AI programs that are so popular today on your own home machine. There are exceptions, of course; certain AI image-generation tools are far easier to operate on a solo machine, but still, you’re far better off using cloud computing to process it in 99% of use cases.

The one big exception to this rule is localized upscaling and super-sampling. Things like Nvidia’s DLSS and Intel’s XeSS, and even to a lesser extent AMD’s own FSR (although this is predominantly based on deep-learning models, applied via rasterization hardware, meaning you don’t need AI componentry) are fantastic examples of a good use of localized AI. Otherwise though, you’re basically out of luck.

Yet still, here we are. Another week, another AI-powered laptop, another AI chip, much of which, in my opinion, amounts to a lot of fuss about nothing.

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A great robot vacuum can save you both time and effort. As a TechRadar Homes Editor specializing in floor-cleaning appliances, I spend plenty of time reading and writing about the latest robot vacuums developments, as well as testing a range of models at different price points.

Today's very best robot vacuums can arrive with a War and Peace-length features list, and figuring out what it all means can be tricky. Especially since brands in this space tend to shy away from easily comparable specs in favor of long descriptions and impressive-sounding jargon.

Below, I'll run through the various features of robot vacuum cleaners, unpacking the jargon to help clarify what each one does. Read on to discover an easy to understand guide that will ultimately help you find the right model of robot vacuum for you. 

Suction power

Figuring out how much suction a vacuum cleaner offers can be a surprisingly tricky process when it comes to manual models. Thankfully, it tends to be more straightforward with robot vacuums, since most brands will publish these specs. Measured in pascals (Pa), the figure refers to how much air pressure the machine can create – and, as a result, how much force with which it pulls up dust and debris.

Today's top-specced robovacs, such as the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo (pictured), can generate upwards of 10,000Pa of suction. That's rare, however; for that kind of power, you'd be looking to pay a price that's four figures. In the mid-range, expect 5,000-7,000Pa of suction. Lower than 5,000Pa is what I'd expect in a budget-friendly model.

The Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo has a maximum suction of 11,000Pa (Image credit: Future)

Although Pa figures can be a useful initial indicator of suction power, it isn't the be-all and end for cleaning. Bear in mind that these specs reference the maximum suction; it's unlikely you'll be doing a regular cleaning session at that rate.

Design aspects such as the brushroll type, edge cleaning features and – on more premium models – smart suction adjustment also play a part in how well a robot vacuum cleans. I suspect this is the justification for the brands that don't publish suction stats (looking at you, iRobot Roomba).

It's also worth noting that robot vacuums are really designed for convenient, light cleans that are carried out regularly. For a deep clean, you'll probably need to keep one of the best manual vacuums to hand.

Mopping functionality

Many of today's best robot vacuums can also mop floors. And you might be more surprised to learn that brands appear to be increasingly moving away from vacuum-only robots, focusing on combo models in their new releases.

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra has a semicircular mop pad, but also a small side mop (Image credit: Future)

Robot vacuum mopping capabilities remain quite limited compared to what you'd be able to achieve with a standard mop and some elbow grease; don't expect such a cleaner to really scrub your floors. However, for regular, light cleans, a combo robot vacuum and mop can be effective.

There are two common mop types: a semicircular mop pad that presses down and/or vibrates as it cleans, or two flat disc-shaped mop pads that rotate. In my experience, the latter tend to be more effective at cleaning.

The Samsung Bespoke Jet Bot Combo AI+ has two rotating mop pads (Image credit: Future)

Other things to factor in when considering a vacuum with a mop function is the level of downward pressure the mop pads apply while cleaning, and if the model has a means for tackling edges. Additional side mops are rarer than side brushes, but not unheard of (the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra has one, for instance) and the Dreame L40 Ultra – review in progress – has a mop that can shift out to the side to clean the edges of rooms.

If you have some deep-pile carpets or thick rugs, check what the robot vacuum does with the mop when it's not mopping. Most robovacs can lift up their mop pads to avoid cross-contamination from hard floor to carpet.

More advanced models such as the Dreame L40 Ultra and the Samsung Bespoke Jet Bot Combo AI have pads that attach magnetically, leaving them in the dock when just a vacuum is required. The Robot Roomba Combo J7 Plus has a mop pad that repositions itself on top of the robot body when it isn't in use.

The Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo taking a methodical approach to mopping a wooden floor (Image credit: Future)

Combo models are generally more expensive than vacuum-only robots. Some brands, such as iRobot, will offer vac-only or combo versions of the same model, meaning you can pick the one that suits your needs and budget.

Pricier self-empty models will arrive with a dock that's able to empty and refill the onboard water tanks (more on that in the Dock section), but basic models will likely require you manually swap the dust bin for a water tank when switching from vacuum to mop mode.

Robot height and clearance

Robot height is relevant if you have low (but not too low) furniture. A robot with a relatively reduced height will be able to clean right under your sofa and other furniture, saving you a huge amount of effort.

We're yet to see a robot that can climb stairs. Almost all will come equipped with cliff sensors that help them identify and avoid any changes of floor level, so while you won't have to deal with your robovac flinging itself down your stairs, you will have to come up with an alternative vacuuming solution if you live in a multi-floor home.

(Image credit: Future)

While stair-climbing remains a distant dream, brands are increasingly focused on pushing the boundaries of what their robovacs can get over. High thresholds or chunky rugs can easily beach a robot vacuum, requiring manual rescuing and negating many of the benefits of this ostensibly hands-off cleaning solution.

The Roborock Qrevo Curv (shown above, review in progress) has quadbike-like suspension to bounce it over obstacles, and a number of other brands have come up with alternative solutions.

Self-clean and self-empty docks

The fanciest robovacs on the market have docks that can take care of all kinds of things for you. The most common additional feature is automatic emptying of dust, from the onboard dustbin to a much larger one housed in the dock. 

If dust builds up quickly in your household, or you have a shedding pet, for example, I'd recommend prioritizing this feature. Onboard dustbins are necessarily small, so if you don't have a self-empty dock then you'll need to be prepared for regular manual emptying.

However, be aware that adding self-empty capabilities will also bump up the price – not inconsiderably – as will all the auto-maintenance features discussed here.

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra's dock has clean and dirty water tanks, plus a larger dust bag (Image credit: Future)

If you have a combo robovac, then the dock might also be able to empty and refill the onboard water tank, as well as automatically adding cleaning fluid. This will be more useful if you have a large house with lots of hard floors. However, this type of dock tends to be large, so do make sure you've factored in how much space you'll need.

The most advanced models on the market have docks that can clean the robot mop pads, either with cold or hot water, or even with steam, to remove grease. You will need to supplement this with occasional manual deep cleaning of the mop pads, but it will lower the amount of maintenance required from you.

Edge cleaning features

Most robovacs are round in shape, which presents an issue when it comes to getting close to edges and into the corners of rooms. Dyson's solution was to make its 360 Vis Nav robovac D-shaped, but that never really took off.

The most common solution to edge cleaning is to have a spinning side brush, either made from a rubbery material or bristles, which flicks dirt into the robovac's suction path. This method is limited in its effectiveness, often leading to debris being propelled right across the floor. Beware also that long hair tends to tangle round these little spinners. A handful of models have an extending side brush, deployed when the robot senses it's close to the edge of a room, to enable it to reach further.

(Image credit: Future)

The Shark PowerDetect Robot Vacuum takes a different tack, blasting out air to blow dirt rather than flicking it. This model also has an extending mop pad that can get closer to the edges of rooms. However, on test, we found that over-sensitive obstacle detection meant the robovac rarely got close enough to the edges of rooms to make these features effective.

And that, in a nutshell, is the issue with trying to predict edge-cleaning abilities. There's no failsafe "best" solution; in most cases, you'll need to read a review to find out if a design works as promised.

Object avoidance and navigation

The cheapest models on the market don't map your home, and will tend to wander about fairly randomly, learning where not to go by simply backing away when they bump into things. They'll cover your whole floor every time they head out – you won't be able to request more specific cleaning tasks – and they might end up going over the same area multiple times. This will be perfectly acceptable for some people's needs.

More advanced models use various sensors and cameras to create a map of your space. (Some will have the ability to store maps for more than one floor, although you'll have to manually transport between floors, because stairs remain an insurmountable hurdle.)

Robovacs such as the S8 MaxV Ultra can correctly identify a wide range of objects (Image credit: Future)

You'll be able to label rooms – some robovacs will even take an educated guess at that themselves – and then request that your robot vacuum cleans just the bathroom, for instance. Your robovac might even be able to figure out an optimal cleaning route, and/or identify dirtier areas where it will spend more time cleaning.

Related to navigation is obstacle avoidance. The holy grail here is a robot vacuum that can identify objects, and then deduce whether to get right up close (baseboards and furniture, for example) or give them a wider berth (say, dog poop and cables).

Smart features

Robot vacuums will typically have a few physical buttons that set off basic tasks. At the very cheapest end of the market, you'll be using these, and/or perhaps a remote control, to instruct your robovac.

However, the majority of robot vacs from well-known brands are Wi-Fi enabled and come with a companion app that offers more granular control.

Exactly what you can achieve will vary by brand, but common functions include the ability to launch your robot remotely, check its status, view cleaning routes or progress, set no-go zones, and set a daily or weekly cleaning schedule.

Upper-mid range models might be compatible with common third-party voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant, and premium models might even have their own built-in voice assistant.

Price

Pricing for robot vacuums can range massively. At TechRadar, these are the price bands we use:

• Budget: less than $500 / £400
• Mid-range: $400-$800 / £400-£650
• Premium: $800+ / £650+

Those brackets are mainly to ensure consistency when it comes to comparing models – I appreciate that different people will have different perceptions of what is "budget" and so on.

Bear in mind that features such as mopping, self-emptying, and self-cleaning will all result in price bumps. Some brands create the same model with different dock options, or with or without mopping, enabling you to select the one that meets your needs.

Currently, the biggest brands seem to be launching a number of new models each year. Often the differences between various models is minimal, and the ranges are confusing to navigate as a buyer.

For the very latest, flagship models, pricing in the four figures isn't unusual, but most people won't need such an advanced option. Robot vacuum cleaner brands are constantly trying to one-up one another, but the rate of meaningful improvement has started to slow down in recent years. A model that's a bit cheaper as a result of being a couple of years old can often deliver the best value for money, with very few sacrifices in performance.

In general, it isn't hard to find deals on robot vacuums, and older models in particular. The Black Friday sales can be an especially good time to shop for household appliances in general, and robot vacuums are no exception.

Bin size

Robot vacuums tend to have fairly small onboard dustbins – certainly nowhere near as big as you'd find on a manual vacuum. If you opt for a model that doesn't have a self-emptying dock, you'll need to be prepared to empty it yourself. If you do have a version with a self-emptying dock, pay attention to the capacity of the dock bin and make sure it fits your needs. If you're regularly dealing with large amounts of hair or dirt, then I'd recommend going for a version with a self-emptying base, and one with a decent bin capacity.

Onboard dustbins tend to be small (Image credit: Future) Battery life

Battery life is a major consideration if you're on the hunt for one of the best cordless vacuums, but I tend to think it's less important when shopping for a robot vacuum. Since a robot vacuum is operating independently, and will dock when it needs to charge, and set out again when it's able, interruptions to the cleaning cycle are less disruptive. This is especially so if you'll be mostly setting your robovac to clean floors while you're out of the house.

However, if you have an especially large house, or it's a priority that your robot vacuum cleans efficiently, it's worth paying attention to runtime specs.

Hair-tackling features

When I talk about hair-tackling features, I mean two things. The first is how well the robot can pick up hair – for example, if you have a shedding pet. The second is how effectively it deals with the hair it has picked up; directing it into the bin rather than letting it tangle around the mechanism.

On the first point, today's best robot vacuums for pet hair tend to have higher levels of suction, and rubbery brushrolls that can grip hair. The dual rubber brushrolls on Roborock robovacs, for example, have proven particularly good at hair pickup.

The dual rubber rollers on Roborock robovacs are great at gripping hair (Image credit: Future)

On the latter point, if you have long hair, or live with anyone who does, you'll know the pain of tearing matted clumps from your vacuum's brushrolls on a regular basis. For whatever reason, I (with collarbone-length hair, or longer) don't have nearly as much of a problem with this on the robot vacuums I test compared to my regular manual vacuum cleaner.

When hair does need clearing, it's far easier to remove hair from rubbery rollers compared to bristles, and especially since you should be able to take the rollers out of the robovac first to tackle this task. Spinning side brushes can prove much more of a challenge, however.

The Dreame Tricut attachment has little blades to snip long hair (Image credit: Dreame)

Some brands have come up with specific ways safeguarding against tangling – for example, using tapered rollers that direct the hair to the smaller end, where the dustbin inlet is located, or having the inlet in the center and a break in the rollers where hair can escape. Dreame makes a "Tricut" roller, which has little scissors to snip long hair into shorter, more manageable pieces as it enters the robot.

Pet features

Owners of mud-loving or especially hairy pets have more reasons than most to get on the robot vacuum bandwagon, but some models are more likely to play nice with your four-legged friend than others.

In the early days of robot vacuums, there would be the occasional horror story of a pet-owner whose dog/cat/other had a toilet mishap, and the robovac had failed to identify it, instead smearing it around the entire house like some avant-garde art project. The accompanying photos of a sad local and their cream-now-brown carpets might have been enough to put off any pet owner from purchasing a robovac for good.

Even if your pet is generally well house-trained, most of the big robot vacuum brands have gone out of their way to specifically remove all possibility of a poo disaster in their more premium models. Generally, this is by training them to recognize and avoid it. iRobot offers reassurance via its Pet Owner Official Promise, which promises to replace any model that falls short on this front. (My personal opinion is that the firm just wanted to use the acronym, because by that point the damage would have been done, and I'm not sure how happy I'd be with a free robovac in exchange for a poo-covered home.)

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra can go on a Pet Patrol to check on your pet (Image credit: Future)

If you have a skittish pet or one that might be easily unsettled by sentient appliances, some robot vacs can be set to identify and avoid rooms with pets in. Alternatively, you can use your robot vacuum to check in on your pet while you're out. The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra has a Pet Patrol feature, whereby it will hunt out and photograph your pet, and you can even talk directly to your furry friend via the two-way mic. These are premium features, so don't expect them on anything but the most expensive robot vacuums.

Security features

If you're willing to spend a bit more, you can get a robot vacuum that doubles as a home security device, too. Premium models often come with a camera that can beam footage to your phone, enabling you to see what's going on while you're out – even if that's just checking in on your dog.

The challenge of powering energy-intensive AI data centers is a growing concern for companies like Microsoft and Oracle who are exploring options like nuclear power, but now, researchers from the Distance University of Madrid (UDIMA) in Spain and Mision Critica-Data Center in Bogotá, Colombia have approached the energy issue differently.

Rather than focusing on powering a data center, they are exploring how these facilities can generate their own electricity by harnessing the airflow produced by cooling fans, effectively turning the waste wind into a source of renewable energy.

HVAC systems common in data centers expel warm air outdoors, creating a consistent, untapped wind resource that can be converted into electricity. In a case study of a Colombian data center, the researchers used vertical axis Tesup V7 wind turbines to capture this man-made waste wind. The turbines, installed atop chillers, were chosen because they minimized size and weight while maximizing electricity generation.

Applying the method to other industries

The amount of gross electricity produced annually by six wind turbines was 513.82MWh from artificial airflow, exceeding the energy consumption of the facility's fans, and providing a surplus of 131.2MWh. The authors suggest this recycled energy can be used for other electrical needs within the data center or be injected into the electrical grid.

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, also highlighted the economic and environmental benefits. A positive cash flow is achieved by the third year, with an impressive internal rate of return of 50.69%. Environmentally, the system reduces CO2 emissions by approximately 300 metric tons annually.

The authors say this approach not only offers a sustainable energy solution but also aligns with several UN Sustainable Development Goals, promoting clean energy and climate action. The potential for applying this method to other industries with similar airflows could significantly impact global energy consumption, they say.

“By adopting proactive policies and encouraging innovation, we can significantly reduce our environmental impact, save energy, and move towards a more sustainable world for future generations,” the report concludes.

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Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now exactly 1,000 games later – because yes, today is its 1,000th birthday. Well done, Quordle! 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 Wordle today, NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles.

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 #1000) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1000) - 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 0.

Quordle today (game #1000) - 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 #1000) - 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 #1000) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• C

• W

• H

• S

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

Quordle today (game #1000) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1000, are…

• CORAL
• WHOSE
• HEIST
• SOAPY

So here we are with Quordle number 1,000 – and who would have guessed that would be the case when it launched in the wake of the Wordle explosion nearly three years ago? No me, anyway – I stupidly thought most of the Wordle clones and alternatives would go the way of the dinosaurs, but this one at least has endured, thanks to the patronage of the dictionary Merriam-Webster, which bought Quordle in January 2023.

It didn't exactly celebrate the occasion with a notable game, though. I failed to solve yesterday's Quordle, so this was my reset – and it was an easy one, thankfully. My three set start words, STARE, DOILY and PUNCH, did almost all of the hard work for me, giving me all five letters for three-quarters of the board. All I needed to do with those was to solve an anagram: CORAL, HEIST, SOAPY, easy. That left one more, where I had four letters. But two were already green, so finding WHOSE was really not difficult.

It might have been nice if the words had been more interesting in some sense, but don't worry about all that – just be pleased that Quordle is still going strong after all of this time.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Daily Sequence today (game #1000) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1000, are…

• SPITE
• ALIGN
• OPIUM
• CRIME

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #999, Saturday 19 October: GUSTY, BROKE, ENJOY, HAZEL
• Quordle #998, Friday 18 October: PUPIL, MOCHA, EGRET, NATAL
• Quordle #997, Thursday 17 October: BUILD, BIRTH, LURCH, SASSY
• Quordle #996, Wednesday 16 October: EERIE, SMIRK, HUNCH, EMBED
• Quordle #995, Tuesday 15 October: UMBRA, BRIEF, GRAVY, TORUS
• Quordle #994, Monday 14 October: ROGUE, STORY, EMCEE, AUNTY
• Quordle #993, Sunday 13 October: UNFIT, NYMPH, THUMB, PUREE
• Quordle #992, Saturday 12 October: SAUCY, UNDUE, EGRET, HELLO
• Quordle #991, Friday 11 October: RINSE, ANIME, PUSHY, ZEBRA
• Quordle #990, Thursday 10 October: UNTIL, MARSH, METAL, WINDY
• Quordle #989, Wednesday 9 October: TRIAL, HUSKY, DOWNY, TRADE
• Quordle #988, Tuesday 8 October: TROUT, HATER, BARGE, DOZEN
• Quordle #987, Monday 7 October: CAULK, HALVE, APING, HEATH
• Quordle #986, Sunday 6 October: FUDGE, TENOR, BEGAT, ROUSE
• Quordle #985, Saturday 5 October: ELECT, CROAK, FRISK, JAUNT
• Quordle #984, Friday 4 October: ELFIN, GRAIL, PATIO, RECAP
• Quordle #983, Thursday 3 October: TENTH, REMIT, CURVE, TOAST
• Quordle #982, Wednesday 2 October: ARGUE, CRANE, TOKEN, PRINT
• Quordle #981, Tuesday 1 October: FRILL, MADLY, GRANT, NYLON
• Quordle #980, Monday 30 September: CRUSH, TARDY, TEACH, STUMP

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 Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Make yourself at home

NYT Strands today (game #231) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• BELT
• MELT
• MEAL
• SOIL
• METAL
• PLIER

NYT Strands today (game #231) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Lounging around

NYT Strands today (game #231) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First: bottom, 3rd row

Last: top, 4th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #231) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #231, are…

• OTTOMAN
• RECLINER
• TABLE
• SOFA
• FIREPLACE
• SHELF
• SPANGRAM: LIVING ROOM

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Today's Strands gave me a good reminder not to jump to conclusions, which I guess is a good lesson for life in general. The theme clue of 'Make yourself at home' had already suggested relaxing in some way, so when I spotted OTTOMAN followed by RECLINER I was sure that 'things you sit on' would be the answer. When I followed up with TABLE I was slightly confused – but I figured maybe there was such thing as a table chair, and I just didn't know the term. And then I got SOFA and my hunch seemed all but confirmed.

At that point, however, I stalled. I couldn't find any more words that worked and couldn't see what the spangram could be. So I had another look and tried to think less literally. And there before me, obvious for all to see, was the spangram: LIVINGROOM. Everything made sense now, and I was able to add FIREPLACE and SHELF to complete the set.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, 19 October, game #230)

• ZING
• KICK
• SPARK
• PIZZAZZ
• FIZZ
• OOMPH
• VERVE
• SPANGRAM: EXTRASOMETHING

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.

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.

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 #497) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• PADDLE
• SEW
• ROW
• STORY
• OAR
• FORE
• COLUMN
• RACKET
• NET
• BUTT
• FEATURE
• BALL
• CLATTER
• TABLE
• RUCKUS
• ARTICLE

NYT Connections today (game #497) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• Yellow: Press pieces
• Green: What's that sound?
• Blue: Ping pong
• Purple: Sounds like a connecting term

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 #497) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: BIT OF NEWSPAPER WRITING
• GREEN: NOISY DISTURBANCE
• BLUE: TABLE TENNIS NEEDS
• PURPLE: HOMOPHONES OF COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

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

NYT Connections today (game #497) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #497, are…

• GREEN: NOISY DISTURBANCE CLATTER, RACKET, ROW, RUCKUS
• YELLOW: BIT OF NEWSPAPER WRITING ARTICLE, COLUMN, FEATURE, STORY
• BLUE: TABLE TENNIS NEEDS BALL, NET, PADDLE, TABLE
• PURPLE: HOMOPHONES OF COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS BUTT, FORE, OAR, SEW

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: Perfect

It is perfectly possible to solve the most difficult Connections group, the purple one, without knowing why you're solving it – and I know because it happened to me today.

I'd already got yellow and green, BIT OF NEWSPAPER WRITING and NOISY DISTURBANCE respectively, but was stumped as far as the last two went. I should really have got blue, TABLE TENNIS NEEDS, but at this stage at least I hadn't spotted the connection. However, I had noticed that BUTT, FORE, OAR and SEW were all homophones. Solving it early in the morning, before I was fully awake, I completely failed to spot that they were all HOMOPHONES OF COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS – but I had a suspicion that they might go together simply because they all sounded like another word, so played it and got it right. Zero kudos to me, but a win all the same.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, 19 October, game #496)

• YELLOW: BRING ABOUT GENERATE, INSPIRE, PROMPT, PROVOKE
• GREEN: THINGS THAT ARE OFTEN SCENTED CANDLE, INCENSE, LOTION, SOAP
• BLUE: THINGS THAT MIGHT STING INSULT, JELLYFISH, NETTLE, WASP
• PURPLE: VIDEO GAME FRANCHISES CIVILIZATION, HALO, MADDEN, METROID

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.

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