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At Snapdragon Summit 2024, Qualcomm unveiled its new Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile chipset with the usual marketing cocktail of flashy benchmark scores and bold performance promises (“the GPU is 40% faster” etc...), but it can be hard to discern how – or indeed if – these on-paper improvements will enhance the real-world experience of Android users.

Qualcomm, of course, is acutely aware that good-looking numbers don’t tell the whole story, and the semiconductor giant was happy to elaborate on the tangible benefits of its Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset when posed a question on the matter in a roundtable interview attended by TechRadar.

Chris Patrick, SVP of Qualcomm’s Mobile Handset division, began his refreshingly jargon-free answer by referencing the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s gaming-related upgrades: “Gaming is one use case that really pushes a smartphone chipset to its limit [because] it keeps consuming every possible processing resource,” the former engineer explained.

“The difference between playing a game when it's struggling to render the frame, or struggling to process multiple characters on the screen [...] and the experience we’ve had testing Oryon [the CPU inside the Snapdragon 8 Elite] [is stark]. Those experiences are now effortless. There's no lag. The device isn't heating up anymore, even at ridiculous levels of detail. So, that's a pretty compelling [upgrade].”

The key specs of the Snapdragon 8 Elite (Image credit: Qualcomm)

“We’ve also talked about web browsing,” Patrick continued. “In a way, web browsing seems old-fashioned but in the end, that's what people do with phones, right? Download, consume, and interact with web pages – there are mobile versions and then desktop versions.

“Now, with this elite class of processor, you don’t need the mobile version [of web pages] anymore. Even a more complex, more heavy, more feature-rich desktop version [of a page] will feel effortless. The device [equipped with Snapdragon 8 Elite] will not struggle to load it. Those same web engines are at the heart of many, many applications. Many applications that you run, they’re used to accepting some limitations – now, they’ll be snappy and responsive. This will make a big impact.”

Even a more complex, more heavy, more feature-rich desktop version [of a page] will feel effortless.

Chris Patrick

Also in attendance at the roundtable interview, Shahin Farahani, Senior Director of Product Management at Qualcomm, weighed in with his thoughts on the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s real-world upgrades: “There are a few more [upgrades] that are easy to explain. [With the Snapdragon 8 Elite] I now have a higher [generative AI] resolution available to me – 512 x 512 image resolution before, now I can do 1024 x 1024. That’s four times bigger.

“You [also] get significantly better power saving,” Farahani continued. “If you look at the GPU power rate when playing a game, it’s 40% more efficient, so you’re getting much longer battery life. Benchmarks are part of any [chipset] evaluation, but they’re not everything.”

The Snapdragon 8 Elite was announced at Snapdragon Summit 2024 (Image credit: Qualcomm)

So there you have it, folks. Slicker gaming, smoother web browsing, and better battery life brought about by improvements in CPU and GPU efficiency – that’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite upgrade promise in a nutshell.

As for which upcoming devices will ship with the new chipset, we know that the Xiaomi 15 and Honor Magic 7 will definitely feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite, while as-yet-unannounced devices including the Samsung Galaxy S25 and OnePlus 13 will also surely follow suit. Here’s hoping next year’s best Android phones can rival Apple’s best iPhones for power.

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There are no more high-end small phones – nowadays, even the cheapest budget phones come equipped with 6-inch displays, and while I appreciate the immersive power of a nice large screen, I do sometimes find myself missing days gone by.

Though we didn’t know it at the time, the introduction of large smartphones – then (and sometimes still) called phablets – kicked off an extinction event that ended with the discontinuation of the iPhone 13 mini in 2022, now a rare find itself.

We’re at a point now where the term “mini” seems to have lost all meaning – for example, the upcoming Vivo X200 Pro Mini measures in at 6.31 inches, which is actually the slightest bit larger than the 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro.

It might come as a surprise given my previous tribute to the OnePlus Open, with its massive 7.82-inch inner display, and how quickly I fell for the 6.67-inch screen on the Xiaomi 14T, but I’ve still got some hope for the return of the small phone.

Before switching to my trusty 6.39-inch Huawei Mate 20 Pro (and, since joining TechRadar, a handful of equally large phones), I was daily driving an iPhone 5S.

I remember the 5S fondly for its headphone jack, convenient Touch ID fingerprint scanner, and indeed its incredible portability. Today’s phones are hardly a bother to lug around, but the iPhone 5S simply disappeared into any pocket you put it in, an unobtrusive and useful companion in the gym, on a hike, or at a concert, and while that small screen couldn’t display much at once it made getting to your desired app or website an absolute breeze. I never thought I’d use a phone like it again.

That was until I started using the iPhone 15 about a week ago to brush up on my iOS know-how. Sure, there may not be any small phones left, but here was one that fit in one hand and could be easily used that way, had (nearly) all the mod-cons of today’s iPhones, and that feels compact in my pocket compared to the super-sized flagships I’ve been using the past few years.

Once the initial haze of deja vu passed, I started getting to grips with just how much power Apple packs into the base model iPhone’s 6.1-inch frame. Having the full power of the A16 Bionic chip means I fly through day to day social networking and web browsing, with more than enough power for games. And as our iPhone 16 review finds, this year's iPhone brings even more performance, ready for the launch of Apple Intelligence.

More than a feeling

The back features color-infused back glass (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

The iPhone 15 also just feels great to use. At an aspect ratio of 19.5:9, the display is of a fairly standard relative height, but the corners are more rounded than a typical phone which makes everything feel satisfyingly compressed. The huge advancement in bezel reduction in the 10 years between the iPhone 5S and iPhone 15 means the latter is only about an inch taller, which takes me back to a time when phones were more like dashboards to be checked than immersive media machines. The only thing I acutely miss when using the iPhone 15 is a 120Hz refresh rate – but that’s another story altogether.

Another underrated upside of using a small phone is the effect compact ergonomics have on photography. Being able to swing the iPhone 15 from my pocket to my hand and instantly open the camera app means I can capture moments more quickly than I would with a super-sized flagship, and my hands and wrists have an easier time holding the phone in landscape mode.

Apple does offer one smaller phone – the current iPhone SE inhabits the body of the iPhone 8 – but its camera system, display technology, and chipset are all somewhat dated compared to the iPhone 15. What’s more, we expect the iPhone SE could soon inherit the design of the iPhone 14, 6.1-inch display included. This could become the new standard for the small end of Apple’s phone lineup.

So, unless Apple brings out a 5S-sized iPhone with today's internals (iPhone SE SE?), the iPhone 15 is probably as close as I’ll get to the feeling of my former phone – but with this much portable power, that’s no problem at all.

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Over the past few years, Apple has been building its devices’ gaming reputations, with Mac gaming finally taking off and the iPhone becoming an incredibly popular handheld for gamers of all stripes. Now, it looks like the company could be taking things a step further with an all-new app that would work as a kind of gaming App Store.

According to “reliable sources familiar with the matter” cited by 9to5Mac, Apple plans to launch a new app that “combines functionality from the App Store and Game Center in one place.” This could let you download games, discover new titles, message your friends in-game, and more.

The report from 9to5Mac states that the app will have a “Play Now” tab with “editorial content and game suggestions” from both the App Store and Apple Arcade. The new app will house challenges, leaderboards, achievements and information about upcoming gaming events, and would also integrate with your existing Game Center profile. Developers may even be able to distribute mini games using App Clips.

The article compares Apple’s gaming app to Microsoft’s Xbox app for iPhone, which lets you set a status, see your friends’ activities, find new games and browse your game library. The idea is that it could become a gaming hub that integrates features found in several other apps from Apple.

A new Discord rival?

(Image credit: Epic Games / Konstantin Savusia / Shutterstock )

One of the more interesting features mentioned by 9to5Mac is one that might end up rivaling the Discord chat and calling app, which is very popular with gamers. The report states that Apple is “experimenting with some kind of integration with FaceTime and iMessage in its new gaming app – possibly to help players communicate with each other.”

Apple has tried various gaming strategies in the past, with the most prominent being Apple Arcade. This subscription service lets you pay $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$9.99 a month to gain access to a large library of ad-free games that work across multiple Apple devices.

Yet despite its promising premise, Apple Arcade has never really taken off or attracted AAA titles to its roster. That’s possibly because all of its games must work across a range of Apple products, from the iPhone to the Mac. Without being able to optimize for Apple’s more powerful systems, games are inevitably constrained in what they can do, which isn’t great news for Mac gamers.

It sounds like the gaming app unearthed by 9to5Mac would be a different beast, though. Offering a native way to communicate with other gamers might be the ace up its sleeve, but whether it will be able to convince people to ditch the incredibly popular Discord app is another matter.

It’s not clear if this app will be limited to the iPhone or brought to other devices like the Mac as well. However, 9to5Mac says it’s unknown whether Apple will release it as part of a future iOS 18 update or save it for iOS 19, suggesting it will come to Apple’s mobile devices at the very least. Whatever the case, it could help to strengthen Apple’s position as a company that takes gaming increasingly seriously.

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Nvidia’s next-gen Blackwell laptop GPUs have been the subject of another leak, with a new claim that the GB203 chip, which is set to be the engine of the desktop RTX 5080 graphics card, will not only power the laptop RTX 5090, but also the mobile RTX 5080.

That said, the theory is that with the RTX 5080 notebook incarnation, as you’d expect, it’ll be very much cut-down for core count, but we could still get a much more powerful GPU than the RTX 4080 – which very much disappointed laptop gamers and creatives alike (especially with a weak sauce VRAM loadout of 12GB).

Leaker Moore’s Law is Dead (MLID) provides this rumor, substantiating it with a (purported) photo of an engineering sample of the GB203 chip in question, which is cut down to 8,192 CUDA cores (the full loadout is rumored to be 10,752 cores).

It’s supposedly paired with 16GB of GDDR7 video memory, the source believes – and MLID notes it’s one of his strongest Nvidia sources – with the contention that this will almost certainly be the laptop RTX 5080, or perhaps a 5080 Ti.

VideoCardz, which flagged this one, further notes that the sample chip codename matches a previous leak from laptop giant Clevo.

Analysis: A seriously peppy RTX 5080 is in the cards – or will Nvidia nerf it yet?

Obviously we need to be careful here, and as MLID admits himself, there’s no conclusive proof that this is happening as explained – for example this leak could actually be about a Blackwell workstation graphics card. The leaker doesn’t think so, though, and is fairly convinced this will be the configuration of a laptop RTX 5080, or some spin on that mobile GPU.

As MLID further points out, if the RTX 5090 is getting a boost with VRAM (to 24GB of GDDR7, again in theory), it makes sense that its sibling (and the rest of the Blackwell mobile range) will have to move in concert with that.

We shouldn’t underestimate the generational performance leap that this purported RTX 5080 could provide here. Sticking with the GB203 chip for the RTX 5080 mobile – even though this would be cut down by a quarter, core count-wise – and pairing it with 16GB of GDDR7 (running at 28Gbps) would make for something like a 50% leap in performance compared to the RTX 4080 for laptops.

In some ways, that’s a reflection of the disappointment that was the spec of said RTX 4080 (with 12GB as already noted), but still, it’d represent a fantastic leap for the best gaming laptops in terms of a non-flagship GPU that’d hopefully be an excellent top-end value proposition. MLID even believes it could have more than a 50% gen-on-gen performance boost, but this remains guesswork based on rumors, and so requires that extra bit of caution to be exercised.

There are ways it might not pan out, too, with the leaker pointing out the Nvidia could reduce the speed of the VRAM (below 28Gbps, the base flavor of GDDR7), or otherwise artificially nerf the graphics card (maybe in ways required for power efficiency and thermals, sacrificing some performance). Team Green will likely temper this RTX 5080 so it’s not too attractive a proposition, though it very much appears that way in this leak – which is where the ‘well, this could be an RTX 5080 Ti’ thinking comes in, of course. Not that it makes sense for a 5080 Ti to be in testing quite this early, mind, unless a lot of next-gen laptop GPUs are fairly close to being sprung.

At any rate, the hint is very much that Nvidia’s Blackwell GPUs for laptops could be a real step up, and we may see these RTX 5000 offerings unveiled at CES 2025, or that’s one rumor – which is backed up by the fact that sample chips are apparently now floating around.

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Want to start your mornings in Italian style, and have $7,000 burning a hole in your pocket? Porsche has unveiled a new manual espresso machine made in partnership with La Marzocco, one of the biggest names in premium Italian coffee makers.

The Porsche x La Marzocco Linea Micra is a compact machine that takes design cues from the 911 Carrera RSR – the car with which Porsche won the Targa Florio endurance race in 1973. That means steam and water handles modeled after the car's drive-mode switch, manual speedometer-style pressure gauges, and colors borrowed from the Porsche 911 GT3 with Touring Package.

The machine has a generous two-liter water tank, and an insulated steam wand that you can easily position without burning yourself. The multi-portafilter has replaceable spouts (single, double, and bottomless) made from insulating resin, which prevents heat being conducted away from the espresso.

There's integrated LED lighting so you can see exactly how fast your shot is being extracted (and stop the machine when it's done), and there's wireless connectivity so that you can switch it on and off remotely via the La Marzocco Home app, so it's warmed up and ready for when you want to start brewing a shot.

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(Image credit: Porsche / La Marzocco ) Money no object

If that's not enough, you can round out your setup with a co-ordinating La Marzocco coffee grinder, plus matching espresso cups and saucers.

It might rank up with the best espresso machines in terms of performance, but sadly we won't be testing the Porsche x La Marzocco Linea Micra any time soon. Not only does it have an eye-watering retail price of $6,949 / £5,270 (about AU$10,400), but at the time of writing the limited run of 911 units appears to have sold out.

Looking for something a little more affordable? Our roundup of the best coffee makers has options for all budgets.

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Premium gaming audio brand Audeze has revealed a new limited edition variant of its Maxwell wireless gaming headset. 

The Audeze Maxwell Wasabi Edition comes in a striking, shiny green that has been designed to compliment Xbox consoles. It has an electroplated finish, giving its ear cups and headband that distinctive emerald hue.

Elsewhere, the new headset is identical to the existing Audeze Maxwell - but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It has 90mm planar magnetic drivers, an ultra-low latency wireless connection, a microphone that features AI noise reduction, and full Dolby Atmos support.

We were big fans of the original release, awarding it a glowing four out of five stars in our Audeze Maxwell review. Plenty of praise was leveled at its clear, detailed sound which comes closer to the standard you would expect from audiophile products than your usual gaming accessories. The 80 hour battery life and fantastic microphone also impressed, though the large and heavy design left some room for improvement.

We also lamented the rather plain design, though this limited edition goes a long way to help address that. In terms of compatibility, the Audeze Maxwell works with PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. An embedded Dolby Atmos license, which lets use the separate Dolby Access software, is also included for Xbox and PC.

The Wasabi Edition is available now from the Audeze website and costs $329, slightly more than the $299 retail price of the original model. Although quite expensive for any gaming product, it’s not a bad package and could be a great alternative to many of the best Xbox Series X headsets or best PC gaming headsets if you’re a big fan of the look.

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VMware has been forced to release a second patch for a serious security vulnerability in its vCenter Server platform after an initial release failed to fix the issue.

Users are advised to apply the fix immediately, since the identified flaws are quite dangerous and without a proper workaround.

The good news is that there is currently no evidence of in-the-wild abuse, so perhaps the miscreants haven’t yet picked up on them. However, since there are no workarounds, and businesses are known to be slow with patching, it’s only a matter of time before they do.

No workaround

"All customers are strongly encouraged to apply the patches currently listed in the Response Matrix," the advisory reads.

In mid-September 2024, VMware released a security advisory, claiming to have patched two flaws in vCenter Server that could have granted threat actors remote code execution (RCE) abilities. These flaws were tracked as CVE-2024-38812 and CVE-2024-38813.

The former affects vCenter 7.0.3, 8.9.2, and 8.0.3, as well as all versions of vSphere or VMware Cloud Foundation prior to the ones listed above. It was given a severity score of 9.8 (critical) since it can be exploited without user interaction, and since it grants RCE capabilities to a threat actor sending a custom-built network packet.

The latter, on the other hand, is a 7.5-severity flaw, granting root privilege escalation.

According to The Register, these two flaws are particularly dangerous when chained together, since a threat actor could first remotely execute malicious code, and then gain administrative privileges for even more damage. What’s more, VMware systems are a popular target for ransomware operators and state-sponsored threat actors, given their omnipresence in the business world.

Both vulnerabilities were first discovered by Team TZL at Tsinghua University, during the Matrix Cup Cyber Security Competition, held in China earlier this year, the publication added.

Via The Register

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Polar, maker of some of the best running watch offerings on the market, has unveiled its brand new Vantage M3 smartwatch, the successor to its formidable multi-sport fitness companion.

With the Vantage M3, Polar says it's bringing "class-leading training and health features" to its mid-range watch for the first time.

New features include the addition of dual-frequency GPS for more accurate measurements when running and cycling, offline maps to download and navigate without the internet on-wrist, wrist-based ECG readings, nightly skin temperature monitoring, and blood oxygen saturation measurements.

The M3's display is a 1.28-inch AMOLED screen sporting Gorilla Glass 3, housed in a stainless-steel bezel. But what else can users expect?

Polar Vantage M3: Specs and price

Under the hood, Polar says the Vantage M3 is good for up to 30 hours of battery life when training, or a whopping seven days in smartwatch mode, despite its size and light weight.

The M3 weighs just 53 grams, which Polar says makes it ripe for use when cycling, running, hiking, and more.

The M3 supports tracking for over 150 sports and also includes training and recovery tools, as well as data and insights tailored to those who play multiple sports.

Thanks to its battery life, users can wear the Vantage M3 24 hours a day and get comprehensive data about their exercise, activity, calorie consumption, sleep, and long-term recovery.

The M3 also features science-backed training load metrics to help users understand the strain training can place on their cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems.

Available now, the Vantage M3 is available in Night Black or Greige Sand for the price of £349 (US and US pricing tbc). At that price, it looks set to undercut Garmin's similarly training-focused AMOLED Forerunner range, with the exception of the cheaper Garmin Forerunner 165. Watch this space to see how the watch stacks up in our full review.

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If you use Google Messages as your default SMS and RCS app on Android, your messaging experience is about to get significantly safer: Google is rolling out five new features to protect you from scammers, spammers, and more.

As detailed in a blog post, the first feature – launching in the beta version of the app to begin with – is enhanced scam detection, which uses on-device machine learning to better identify and flag up scam texts (involving fake deliveries or job listings, for example).

Then there are warnings about potentially dangerous links – the sort that try and get you to visit fraudulent websites that'll pinch personal information from you. Already in testing in India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, this is expanding globally later this year.

A number of different factors are used to assess whether or not a link is dangerous, including any information that Google already has about the sender (there are already similar link vetting features in Gmail and Chrome).

Checking message senders

The features will take a while to roll out to phones like the Pixel 9 (Image credit: Future)

Third are new controls to turn off messages from unknown international senders: you'll soon have the option to hide texts that have been sent from an international number, by someone who isn't already in your contacts.

These messages won't disappear completely, but will be moved to the spam folder already in the Google Messages app. This might take a while to reach you though, with a pilot trial limited to Singapore launching first, later this year.

Fourthly, a sensitive content warning is being introduced to blur images that may contain nudity, before allowing them to be shown – with extra protections against accidental shares. It's going to be opt-out for those under 18, Google says, and opt-in for adults.

Finally, Google says it's working on an improved contact verification feature – involving PINs and QR codes – so you can be sure the person you're messaging is the person they say they are. This is in the works, and is due to be launched next year.

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Samsung is rolling out some new features to its Samsung Health app to give users more oversight over their medication, health records, and daily food intake.

The Samsung Health app is on many of the best Android smartwatches on the market, letting users track various health metrics including exercise and sleep in tandem with devices like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 or the new Samsung Galaxy ring.

Samsung has announced three major upgrades to the app, and they're available now to users on Android 10.0 or later.

The new Health Records feature lets users access medical records from clinics, hospitals, and major health networks within the app. Powered by a partnership with b.well Connected Health, Samsung says the feature "guides users toward preventative care by offering meaningful insights and alerts that suggest next steps."

Samsung Health's other new upgrades

(Image credit: Samsung)

Alongside Health Records, Samsung is adding new functionality to its Medications tracking feature, which lets users track and record prescriptions, while providing information about side effects and warnings about drug interactions or food reactions.

You can now add medication by simply scanning the pill bottle with your phone camera, and there's a new dashboard where you can monitor medication progress.

Finally, Samsung Health is getting a feature borrowed from MyFitnessPal that will make food tracking a breeze. Barcode scanning has been added to the app, letting users log food details simply by scanning food barcodes with their iPhone camera.

Samsung says the new features will roll out first in the US, with availability in select European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland on the way. The UK and Australia aren't currently on the list, but Samsung says the features will be rolled out to "additional markets" in the future.

Version 6.28 of the Samsung Health app should be rolling out now to users.

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Entri, a software provider, accuses GoDaddy, a major domain registrar, of anti-competitive practices, interference with business contracts, and limiting market choices. The court’s recent denial of GoDaddy's motion to dismiss the case signals that Entri has presented plausible claims, setting the stage for further legal proceedings. After the recent ruling by the court, Abe Storey, founder and CEO of Entri spoke to TechRadar Pro, stating:

“We're glad the court recognizes that GoDaddy's attempt to deprive their customers of the freedom to use their preferred software is precisely the harmful, anticompetitive actions the Sherman Act forbids. GoDaddy's continued efforts to regulate a web domain's use through conduct outside its role as a registrar endangers the open internet as we know it today.”

The case Entri, LLC v. GoDaddy.com, LLC reflects a complex legal battle in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, revolving around competition in the domain registration and configuration market.

Judge approves Entri’s major points for trial

GoDaddy holds a dominant position in the U.S. domain registration market, controlling approximately 40% of all registered domains. Traditionally, users who lease domain names can configure them manually or via third-party services using Domain Connect, GoDaddy’s integration protocol. In 2021, Entri introduced Entri Connect, a software solution that automates DNS record configuration, offering smoother integration for SaaS providers and their users. Entri Connect quickly gained traction, with many third-party users preferring it over GoDaddy's Domain Connect.

Initially, GoDaddy allowed Entri Connect to operate within its ecosystem. However, tensions arose when GoDaddy introduced new policies in 2023 that prohibited the use of aggregator services like Entri Connect, restricting users to either Domain Connect or manual configuration. Entri claims that GoDaddy’s actions disrupted its business by terminating existing contracts and discouraging potential deals.

Entri argues that GoDaddy's policies violate Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by instituting a negative tying arrangement. This restriction forces users to abandon competing products like Entri Connect, reducing market competition. Entri also claims GoDaddy deliberately interfered with its business contracts by notifying SaaS companies about its restrictive new policies, leading some companies to cancel or modify existing agreements.

Anthony J. Trenga, Senior US District Judge, said, "GoDaddy’s negative tie cuts off all aggregator services, including Entri Connect, from competing in the DNS records configuration market. Instead, the only option is choosing between GoDaddy’s Domain Connect protocol or requiring users to manually update their DNS records. This deprivation of choice is precisely the kind of anticompetitive harm that the Sherman Act forbids"

GoDaddy’s market dominance allows it to set terms that impact smaller players like Entri, demonstrating the fine line between legitimate business practices and anti-competitive behavior. This case serves as a critical reminder that while companies can set policies to protect their platforms, they must not use those policies to stifle competition unlawfully.

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In the long history of computer crime, the players, goals and tactics have seen a lot of change.

Early computers were fairly isolated systems reserved for niche applications, mainly in academic environments. The first instances of security "attacks" were examples of tinkering that went too far rather than malicious activity.

Today’s world is different. Computers power many aspects of our day-to-day lives. They are faster than ever and highly inter-connected. They are in our pockets, homes and offices, but also in our toothbrushes and refrigerators. They even power our critical infrastructure. This now widespread reliance on computers (and the data they process) attracts new kinds of malfeasants.

Over time, computer-based crime has become organized. What started as low-tech cons and scams, or clever technical feats by small groups has been gradually replaced by more professionalized, more damaging, and more hurtful collectives, such as state-sponsored groups. There is one sort of attack that illustrates this transition better than most: ransomware.

The simple effectiveness of ransomware

Ransomware is an extremely lucrative example of computer crime going "corporate": incentivized by the will of making more money by investing less effort.

Most ransomware attacks follow a simple pattern: 

1. They start by running a malicious tool, an encryptor, on the target system. True to its name, the encryptor will then encrypt the whole disk (or disks) and delete the key. If the perpetrators intend to make the data recoverable, they will keep a copy of the key on their files, away from the affected system. 

2. Then, they make their presence known, from red screens to timers. Ransomware campaigns go great lengths to communicate with their victims because they get their money only if the victims believe that paying is the best chance they have to recover their data. 

3. After payment, an "honorable" ransomware gang will provide the victim a decryptor tool with the secret key.

There are some instances of ransomware that do not encrypt the data. Instead, the attackers threaten the victims by disclosing data publicly, which could cause embarrassment or leak industrial secrets.

Challenging attackers

However, with ransomware attacks, there are two steps that are somewhat challenging for the attackers:

Challenge #1: Getting the encryptor into the target system. Unfortunately, attackers can (still) benefit from a very simple tactic: asking nicely. Phishing attacks are popular ways of distributing ransomware encryptors because many victims eagerly click links on emails without verifying the origin or giving it a thought. Technical entry points traditionally used to deliver malware remain a useful alternative: if there is an open file share, the attacker can deploy the file into the target system, then find another vulnerability to execute it. WannaCry, the attack considered by many as the most damaging ransomware campaign to date, is an example of this.

Challenge #2: Receiving the ransom payment without betraying the attacker's identity. Fifteen years ago, this challenge alone would have hindered the expansion of ransomware gangs. They would need to pay in cash, which is hard to scale and would be geographically restricted to the area of influence of the gang, or they would need to rely on digital payments and withdraw the money fast, creating a trail of evidence leading directly to the gang. However, the rise of cryptocurrency presented a solution to this challenge.

While authorities have succeeded in tracking down malicious businesses who took ransom in cryptocurrencies, the international availability of a means of payment that is not linked to an actual identity has made it much easier for criminals to receive their payments and much harder for law enforcement to follow the tracks.

Preventing disruption using backups

Many of the mechanisms that help to prevent ransomware attacks involve general practices that also help to prevent various types of cyber-attacks. Awareness training supports by warning employees about clicking random suspicious links, hardening at the network and operating system level, deploying updates quickly, malware scanning, etc.

There is also great importance in building a sturdy resilience plan, underpinned by a well-defined and tested backup strategy. Of course, backups are a usual control against accidental data loss and conventional disruptive hacking like, say, website defacement. You detect the incident, roll back your data or your environment to a certain previous point in time, and get back to business with (ideally) minimum data loss.

This backup model relies on a few assumptions. To put it simply, it expects backups to work (to contain enough information to allow for a clean rollback) and to be valid (the rollback would clean up any damage made by the attacker). Reality often challenges both assumptions.

Many companies have backup processes in place. Fewer have data recovery plans describing what to do with the backups to return to a working state. Only a small minority of companies test regularly those backups to ensure that they can, in fact, be relied upon. This makes the recovery process clunky and often unsuccessful.

Ransomware attacks also challenge the second assumption. For example: if the backups are hot (that is, constantly connected to the target system), the encryptor could also encrypt the backup drives, rendering the backup unusable. Or the encryptor could be installed at a certain point, stay idle for a few months, then encrypt the data. A backup taken after the initial compromise could recover the data of the system, but could restore an infected state, allowing a reinfection to occur.

To summarize: a robust backup strategy needs to rely on both hot and cold backup locations, sufficiently isolated from each other to keep an attack on the main system from spreading undeterred to the backups, both of which are regularly and rigorously tested. If the downtime requirements of a given system are particularly stringent, the ability to get back up with minimum data loss must be part of those tests.

Wrapping up

At a technical level, ransomware is not a terribly novel threat. The disruptive aspect of it lies in the economic incentives it introduces, leading to more organized criminal structures with the freedom to act more ruthlessly and at a larger scale, and to attack sensitive industries with the hope of maximizing their payment. It is a threat worth considering because it is increasingly prevalent and, for companies caught unprepared, could wreak havoc on their infrastructure. Just remember: do not pay the ransom.

Check out the best cloud antivirus.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

NAND is a vital component of the future of electronics. It’s everywhere, driving the storage capacity, performance and power efficiency in everything from data center servers to the smallest mobile devices – such as phones, drones, cameras and other portable devices.

As these systems and electronic devices add more features and perform more complex tasks like AI, data storage needs will continue to grow – making NAND flash memory a critical component of future innovations.

As a result, the race is on to build higher capacity NAND with better performance and lower power. Many people believe that a higher layer count is the only way forward. But the truth is there are many vectors of NAND innovation and higher layer counts aren’t the only way to increase NAND flash bits and storage capacity.

This new era of NAND is driving a period of change, where the layers-focused race is behind us. The emphasis is shifting toward strategically timing the introduction of new, longer lasting nodes optimized for specific use cases and applications. Not all applications need the latest node with the highest capacity or performance. Making each layer denser, rather than simply stacking more layers, enhances power efficiency, performance and capacity while managing cost for specific customer needs.

Traditional Vertical Scaling

The “layers race” is the notion that more layers means more bit density and capacity, leading to a cost advantage – therefore the NAND with the highest number of layers must be best. But with 3D NAND, it’s no longer that simple.

Scaling NAND is similar to adding capacity at a hotel. Simply adding more floors may seem like a good idea, but you have to remember that building up leads to an increase in operational costs and complexity, including costs to buy and move equipment, build floors, etc. At some point, there diminishing returns to adding additional floors. Intuitively, the proportional cost reduction provided by adding ten floors to a hundred-floor building is better than adding the same number of floors to a five-hundred story building. But the capital needed to add the extra might be higher to build those additional 10 floors on top of a five-hundred-floor building.

Making each floor denser, by shrinking rooms and using space more effectively, can provide the same increase in occupancy in a much more efficient and cost-effective way.

The same logic applies to NAND architecture. Simply adding NAND layers on top of each other may not be the only way to build more bits or capacity. Like floors of a hotel, it becomes more expensive and difficult to build usable NAND as layer counts grow. For example, stacking layers leads to increased processing time, additional capital for the advanced tools needed to ensure we can reliably manufacture NAND die with high quality.

Scaling Smarter by Leveraging Multiple Vectors

While layer count will continue to grow, it is no longer the core innovation driver. Instead, innovation spans across multiple vectors and there are other ways to scale NAND architecture in addition to vertical scaling, including lateral, logical and architecture scaling methods.

Lateral scaling works by packing every single memory layer while removing some of the redundant support structures. It’s like squeezing more rooms on the same floor of a hotel room or reducing the number of stairs and elevators in a building. For example, starting with lateral scaling allows you to optimize the available space before adding another layer. This phased approach is much more efficient, saving costs while reducing risks. It also allows customers to get to a certain capacity point at the right time, with consistent supply and quality. And when it’s decide to add more layers, the benefit is multiplied by the increased efficiency of the layers added.

Logical scaling increases the number of logical bits that can be stored on a physical device. In the hotel room scenario, this would be akin to squeezing more guests into the same hotel room without causing disturbances.

Finally, architecture scaling optimizes the way circuits support memory arrays – such as positioning circuits next to the array, tucking them underneath or perhaps implementing them on a separate wafer. In a hotel, this could be where the parking lot is put for needed guests – on the side of the building, underneath, or above the building (with a cost-effective way to airlift cars, of course).

A combination of all four

An approach that uses a combination of all four of these scaling vectors is a much smarter way of adding NAND bit growth without sacrificing performance and power efficiency for the widest range of uses cases and devices. And it has the additional benefit to optimize node-to-node cost reduction and minimize capital needed for transitions.

And while NAND technology is complex, the manufacturing processes that create viable NAND nodes, and eventually products, are even more so. These conditions are exacerbated by supply and demand dynamics in an emerging era where new applications, especially AI, will greatly increase the need for both compute- and storage-intensive flash-based solutions.

For example, this AI Data Cycle framework shows the virtuous cycle where storage feeds AI models, and AI in return demands more storage. This AI Data Cycle will be a significant incremental growth driver for the storage industry.

Performance, power, and capacity

Performance, power, and capacity play a major consideration at every phase, as each stage demands something different. Whereas the initial stages need massive capacity to contain as much data as possible for model training, as data goes through the cycle, speed and performance may be the more important factors. And power is increasingly becoming a critical factor in any AI application.

In this new era of NAND, NAND nodal migration paths should also be based on the needs of the customer, not a one-size-fits all approach of the past.

Different needs for different customers are starting to bifurcate and the role of NAND suppliers in addressing these needs is becoming much more interesting. Ultimately, what a customer builds will dictate how the flash inside it should operate—how big it should be, how much capacity it holds, and how much power it will consume. It’s not about how many layers the product has. Focusing on the features that are most important to customers—performance, capacity and power— is the winning strategy.

We list the best SSDs: top solid-state drives for your PC.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Qualcomm debuted its Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset at Snapdragon Summit 2024, and various phone makers have since come forward to confirm that their upcoming flagships will be powered by the all-new (and all-powerful) mobile platform. Qualcomm flew TechRadar to Hawaii and hosted us at the Snapdragon Summit to hear all of the latest news.

Both Xiaomi and Honor joined Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon on stage in Hawaii to announce that the Xiaomi 15 and Honor Magic 7 series, respectively, will launch this month (likely in China) with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.

Asus, too, confirmed that the upcoming Asus ROG Phone 9 will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and Samsung mobile chief TM Roh also appeared at Snapdragon Summit to reaffirm his company’s ongoing partnership with Qualcomm. Roh didn’t mention the Samsung Galaxy S25 series by name, but you can bet your house that the best Samsung phones we see in 2025 will come packing the Snapdragon 8 Elite (disclaimer: that’s not serious financial advice).

Image 1 of 2

Xiaomi SVP Adam Zeng announcing the Xiaomi 15 on stage at Snapdragon Summit (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

Honor CMO Ray Guo announcing the Honor Magic 7 Pro on stage at Snapdragon Summit (Image credit: Honor)

In other words, it's highly likely that many of next year’s best Android phones will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, with Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series being the first of that number to ship in the US, UK, and Australia (we’re anticipating a January release date). Those aforementioned models from Xiaomi, Honor, and OnePlus will presumably debut in China first, before launching internationally at a later date in 2025.

As for how the Snapdragon 8 Elite stacks up against its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, it’s the first Snapdragon mobile chipset to feature Qualcomm’s second-generation Oryon CPU, and has been designed to “handle the complexities of multi-modal AI” much more efficiently.

Any phones equipped with Qualcomm’s latest chipset will deliver faster app launches, more seamless multitasking, and more powerful generative AI capabilities than their Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-equipped predecessors, and mobile gamers, too, will benefit from sharper images, smoother gameplay, and longer gameplay sessions thanks to the 8 Elite’s improved Adreno GPU.

We’ll be reporting on more Snapdragon 8 Elite features throughout the week from the ground at Snapdragon Summit – check out our report on Qualcomm’s virtual, moveable light source technology, for instance – so stay tuned to TechRadar for the latest news from Hawaii.

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Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my 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 #1003) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* 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 #1003) - 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 #1003) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1003) - 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 #1003) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• D

• A

• G

• B

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

Quordle today (game #1003) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1003, are…

• DROSS
• ANNEX
• GRAVE
• BROKE

It's been a while since we've had an X in Quordle, but I wouldn't exactly describe it as a nice surprise that we got one today. That letter appeared in ANNEX, a word that also contains a repeated N and is therefore a doubly tricky one to solve. With DROSS also having a repeated letter – in this case S – and with GRAVE and BROKE containing V and K respectively, there were complications aplenty in the answers, at least in terms of letters. Word-wise it wasn't quite so bad, but neither DROSS or ANNEX are particularly common, so it all added up to a rather difficult day.

Or at least it did in theory. In practice I got DROSS easily, because with green D and yellow S, R and O to play it was the only possible answer. I had -RO-E and -RA-E at the bottom of the board, and those formats both had multiple possible solutions – for instance BROKE, GROVE or FROZE for the former, or BRAKE, BRAVE, GRAVE for the latter. So I played BEFOG to narrow things down and that did the trick. ANNEX required some thought, but again it was the only possible answer now.

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

Daily Sequence today (game #1003) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1003, are…

• PRANK
• STOUT
• FUDGE
• MARRY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1002, Tuesday 22 October: ADORE, SMITH, AFOOT, LUCID
• Quordle #1001, Monday 21 October: TREAD, NINTH, GRIEF, UNSET
• Quordle #1000, Sunday 20 October: CORAL, WHOSE, HEIST, SOAPY
• 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

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… On the road

NYT Strands today (game #234) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• STEAD
• DATE
• DART
• NICE
• COIN
• CURT

NYT Strands today (game #234) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Highway information

NYT Strands today (game #234) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First: left, 4th row

Last: right, 6th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #234) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #234, are…

• STOP
• MERGE
• CONSTRUCTION
• YIELD
• BUMP
• DETOUR
• SPANGRAM: TRAFFICSIGNS

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

The only minor complication today, for me at least, was the need for me to translate UK TRAFFICSIGNS into US – for instance rather than YIELD, we have 'Give way', and we would say 'Roadworks' rather than CONSTRUCTION. But that was as difficult as today's Strands got – i.e. not very difficult at all.

It helped that I spotted STOP right away, before I'd even uncovered a hint word, thanks to its prominent position in the top-left corner of the board. That was enough to confirm my suspicion as to what was needed here, and none of the answers were themselves hard to think of or find.

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

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, 22 October, game #233)

• COBALT
• AZURE
• TURQUOISE
• INDIGO
• NAVY
• PERIWINKLE
• SPANGRAM: THEBLUES

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 #500) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• JEANS
• JACKET
• RAIN
• HAZE
• GOBLIN
• JAY
• BERET
• САВ
• MOON
• PAGES
• HEART
• THUMB
• PROSE
• SALAD
• WHALE
• JOURNALISM

NYT Connections today (game #500) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• Yellow: [color] blank
• Green: [color] blank
• Blue: [color] blank
• Purple: [color] blank

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 #500) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: YELLOW ___
• GREEN: GREEN ___
• BLUE: BLUE ___
• PURPLE: PURPLE ___

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

NYT Connections today (game #500) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #500, are…

• YELLOW: YELLOW ___ CAB, JACKET, JOURNALISM, PAGES
• GREEN: GREEN ___ BERET, GOBLIN, SALAD, THUMB
• BLUE: BLUE ___ JAY, JEANS, MOON, WHALE
• PURPLE: PURPLE ___ HAZE, HEART, PROSE, RAIN

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Happy birthday, NYT Connections! Yes, here we are at game #500, 18 months on from the first time we saw that grid of 16 words that needed rearranging into four groups. The NYT has duly celebrated with a game that neatly celebrates itself, in that each of the answers is a reference to its place on the board.

However, while today's Connections is good fun, I do wonder about the wisdom of making all four groups their specific color with a blank – for instance PURPLE RAIN, PURPLE HEART, PURPLE PROSE, PURPLE HAZE for, yes, purple. One group like that, great. But four… well it just made it all a bit too easy, right?

It's not like most of these blanks are hard to fill in, either – the only I didn't know was [yellow] JOURNALISM, but otherwise they were all really obvious, even the purple ones. I'd solved the whole thing within about two minutes – and I bet you did too.

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

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, 22 October, game #499)

• YELLOW: BRAND-NAME DESIGNER, HAUTE, HIGH-END, LUXURY
• GREEN: DEVISE CONCOCT, ENGINEER, HATCH, MASTERMIND
• BLUE: NASA SPACECRAFT GALILEO, PIONEER, VIKING, VOYAGER
• PURPLE: GAMES WHERE YOU SAY THE GAME’S NAME BINGO, MARCO POLO, TAG, UNO

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.

More than 10,000 professional actors, musicians, writers, and other creators have signed a petition urging against AI using their work without permission for training. British composer Ed Newton-Rex wrote the statement and set up the signature collection. The ranks of signers include many famous names. They range from Hollywood stars like Kevin Bacon and Julianne Moore to record-selling musicians and composers like Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus and best-selling authors Harlan Coben and Ted Chiang. The statement itself is brief and to the point:

“The unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI is a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be permitted.”

Essentially, the signers are anxious that their copyrighted works are contributing without their permission to the enormous amounts of data used to train generative AI models behind ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta AI, and so many other text, image, audio, and video creation tools. They claim that it violates various intellectual property laws and regulations.

Along with individual celebrities, the statement has garnered the approval of many organizations in the creative space. SAG-AFTRA, the American Federation of Musicians, Universal Music Group, and the International Publishers Association are just a few who signed in support.

There’s an issue of compensation as well. For instance, Meta wrote hefty paychecks to celebrities for permission to use their voices with its new Meta AI assistant. Without that, these complaints cause issues, like when OpenAI was accused of mimicking Scarlett Johansson’s voice for ChatGPT in imitation of the movie Her.

Newton-Rex knows the AI space well, having formerly worked on generative AI audio models at Stability AI. He has claimed he left partly because he believed Stability AI went too far in leaning on the fair use doctrine for training its models. He now runs Fairly Trained, which describes itself as a "non-profit certifying generative AI companies for fairer training data practices.”

Today we’re publishing a statement on AI training, signed by 10,000+ creators already:“The unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI is a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be permitted.”Signatories include… pic.twitter.com/AqVaEThMs4October 22, 2024

AI pushback

This is far from the first such lawsuit. OpenAI alone has multiple pending cases from writers who claim ChatGPT infringed on their work, while Suno, Udio, and other AI music creators are dealing with lawsuits from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and major music labels. The complaints, legal and otherwise, are growing as the AI tools they rail against explode in popularity. They are a facet of the bigger ethical and regulatory questions currently unanswered around AI models and their training data.

You probably won't notice any impact on AI tools in the short term, but the signers clearly hope to push the debate over ethical AI training to the forefront and shape the ultimate form of regulations and laws surrounding the practice. It won't do much on its own, but in tandem with the resolution of legal challenges and new regulations, it could be a factor in how AI companies design and build their models in the years ahead or whether the current system of creative work compensation looks anything like it does today.

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If you're think that the Sony WH-1000XM6 must be due soon, to replace the now-several-years-old current model, you might be right. The Sony WH-1000XM5 rank among the best noise-cancelling headphones you can buy today – but this is an incredibly competitive market and there's no shortage of contenders for the crown, and Sony's own headphones are so good that the previous model, the Sony WH-1000XM4, are currently atop our best-buy guide.

That means Sony needs to keep improving its flagship over-ears if it wants to keep selling new pairs to people. And the rumour mill says that it's going to do just that, and that the Sony WH-1000XM6 will be with us soon… but not too soon.

Given that the WH-1000XM5 got five out of five stars in our review, which also noted that the WH-1000XM4 were so good that the improvements were "more marginal than before", what on earth could Sony be planning for the next generation? Here's what we think we know so far.

Sony's WH-1000XM6 release date rumors

Back in June, GSM Arena reported two key stories: one, the Sony LinkBuds and LinkBuds S would get a 2024 update at tge same time; and two, the WH-1000XM5 and WF-1000XM5 earbuds would not. Instead, Sony was most likely "targeting the first six months of next year" for its flagships.

Given that the first story proved to be exactly correct when Sony announced two new LinkBuds models, and that the second story was from the same source, we're inclined to think that the prediction of a launch in the first half of 2025 is probably sound too. And another leak on Chinese social media site Weibo said that Sony wants to synchronize the update cycles for the two flagships, which again would mean a 2025 launch, since that's when the Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds will hit two years and be due an update, under Sony's usual cadence.

We haven't seen much leak evidence of this yet, until recently, perhaps. The Sony watchers at The Walkman Blog have spotted a new wireless Sony headset code in import documents. It has the product code YY2984, and according to the blog it "could be" one of the XM6 models. Then again, it's simply listing some kind of wireless headset with a plastic shell, so it could be anything.

That said, when the current models were about three months from release they showed up in FCC regulatory filings; devices need a lot of paperwork before they go on sale, so it's not impossible that YY2984 are indeed these future candidates for the best Sony headphones. It's pretty weak sauce, I know, but that's the exciting world of headphones for you. It's the FCC filing you really want to be on tenterhooks for – that will start the countdown. Perhaps that'll come in in December for March-ish launch.

Sony's WH-1000XM6: what we'd like to see

Bose-beating noise cancellation: Sony has gone from being a total leader here to being merely very good. Bose's latest noise cancelling headphones have exceptional ANC that beats Sony, so let's see if Sony can reclaim the crown.

Better battery life: Sony has basically dictated the average for this for years now, hitting 30 hours consistently. But when the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless and Cambridge Audio P100 can hit 60 hours, Sony should really offer us more. I'm not holding my breath for this, though.

Water resistance: This is something that's increasingly common among rivals, and it would be nice to see some official IP ratings.

The return of the fold: The XM5's revised design made the headphones less portable, which was a surprise – they could return to our list of the best travel headphones with this tweak. The headband could do with a bit more padding too, while I'm complaining.

Dolby Atmos spatial audio: No doubt Sony's 360 Reality Audio will be here again, but with Dolby Atmos supported by several music services and – even more importantly, all the big movie services, we'd love to see support here. Especially if it comes with Dolby's own head-tracking, which is excellent on the Sonos Ace and LG Tone Free T90S.

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AI experts believe large language models (LLMs) could serve a purpose as mediators in certain scenarios where agreements can’t be reached between individuals.

A recent study by researchers at Google DeepMind sought to explore the potential for LLMs to be used in this regard, particularly in terms of solving incendiary disputes amidst the contentious political climate globally.

“Finding agreements through a free exchange of views is often difficult,” the study authors noted. “Collective deliberation can be slow, difficult to scale, and unequally attentive to different voices.”

Winning over the group

As part of the project, the team at DeepMind trained a series of LLMs dubbed ‘Habermas Machines’ (HM) to act as mediators. These models were trained specifically to identify common, overlapping beliefs between individuals on either end of the political spectrum.

Topics covered by the LLM included divisive issues such as immigration, Brexit, minimum wages, universal childcare, and climate change.

“Using participants’ personal opinions and critiques, the AI mediator iteratively generates and refines statements that express common ground among the group on social or political issues,” the authors wrote.

The project also saw volunteers engage with the model, which drew upon the opinions and perspectives of each individual on certain political topics.

Summarized documents on volunteer political views were then collated by the model, which provided further context to help bridge divides.

The results were very promising, with the study revealing volunteers rated statements made by the HM higher than those made by human statements on the same issues.

Moreover, after volunteers were split into groups to further discuss these topics, researchers discovered that participants were less divided on these issues after reading statements from the HMs compared to human mediator documents.

“Group opinion statements generated by the Habermas Machine were consistently preferred by group members over those written by human mediators and received higher ratings from external judges for quality, clarity, informativeness, and perceived fairness,” researchers concluded.

“AI-mediated deliberation also reduced division within groups, with participants’ reported stances converging toward a common position on the issue after deliberation; this result did not occur when discussants directly exchanged views, unmediated.”

The study noted that “support for the majority position” on certain topics increased after AI-supported deliberation. However, the HMs “demonstrably incorporated minority critiques into revised statements”.

What this suggests, researchers said, is that during AI-mediated deliberation, the “views of groups of discussants tended to move in a similar direction on controversial issues”.

“These shifts were not attributable to biases in the AI, suggesting that the deliberation process genuinely aided the emergence of shared perspectives on potentially polarizing social and political issues.”

AI mediation in domestic disputes can be a tricky balancing act

There are already real-world examples of LLMs being used to solve disputes, particularly in relationships, with some users on Reddit having reported using the ChatGPT, for example.

One user reported their partner used the chatbot “every time” they have a disagreement and that this was causing friction.

“Me (25) and my girlfriend (28) have been dating for the past 8 months. We’ve had a couple of big arguments and some smaller disagreements recently,” the user wrote. “Each time we argue my girlfriend will go away and discuss the argument with ChatGPT, even doing so in the same room sometimes.”

Notably, the user found on these occasions, their partner could “come back with a well constructed argument” breaking down everything said or done during a previous argument.

It’s this aspect of the situation that’s caused significant tension though.

“I’ve explained to her that I don’t like her doing so as it can feel like I’m being ambushed with thoughts and opinions from a robot,” they wrote. “It’s nearly impossible for a human being to remember every small detail and break it down bit by bit, but AI has no issue doing so.”

“Whenever I've voiced my upset I've been told that ‘ChatGPT says you’re insecure’ or ‘ChatGPT says you don’t have the emotional bandwidth to understand what I’m saying’.”

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