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The announcement of the 2025 Oscar nominees marks the countdown to the biggest and most respected awards ceremony in entertainment, and although I had a strong idea of which new movies would be nominated (thanks to the 2025 Golden Globe awards) that’s not saying that I wasn’t left bewildered beyond comprehension when a certain Netflix movie scored big with nods. I’m of course talking about Emilia Pérez (2024), the crime-thriller musical hybrid that follows a cartel boss’ gender transition.

I won’t lie, I was expecting Jacques Audiard’s drama to get some recognition at the 2025 Oscars, but I wasn’t expecting Emilia Pérez to receive 13 nominations. 13 nominations?! This puts Emilia Pérez above fellow nominees The Brutalist, Conclave, and The Substance, which make up some of the best movies of 2024. If you were to ask me, Emilia Pérez doesn’t even come close and frankly, I’d rather put myself through Joker: Folie a Deux again.

I have no doubt that this will go down in history as one of the most divisive movies to circulate cultural discourse, and not just in the history of the Oscars. Alas, what’s done is done, and all will be revealed on March 3 when the 2025 Oscars will air and for those who are still undecided whether you love or hate Emilia Pérez, hear me out.

Putting 13 Oscar nominations into context

Depending on a movie’s anticipation, marketing, and audience reception, singular movies can reach a relatively high number – just look at how the ‘Barbenheimer’ double bill influenced last year’s awards season. Unfortunately, Emilia Pérez is this year’s Oppenheimer (2023), and 13 nominations for a single movie means so much more than you may think.

Since the 2025 Oscar nominations were unveiled, Emilia Pérez has since been inducted into the so-called ‘13 Club’, an elite select group of movies that earned a grand total of 13 Oscar nominations at the time of their release. That group includes, but isn’t limited to the following movies:

Forrest Gump (1994)
Oppenheimer (2023)
Mary Poppins (1964)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Chicago (2002)

Shocking, I know, right? Not only has Emilia Pérez earned a place among movies that are considered to be cinematic staples, it has gone on to earn more Oscar nominations than the first installment in the original Star Wars trilogy, A New Hope (1977), and has the same amount of Oscar nominations as Stanley Kubrick had throughout his entire career. Excuse me, while I go and slam my head against a wall.

(Image credit: Shanna Besson/PAGE 114 - WHY NOT PRODUCTIONS - PATHÉ FILMS - FRANCE 2 CINÉMA ) Jacques Audiard doesn’t care about trans stories, he just wants an Oscar

If you’ve seen Emilia Pérez and stand on the same side of the fence as me, then I hope you understand what I mean when I say that Audiard’s crime musical feels formulaic and manufactured for Oscar appeal. On paper, Emilia Pérez could’ve been a compelling and influential story, one that could’ve rewritten the representation of trans people and Mexican communities through an authentic narrative. Instead, it’s an unfortunate mess of three different plotlines, with a lot of head-scratching.

In addition to its voice enhancement controversy, GLAAD has described Emilia Pérez as a “retrograde portrayal of a trans woman” and many trans movie critics challenging Emilia Pérez for its ‘transition equals death’ treatment, the film has come under fire for its equally questionable portrayal of Mexican communities, with the BBC highlighting both the lack of involvement from Mexican individuals in the production of Emilia Pérez, and the mockery that the film makes of the ongoing violent hardships of drug war through its musical format.

Though my disappointment speaks for itself, that doesn’t mean I would tell people to avoid Emilia Pérez. If anything, I encourage you to watch it if you haven’t yet already, just so you can see how abysmal it is as both a drama, and a depiction of a vulnerable minority that’s already the target of an increasingly worrying social and political attack.

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• CISA and FBI issue new warning about old Ivanti flaws
• They claim the flaws are being abused in coordinated attacks
• The bugs were patched in September and October 2024, so update now

Security flaws in Ivanti Cloud Service Appliance (CSA) discovered and patched in September and October 2024 are still being used to breach networks, a new security advisory from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the FBI has warned.

In the advisory, the two agencies claim threat actors are chaining together four vulnerabilities - two in one chain: CVE-2024-8963, and CVE-2024-8190, and two in another: CVE-2024-9379, and CVE-2024-9380.

“Threat actors chained the listed vulnerabilities to gain initial access, conduct remote code execution (RCE), obtain credentials, and implant webshells on victim networks,” the two agencies said.

Compromised credentials

All of these flaws were being abused while they were zero-days - and at the time, CISA added them to its catalog of exploited vulnerabilities (KEV), forcing federal agencies to patch up within three weeks. Therefore, it’s safe to assume that the majority of the newer victims are in the private sector.

The agencies have, once again, repeated their earlier calls for upgrades, and urged network administrators to be on the lookout for signs of compromise.

"Credentials and sensitive data stored within the affected Ivanti appliances should be considered compromised," they added. "Organizations should collect and analyze logs and artifacts for malicious activity and apply the incident response recommendations within this advisory."

Ivanti is an American IT software company, specializing in IT security, service management, asset management, and more. As of 2023, Ivanti employed approximately 3,070 people, and claims more than 40,000 organizations worldwide are using its services.

In 2024, Ivanti experienced several cybersecurity incidents, including a January 2024 report indicating that Chinese government hackers used its software to target organizations. One such group is tracked as UNC5221, and was believed to have compromised thousands of Ivanti VPN devices, with CISA being among the victims.

Via BleepingComputer

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Marvel Rivals ranks let you slowly progress against harder and harder teams, with rewards associated with reaching certain thresholds. Getting into the upper ranks is no easy feat, as the rules change slightly as you climb, including one that lets you and your team choose a character to ban from play.

In terms of Competitive Mode, Marvel Rivals already offers a whole host of rewards for reaching the higher ranks, including an exclusive new skin for Invisible Woman. Challenging yourself as you move up higher and higher in ranks is part of Marvel Rivals' appeal, making it a new contender for our best crossplay games list.

Here's all of the Marvel Rivals ranks in order, so that you can know just how close you are to the top. Also, we'll explain how things change as you reach Diamond Rank, and walk you through some of the rewards you'll get once the season ends.

Marvel Rivals ranks in order

(Image credit: NetEase)

Below, you'll find a list of the Marvel Rivals ranks in order:

• Bronze: Tier 3-1
• Silver: Tier 3-1
• Gold: Tier 3-1
• Platinum: Tier 3-1
• Diamond: Tier 3-1
• Grandmaster: Tier 3-1
• Celestial: Tier 3-1
• Eternity: Rack Up Points
• One Above All: Rack Up Points (limited to the top 500 players)

As you can see, all but the top two ranks have three tiers that you must move through. Once you get to Eternity, you'll simply need to rack up points to rank up. Be aware, however, that at Eternity and One Above All, you will gradually lose points if you're not active enough.

How to unlock Ranked in Marvel Rivals

(Image credit: NetEase)

To unlock Ranked Play in Marvel Rivals you will need to reach level 10. This is done by simply playing matches. We recommend jumping into Quick Play to get a feel for the characters, and the two main game modes.

If you're looking to team up with some friends, be aware that players in Gold and below can squad up without any restrictions. For those in Gold Tier 1 to Celestial tiers, teaming is limited to a maximum range of three divisions. Players in Eternity or One Above All can team with Celestial Tier 2 players within 200 points. However, if they exceed 200 points, the point difference must be less than 200.

Marvel Rivals Ranked rewards

(Image credit: NetEase)

There are a few different rewards that you can pick up by playing Season 1 of Marvel Rivals' Competitive Mode. They are as follows:

• Blood Shield Invisible Woman skin: Reach at least Gold Tier 3 by the end of the season
• Silver Crest of Honor: Reach at least Grandmaster Tier 3 by the end of the season
• "One Above All" Crest of Honor: Reach One Above All by the end of the season

Note that rewards are given out corresponding to the highest rank achieved during a season in Marvel Rivals. This means that as long as you reach, for example, Gold Tier 3, you'll get the Invisible Woman skin regardless of whether you go up or down in rank by the end of the season. If you want more ways to get free skins, then visit our Marvel Rivals Codes for January 2025 page.

Marvel Rivals Ranked FAQs

(Image credit: NetEase) How does the Marvel Rivals Chrono Shield work?

The Chrono Shield is a unique mechanic in Marvel Rivals that can save you from losing points after losing a ranked game. This Chrono Shield will charge up as you play games, and once it's fully charged, it'll shatter in place of a rank demotion, giving you another chance to claw things back.

Can you ban Heroes in Marvel Rivals ranked mode?

Once you get into a match where all players are at least Diamond Tier 3 rank, you'll get the option to ban 2 Heroes before the game starts. This can counter some pesky meta-plays, like those using Hela to revive Loki and Thor.

What are the rules in Marvel Rivals ranked mode?

Game modes work a little differently in Marvel Rivals ranked when compared to Quick Play. Each game can have multiple rounds, and the team that wins the most rounds wins the game. You'll gain a point for each objective captured while attacking and then must make sure the enemy team scores fewer points while you're on the defensive side. If there's a tie, the match is decided on distance pushed in terms of Convoy, or with another set of rounds in terms of Domination.

(Image credit: NetEase Games) How to get your Marvel Rivals ranked rewards

Once you've hit the requisite rank to receive a reward, you'll just need to wait until the end of the season to receive it. Unfortunately, this is the earliest you'll be able to get new reward skins, so it's best to just focus on climbing even higher before the season ends.

How do I rank up in Marvel Rivals?

To rank up in Marvel Rivals, you need to be playing Competitive Mode. For each win, you'll be awarded points, and for a loss, your point value will decrease. Once you hit 100 points total, you'll go up to the next rank.

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• The iPhone 16 and 15 both have Thread radios inside them
• An Apple director and Thread president has explained why they're there
• Both of the main benefits are related to smart home future-proofing

Apple's kept pretty quiet about that the fact that its iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 series, alongside many recent iPads and MacBooks, have Thread radios inside them. But now one of its directors has explained why they're there – and how they'll soon be able to boost your smart home plans.

What is Thread?

(Image credit: Thread)

Thread is a wireless protocol that's been specifically designed for the smart home. It's designed to complement Wi-Fi by offering a low-power, low-bandwidth way for devices to communicate with each other.

In an interview with The Verge (via 9to5Mac), Vividh Siddha – who is Director of software engineering at Apple, and also president of Thread Group – said that Apple's inclusion of Thread radios is to "enable an early adopter" to build a Matter-based smart home, and then gave two clear examples of how the fledgling protocol can help.

"If you take a very early on smart home user – somebody who goes to Ikea, buys a bulb and a switch – what happens with those users is they discover they cannot do automations. So, Thread on mobile can enable that evolution [to a border router]", Siddha said.

In other words, while you typically need a hub to unlock powerful smart home functions such as automations, having Thread on your phone can act as the necessary glue to get them all talking to a border router (like the Apple TV, for example). Because any device that supports Thread can act as a border router, you hopefully already have one somewhere in your setup.

The other benefit of that Thread radio inside your iPhone 16 or 15, according to Vividh Siddha, is that it can act as a handy backup during power cuts. "The other important factor is the ability to use your accessories, and some important ones, like your front door lock when there’s a power outage" Siddha said.

"If you have no infrastructure – your Wi-Fi router is down, your Thread border router is down – and you still want the ability to get into your house or do other things that might be smart home related. Those are some use cases that it’s explicitly designed for, but it’s not limited to that," Siddha added.

Matter is still a mess – but there's hope

(Image credit: Connectivity Standards Alliance)

The problem with the smart home and Matter (the standard that will supposedly get everything singing from the same hymn sheet) is that it's still very messy and confusing. Unless you have a qualification in networking protocols, you probably don't care about Thread, border routers or Matter – you just want everything you buy to work out of the box.

This is probably why Apple has been quiet about Thread support in your iPhone, iPads and Macs – because it's still early days. But there is hope on the horizon, according to this interview at least.

Referring the issues that have hampered Matter and Thread, Tobin Richardson (president and CEO of the Connectivity Standards Alliance, or CSA) said: "2025 is going to be a really important year for Matter. We’re not looking to add 100 new device types this year. We’re looking to really hit reliability and make sure that things just work. That’s been a strong focus, and that’s why these relationships are so important."

Vividh Siddha, from Thread and Apple, agreed by adding that “2025 is really pivotal for us to get all those issues resolved, to get all these product experiences to be more robust and reliable".

So while that seamless smart home experience we've been promised for years may still be a little while off, at least you know the latest iPhones, alongside other Apple devices like the latest Apple TVs and HomePods, will be future-proofed and ready to join the party when it finally kicks off.

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It looks like the Sonos Arc has sung its last song – the soundbar is now listed on Sonos' website with a 'Last Chance' flag, and is currently on-sale in the US for its lowest-ever price of $649, suggesting that Sonos is clearing out the remaining stock.

I've approached Sonos for an official comment on the Arc's future, but the company's style is to just quietly end production of older products when a new replacement comes along, as seems to be the case here now that the Sonos Arc Ultra is out.

The company told me that this is exactly what it did when the Sonos Era 100 launched – the Sonos One stopped being produced, and remaining stock was just sold until everything was gone.

It had been unclear if the Arc Ultra would be a total replacement for the Arc, or would sit at a higher-tier model, but it seems like we have our answer. Still, at big discounts, the Arc could make a good upgrade while stock lasts, if you're in the market for one of the best soundbars.

Today's best Sonos Arc deal

For a limited time only, you can get the Sonos Arc soundbar at Amazon for $649. This is $50 cheaper than the previous best-ever deal we saw during Black Friday, making it an ideal time to up the sound experience of your favorite TV shows and movies. We rate this soundbar highly for its dynamic and powerful sound, flexibility, Dolby Atmos support, and capabilities as an all-in-one solution to upgrade your TV audio.View Deal

Mind the gap

However, the Arc's demise leaves a very large price gap between the Sonos Beam Gen 2 and the Sonos Arc Ultra. The $999 / £999 Arc Ultra is literally twice the price of the $499 / £449 Beam, and I know from experience that a lot of people are interested in powerful soundbars that fit between those prices – something like the Samsung HW-Q800D, which is regularly available in the $700-$800 region.

I hope that Sonos is working on something new to fill this gap that includes its Sound Motion bass driver, which helps make the Arc Ultra sound so full for a subwoofer-less soundbar. Something that adds real upfiring speakers for Dolby Atmos, which the Beam lacks, and that fuller bass driver for a more impactful soundstage, but without as many angled drivers as the Arc Ultra, and a smaller size than the Arc Ultra.

On the other hand, perhaps Sonos thinks that four soundbars is a bit much, or has data that its buyers either want to keep the budget lower or are happy to pay lots.

Either way, it feels like the end of an era for the Arc to go – I reviewed it when it launched in 2020, locked in my house, and have been writing it constantly since. Still, it's not like Sonos hasn't provided other things to talk about.

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• Ubisoft released PC requirements for Assassin's Creed Shadows
• The extreme ray tracing preset needs an RTX 4090 for 60fps
• An RTX 3080 can run Shadows with 'selective' ray tracing at 1440p, achieving 60fps

Nvidia's latest RTX 5090 GPU makes notable performance leaps over the previous generation's flagship GPU, with additions such as Multi Frame Generation improving performance using ray tracing at 4K in games - and while the performance is impressive based on our RTX 5090 review, Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Shadows hardware requirements suggest an RTX 4000 series GPU (or older) will suffice.

With the long-awaited title now available for pre-order and set for launch on March 20, Ubisoft has revealed the PC requirements (pictured below). As expected, the RTX 4090 is the highest recommended GPU for the extreme ray tracing preset at 4K to achieve 60 frames per second - this is while using DLSS 3.7, as DLSS 4 isn't confirmed for the title yet.

If the RTX 4090 couldn't run Shadows at those settings and maintain a good frame rate, there would be reasons to worry about the game - but as some of the other requirements reveal, an RTX 4070 Ti Super will reportedly be enough for standard ray-tracing and achieve 60fps at 4K, while an RTX 3080 will do the same at 1440p.

We'll need to wait and see how the game performs on PC, as hardware requirements are rarely a good indication of optimization quality. Despite this, with the benefit of Frame Generation and the included XeSS and FSR 3.1 upscaling methods from Intel and AMD alongside Nvidia's DLSS 3.7, it's safe to say that an RTX 4000 series (and even an RTX 3000) GPU should be comfortably enough for gamers.

(Image credit: Ubisoft) DLSS, FSR, and XeSS are the future of PC gaming, whether we like it or not

With features like frame-gen becoming more popular among many Nvidia, AMD, and Intel users, PC gaming will never be the same again. While ‘super-resolution’ (AI upscaling a lower rendered resolution to a higher output resolution) has been at the forefront of PC ports for a long while for providing better performance and image quality, it hasn’t faced as much criticism until now due to the addition of frame generation - which is being labeled as 'fake frames' by some users.

By using interpolated frames, the risk of increased input latency is present - fortunately, features like the new Reflex 2 from Nvidia are designed to reduce this. Yet other issues such as artifacting and ghosting (while improved) are still present in some games, which is evident in Daniel Owen's Multi Frame Generation testing in Cyberpunk 2077 as seen on YouTube.

I've already made my frustrations and worries about the future of optimization in PC games known - and while I have no doubts that Nvidia will work even harder at improving DLSS Frame Generation more as time goes by, not all GPU owners will have access to it (at least, for now). Hopefully, game developers don't lose sight of ensuring games are capable of running in an acceptable fashion without relying solely on frame generation to do the job.

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• Security researchers discover hundreds of fake Reddit and WeTransfer pages
• These are used in an elaborate scheme to deploy the Lumma Stealer
• The pages are well-built and probably distributed via SEO poisoning and malicious landing pages

There are hundreds of fake Reddit and WeTransfer websites out there, all designed to trick people into downloading and running the Lumma Stealer malware, experts have warned.

Cybersecurity researchers from Sekoia have shared a complete list of the pages on GitHub, which includes 59 fake Reddit pages, and 407 fake WeTransfer pages.

The tactic is simple: the fake Reddit page displays a thread in which a person asks help finding a specific piece of software. One of the responses shares a link to the fake WeTransfer page, where the tool can be downloaded. Other people in the thread share their thanks for the contribution, and the discussion continues.

Targeting forensic analysts

The researchers could not say for certain how victims end up on these pages, but it’s safe to assume there is a little SEO poisoning, malicious landing pages, or instant messaging communication involved.

The choice of fake software is also curious. Usually, that is where researchers could find clues to who the targets are. If the attackers are faking software development tools, the targets are devs. If they’re faking games, crypto wallets, or Discord clients, the targets are retail buyers in the Web3 space.

In the example shared by Sekoia researchers, the attackers went for OpenText Encase Forensic - a tool used for scanning, collecting, and securing forensic data for law enforcement, government agency and corporate investigations. This is not exactly software the police, cybersecurity pros, or enterprises would pirate, and also not something average internet users would need.

Both the Reddit and WeTransfer pages were designed to look almost identical to the originals. Their URLs both contain brand names, followed by random numbers and characters. They are both on .org and .net top-level domains, further boosting their legitimacy.

However, clicking the download button on the WeTransfer one leads to Lumma Stealer hosted on “weighcobbweo[.]top.”

Via BleepingComputer

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• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is coming on April 24, 2025
• The Xbox Developer Direct revealed a massive, explorable world map
• The map will be dotted with secrets and optional bosses to find

We've got a lot more information on the upcoming Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 thanks to its lengthy appearance at January 23's Xbox Developer Direct. This includes a closer look at combat, characters and a fully explorable 3D world map.

A new official Xbox Wire post goes into more detail on the upcoming turn-based RPG, which is the debut project of French developer Sandfall Interactive. The post includes information about a feature that caught my eye the most - a massive overworld that players are able to explore akin to classics like Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana.

“Since the day I started working on this project in Unreal engine, I wanted a world map,” said creative director Guillaume Broche. “I feel like it’s such a cool thing that has almost completely disappeared from the face of the gaming industry. Like, nobody does that anymore, and for me it was such a crucial and important part of what made the old-school JRPGs unique."

Broche went on to describe the world map as "very big" and will be dotted with "hidden bosses" and "tons of secrets." From the glimpses we've seen, the world map also looks utterly stunning, presenting a fractured world with the hauntingly warped Eiffel Tower as its centerpiece.

Broche also talked about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's turn-based combat. Particularly, its context sensitive prompts for attacks and parrying that aren't too dissimilar to those seen in Xbox 360 classic Lost Odyssey.

It does seem like the game is going to be fairly challenging, but Broche stressed that there will be various difficulty modes. He also encouraged players to experiment with different character builds and combos, which both seem to be a huge focus. Broche hopes players will "break the game, because it's made for that!"

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will release on April 24 for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PS5 and PC. It'll also be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one of release.

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Our best smartwatches guide is one we have to update on a regular basis, and it looks likely that Samsung is going to launch another contender for the list in the not-too-distant future: we're expecting the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 to arrive sometime during 2025.

It will be the successor to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 from 2024, and it will keep up Samsung's tradition of launching a new smartwatch (or two) every year. The thinking is that it might also be joined by another wearable or two when launch day comes around.

Nothing is official yet, but here we've gathered together all of the Galaxy Watch 8 leaks and rumors that have come our way so far: there's information here on everything from a release date to design changes, and we'll be updating this guide on a regular basis too.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The 2025 Galaxy Watch
• When is it out? Probably July 2025
• How much will it cost? Probably at least $299 / £289 / AU$549

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8: release date predictions and pricing

The Galaxy Watch 7 (Image credit: Samsung)

• Expect a July 2025 release
• The previous model started at $299 / £289 / AU$549

There haven't been any specific rumors about when the Galaxy Watch 8 will appear or how much it might cost, but we can make some educated guesses by looking at this upcoming wearable's immediate predecessor: check out our comprehensive Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 review for full details.

The Galaxy Watch 7 broke cover on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 – alongside the Galaxy Watch Ultra, the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and the Galaxy Z Flip 6, you might remember – and there's no reason to think Samsung is going to deviate too far from the same schedule in 2025. In other words, we can expect the Galaxy Watch 8 to show up around July 2025.

We've already seen the grand unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, so it would make sense for an updated line of foldables to be introduced around the middle of the year – with a new smartwatch or two in tow as well. It's likely that we'll also be treated to the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 at the same time.

As for pricing, again we have to rely on what we know about the existing model: the Galaxy Watch 7 starts at $299 / £289 / AU$549 for the 40 mm version – with the larger 44 mm and LTE models costing more. There's been no word as to whether the Galaxy Watch 8 will be more or less expensive, but that gives you an idea of the general price point.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8: leaks and rumors

The Galaxy Watch 7 (Image credit: Samsung)

• The Classic model could return
• Gesture support may be incoming

It's fair to say there hasn't been a flood of Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 leaks so far – it's been more like a trickle, to be honest. However, that should change as we get closer to the expected release date for the wearable, and we heard plenty about the Galaxy Watch 7 before it eventually broke cover.

One rumor that has emerged is that we could see the return of the Classic model. In 2024, we got the Galaxy Watch 7 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra, but in 2023 Samsung launched the Galaxy Watch 6 and the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic – our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic explains all the key features of the watch.

The Classic model has typically been more expensive and larger, with a rotating bezel to help with navigating controls and menus. If it does make a return in 2025, it might mean we get three smartwatches from Samsung this year – though the leak about it making a comeback doesn't offer much in the way of detail.

Samsung has reportedly been working on MicroLED smartwatch display tech, so this is also a potential future upgrade in the Galaxy Watch line. Likewise, Samsung is reportedly going back to the square design in the future.

We've also seen Samsung patents pointing to smartwatch gestures for controlling TVs and an improved strap mechanism – but patents being patents, there's no guarantee we'll ever see these features, and they are unlikely to be ready for the Galaxy Watch 7. We'll keep our ears to the ground and let you know if we hear more.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8: what we want to see

Three Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 models (Image credit: Samsung)

As good as the Galaxy Watch 7 is, there's always room for improvement when it comes to wearables. Based on our experiences with the Galaxy Watch 7, and what we've seen from other smartwatches recently, here's what we're hoping for from the Galaxy Watch 8.

1. The return of the rotating bezel

Let's start with the new feature we want that has been rumored: the return of the Classic model with the rotating bezel. We're hoping Samsung can find room for a standard, Classic, and Ultra model this year, as a physical bezel makes such a difference when it comes to controlling what's on screen – saving a lot of rather imprecise finger jabbing.

2. Improved battery life

Yes, it's the perennial request from all smartwatch owners, because it makes a noticeable improvement to day-to-day use. When a watch like the Garmin Instinct 3 is offering up to 24 days of battery life – and that's the model with the AMOLED screen by the way – then the 24 hours or so you get from the Galaxy Watch 7 feels like it's way below par.

3. A revamped look

If you look back through the history of Galaxy watches past, you'll see there hasn't been too much in the way of variation when it comes to the design, and this time around we're hoping that changes. We're less sure about how you would innovate on the standard smartwatch design – but we think Samsung's team could come up with something.

4. Some added AI – as long as it's useful

Samsung has bet heavily on AI in recent months, and the way AI can summarize and simplify life should make it perfect for adding to the convenience of wearables – but Samsung needs to make sure any AI features (like assistant support or notification summaries) are useful and accurate, rather than just there for the sake of more AI.

5. Broader Android support

We get why Samsung wants to develop a seamless experience for Galaxy phone owners with the Galaxy Watch, but other Android users miss out on certain features and tricks. Making the Galaxy Watch 8 more compatible with the Fitbit app and Android more generally would give the wearable extra appeal outside of the Samsung ecosystem.

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• Purported Nvidia RTX 5080 Geekbench results have been shared
• They suggest roughly a 20% gen-on-gen uplift compared to the RTX 4080
• However, the RTX 5080 appears to come up short compared to the older RTX 4090

With the RTX 5090 now reviewed and fully evaluated – as an undoubtedly powerful GPU, albeit to the point of overkill in many ways – the attention of the benchmark-spilling world has turned to the RTX 5080.

Reviews of this second Blackwell GeForce GPU are imminent, and thanks to Benchleaks (via Tom’s Hardware), we’ve caught a purported Geekbench result (be skeptical with it, as with any such spillage).

The results are for the graphics tests from Geekbench and they suggest that the RTX 5080 will hit a score of around 262,000 in Vulkan and 256,000 in OpenCL.

That would represent about a 20% generational increase (just over) in performance compared to the RTX 4080 with the Vulkan score, but less than 10% for OpenCL. As Tom’s notes, Blackwell Vulkan performance appears stronger than OpenCL.

As our sister site further points out, the Vulkan score here is actually quite close to the RTX 4090, but the RTX 5080 is some way off with OpenCL, as the last-gen flagship is about 20% faster than the new graphics card.

The RTX 5090 is around 40% and 45% faster than the RTX 5080, if you were wondering how the new flagship stacks up, but again this is based on rumors.

(Image credit: Nvidia) Analysis: In line with other speculation, pretty much

As always when looking at benchmarks, synthetic results aren’t as valuable as real-world gaming tests, and Geekbench is not the first place anyone would turn to for a metric to judge a graphics card’s gaming prowess by. But nonetheless, this does give us something of a clue about where the RTX 5080 might land in terms of raw power for PC games.

And, as this hint goes, it’s pretty much what I expected. Pushing the OpenCL score to one side, I’d say a 20% performance uplift (for rasterized, non-DLSS, non-ray tracing games) sounds about on the money, based on previous spinning from the rumor mill – but obviously we’re still a long way from being able to draw that conclusion.

It’s worth remembering that games which support DLSS 4 (and Nvidia’s new frame generation tech, MFG) can expect a way, way bigger frame rate boost from the RTX 5080, or indeed any of the new Blackwell desktop graphics cards. And it's equally worth noting that while the RTX 4080 was an undoubted major leap in performance for an xx80-class graphics card, the price that Nvidia stuck on it was shocking at the time, and meant we weren’t a fan in our review (and this GPU did not fly off the shelves by any means, back in the day).

We’re now more acclimatized to Nvidia’s weighty pricing at the higher-end, and of course, with the RTX 5080, its MSRP has dropped back to $999 in the US (compared to $1,199 for the RTX 4080). So that’s something of a win for consumers, albeit a grand is still an eye-watering sum to be parting with for a desktop GPU.

Nvidia’s RTX 5080 arrives on January 30, alongside the RTX 5090, with the RTX 5070 and 5070 Ti following in February at some point. If you’re planning on buying the GPU next week, we’ve got a list of the best places to keep an eye on for stock of the RTX 5080. However, this graphics card is rumored to be short on stock, and so could sell out very quickly – you might need a fair bit of good fortune to land your next-gen GPU.

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• Security researchers found an Elasticsearch index with millions of entries
• The database contained personal information on millions of Georgians
• It was traced back to an unnamed German cloud provider

A German cloud service provider has unintentionally exposed sensitive data on probably the entire population of Georgia, security researchers are saying.

Cybersecurity expert Bob Dyachenko, of SecurityDiscovery.com said they recently discovered an non-password-protected Elasticsearch index containing a “wide range of sensitive personal details” belonging to Georgians. The index hosted two indices, one with almost five million personal data records, and another with more than seven million.

Given that the entire population of Georgia counts less than four million people, it’s safe to assume that even with numerous duplicate entries, all of its citizens could be at risk of identity theft, phishing, and more.

Shutting down the leak

The archives contained people’s ID numbers, full names, birth dates, genders, phone numbers, and other sensitive information.

“The data appears to have been collected or aggregated from multiple sources, potentially including governmental or commercial data sets and number identification services,” Dyachenko said.

The researchers traced the instance back to a server owned by a German cloud service provider. The researchers did not name the company, and said that the server was taken offline “shortly after discovery”. It was left unclear if the company was notified of the leak. Therefore, we also don’t know if any threat actors found the archives in the meantime, and if the data had been exfiltrated elsewhere.

“Without clarity on data ownership, recourse for affected individuals is limited, and it remains challenging to enforce data protection laws or seek accountability,” the researcher said. “This leak highlights the complexities of cross-border data protection and regulation.”

Via Cybernews

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• "News briefs" will appear on the Google TV For You page
• Will recommend related videos of "top news stories"
• Only in the US, and only being tested with some users

Google is experimenting with AI-powered news summaries and recommendations that you'll be able to see on your Google TV. This seems like a very bad idea.

The feature, called News Briefs, was spotted by Android Authority on the Google support pages. It will use "Gemini models and human evaluation" to provide narrated overviews of top news stories and "related YouTube videos from trusted news sources."

So far it's only being tested with selected users, and it's only being tested in the US. And I hope that at the end of the test, they kill it with fire.

The Google TV platform already has Gemini built-in, but evidently we're doing to get more of it. (Image credit: Google) The problem with AI news is simple

The thing about AI is that, for want of a better description, it's a massive miscommunication machine. To take a pretty innocuous example, Apple's AI headlines have been a disaster, and its AI summaries on my iPhone are often hilariously wrong.

Again and again we see very clear evidence that AI can't be trusted currently. Sometimes it's funny – as the Associated Press found in the summer of 2024, Gemini will happily tell you that astronauts have played with cats on the moon – but sometimes it's much more serious; the same report notes that Google's AI shared the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama is muslim.

The problem with AI is that what we're told is AI… isn't. It's like a very high-powered autocorrect, a prediction machine, and when its data is bad – and it often is – then it produces bad information with great confidence. And online there's an entire ecosystem based on making bad information and feeding it into social media such as YouTube.

Given YouTube's track record in recommendations – NBC News is one of many organizations that demonstrated a political and religious bias in the content being recommended to people, for example – having AI-powered news recommendations pushed to us even when we haven't asked to see new sounds terrifying.

And on top of that, I get plenty of nightmarish news delivered to me all day, every day on my phone – perhaps if I've turned on my TV it's to escape, or be distracted, or entertained. Some people love to watch rolling news (or news-style) networks all day, but some of us use our TV to focus elsewhere.

There's enough bad news in the world right now. I really hope Google TV isn't going to add more of it.

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• Apple has removed claims that CarPlay 2 will arrive in 2024 from its website
• The company has confirmed it’s still working with “several” car makers
• But there’s no indication of when CarPlay 2 might launch

Apple’s CarPlay 2 system is designed to help you manage maps, media and more inside your car. It was meant to arrive in 2024, yet for one reason or another, that never happened. And now, we’ve finally had official word from Apple on what we can expect to see in the future.

In an official statement provided to MacRumors, Apple said that “several” car manufacturers would be incorporating CarPlay 2 into their vehicles, and that each company would share more details at the appropriate time. However, there was no indication of when that might be.

In full statement Apple said: "The next generation of CarPlay builds on years of success and insights gained from CarPlay, delivering the best of Apple and the automaker in a deeply integrated and customizable experience. We continue to work closely with several automakers, enabling them to showcase their unique brand and visual design philosophies in the next generation of CarPlay."

In a similarly vague style, Apple added that "each car brand will share more details as they near the announcements of their models that will support the next generation of CarPlay".

Apple also confirmed to MacRumors that it is committed to the current generation of CarPlay, which it says is available in over 98% of new cars sold in the United States.

Stuck in traffic

(Image credit: Apple)

Several weeks into 2025, Apple’s CarPlay website was still claiming that CarPlay 2 would launch in 2024 – something that clearly wasn’t possible. Interestingly, Apple has only just updated its site to remove the 2024 reference.

We don’t know what exactly caused the delay to CarPlay 2, but there were signs of trouble long before the most recent announcement. In 2023, for example, Apple promised it would reveal which automakers would be supporting CarPlay 2 that year – in the end, it did so in December, right before the deadline.

That said, it’s clear that Apple is still working on CarPlay 2. Earlier in January, images leaked on X depicting an updated dashboard that’s presumably destined for the auto system.

And with the latest announcement, Apple has confirmed CarPlay 2 is still on the way – but if you were hoping its arrival would be imminent, you’ll have to be patient a while longer.

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• OpenAI's new reasoning model o3-mini is launching soon
• Sam Altman has now confirmed it will be available to free tier users
• ChatGPT Plus users will get "tons of o3-mini usage"

OpenAI announced the upcoming rollout of its incredibly smart new reasoning model earlier this week, and now we've got even better news: o3-mini will be available for free.

Sam Altman confirmed the news on X yesterday, stating "Big news: the free tier of ChatGPT is going to get o3-mini!" The OpenAI CEO also confirmed that Plus members, those paying $20/£20/$AU30 a month will get "tons of o3-mini usage", which is great for those who want to take full advantage of the new model.

o3 and o3-mini were unveiled in December as part of OpenAI's "12 Days of OpenAI" event, which also saw the official release of Sora in the US, OpenAI's AI video generation tool.

o3-mini is a substantial upgrade to the o1-mini reasoning model released last year, allowing users to get answers to complex scientific and math problems. There's no exact timeframe on when o3-mini will be available, but Altman confirmed on January 17 that it will launch in API and ChatGPT in "a couple of weeks."

Once o3-mini does become available (to free, Plus, and Pro users) you'll be able to get help with questions that require thought and reasoning. In the new model you'll even be able to adjust the thinking time to give the AI model more time to work out an answer. There will be a "low compute" option for quick responses and a "high compute" option for tasks that require extra thinking power.

big news: the free tier of chatgpt is going to get o3-mini!(and the plus tier will get tons of o3-mini usage)January 23, 2025

o3-mini is free for all

When OpenAI announced the new model in December, my first thought was "how long will we have to wait to try this for free?" Luckily, Altman and co has given free users a nice surprise to kick off 2025 with this announcement that o3-mini will in fact be free.

We don't have any more info on how many prompts you'll be able to ask o3-mini for free, but hopefully there's a decent amount of free usage so that everyone can take advantage of the future of AI reasoning models.

o3-mini hits the perfect sweet spot between a reasoning model and a more general usage model, and OpenAI hopes this new middle ground will break through into the mainstream and become a daily tool for the average consumer. As soon as we get access to o3-mini we'll be putting it through its paces, so stay tuned to TechRadar for all the upcoming ChatGPT o3-mini news.

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• The first Android 16 public beta is now here
• You can install it now if you have a newer Pixel phone
• Live Updates is one of the new features

Google has pushed out the first public beta version of Android 16, which means early adopters can give it a spin: and among the new features already spotted by users is Android's take on Live Activities in iOS.

As announced by Google (via Android Police), the Android equivalent of Live Activities is Live Updates. These persistent updates on screen "help users monitor and quickly access important ongoing activities" Google says.

Right now, the updates are "suggested only for ride sharing, food delivery, and navigation use cases", but we can expect more categories to be added over time. Eventually, any developer who wants to should be able to take advantage of them.

As we've seen on iPhones, these kinds of live updates can be handy for everything from sports scores to audio recorders. They mean you can keep up to date with something without having the app open, and they'll be a welcome addition to Android.

More to come

Live Activities on iOS (Image credit: Apple)

There's quite a lot more in the first Android 16 public beta, including improved support for apps on larger screens: If you use a larger display (like the one on the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold), you should see less in the way of letterboxing.

Then we have improved support for high-resolution video recording and editing, a more consistent predictive back experience (where you see a preview of the screen you're going back to), and preparations for deeper Gemini integration.

We can look forward to plenty more in the way of new features as the Android beta testing phase continues – numerous upgrades have already been rumored, including changes to notifications. A full launch of Android 16 is expected in June.

Right now, if you want to give the beta a try, you need to have a Pixel phone (a Pixel 6 or later) and be enrolled in the Android Beta Program (which is free). As always with betas, expect bugs and crashes – we wouldn't recommend doing this on a phone you rely on.

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• Apple is facing a class-action lawsuit over its Apple Watch bands
• The lawsuit alleges that Apple "hides" the existence of PFAS in its products, claiming this is false advertising
• Apple has hit back, saying its bands are safe to wear

Apple has been hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging that some of the company's best Apple Watch bands contain dangerous levels of "forever chemicals."

The suit was filed in California on January 21, on behalf of customers who've bought Apple's Watch Sport Band, Ocean Band for the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and the Nike Sport Band. It states that Apple "advertises these Products as designed to support and further human health and wellness, environmentally sustainable, and suitable for everyday use and wear. However, in truth, they contain excessive levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), which are toxic to human health and the environment."

The suit has been filed in the wake of a University of Notre Dame study that found elevated levels of these 'forever chemicals' in smartwatch bands.

The study found that "many" bands advertised to contain fluoroelastomers also contained high concentrations of PFAS, with some very high concentrations, particularly in more expensive bands.

Based on the study's findings, this suit alleges that Apple knows its products contain PFAS, and knows they're harmful to consumers (the company is phasing them out), but does not inform consumers which products contain the harmful chemicals.

The suit continues: "Instead, in respect of watches, Defendant continues to hide the existence of PFAS at the point of purchase and otherwise. They also affirmatively promise the opposite: that these Products are specifically designed to aid human health and are environmentally friendly. Consumers therefore reasonably would have no way of knowing the products are laced with harmful chemicals and instead believe what Defendant falsely promises."

The suit also alleges that Apple could have chosen not to use these materials, but elected to put them in the bands to give it an advantage over its competition.

Apple's response – is your Apple Watch band dangerous?

Fluoroelastomer bands are very popular with smart watch accessory makers (Image credit: Future)

In response to the suit, Apple told TechRadar: "Apple Watch bands are safe for users to wear. In addition to our own testing, we also work with independent laboratories to conduct rigorous testing and analysis of the materials used in our products, including Apple Watch bands."

Apple also pointed us to its history of removing harmful chemicals from products and manufacturing, and noted that its own restrictions often go beyond the relevant regulations when it comes to protecting human health.

The suit alleges that the aforementioned study found elevated levels of PFAS in bands "including" Apple's, a claim that is not immediately supported by the study results. As we mentioned in our initial story reporting the study, the public data does not indicate which manufacturers' bands were found to have high levels of chemicals; they're not identified by name, but by a sample ID. Tested brands included Apple, CASETiFY, Fitbit, Google, and Samsung.

PFAs and their risk

(Image credit: Future)

The presence of PFAS in consumer products is a complicated issue. Research indicates that PFAS are linked to increased risk and incidences of certain types of cancer, and the chemicals are dubbed "forever chemicals" because their structure is so durable that they don't degrade or break down over time.

However, there are other caveats. There's only a small body of research on the risk of absorption of PFAS through the skin, with some specialists suggesting that absorbing a significant amount through the skin is unlikely.

Furthermore, the testing in the aforementioned study involved chemically extracting the compounds in the band to confirm levels, which doesn't replicate the experience of someone wearing a smartwatch.

As for the suit, it's seeking the usual swathe of relief, injunctions requiring Apple to change its business practices, and monetary compensation for affected users. You can read the lawsuit in full here.

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According to recent data from the International Energy Agency, industrial sectors, such as chemical manufacturing and mining, currently contribute 25% of all global CO2 emissions and 37% of all global energy consumption.

Industries face increasing pressure to develop net-zero roadmaps. As sustainability rises on the corporate agenda, digitalization contributes to a clear, strategic path to achieving commercial, operational, and sustainability goals for today's industrial enterprises.

Industry 4.0: Accelerating Sustainability in Industrial Enterprises

Industrial enterprises are increasingly implementing Industry 4.0 to achieve greater operational efficiency and sustainability across their operations. The Internet of Things (IoT) stands out as a significant enabler of sustainability within industrial enterprises. IoT technology combined with seamless connectivity facilitates the continuous flow of real-time data by linking devices, machines, and sensors across the industrial site, which helps reduce fuel, waste, energy consumption and carbon emissions.

For instance, IoT sensors capture real-time energy data from machinery and equipment across entire facilities, allowing enterprises to identify inefficiencies and make precise adjustments to reduce energy waste and lower utility bills. Additionally, IoT technology tracks production outputs and material usage in real-time, helping companies better align supply with demand and swiftly address issues such as overproduction and misallocation of resources. This minimizes the environmental impact of enterprise operations while fostering a more efficient operational model, delivering significant commercial benefits for businesses.

Industrial Edge and Private Wireless Networks Strengthening Sustainability

Industrial enterprises increasingly recognize digitalization's sustainability benefits, with Industry 4.0 applications powered by private wireless networks driving significant operational improvements and footprint reductions. In fact, according to the 2024 Industrial Digitalization report, by deploying private wireless networks, 79% of enterprises surveyed by GlobalData, reported a reduction in carbon emissions.

Industry 4.0 use cases require the kind of high bandwidth, low latency connectivity provided by 4.9G/LTE and 5G private wireless networks to ensure uninterrupted operations to realize the sustainability and efficiency benefits that come with Industry 4.0.

For example, with reliable worker communication, workers have instant access to the right expertise to repair malfunctioning machinery – this not only reduces truck rolls and fuel use, but also ensures quick repairs to lower unnecessary energy consumption by faulty equipment.

Drones can be used for remote inspections of dangerous or hard-to-reach locations, also reducing vehicle-based inspections and identifying potential issues early before major breakdowns and expensive repairs are required, which often consume more resources and produce more waste. Remote-controlled machines, such as port cranes or robots in chemical plants, can significantly improve the efficiency and safety of operations, while reducing energy consumption and associated carbon emissions.

As global ESG commitments become more stringent, industrial enterprises must invest in the right tools to build towards their sustainability goals. The Private Wireless Sustainability Calculator provides enterprises with a clear digitalization path to reach their goals. Combining handprint and footprint analysis, the calculator helps enterprises estimate how new Industry 4.0 use cases, powered by high-performance private wireless and industrial edge, are helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as worker safety incidents.

Currently available for mining, ports and chemical manufacturing, enterprises can use insights from the calculator to make informed decisions and guide operational planning and investment choices. The calculator shows that digitalization and use cases like critical worker communication and environmental monitoring are critical tools to support their sustainability goals while also driving operational efficiencies and profitability.

A Data-Driven Approach to Sustainability

Reliable data lies at the heart of a successful sustainability strategy – without it, enterprises are operating in the dark, using inaccurate views of their footprint and the impact operational changes have on their ESG targets, skewing reporting, decision-making and long-term planning. IBM reports that 41% of executives name inadequate data as a top barrier to ESG progress. Yet, despite this, KPMG found that almost 50% of companies still manage ESG data manually in spreadsheets, making reporting extremely time-consuming and prone to human error.

Digitalization allows enterprises to collect comprehensive real-time operational technology (OT) data from all systems, machines and sensors. With an on-premises industrial edge, that data gets aggregated into a single data hub, eliminating data siloes to enable a single unified view on sustainability performance across the operation. Access to all operational data in real-time enables teams to align their efforts with sustainability goals and support ESG reporting, leading to more efficient resource management, optimized production schedules, and minimizing waste. Having the right digital foundation enables industrial enterprises to make immediate progress while setting the stage for future sustainability and increased profitability.

In asset-intensive environments such as manufacturing or port operations, all processes are interlinked and dependent on one another. Any interruption or issue in this chain will result in interruptions and losses for the entire process. This means that there is a need for continuous operations, underpinned by redundancies and mission-critical performances with reliability of 99.99% or more across connectivity, and operational technology (OT).

We've compiled a list of the best Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.

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

• Syntilay has launched AI-designed, 3D-printed shoes.
• The footwear was designed with a mix of Midjourney and Vizcom AI
• The $150 shoes use smartphone foot scans for a fully customized fit.

If you like Crocs but wish they had more of a science-fiction backstory, you're in luck. A startup company named Syntilay is using AI and 3D printing to produce a new line of shoes. The futuristic footwear is available now for $150 a pair. These slides aren't cheap, but innovation rarely is.

Syntilay uses a mix of AI tools supplemented by human artistry to create its shoes, which look more than a little like a deep sea fish at first glance. The designers relied on Midjourney to develop the basic shape of the shoe. After that, a human artist refined the idea with a sketch for inspiration uploaded to Vizcom AI, which produced a 3D model based on the sketch. AI then helped design and embed textures and patterns into the shoe design, completing their look.

Entrepreneur Ben Weiss founded Syntilay, but it has the backing of Reebok co-founder Joe Foster, who added some credibility to the idea. The shoes come in five colors: orange, red, beige, black, and blue. They are supposed to evoke the work of Syd Mead, the artist behind the iconic visuals in Blade Runner and Aliens.

AI shoes

The $150 shoes are 3D printed in Germany and specially made for each customer, shipping out after about three weeks. If you want to buy a pair, you are asked to scan your feet with a smartphone camera so that the shoes will fit perfectly, even adjusting for the usual slight differences between people's right and left feet.

There’s also the matter of practicality. While scanning your feet with a phone camera sounds straightforward, not everyone is eager to go full techie just to buy shoes. And what happens if the fit isn’t quite right after all that scanning and printing? These are hurdles Syntilay will need to address as it scales its operations.

The question, of course, is whether the market is ready for AI-driven footwear. Syntilay's shoes will have to prove they are worth the expense and wait when it comes to things like comfort and durability.

$150 is a pretty big price tag when generic slides similar to Crocs can cost $20 or even less. Syntilay has to hope its design, custom-fit promise, and the gimmick of AI design win over early adopters.

There have certainly been personalized shoes before, but combining AI and 3D printing may entice those looking to be trendsetters.

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• Perplexity AI has released a mobile app for Android
• The Perplexity Assistant offers voice, text, and camera-based interactions for tasks such as booking rides and identifying objects
• The assistant integrates with apps and leverages real-time information and task automation

AI conversational search engine Perplexity is going mobile on the Google Play Store with a new Android app. Peeplexity's app pitches itself as a kind of digital Swiss Army knife that can manage tasks for you, including making reservations and identifying objects through your phone’s camera. Best of all, the app is free and speaks 15 languages.

By leveraging Perplexity’s own search engine, the assistant can also tap into real-time web information, so it’s not just regurgitating pre-programmed answers. This should, in theory, make it smarter and more versatile than many of its competitors. To juggle all of those abilities, Perplexity can maintain context across multiple tasks. That means it won't double-book you and will remember what you like and don't like.

"You can do many cool things like booking an Uber, finding dinner tables, playing an old YouTube video, playing songs, getting directions, and translating Shakespeare, all with voice and a simple action button or gesture," Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas explained on X. "Cool thing about this is everything stays in context. You can start with a conversation about some question you have and follow up to set an action related to it, e.g., getting an alert ahead of a basketball game."

Say you want Perplexity to help with your dinner plans. The AI will look for restaurants, check reviews, suggest dishes for you, and book the table on OpenTable, all in one conversation. Srinivas admitted that the restaurant booking "doesn't always work" but promised it would be sorted out soon.

Introducing Perplexity Assistant.Assistant uses reasoning, search, and apps to help with daily tasks ranging from simple questions to multi-app actions. You can book dinner, find a forgotten song, call a ride, draft emails, set reminders, and more.Available on Play Store. pic.twitter.com/UHdUIiDOzDJanuary 23, 2025

Here are a few more examples of what Perplexity Assistant can do. We can’t wait to see how you use it.Get it here: https://t.co/H4J9cr68So pic.twitter.com/F7ibSFfrgqJanuary 23, 2025

Perplexity resolved

This launch comes on the heels of Perplexity’s broader expansion efforts, including rolling out Sonar, an API that lets businesses integrate Perplexity’s search tech into their own apps. It’s part of a growth strategy that also includes acquiring the professional social media platform Read.cv. Clearly, Perplexity is trying to build an ecosystem where its AI doesn’t just answer your questions but also becomes an indispensable part of your daily workflow. Whether it’ll succeed in creating a full-blown AI assistant that people can’t live without remains to be seen

Perplexity is facing a crowded market, so anything to stand out will be useful. To beat ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Apple's latest enhancement of Siri through Apple Intelligence will require a lot of creativity from Perplexity. Still, if Perplexity's app can deliver consistently with its multimodal capabilities and app integrations, it stands a real chance of muscling aside those rivals, at least partly.

People love novelty, but they hate frustration. If Perplexity can avoid or quickly squash any bugs, you might see a lot of people becoming far less perplexed about AI apps as a concept.

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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 NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1096) - 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 #1096) - 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 1.

Quordle today (game #1096) - 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 #1096) - 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 2.

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 #1096) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• G

• S

• S

• T

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

Quordle today (game #1096) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1096, are…

• GRIND
• STOCK
• SERVE
• TOUCH

Despite a very good start getting STOCK and TOUCH in the first four turns I labored to finish today’s Quordle.

I’m struggling with a head cold at the moment and I think it showed with my guesses for SERVE, where I tried SEVER even though I already knew the word couldn’t end in ER. 

Sometimes it’s such a struggle to extract a guess from my brain that I rush to type it before thinking. This is not, frankly, very helpful for Quordle…

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

Daily Sequence today (game #1096) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1096, are…

• MADAM
• SPAWN
• LOVER
• SIGHT

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1095, Thursday 23 January: RUGBY, SASSY, WORRY, BANAL
• Quordle #1094, Wednesday 22 January: SLANT, TRUNK, WOOZY, EATEN
• Quordle #1093, Tuesday 21 January: CHART, VIGOR, PRINT, SPAWN
• Quordle #1092, Monday 20 January: SIXTY, THONG, TATTY, ROBIN
• Quordle #1091, Sunday 19 January: WREST, RINSE, SCOUR, CANNY
• Quordle #1090, Saturday 18 January: BLARE, ITCHY, BICEP, PIPER
• Quordle #1089, Friday 17 January: CATCH, WEARY, SWOON, LATHE
• Quordle #1088, Thursday 16 January: PARTY, BLUNT, TWEED, PLANT
• Quordle #1087, Wednesday 15 January: RISEN, PLATE, RURAL, ENVOY
• Quordle #1086, Tuesday 14 January: SWARM, SCRAP, ONION, BELCH
• Quordle #1085, Monday 13 January: EYING, GIDDY, CHEAP, PETAL
• Quordle #1084, Sunday 12 January: BRIEF, PETAL, WOMAN, FELON
• Quordle #1083, Saturday 11 January: ASCOT, FIBER, ROGUE, SMELL
• Quordle #1082, Friday 10 January: BIGOT, INLET, LEECH, TUNIC
• Quordle #1081, Thursday 9 January: RESET, HUMOR, TENOR, IMAGE
• Quordle #1080, Wednesday 8 January: MINCE, SADLY, RISEN, VOUCH
• Quordle #1079, Tuesday 7 January: CREED, FILET, ROUTE, TAPER
• Quordle #1078, Monday 6 January: PIVOT, WOOLY, GRUNT, GROOM
• Quordle #1077, Sunday 5 January: BORAX, JUDGE, CADET, SALON
• Quordle #1076, Saturday 4 January: CORER, CRATE, QUASI, EXIST