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There are some appliances that it makes sense to combine. For instance, many of today's best robot vacuums have mopping capabilities, which means they can take care of all (or most) of your floor cleaning needs in one fell swoop. However, when Midea announced it had created a hybrid robot vacuum / washing machine, it felt like an odd combination. In fact, I thought it was downright stupid. As it turns out, I was wrong.

I should clarify first that the Midea WashBot in my head was not the Midea WashBot of real life. I was envisaging a robot vacuum with some kind of unwieldy washing machine hat. In retrospect, this was not an intelligent assumption.

When I headed to the Midea booth at IFA to check this new appliance out, it turned out to be a fairly standard-looking washing machine, with a little hutch underneath where the robotvac could dock to refill and recharge. 

(Image credit: Future)

The two appliances operate largely independently. So why combine them at all? There are a couple of big benefits to this setup, which make combining a robot vacuum with a washing machine a pretty smart idea. 

The first is space. Self-emptying robot vacuum docks can get very bulky – and especially so if they have mopping capabilities, like this one does. There needs to be space for clean and dirty water reservoirs, and a dust bin, as well as room for the robot itself to dock and charge. 

As someone with a small kitchen, a robot vacuum dock takes up far more room than I'd ideally like to give over to another appliance, and I'm also limited by the fact it needs to be near a power outlet. By combining your robovac dock with your washing machine, you don't lose any floor space. 

It won't be perfect for everyone, of course – the WashBot is taller than your average washing machine, so if you've got an under-counter machine at the moment, you won't be able to just swap it in. But if you're not height-restricted, it'll work well.

(Image credit: Future)

The other big benefit is that it means both appliances can make use of the same clean and dirty water outlet, so the robovac doesn't need reservoirs on its dock. Not only does that mean the dock part of the WashBot can be much smaller and more streamlined, it also means you won't have to manually fill or empty the water for the robovac. And what are robot vacuums for if not removing the need for human effort? (It is possible to plumb in some freestanding robot vacuum-mops, but it's a hassle.)

Feature focus

I don't have a complete spec sheet for the robot vacuum or the washing machine yet, but Midea did share a few details with me. 

The washing machine premixes water with detergent to create a rich foam, which is then sprayed, evenly and under high pressure, into the drum and onto the wash load. The foam is meant to protect fiber elasticity and fabric coating on the clothes, and overall this setup is desinged to save on both water and detergent. Rather than traditional, clunky buttons, the WashBot is controlled via a sleek OLED screen.

The robot vacuum offers 200 RPM mopping and 10,000Pa of suction when vacuuming (that's in line with other premium robovacs). There's also an auto-cut feature to snip long hair and stop it tangling up the rollers. 

The Midea Washbot has launched in Singapore already, and is proving popular. I don't have launch details for other territories, nor pricing information yet. 

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Fresh DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro leaks seemingly reveal the euro pricing of the action cam's Adventure Combo bundle, together with our first look at the features it could include.

According to prominent DJI leaker @JasperEllens on X (formerly Twitter), the Osmo Action 5 Pro Adventure Combo, which includes two additional batteries, a charging case and a 1.5m selfie stick, will cost €479.

The list price in euros for the same Osmo Action 4 bundle on the DJI Store is €429, although it's currently on sale for €379, presumably in the lead-up to the rumored launch of the Osmo Action 5 Pro, tipped for later this month.

That's a price hike of around 10% for the next-gen model, and by that logic we estimate US and UK pricing for the Adventure Combo to be around $449 / £419, though of course the Action 5 Pro will likely be available in the cheaper Standard Combo bundle too.

Ok sure, I'll chip in on the leaks. Here you see the confirmed price of 479 euro for the #action5pro in a European webshop. Sales pitch: 40 Megapixel camera. Nightmode, super SloMo. 64 gb internal storage. Three times 1950 mAh batteries in the adventure combo. Cheers pic.twitter.com/QOYQMqrcK9September 10, 2024

The same leak also suggests the topline features of the Go Pro Hero 13 Black rival, which include a 40MP camera, night mode, super slow-mo and 64GB of internal storage.

@JasperEllens has previously shared images of the Action 5 Pro's packaging on X, which would suggest the action cam's lens and sensor is identical to its predecessor, the Action 4, being a f/2.8 aperture lens with 155-degree field of view and a 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor. However, new leaks indicate the Action 5 Pro will shoot 40MP stills.

If the camera resolution is correct, that's quite the leap from the Osmo Action 4 which can shoot just 10MP stills, but which has the best low light performance of any of the best action cameras we've tested. We hope that DJI is able to maintain impressive low-light image quality despite an apparent increase in pixels.

(Image credit: Future)

Previous leaks on Notebookcheck suggest the super slow-mo mode will support frame rates up to 960fps, plus there's a new night mode, although details of that are sketchy. There's also an additional new feature that has come to light: built-in memory.

What does the 'Pro' monikor suggest?

According to the leak, the Action 5 Pro will pack 64GB of internal memory. That's a feature not offered by rival action cameras, and one that could prove especially handy you're out and about – either as a backup to your micro SD memory card should it corrupt, or if you simply forget to pack one.

Built-in memory could also be a reason that DJI has edged the price up, although there is the 'Pro' moniker too, which we haven't seen before in DJI's action cam lineup.

DJI's use of 'Pro' seems curious because the leaks don't suggest anything in the way of a significant upgrade. Could there be further high-end features also on the way? Well, besides what appears to be a higher capacity 1,950mAh battery (the Action 4 has a middling 1,770mAh battery), we just don't know yet. But if suggested launch dates of later this month are true, we won't have to wait long to find out.

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Mercedes-Benz and Factorial, a self-proclaimed industry leader in solid-state battery research, have announced their latest breakthrough in EV battery tech with a new 'Solstice' pack that promises to deliver an enormous range – by the end of the decade. 

The next-generation solid-state battery (SSB) is said to offer an energy density of up to 450Wh/kg. That means it promises to be much more compact, lighter and safer than the current lithium-ion packs used in today's electric vehicles.

Factorial claims that the high energy density of its Solstice packs can extend EV range by around 80 per cent compared to what is on the market today. This means brands, such as its collaborators and investors Mercedes-Benz, will target in excess of 600-miles of vehicle range before the batteries run dry.

(Image credit: Factorial)

This will bring the next generation of electric passenger cars on par with even the most frugal petrol and diesel offerings. But we are not due to see Factorial’s innovations embedded into a vehicle that we can actually buy until the end of the 2020s.

As with much of the current SSB research, these new Solstice packs will also apparently bring with them increased safety thanks to a sulfide-based, all-solid-state electrolyte system. Increased stability at higher operating temperatures means there is also less reliance on a cooling system within the battery system, which could help lower overall vehicle cost.

Currently, Mercedes-Benz is still engineering and developing Factorial’s first generation solid-state battery technology, dubbed FEST, after investing heavily in the company during a $200 million fundraising session in 2022. 

The great solid-state arms race

(Image credit: MG/SAIC)

Mercedes-Benz joins the likes of Nissan and Toyota in the long list of 'legacy' automakers leading the way with solid-state battery research, but it still feels like it might be too little, too late.

Just this week, MG said it would have the first production cars sporting its latest generation SSB technology available to buy as early as next year. 

Currently, MG’s parent company, SAIC, already has similar technology employed in its IM Motors L6 model, which offers an all-electric range of 673-miles on China's Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC).

If MG is planning on offering this sort of technology at an affordable price in 2025, just imagine what it will have by the end of the decade – just as Mercedes-Benz is preparing to debut its first cars with solid-state battery tech.

With China so far ahead in the EV game, it feels like most legacy automakers don’t stand a chance in playing catch-up. 

Granted, many of the emerging Chinese brands still have some way to go when it comes to achieving the recognition and consumer trust from Western markets, but recent research suggests customer perception is changing rapidly for certain brands, such as BYD.

Given that the average development cycle for a modern production car is three to five years, we could well find that even premium marques, like Mercedes-Benz, struggle to match the battery range and performance offered by Chinese vehicles with more advanced battery and motor technology.

Instead, more traditional automotive brands may have to increasingly play on heritage and a notion of exclusivity to attract customers.

Jaguar's managing director recently went on record to claim that the company is going to push ever-more into super luxury territory, as it pivots to becoming a pure EV manufacturer.

"Luxury brands create irrational need," Jaguar boss Rawdon Glover told Top Gear, alongside an admittance that even the premium EV space is becoming too competitive.

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New research from Zerto has revealed how ineffective some companies’ disaster recovery and cyber recovery strategies can be.

According to the report, backup-related issues are the leading cause of data loss worldwide, accounting for around one-third (32%) of incidents.

Fortunately, the survey revealed backup and recovery came out as the number one priority for IT software investments in 2024, leaving organizations with an opportunity to better prepare themselves against attacks.

Backup issues are causing widespread data loss

Figures from the survey highlighted an average of 4.2 data disruptions annually that require IT intervention, with companies facing an average of one ransomware attack and one internal attack each year.

Nearly half (48%) of organizations said they had paid a ransom despite having backups in the hope of speeding up recovery and minimizing the impacts of such attacks, but only one-fifth (20%) of those paying a ransom managed to fully recover their data.

Phil Goodwin, Research VP at IDC, which carried out the research, commented: “It’s unfortunate to see organizations funneling resources into backup processes only to realize that it was all for naught – paying the ransom money and losing the data.”

In order to address backup issues, Zerto says companies should consider continuous data protection (CDP) to recover to a point immediately before an attack. Combining backup and recovery, disaster recovery, and cyber recovery could also prove instrumental to deploying a more rounded approach.

HPE VP for Storage Product Marketing, Caroline Seymour, added that complex data environments “demand a more sophisticated approach to data protection – one in which traditional backup is not the be-all-end-all but instead one of a suite of complementary tools, including CDP.”

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From next month Apple Intelligence will be deployed on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. On the face of it, flexible writing tools, a more personal Siri, and the ability to clean up my photos by removing anything I don't want in a flash all sound good, but Apple Intelligence raises almost as many questions as it answers. 

Because the beta versions of iOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia have been around for a while now we know a lot more about how Apple Intelligence will work once it's released, but there are still some questions that remain unanswered. Here are five big questions that Apple's 'Glowtime' event left me wondering about.

1. How secure is my data, really?

Apple talked so much about how secure my data would be in their hands, once I gave Apple Intelligence permission to analyze it, that I’m now starting to wonder if it's really secure at all!

One of the big selling points of Apple Intelligence is that it does most of its processing on your device, which explains why it isn't backwards compatible with the vast majority of iPhones. You need a device with the required number of neural processing units, to perform the complex processing that AI requires. But despite making a big deal of its on-device processing, for requests that require more processing power, Apple uses something called Private Cloud Compute. "When using Private Cloud Compute, users’ data is never stored or shared with Apple; it is used only to fulfill their request", Apple says. As if to press home the security message, Apple is keen to stress that independent experts will inspect the code that runs on Apple silicon servers to continuously verify this privacy promise.

But Apple doesn't stop with its own servers. ChatGPT is accessible on iPhone through Siri 2.0 expected next year. This appears to be the opposite of secure, given OpenAI's tendency to help itself to public data. However, Apple assures us that when using ChatGPT your IP address will be obscured, and OpenAI won’t store any of your requests. In fact, you don't even need to create an OpenAI account to use ChatGPT.

We're being asked to trust Tim Cook and his Apple friends here, and there doesn't seem to be much we can do if we don't. The alternative is to refuse to use ChatGPT, in which case you'll severely limit what you can do with your iPhone.

Who wouldn't want a gorgeous iPhone 16, but do you need one to use Apple Intelligence? (Image credit: Apple ) 2. Will I need an iPhone 16 to get the best from Apple Intelligence?

The new iPhone 16 looks lovely. You can check out our iPhone 16 Pro hub and for our first impressions, do read our hands-on iPhone 16 Pro review and hands-on iPhone 16 Plus review for more information.

Tim Cook said, more than once, during the 'Glowtime' event, that iPhone 16 had been “built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence”, but that doesn't mean you have to ditch your iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max to use it. We know they are both capable of running Apple Intelligence, but I'd like to see how the final version of Apple Intelligence performs on an iPhone 15 Pro, compared to an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro. Will there be a performance hit?

One thing to be wary of though is that the new Visual Intelligence feature makes use of the iPhone 16's new Camera Control button, which obviously doesn't exist on older models. Ironically, when it comes to Macs, Apple Intelligence is much more forgiving of older models. If you've got a Mac with an M-series processor, even from a few years ago, then you are welcome to the AI party.

3. Will Apple Intelligence on a Mac keep following iPhone development?

Talking about Macs, we know how Apple Intelligence functions on a Mac, thanks to the beta of macOS 15.1 Sequoia. All the announced Apple Intelligence features, including Image Playground, Genmoji, and Writing Tools, are coming to macOS Sequoia 15.1 as well as iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, but will they keep being developed to be the same, or will we get specific Mac-based Apple Intelligence tools in the future?

Everything Apple has shown us so far in its demos has been so heavily based around the iPhone 16, that it feels like the iPhone is the thing that's pushing the development of Apple Intelligence. There is potential here for macOS to do something unique with Apple Intelligence and I'm left wondering if Apple will take it.

The new Writing Tools in Apple Intelligence are integrated into Mail. (Image credit: Apple) 4. What if I don’t want Apple Intelligence?

What if I want a new iPhone 16, but have no interest in using Apple Intelligence? We know from the beta versions that you can turn Apple Intelligence off completely using a toggle switch, but will it be possible to fine tune what elements you want to turn off or on in the future? Perhaps I want the ability to use Genmoji, but I don't want the Writing Tools. While those two things both use Apple Intelligence, from a user point of view they feel like very different features.

5. Is that it?

Finally, excuse me for being a bit of a jaded and cynical journalist, but a lot of the Apple Intelligence features that Apple showed off are already available from the likes of Google, OpenAI, and even Microsoft. Even the new Visual Intelligence feature they premiered at the Glowtime event is a knock-off of Google Lens. It's a great feature, but nothing new. The Image Playground features are very similar to other AI-powered image generators. Genmoji is perhaps the one new feature you'd find hard to replicate elsewhere. 

I'm left wondering, is that it? Of course, the special sauce with an iPhone is the way everything integrates so seamlessly and Apple's competitive edge has always been in perfecting technologies and marrying that with great design, not necessarily inventing them.

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Right off the back of announcing that Google Workspace admins can now track their company’s electricity usage, Google has revealed another trick up its sleeve as it works towards its goal of being carbon-free by 2030.

The company has announced a deal with Direct Air Capture (DAC) company Holocene to produce carbon removal credits for $100 per ton of C02 removed from the atmosphere, which Google claims is the cheapest price negotiated for use of DAC technology.

Google hopes the credits will be delivered by ‘the early 2030s’, although it was keen to emphasize the technology is very much in the early stages of development, and faces a number of obstacles, including cost and capacity.

Direct air capture - what is it, and why isn’t it ready yet?

Direct air capture works by using chemical or physical extraction to capture C02 from ambient air for it to be stored underground or re-used in products. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s 2022 report claims that billions of tons of C02 will need to be removed from the atmosphere by 2050 to halt climate change, and cites DAC as one of the most promising ways to meet that target.

Carbon removal credits, earned via DAC, are incentives for companies to work towards becoming carbon free; credits have a value, and can then be sold in bulk.

Google is mitigating the cost barrier chiefly by providing upfront financial support to Holocene and accepting carbon removal credits from its lowest-cost facilities. Holocene itself combines liquid and solid-based removal systems, which Google believes will bring the cost of DAC operations down over time.

Additionally, the U.S. Government has crafted the 45Q tax credit - incentivising DAC development and investment by giving eligible suppliers like Holocene $180 per ton removed.

Perhaps the biggest roadblock to DAC is its present lack of scale. As of today, DAC plants cannot produce more than 2000 carbon removal credits per calendar year. Google estimates that Holocene will capture 100,000 tons of C02 by the early 2030s deadline; but also says that this is not nearly enough needed to meaningfully tackle climate change.

It does believe that achieving low-cost DAC at a smaller scale is key to giving confidence to ‘the carbon removal market’, which is important, even if it seems profoundly exhausting to watch such an important goal reduced to the terminology stocks and shares and holders.

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The PS5 Pro games list has now been revealed by Sony - at least in part. In a recent technical presentation, PlayStation 5 Pro was revealed, alongside some glimpses of PS5 Pro-boosted games. We don't have the full list of every game that'll be improved by the new console, but we do know a handful of headline titles that Sony is choosing to showcase pre-launch.

As Sony revealed the PS5 Pro, it was made clear that plenty of currently available PS5 games will receive updates to coincide with the launch of the PS5 Pro on November 7, 2024. Judging by the PS5 Pro specs, it's likely that games such as Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will look and feel better than ever, thanks to AI-driven upscaling and improved raytracing.

Before you place a PS5 Pre-order, however, you'll want to know what games are set to receive upgrades, which is where we come in. In this article, we'll cover every PS5 Pro game confirmed so far, including a look at what's set to change in each title. As more games are confirmed, we'll be sure to update this list.

PS5 Pro games list - confirmed PS5 Pro-enhanced titles

(Image credit: Sony / Guerrilla)

Sony has confirmed a small list of PS5 Pro games that'll receive boosts thanks to the upcoming console's new and improved specs. This list doesn't include every game that's set to benefit from the new hardware, though for now, it's all we have set in stone.

• Alan Wake 2
• Assassin’s Creed: Shadows
• Demon’s Souls
• Dragon’s Dogma 2
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Gran Turismo 7
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• The Crew Motorfest
• The First Descendant
• The Last of Us Part II Remastered

The games above will receive dedicated PS5 Pro versions, and will even be labeled separately to indicate as such. There will be a whole host of PS4 and PS5 games that'll benefit from what Sony is calling PS5 Pro Game Boost (as per the PS Blog):

"With the PS5 Pro version of the Game Boost feature, you can enjoy faster and smoother frame rates in some of the PS4 and PS5 console’s greatest games."

This is said to apply to at least 8,500 PS4 and PS5 titles, so there are plenty of changes and upgrades on the way to the games you already own if you do choose to pick up a PS5 Pro. In addition, PS5 Pro will significantly enhance PSVR 2 games according to Mark Cerny.

PS5 Pro enhanced games - what's the difference?

As part of the recent PS5 Pro technical presentation, we saw a few games running on the new hardware. Each game will benefit from the new specs in different ways, but they'll all be pulling from the improvements below:

• Upgraded GPU with 67% more compute units and 28% faster memory; resulting in 45% faster rendering
• Advanced ray-tracing
• AI-driven upscaling known as PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR)
• 2TB SSD
• PS5 Pro Game Boost
• Optional disc-drive
• VRR and 8K gaming support

(Image credit: PlayStation)

In the aforementioned presentation, The Last of Us Part 2 and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 were both shown running on PS5 Pro. Both titles aim to achieve 'Fidelity mode-like visuals, at 60 frames per second (FPS).' When compared side by side with the base PS5, the PS5 Pro versions ran much more smoothly while retaining comparable visuals. The jump in some cases is from 30 FPS to 60 FPS, with only a small drop in graphical detail. 

The larger GPU at the PS5 Pro's core looks to have particularly stunning effects on Horizon Forbidden West, which sees boosts to lighting, as well as hair and skin textures. Raytracing improvements will be most felt in games like Gran Turismo 7, which will now support reflections between cars, while still maintaining the 60FPS maintained across all modes.

From what we've seen of PS5 Pro games so far, it's clear that each game will make use of the new features in unique ways. The "Big Three" specs of the larger GPU, AI-driven upscaling, and improved raytracing, will be employed depending on the game's scope and current design. Expect games to have increased smoothness and visual detail across the board, however, especially in first-party offerings.

PS5 Pro games: FAQs Will new games be PS5 Pro-enhanced?

While we'll have to wait and see what upcoming PS5 games like Death Stranding 2 do with the new PS5 Pro technology, it's highly likely that first-party games will offer some form of PS5 Pro version. This was how things worked with the PS4 Pro, so expect there to be boosts to upcoming games like Marvel's Wolverine, and Ghost of Tsushima 2. In terms of third-party, PS5 Pro enhancements will come on a case by case basis. Some games will lean into the PS5 Pro's features, even offering separate PS5 Pro-labelled versions, while others may focus on a more general PS5 offering.

How much does the PS5 Pro cost?

The PS5 Pro will launch on November 7, 2024, and will retail for $699.99 / £699.99 / AU$1,999.95. This is a significant step up from the base console, especially when you consider that you won't get a disc drive or a vertical stand with it.

What games are the TechRadar Gaming looking forward to on PS5 Pro?

While it'll be interesting to land up our current PS5 library and see what's been improved on PS5 Pro launch day, we're particularly looking forward to seeing how Alan Wake 2 looks on the new console. The atmospheric horror effects, as well as the particularly unique art-direction of the game will no doubt benefit hugely from the new hardware. Similarly, Horizon Forbidden West is sure to be a real powerhouse in visual detail.

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Samsung is gearing up to once again take on the best iPads on the market, and a pile of unofficial renders of the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra just spilled out on the web. As earlier rumors suggested, it seems we won't get a standard Galaxy Tab S10 this year.

The leaked images come courtesy of Android Headlines and WinFuture, and seem to have dropped at around the same time. There are plenty of them to get through too, showing off the tablets from all angles, in several colors, and with and without the S Pen stylus.

Assuming these renders are accurate – and given the track records of these two websites, they most likely are – then they tell us just about everything there is to know in terms of the design of these slates.

It looks like the designs of the new tablets will be very similar to those of the 12.4-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus and the 14.6-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra launched in 2023. As last year, it appears the Ultra model will be getting a display notch because it has an extra selfie camera to accommodate.

Tablet specs

so there are only two left now... Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra. Looking much the same! Enjoy a bunch of pics and see more at AH.https://t.co/8uRY35eJ6QSeptember 10, 2024

The team at Android Headlines has also been able to source some specs for these tablets. The smaller Plus model is apparently going to be offered with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of internal storage, matching the current model.

As for the larger (and more expensive) Ultra model, that's rumored to be coming with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. Again, that matches the top-end configuration available on the existing model.

One upgrade that will almost certainly be included is a bump in processor speed: these slates are said to be using the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 Plus CPU, which should provide more power than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 powering the 2023 models.

What we still don't know is when these tablets are going to be officially unveiled. Last year's models were launched in July, alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5, so they're already overdue as we head through September – and they should finally make an appearance before the end of the year.

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Would you like to turn any musical idea into a custom YouTube Music station? All you need to do is Ask Music. That's the new name for the AI-powered radio station creator, which was piloted in July by YouTube and is now rolling out to some English-language users on Android. 

The feature is still officially in testing, but according to 9to5Google, it appears to be turning up in more and more people's apps, albeit not on iOS; it's appeared for Android users in the US, Canada and Australia at the time of writing.

Why Ask Music could make your music more entertaining

Ask Music is another one of Google's generative AI experiments (see hum-to-search and Gemini integration testing for others) and in this incarnation it enables you to describe the kind of music you'd like to hear – melancholy indie rock, perhaps, or Seattle rock scene, or jangly 60s pop – to have YouTube Music create a custom station playing exactly that. You can describe your music by genre or by characteristics such as epic choruses, or both: upbeat pop, angry metal and so on.

The use of generative AI trained on a huge dataset means this feature could be really useful, particularly if you're picky: being able to create playlists based on very specific and personalized criteria should mean much more meaningful results featuring much more music that you'll want to hear. Let's be honest, other people's playlists can be pretty patchy, so the introduction of AI to YouTube Music's discovery features could prove really interesting.

As yet there's no sign of an official rollout to everybody, but the launch is clearly coming closer, so if it isn't already in your Android app it shouldn't be long before it makes an appearance. One thing is for certain: YouTube Music really is starting to make a play for inclusion in our best music streaming services guide… 

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If, like us, you tend to be a tad clumsy with your expensive iPhone and frequently send it crashing to the ground in an anxiety-inducing tumble or two, Apple has some good news. That’s because the latest iPhone 16 range apparently boasts the company’s toughest-ever front glass surface, which could help prevent one too many trips to the phone surgeon.

At the company’s ‘It’s Glowtime’ show on September 9, Apple explained that the iPhone 16 has “industry-leading” durability levels, with “our new, most advanced glass-ceramic formulation.” This upgrade is coming to every phone in the iPhone 16 range, including the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, as well as the entry-level models.

When talking about the “glass-ceramic formulation,” Apple is referring to the Ceramic Shield that forms the iPhone’s front-facing glass. Since 2020, Apple has been equipping its iPhones with this glass-ceramic surface in order to protect against cracks and scratches. Developed alongside glass manufacturer Corning, it’s much tougher than a standard glass front panel.

And in the iPhone 16, Apple says that the Ceramic Shield is now 50% tougher than the first-generation Ceramic Shield that appeared in the iPhone 12. It’s also twice as strong as the glass found in any other smartphone, according to Apple. If accurate, that’s pretty impressive – and welcome news for upgraders who like to test iPhone durability to the limit.

Stronger than ever

(Image credit: Apple)

As with many of Apple’s claims in the ‘It’s Glowtime’ event, we didn’t get much in the way of specifics. For instance, we don’t know whether the “50% tougher” claim refers to the screen’s scratch resistance, ability to withstand fall damage, both, or something else entirely.

Still, it’s reassuring to hear Apple be so bullish on its devices’ durability. Given that the Ceramic Shield was already a significant upgrade over previous iPhone displays, a 50% increase in the screen’s toughness is a promising sign.

Does it mean you should throw out your screen protector? Perhaps not, at least while we’re still waiting for proper durability test results to surface. But with a new, stronger Ceramic Shield in attendance, your iPhone 16 should be able to take a beating and still come up smiling.

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You don't need to wait for next week's iOS 18 release to update your AirPods Pro 2 to new firmware: the update is rolling out now and should install automatically when you next use your earbuds.

As Macrumors reports, the firmware version number is 7A294 and it's specific to the AirPods Pro 2. The update delivers the key features promised in the iOS 18 update, which will be available for your iPhone on Monday 16 September. 

This is a significant update: it'll make your calls clearer, improve audio in games and enable more hands-free interactions too.

What's new in the September 2024 AirPods Pro 2 update

According to the report, the following features are included in this update.

Head gestures enable you to interact with Siri without using your voice, so for example you'll be able to accept or reject incoming calls with a nod of the head or a shake to say no. The head gestures will work not just with calls, but with incoming messages and Siri notifications. That's handy for times when for whatever reason you can't or don't want to speak.

AirPods Pro 2 (which are already some of the best earbuds around) are also getting Voice Isolation, which is designed to reduce the level of sounds around you when you're talking to someone – wind noise, traffic noise and other kinds of ambient audio that might otherwise make your speech harder to hear.

And the third key feature is the expansion of Personalized Spatial Audio to include games. That one's dependent on game developers using it, but it means they'll be able to use spatial audio in games to make them even more immersive.

As ever with AirPods updates there's no manual installer; it's an over-the-air update. You'll be able to see if it's installed on your earbuds by going into Settings, tapping on the name of your AirPods and scrolling down to the About section towards the bottom of the page. The previous version is 6F8.

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The recent cyberattack which targeted Transport for London (TFL) is now in its second week, with a potentially concerning development for customers.

The organization had originally put out a statement claiming there was, “no evidence that any customer data has been compromised”, but this has since been revised to, “The security of our systems and customer data is very important to us” - suggesting there is indeed a possible risk to customer information.

TfL boasts over five million customers per day, meaning any cyberattack could have a wide-reaching implications and cause chaos if services were affected. On this occasion, it seems the brunt of the impact was felt by disabled users of ‘Dial-a-Ride’, the door-to-door service which was disrupted by the attack.

Vulnerable targets

It has not been revealed how cyber criminals gained access to the TfL systems or exactly what information was exposed, however, the transport system remains largely unaffected. It was reported that TfL employees were asked to work from home whilst the incident is ongoing.

Critical infrastructure has proved to be a popular target for malicious actors in recent times. Infrastructure is so crucial in the daily lives of so many, but targets like the NHS simply don’t have the funding to employ top of the line cyber security.

It’s common for cyber criminals to exploit vulnerabilities in a company’s network and exfiltrate sensitive data, often demanding a ransom to delete the information, or selling it on the dark web.

The nature of the data taken in this attack has not been revealed, and it’s unlikely much will be understood until the incident is resolved. However, we recommend anyone who is concerned about their data to take a look at our choices for best identity theft protection services to keep your information safe.

Via TechCrunch

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Project Strawberry, OpenAI’s codename for its new ChatGPT reasoning-focused artificial intelligence was set for a fall release, but now reports suggest it could arrive before the iPhone 16 on September 20.

According to The Information, the new ChatGPT service could launch in the next two weeks. Two testers of the new AI model claim the original launch date has been moved forward to pioneer a new generation of AI tools.

Strawberry will be a standalone offering at launch, but we’re not quite sure how it will be implemented into ChatGPT just yet. The testers claim it could be a ‘dropdown menu of AI models customers can pick from to power ChatGPT’ with Strawberry able to think, responding in more detail and taking longer than GPT-4o.

“The initial version will only be able to take in and produce text—and not images—which means it isn’t yet multimodal the way other OpenAI models are.” A clear shortcoming compared to other LLMs out in the market, like Google Gemini.

The Information expects the pricing to be slightly different from ChatGPT, expecting ‘rate limits restricting users to some maximum number of messages per hour, with the potential for a higher-priced tier that’s faster to respond, according to another person with knowledge of the product.’

Sam Altman's mysterious strawberry tweet. (Image credit: X.com/Sam Altman) So what exactly is Project Strawberry?

Project Strawberry is a new AI model from the folks at OpenAI with a new approach that's able to reason and ‘think’, making it perfect for mathematical equations. The AI model has been used internally to solve puzzles that ChatGPT would struggle with such as New York Times Connections, another word game hit like Wordle. 

Just last month, The Information received details from two testers (we can’t confirm they are the same as this report) that Project Strawberry could be released in October/November but it seems like OpenAI has decided to quickly change the expected launch window. It’s still unclear if Project Strawberry will be part of GPT-5, but we might not have long to find out.

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Microsoft has revealed new details about its newly released Xbox Game Pass Standard tier and it’s really not looking good.

A recent post to the Xbox Wire blog outlines the new Xbox Game Pass structure, in which Standard is intended to replace the now defunct Xbox Game Pass for Console membership. Standard includes Xbox Game Pass Core (formerly Xbox Live Gold) for access to online play. This is in addition to a library of “hundreds of high-quality console games” that are not included in Core.

Unlike Xbox Game Pass for Console, however, this game library does not feature titles that are considered 'day one' releases or those that are part of the separate EA Play catalog. Standard also does not offer access to Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is instead restricted to the more premium Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier.

It’s all pretty confusing, but some new filters that were just added to the Xbox website allow us to see what this all means in practical terms. Firstly, you can see that the Xbox Game Pass Standard library is currently comprised of 370 games, which is 138 fewer than the 508 included with Ultimate and the old Console tier.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

There are also many notable absences in the Standard library, including big hits like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Diablo 4, Forza Motorsport, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Valorant, and even Starfield. Some smaller games like Botany Manor and Little Kitty, Big City are gone too. On top of all this, the lack of EA Play titles also means that older EA games like Alice: Madness Returns, Burnout Paradise Remastered, and Battlefield 5, are missing.

It’s a pretty big blow, especially considering that something like Starfield is close to a year old at this point so hardly a “day one” release any more. Going forward, it seems likely that Standard subscribers will have to wait at least twelve months for access to some of the latest games. Considering the fact that Xbox Game Pass Standard costs $14.99 / £10.99 a month and replaced a far more generous service in Xbox Game Pass for Console, it’s hard not to be disappointed by this relatively lackluster offering.

Xbox Game Pass Standard is available now for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One.

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It seems like we can expect the PS5 Pro to have enhancement patches ready to go for a whole bunch of PS5 games at launch.

That's coming from Cnet's hands-on PS5 Pro report, which states that, according to Sony: "about 40 to 50 games will get patches when the system launches in November."

We have already seen many of the best PS5 games running on PS5 Pro during the console's Technical Presentation which aired on September 10. The showcase demonstrated greater image clarity in titles like Gran Turismo 7, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

Improvements in these games include a boost to resolution and performance, as well as greater detail for objects in the far distance. PS5 Pro's lead system architect, Mark Cerny, stated that one of the goals for the console is to bridge the gap between fidelity and performance modes - offering the best of both worlds. That does seem to be the case with the demonstrations showed.

We don't currently have the full list of games that'll receive these enhancement patches. But the official PS5 Pro landing page has revealed a handful of titles including Demon's Souls, Gran Turismo 7, Horizon Forbidden West, Until Dawn, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, The Last of Us Part 1 and The Last of Us Part 2. It's also been confirmed that upgraded PS5 Pro games will feature a special label indicating they have a patch ready to go.

It's also unclear as to how big the file sizes are going to be for these enhancement patches. We're expecting them to be quite sizeable, but at least the PS5 Pro is well-equipped in this regard with its upgraded 2TB of internal storage out of the box.

The PS5 Pro is launching on November 7 worldwide, and PS5 Pro pre-orders will be available from September 26 at PlayStation Direct and presumably a handful of big box retailers, too.

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As sure as night follows day, early bugs and issues seem to follow the launches of even the best smartphones – and it seems that certain Google Pixel 9 Pro XL handsets might be having a variety of problems related to Bluetooth connections.

The team at Android Police has done a good job of rounding up the reported issues, which cover problems with range, unstable audio connections, and difficulty getting phones to stay hooked up to Android Auto dashboards in vehicles.

It's difficult to assess just how widespread these issues are – they certainly didn't come up in our comprehensive Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review – but there are several threads on Reddit and the Google support forums registering complaints.

"I've been using the Pixel Buds Pro without problems for the past two weeks and now it has terrible range all of a sudden for some reason," writes one Redditor for example, with several others chiming in on the same thread.

Can we fix it?

These issues haven't been reported on the Pixel 9 (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

As yet, there's been no official word from Google on these problems – we asked it for a response and will update this story when we hear back. However, one of the complaints has been logged in Android's bug tracker, and acknowledged by Google, which suggests the engineering team is looking into it at least.

If you're having problems yourself, a few different solutions have been suggested by those affected so far. Make sure you're running the latest software on your phone and on your connected Bluetooth devices, for a start.

Turning off ultra-wideband (UWB) also seems to help, at least temporarily. You can do this by going into Settings in Android, then choosing Connected devices and Connection preferences to find the ultra-wideband option.

While most complaints have been about the Pixel Pro 9 XL, some users seem to be having trouble with the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold as well. However, the Google Pixel 9 – which doesn't have UWB technology built-in – doesn't appear to be affected.

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Google has started rolling out a new Lite cloud storage plan across India, offering double the amount of storage available on free plan for 59 rupees ($0.70) per month.

The Google One Lite plan sits between the free 15GB tier and the 100GB Basic plan, which retails for 130 rupees ($1.55) in the country, and includes 30GB of storage for Photos, Drive and Gmail.

Like its other cloud storage plans, Google is offering its new Lite plan with a one-month free trial.

Google One Lite launches in India

The 30GB storage allocation is an affordable middle ground for those who have reached the free 15GB cap, which is an easy thing to do for Android users, but costs less than half of the 100GB plan, which could be too much for individuals who don’t regularly upload to the cloud.

The Indian Express reported: “Now, it looks like the tech giant is testing a new Google One Lite plan that is only available to a handful of users.”

The plan looks to be entirely aimed at individual consumers, and doesn’t support sharing with up to five other people like the 100GB plan and above.

Google’s 30GB plan comes in at a similar price point to the 50GB iCloud+ subscription for iPhone users, which costs 75 rupees in India. However, this plan benefits from family sharing with up to five others as well as some email and HomeKit extras.

Google One Lite is not yet available in other regions, and The Indian Express failed to find the option when upgrading from the free plan, suggesting that Google could be testing the waters with its new plan.

TechRadar Pro has asked Google whether it plans to expand the availability of Google One Lite, but the company did not immediately respond.

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Amazon Web Services (AWS) has revealed plans to invest £8 billion into the construction, operation, and maintenance of data centres across the UK over the next five years.

The project is expected to contribute £14 billion to UK GDP before 2028, and support more than 14,000 jobs within the data centre supply chain, including construction, engineering, and telecoms.

AWS has spent £3 billion in development in the UK since 2020 to meet the growing demand from customers. This has supported an average of 6,000 full time jobs at local business level. The total impact of cloud computing services in the UK accounted for over £42 billion in 2023 - over 1.6% of GDP.

Digital economy

Surveys suggest that cloud computing services have saved small businesses money and allowed them to compete with larger companies by giving them access to the same technologies.

Tanuja Randery, Vice President and Managing Director, Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) at AWS, said: “The next few years could be among the most pivotal for the UK’s digital and economic future, as organisations of all sizes across the country increasingly embrace technologies like cloud computing and AI to help them accelerate innovation, increase productivity, and compete on the global stage.“

The cloud infrastructure market is dominated by three major firms; AWS, Microsoft, and Google. In 2023, an investigation into the supply of public cloud infrastructure services in the UK indicated that AWS may have engaged in anti-competitive behaviours which could have disadvantaged UK customers and businesses.

It’s not clear how this new investment will affect the UK market - but the final decision is expected in April 2025.

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Chinese state-sponsored threat actor Mustang Panda (also known as LuminousMoth, Camaro Dragon, HoneyMyte, and more), has been found launching malware campaigns against high value targets, including government agencies in Asia.

The group used a variant of the HIUPAN worm to deliver PUBLOAD malware into the networks of its targets via removable drives. The HIUPAN worm moved all its files into a hidden directory to obscure its presence, and left only one seemingly legitimate file visible ("USBConfig.exe") to trick the user.

The PUBLOAD tool was used as the primary control for the campaign, used to exfiltrate data and send to the threat actor’s remote server. PTSOCKET was often used as an alternative data extraction tool.

A familiar story

An investigation by TrendMicro outlines the advancement in the malware deployment from Mustang Panda, especially in the use against military, government, and education agencies in the APAC region.

This is a change from the recent reports the organization was using WispRider variants to execute similar DLL sideloading techniques through USB drives. The previous campaign is said to have infected devices around the world, including in the UK, Russia, and India.

The group was also linked to a spear phishing campaign in June of this year, demonstrating its capabilities in exploiting Microsoft’s cloud services and leveraging multi-stage downloaders. The group remains highly active in the cyber landscape, and looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.

This is one of many suspected Chinese state-sponsored attacks in recent times, with campaigns against a range of targets, including Russian government devices compromised by phishing attacks.

Via BleepingComputer

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Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now nearly 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 #961) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* 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 #961) - 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 #961) - 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 #961) - 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 #961) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• R

• C

• S

• O

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

Quordle today (game #961) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #961, are…

• ROUGH
• CACTI
• SAVOY
• ODDER

There are lots of tough words in today's Quordle – and I only played the Classic version, not the new (and even harder) Extreme mode! I needed all nine guesses to solve it, and indeed had to guess the final one (SAVOY) with only four of the five letters. Before that, CACTI and its two Cs had caused me problems, as had ODDER and its two Ds. Not easy at all.

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

Daily Sequence today (game #961) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #961, are…

• FAITH
• SWORN
• ENTER
• HOMER

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #960, Tuesday 10 September: PLUMB, SEIZE, EARLY, ASSET
• Quordle #959, Monday 9 September: CHIRP, BEADY, THETA, MINUS
• Quordle #958, Sunday 8 September: TEASE, AGATE, PRIDE, PLATE
• Quordle #957, Saturday 7 September: LASSO, TILDE, BUNCH, PRONG
• Quordle #956, Friday 6 September: FARCE, WOOLY, LOCAL, NIGHT
• Quordle #955, Thursday 5 September: SNIDE, EGRET, AMONG, SHINY
• Quordle #954, Wednesday 4 September: POINT, WITTY, GAFFE, ABUSE
• Quordle #953, Tuesday 3 September: ATOLL, ANGER, OCEAN, SWEEP
• Quordle #952, Monday 2 September: HABIT, LODGE, PLAIN, DRIFT
• Quordle #951, Sunday 1 September: RABBI, CRAWL, GUPPY, BRAND
• Quordle #950, Saturday 31 August: AWOKE, TIBIA, ITCHY, SNACK
• Quordle #949, Friday 30 August: ARISE, OLDER, ISSUE, ERUPT
• Quordle #948, Thursday 29 August: DECAY, DRUID, AVOID, KNEED
• Quordle #947, Wednesday 28 August: VIOLA, GONER, CAVIL, SHARE
• Quordle #946, Tuesday 27 August: ABYSS, DAILY, AGONY, MUSKY
• Quordle #945, Monday 26 August: NEVER, CHUNK, AUNTY, CROUP
• Quordle #944, Sunday 25 August: APTLY, LEVER, STORK, WIDOW
• Quordle #943, Saturday 24 August: EVENT, APNEA, SWATH, IRONY
• Quordle #942, Friday 23 August: LAUGH, SATYR, CACHE, CLONE
• Quordle #941, Thursday 22 August: BEARD, PAYER, BROWN, TRUCK