TechRadar News

Netflix has revealed the full trailer for Apple Cider Vinegar, a new series launching on February 6, 2025 – and it looks like a relentless ride of outrageous influencer grifting.

Set during the early days of influencers really breaking out and becoming a dominant voice in the media, it follows self-styled two wellness gurus who both encourage a healthy diet and lifestyle to overcome cancer. Belle Gibson (Kaitlyn Dever) builds an empire based on her diet that 'cured' her cancer… except she never had cancer in the first place.

The series looks like it'll dig deep into the delusions that take hold among competitive personalities in a world in which success defined by how many people will listen to you, and the fear of what will happen if someone else has a more compelling story is ever present.

It's described as "true-ish" by Netflix, which says it's based on a real person and real events, but with heavily fictionalized elements and characters added to tell the story in the way the creators want to… which is basically the norm for this kind of series, so it's nice that Netflix is acknowledging that more than usual. However, it's possible that this has less to do with conscientiousness, and more to do with the lawsuit over Baby Reindeer being a 'true' story.

Apple Cider Vinegar seems like it'll be a deep and unflinching look at the insecurity and desperation that leads someone down the path of inventing a third cancer to fake-survive, and how the structures of social media can support and encourage such behavior.

I think Kaitlyn Dever is an excellent actress who's been slightly underused since breaking out in Booksmart, though I did really enjoy No One Will Save You, and Dopesick was a big hit. Apple Cider Vinegar looks like it'll give her something really unhinged to chew on, and I'm absolutely here for that.

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• Biden wants to roll out more powerful AI data centers across the US
• “Frontier AI data centers” will be able to develop powerful AI models
• Operators must also factor in clean energy and security measures

US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to expedite the construction of data centers in the country.

The order outlines a focus on the development of domestic AI infrastructure, as well as plans for how the White House intends to improve national security while also addressing environmental concerns like clean energy generation.

Key to the order is that the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy must each identify three suitable sites for so-called “frontier AI data centers” by early 2025.

Biden wants the US to lead the way with AI data centers

The President described “frontier AI data centers” as facilities “capable of being used to develop, within a reasonable time frame, an AI model with characteristics related either to performance or to the computational resources used in its development that approximately match or surpass the state of the art at the time of the AI model’s development.”

As part of the intended data center expansion, President Biden said the operators must match their electricity consumption on an hourly basis with clean energy like geothermal, nuclear, wind, and solar.

Just days before he hands over office to Donald Trump, and in light of ongoing geopolitical tensions, Biden also said campuses should impose stringent physical and cyber security standards, including further along the supply chain.

“The executive order announced today will ensure the United States has the infrastructure — including large-scale data centers and clean power facilities — necessary to maintain America’s competitive advantage and safeguard our national security interests," noted Vice President Kamala Harris.

The news comes shortly after President-elect Trump confirmed Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani would invest $20 billion, or more, in America’s AI infrastructure.

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A few weeks ago, the 2025 Golden Globes kicked off the start of this year's awards season, with the first glitter-ball event of the year celebrating some of the best movies of 2024.

Now, it's the turn of the 2025 BAFTAs, whose nominations were announced today (January 15). And, just like the 2025 Golden Globes nominees list, this year's contingent has got us all talking about the surprises (and snubs) that are part (and not part) of its selection.

Edward Berger's religious thriller Conclave leads the pack with 12 nominations, while Emilia Perez (11) and The Brutalist (nine) follow closely behind. Of all of 2024's new movies that released in theaters and/or on the world's best streaming services, though, there's only one – the Zendaya-starring Challengers – that's stunned me over its lack of recognition.

Challengers received zero nominations at the 2025 BAFTAs (Image credit: Prime Video )

Being one of, if not the most memorable movie scores of 2024, the fact that Challengers wasn't considered worthy of a nod in that category is unforgivable in my eyes. Compared to this category's actual nominees – The Brutalist, Conclave, Emilia Pérez, Nosferatu, and The Wild Robot – it's a travesty that, at the very least, Challengers wasn't given the nod in this field. To say it's been overlooked in this category (or any category, for that fact) is an understatement. Here's hoping the Oscars committee sees more sense when this year's Academy Awards are revealed on January 19.

Despite my clear disappointment, this was – in my eyes, anyway – the 2025 BAFTA nominations list's only major disappointment. Indeed, seeing Rich Peppiatt's Kneecap receive six nominations was a welcome surprise, as was The Substance's Coralie Fargeat being the only female nominee for best director and Anora getting the same recognition as it did on the other side of the pond. Sure, Daniel Craig arguably deserved better for his performance in Queer but, given how competitive the Best Actor award always is at the BAFTAs, somehow had to miss out. And, unfortunately for Craig, he was this year's big omission.

BAFTA 2025 full nominees list: Conclave, The Brutalist, Kneecap, and more

Rich Peppiatt's Kneecap is nominated for six BAFTAs, including Outstanding British Film (Image credit: Prime Video )

Best Film

Anora

The Brutalist

A Complete Unknown

Conclave

Emilia Pérez

Outstanding British Film

Bird

Blitz

Conclave

Gladiator II

Hard Truths

Kneecap

Lee

Love Lies Bleeding

The Outrun

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Best Leading Actress

Cynthia Erivo, Wicked

Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez

Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths

Mikey Madison, Anora

Demi Moore, The Substance

Saoirse Ronan, The Outrun

Best Leading Actor

Adrien Brody, The Brutalist

Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown

Colman Domingo, Sing Sing

Ralph Fiennes, Conclave

Hugh Grant, Heretic

Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Best Supporting Actress

Selena Gomez, Emilia Pérez

Ariana Grande, Wicked

Felicity Jones, The Brutalist

Jamie Lee Curtis, The Last Showgirl

Isabella Rossellini, Conclave

Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

Best Supporting Actor

Yura Borisov, Anora

Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain

Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing

Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown

Guy Pearce, The Brutalist

Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Best Director

Anora, Sean Baker

The Brutalist, Brady Corbet

Conclave, Edward Berger

Dune: Part Two, Denis Villeneuve

Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard

The Substance, Coralie Fargeat

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

Hoard

Kneecap

Monkey Man

Santosh

Sister Midnight

Best Film Not in the English Language

All We Imagine As Light

Emilia Pérez

I'm Still Here

Kneecap

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Best Documentary

Black Box Diaries

Daughters

No Other Land

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

Will & Harper

Best Animated Film

Flow

Inside Out 2

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

The Wild Robot

Best Children's and Family Film

Flow

Kensuke's Kingdom

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

The Wild Robot

Best Original Screenplay

Anora

The Brutalist

Kneecap

A Real Pain

The Substance

Best Adapted Screenplay

A Complete Unknown

Conclave

Emilia Pérez

Nickel Boys

Sing Sing

EE Bafta Rising Star Award

Marisa Abela

Jharrel Jerome

David Jonsson

Mikey Madison

Nabhaan Rizwan

Best Original Score

The Brutalist, Daniel Blumberg

Conclave, Volker Bertelmann

Emilia Pérez, Camille, Clément Ducol

Nosferatu, Robin Carolan

The Wild Robot, Kris Bowers

Best Casting

Anora

The Apprentice

A Complete Unknown

Conclave

Kneecap

Best Cinematography

The Brutalist

Conclave

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Pérez

Nosferatu

Best Costume Design

Blitz

A Complete Unknown

Conclave

Nosferatu

Wicked

Best Editing

Anora

Conclave

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Pérez

Kneecap

Best Production Design

The Brutalist

Conclave

Dune: Part Two

Nosferatu

Wicked

Best Make-Up and Hair

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Pérez

Nosferatu

The Substance

Wicked

Best Sound

Blitz

Dune: Part Two

Gladiator II

The Substance

Wicked

Best Special Visual Effects

Better Man

Dune: Part Two

Gladiator II

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Wicked

Best British Short Film

The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing

Marion

Milk

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Stomach Bug

Best British Short Animation

Adiós

Mog's Christmas

Wander to Wonder

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• Nvidia will bring Frame Generation enhancements to the RTX 4000 series
• DLSS 4 will be accessible to all RTX GPUs
• This may prove to be beneficial for the longevity of older GPUs

During Nvidia's RTX 4000 GPU series launch in 2022, we saw plenty of criticism from PC gamers (including myself) regarding both the sky-high pricing and DLSS 3 with Frame Generation being exclusive to the new generation. This time around, with the new RTX 5000 series reveal, it seems Nvidia is making amends.

As highlighted by Wccftech, starting 30 January (the RTX 5090 and 5080 launch date), RTX 4000 series GPU owners will receive enhancements to Frame Generation, promising to use less VRAM while boosting performance with higher frame rates. That’s not all, either: all RTX GPUs will have access to the improved upscaling of DLSS 4, which is a massive change as all RTX 2000 and 3000 owners have only had access to DLSS 2 since way back in 2020.

While the new Multi Frame Generation feature will be exclusive to the RTX 5000 series (likely due to hardware requirements), these enhancements for the RTX 4000 series owners (using DLSS 4), may prove highly beneficial in improving performance across multiple games. Despite the online controversy surrounding Team Green's Frame Generation and the potential disregard for optimization from game developers, it's a nice gesture to maintain support for older GPUs, especially considering previous circumstances.

This should naturally be taken with a pinch of salt, but Nvidia's own showcase sees better framerates and less VRAM use with the improved Frame Generation for RTX 4000. (Image credit: Nvidia) Is there any need for an RTX 5000 series GPU now?

With DLSS 4 soon available for all RTX users and Frame Generation enhancements on the way for compatible GPUs, it begs the question - is there an urgent need to upgrade to the new RTX 5000 series? Honestly, I'm not sure, at least regarding the wallet-busting RTX 5080 or 5090 for now. While we’re still awaiting actual performance results, there's a strong chance that DLSS 4 will prove to be a massive benefit to the older GPUs.

I imagine that the leap from DLSS 2 to DLSS 4 for, say, an RTX 3060 GPU will work wonders at providing a performance boost - while it may not completely revolutionize performance, it could potentially net users a few more years of use from their current GPUs before they really need to start contemplating an upgrade.

Granted, when looking at the newly announced RTX 5070, its $549 / £539 / AU$1,109 price tag and Nvidia's claims of RTX 4090-level performance (while using DLSS 4 with frame-gen enabled, to be clear), I can say that upgrading to this GPU will likely end up being worth it for any PC gamers without sky-high budgets - but we'll have to wait and see once reviews are available.

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• Half of businesses are finding it hard to recruit the right talent
• LinkedIn's UK Jobs on the Rise list comprises brand-new and emerging roles
• Businesses are preparing to upskill workers with AI and sustainability

LinkedIn has identified a concerning trend among HR professionals, who now claim finding the right talent is harder than ever.

A new "UK Jobs on the Rise" report from the online recruitment platform revealed the time-consuming nature of candidate sourcing, with around one in four (23%) HR workers spending an average of three to five hours daily sifting through applications.

Moreover, two in five (42%) said not even half of the applicants meet all listed criteria, making it an unrewarding task.

Finding job candidates is getting harder

LinkedIn's data revealed two-fifths (41%) of candidates apply to more roles than ever, but they’re receiving fewer replies than previously. Now, more than half (54%) of job seekers and four in five (79%) HR workers say that the hiring process has become more difficult.

The challenges have been amplified by evolving skills demands across all industries, with the rise of AI-induced automation tweaking job roles in the name of operational efficiency.

Over half (55%) of the roles appearing on the UK Jobs on the Rise list didn’t even exist 25 years ago, with many new AI and sustainability roles emerging.

As a result, half (49%) of the HR professionals studied find it hard to find the right people with the necessary technical skills.

It’s not a story of lost hope, though, because two in three (65%) organizations intend to prioritize AI upskilling efforts, and a similar number (64%) will focus on sustainability.

Apart from AI’s effects on job opportunities, AI is also playing a crucial role in the hiring process. Two in three (67%) HR professionals believe AI makes it easier for them to find qualified candidates to the point that 45% are calling for more tech to streamline the process.

“With work and hiring changing so rapidly - the skills needed for jobs are expected to change 70% by 2030 - businesses must find a way to bridge any gaps within their organisations," LinkedIn UK Country Manager Janine Chamberlin commented.

Chamberlin added how, ultimately, a shifting landscape presents “a very exciting opportunity for both ojb seekers and leaders to think differently about skills and stay competitive.”

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• Microsoft unveils new Copilot Chat AI tool
• Available as part of existing Microsoft 365 subscription
• Copilot Chat brings AI creativity, collaboration and productivity gains

Microsoft is continuing its mission to get its Copilot AI platform in the hands of as many users as possible with a new expansion.

The company has announced Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, an upgrade to the current free chat tool in its office software platform which will provide access to AI tools at no extra cost.

The move will mean everyone in your business can now get the most out of Copilot and AI agents, bringing workers at all levels up to speed on the latest technology.

Microsoft Copilot Chat

The new edition will provide a secure AI chat service powered by GPT-4o, with agents accessible directly within the chat.

It will be offered alongside the current $30 Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription, meaning customers can customize their AI investment for the needs of their workforce, and that access to agents can be priced on a metered basis.

All the existing familiar capabilities of Copilot will be included in the new chat services, with users able to upload any documents and then ask questions or have Copilot carry out tasks such as summarization or data analysis.

There's also access to Copilot Pages, allowing for greater collaboration across your business with co-workers and AI services, and the ability to create and add in AI-generated images to spice up your presentations.

AI agents can be created directly within Copilot Chat using natural language, hopefully boosting productivity and freeing up time previously spent on manual processes or tasks. Company-wide agents can also be created thanks to Copilot Studio, with agents deployed to all workers needing them.

"Copilot Chat enables your entire workforce — from customer service representatives to marketing leads to frontline technicians — to start using Copilot and agents today," Microsoft's Jared Spataro, CMO AI at Work, noted in a blog post.

"Moving forward, every organization will have a mix of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot – our best-in-class offering – to drive AI transformation at scale."

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• EcoAir AVS inactivates virus particles using heat
• Traditional purifiers capture, rather than inactivating, harmful microbes
• EcoAir's claims have been independently verified by a scientific research company

We're all familiar with air purifiers, but air care appliance brand EcoAir has apparently gone one better, launching what it claims is the world's first air sterilizer. The EcoAir Anti-Covid AVS can apparently eliminate viruses and bacteria – including colds, flu, and (you guessed it) Covid – from the air.

Today's best air purifiers can only capture virus particles, not inactivate them – is this new approach your new best defense agains seasonal bugs? I got in touch with EcoAir co-founder and CEO Noel Fok to learn exactly how it works.

“A virus is not a living organism, so it can’t be killed. However, it can be inactivated or destroyed by exposure to heat," Fok explains. "The EcoAir AVS air sterilizer eliminates 99.9% of viruses by removing them from the air, passing them through Thermo-Clean tech, which reaches a core temperature of over 200C [392F], inactivating the harmful microbes."

He adds: "AVS will kill Bacteria because it is a living organism, through the same exposure to Thermo-Clean technology. In both cases the harmful microbes are disintegrated by the heat and not released back into the air.”

Those claims have been independently tested and verified by MRIGlobal – a research organization focused on health and safety innovations.

(Image credit: EcoAir)

Also notable is how quickly this 'air sterilizer' works. It can eliminate airborne viruses and bacteria in a single pass, and does so pretty much instantly, in just 0.01 seconds. Lab tests from MRIGlobal found the EcoAir AVS could inactivate 99.9% of viruses in a 30m³ room in 90 minutes.

The future of air purifiers?

I also asked Fok to explain more about the benefits of the EcoAir AVS in comparison to a regular air purifier. "Traditional air purifiers capture microbes and store them through the use of HEPA filters, which need to be changed, incurring additional expenses," he told me. "Inactivating the virus destroys it, meaning it cannot infect a living organism and become active, causing illness."

The EcoAir AVS does have a filter, but it's reusable and doesn't need to be changed that regularly. The nano silver filter should be washed every two weeks, and EcoAir suggests it's replaced every year.

There are also other, existing methods of destroying viruses and bacteria, although they're significantly slower than EcoAir AVS's 0.01-second process. ION systems take around 30 seconds and UV-C takes nine seconds, for instance.

While the practical results of this appliance are similar to that of a good air purifier, Fok's claims that the AVS represents "a huge breakthrough, not only for EcoAir but for the industry as a whole" could prove accurate. The new process certainly seems more thorough and efficient, and it's not significantly more expensive than a good air purifier either – the EcoAir Anti-Covid AVS is currently available to buy from the EcoAir website, priced at £349.98 (it's not currently available in the US or Australia, but that's equivalent to around $430 / AU$700). Could this be the new technology that changes the way we purify air?

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Chinese manufacturer Oppo, which also makes the OnePlus range of Android phones and wearables, looks set to debut a new watch next month, likely to be the OnePlus Watch 3. A promotional image, shared on Weibo by OPPO product manager Zhou Yibao, showcases a cool new feature: blood pressure monitoring, indicating hypertension risk.

Accurate blood pressure monitoring via LEDs remains a “holy grail” health feature for even the best smartwatches, proving frustratingly out of reach. The Huawei Watch D2 is the most accurate so far, including in its technology a strap packed with inflatable bladders, acting as a portable blood pressure cuff.

However, it doesn’t look like this feature will elude smartwatch manufacturers for much longer. We reported yesterday that Apple is likely to debut this technology in September, on the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3 and perhaps the Apple Watch SE 3, but Oppo might beat it to the punch, if this promotional image is any indication. We can't embed the image from Weibo, but you can view it here.

A report by Neowin.net indicates the OnePlus Watch 3, also referred to here as the Oppo Watch X2, is likely to launch next month in China, with an international release to follow.

(Image credit: Luke Baker)

Rather than wait until the blood pressure monitoring technology gets approval from the US Food & Drug Administation, or a similar governing body (FDA approval is a clear signifier of quality, and clears these features for medical use), it seems as though Oppo will follow the route Apple is expected to take, and use BP readings as an indication that you should get checked out by a medical professional.

This approach has served Apple, and other smartwatch manufacturers, well in the past: the Cupertino giant’s sleep apnoea detection feature it debuted on its Apple Watch Series 10 and watchOS 11 last year also provides an indication to see a medical professional only, rather than a clear diagnosis.

Apple doesn’t usually debut a feature unless it has a pretty good idea that it works: it’ll be interesting to compare this next generation of smartwatch features against a medical-grade blood pressure cuff to determine accuracy.

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• Hi-Res Audio via Sony's LDAC
• Hybrid ANC and fast recharging from flat
• $79.99 / £79.99 launch price (about AU$129)

There are three things I want from the best wireless headphones: high-quality audio, effective ANC, and decent battery life. The new Moondrop Edge wireless over-ears promise to deliver all three, and to do it for under eighty dollars (via Notebookcheck).

The Moondrop Edge are built around relatively large 40mm dynamic drivers, and have four microphones for ANC and dual microphones for clear voice calls. They support LDAC higher-quality audio streaming, and have an impressive specification for the price.

(Image credit: Moondrop) Moondrop Edge: key features and pricing

Moondrop's Edge over-ears have Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint and support for SBC, AAC and LDAC audio. Battery life is a promised 48 hours (with ANC off) and you can recharge from flat in about 1.5 hours. Five minutes of fast charging will give you four hours of playback.

I haven't heard these headphones, but the general consensus on the brand's other headphones and earbuds is that they deliver solid performance and good value for money. We were also fans of Moondrop's portable CD player here on TechRadar – the company clearly has an eye for style.

The design of the Edge looks similar to the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100, with a nice flash of contrast from the angled arms connecting to the headband. Simple but effective, and not boring – it's nice.

The Moondrop Edge headphones are available now from Amazon with a price tag of $79.99 / £79.99. You can see them at Amazon US here, or at Amazon UK here.

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• The FBI and international partners sent a self-destruct command to PlugX malware
• More than 4,000 computers in the US alone were cleaned as a result
• The malware was developed by a Chinese state-sponsored group

French cybersecurity firms and law enforcement agents, together with partners from the United States, have successfully removed Chinese-built malware from thousands of infected PCs.

In a press release shared on the US Justice Department (DoJ) website, it was said a Chinese state-sponsored threat actor called Twill Typhoon (AKA Mustang Panda) built a custom version of the PlugX malware which can “infect, control, and steal information from victim computers.”

“Since at least 2014, Mustang Panda hackers then infiltrated thousands of computer systems in campaigns targeting U.S. victims, as well as European and Asian governments and businesses, and Chinese dissident groups,” the DoJ said.

Kill switch

Mustang Panda is a known Chinese cyber-espionage group previously observed targeting government, academic, and religious organizations, particularly in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States.

The group is recognized for its use of spear-phishing campaigns and custom malware, such as the PlugX backdoor, to steal sensitive information. Their activities often align with China's strategic interests, since they are focused on cyber-espionage and surveillance, rather than profit or disruption.

However, cybersecurity researchers from the French outfit Sekoia.io found a way to communicate through PlugX’s command & control (C2) infrastructure, allowing them to order the malware to self-destruct.

After obtaining the necessary court orders, the researchers, together with the Cyber Division of the Paris Prosecution Office, French Gendarmerie Cyber Unit C3N, the FBI, and the DoJ, ran the campaign and successfully removed the malware from infected computers.

The DoJ said that just in the United States alone, 4,258 were cleansed.

Commenting on the operation, US Attorney Jacqueline Romero for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, slammed Chinese “reckless” and “aggressive” hackers.

“This wide-ranging hack and long-term infection of thousands of Windows-based computers, including many home computers in the United States, demonstrates the recklessness and aggressiveness of PRC state-sponsored hackers,” she said.

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• Sansui will make three sizes of OLED TV in 2025: 55, 65 and 77 inches
• 4K OLED panels with Google TV, Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision
• Current version was launched with a price of $799

We've got good and bad news about the cheaper competitors for our list of the best OLED TVs in 2025. The good news is that Sansui will bring a new range of more-affordable OLEDs out in 2025, following its 2024 range. And the bad is that the choice overall still won't be very big, because LG is actually cutting back on its own options.

LG's told TechRadar that it's cheaper LG B5 will only come in two sizes: 65 inches and either 55 or 77 inches (but it wasn't able to confirm at the time), and LG already stopped its super-cheap A-series of TVs in the UK and US. And while the UK may get an affordable OLED option from Philips TVs, it hasn't announced any new models yet, and it's very unlikely to be available in the US.

That means for US buyers, the choice of cheap OLED TVs is going to come down to the two LG sizes and the three Sansui sizes, so at least we're getting the extra size flexibility from Sansui. So how do the Sansui models compare?

Sansui's affordable OLEDs for 2025 are cheap and cheerful

The Sansui line-up for 2025 comes in 55 inches, 65 inches and 77 inches. Each model has a 120Hz 4K W-OLED panel manufactured by LG Display, and each one has support for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. They'll be running Google TV and will have two HDMI 2.1 connections with ALLM and VRR for gamers… and an enhanced Karaoke Mode, which is something you don't hear enough about in TVs, if you ask me.

We don't yet know the price – the TVs won't be coming out until the second quarter of 2025 – but in a press release Sansui says it intends to continue as "the most affordable OLED on the market." Given that last year's model launched at just $799 for the 55-inch model, we'd expect the 2025 to be priced very aggressively too. For comparison, the launch price of the LG B4 was $1,399, so Sansui is being very aggressive here.

We'll have to test the TVs to see how that price difference affects performance, and sadly we don't expect the Sansui models to come to the UK – but for US buyers who want a budget OLED, at least someone's keeping the flag flying.

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• More TVs are set to get up to four HDMI 2.1 ports in 2025
• Mediatek's new 800-series chip will allow more than two HDMI 2.1 ports
• Hisense is the first brand to confirm it will benefit from this upgrade

More TVs are set to get up to four HDMI 2.1 ports in 2025 thanks to Mediatek's latest chip, paving the way for new models to join the ranks of the best gaming TVs.

HDMI 2.1 allows for up to 4K, 120Hz for gaming consoles, such as the PS5 and Xbox Series X, (4K, 165Hz for PC gaming) and enhanced audio (eARC) formats, such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, in TVs.

LG and Samsung, makers of some of the best TVs, already have four HDMI 2.1 ports on a large portion of their TVs, such as the LG C4 OLED and Samsung Q80D. Combining this with their extensive gaming features, LG and Samsung are often the best gaming TVs on the market.

LG and Samsung use a different chip from Mediatek, whose chips until now have been limited to two HDMI 2.1 ports, meaning those with multiple consoles and one of the best soundbars have had to look elsewhere or swap cables around.

As reported by FlatpanelsHD, however, Mediatek's latest chip, the Pentonic 800, allows for up to four HDMI 2.1 ports. Hisense is the first brand other than LG or Samsung to confirm that some of its 2025 TVs will have four HDMI 2.1 ports, including the 116-inch UX RGB mini-LED and the U9Q and U8Q, which were all announced at CES 2025. The news was highlighted by Vincent Teoh on X (formerly Twitter):

BREAKING: Hisense's higher-end 2025 TVs (MicroLED TVs, 116UX, U9Q, U8Q, U7Q Pro) announced at #ces2025 will use the Mediatek Pentonic 800 chipset, paving the way for 4x full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports with FRL signalling, as well as 4K 165Hz VRR support. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/M4YD0BNCIXJanuary 13, 2025

It's suggested that some of Hisense's models will support 4K, 165Hz, much like the LG G5 OLED and Samsung S95F OLED, both brands' respective flagship OLED TVs.

It's also worth noting that in some markets, some of Hisense's sets will have three HDMI 2.1 ports and the fourth will be replaced by a USB-C DisplayPort for PC gaming.

More competition in gaming TVs

When we look for the best gaming TVs here at TechRadar, having four HDMI 2.1 ports is a big plus point. This allows gamers to have multiple consoles and a soundbar connected without the need to swap any connections, which can be difficult if you have your TV wall-mounted for example.

This is why LG and Samsung have often dominated the gaming TV market, despite brands like Hisense, TCL, Panasonic, Sony and Philips all offering an excellent array of gaming features such as 4K, 120Hz (sometimes 4K, 144Hz), VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming (something Samsung doesn't offer).

With Mediatek's new Pentonic 800 chip however, this gives these other brands a chance to catch up to LG and Samsung, making the battleground for gaming TVs in 2025 that much more competitive. And when there's more competitiveness between brands, it's only good news for us.

LG and Samsung TVs do still generally offer better performance, thanks to lower input lag times compared to the likes of Hisense, TCL, and others, so we'll have to wait and see whether these other brands can offer this as well as more HDMI 2.1 ports. We can't get wait to get testing, that's for sure!

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• Rackspace report find scompanies are reverting from public cloud environments
• Hybrid and on-prem is increasingly favored
• Security and cost are to blame for change in position, report notes

New research from Rackspace has revealed just how much companies want to speed up their AI adoption – with more than nine in 10 of organizations planning significant changes to their cloud strategies over the next two years.

However, the same key hurdles continue to slow them down, with many citing security as a key concern.

Moreover, Rackspace revealed a changing trend in the world of cloud, with more companies looking to reduce their reliance on public clouds.

Cloud adoption is changing

Two in five firms said they were planning to accelerate hybrid cloud adoption (22%) and private cloud adoption (20%), which Rackspace suggests could be a move designed to improve flexibility, adaptability, and resilience.

More than two-thirds (69%) said they’ve considered repatriating some of their workloads from public clouds back to private clouds or even on-prem infrastructure.

Data security and compliance requirements (50%), integration with existing systems (48%), and cost saving (44%) are all to blame for the evolving trend, painting the picture public cloud providers aren’t doing enough to retain existing customers.

“As AI continues to drive rapid advancements, IT leaders are reevaluating their approach to workload management," noted Rackspace Technology President for AI, Technology, and Sustainability, Srini Koushik. "Instead of updating existing infrastructure, they are designing entirely new cloud strategies to meet evolving demands.”

AI was identified as a key catalyst for evolving cloud developments, with 84% confirming they’d taken steps to integrate and streamline their AI and cloud strategies.

Of the more than 1,400 ITDMs surveyed, an overwhelming majority (96%) have established procedures and policies in place for data privacy and compliance, and the fact that they’re changing how they tailor their cloud computing strategies is indicative of some unease with current systems.

Rackspace VP for Technology and Sustainability Ben Blanquera added companies are also hiring workers with skills in Kubernetes, serverless architectures, and cloud security, which aligns with the increased focus on security.

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• Meta wants to cut 5% of its headcount
• CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants low performers out, and new talent in
• The cuts, with general attrition, will cut headcount by around 10% this year

Meta is planning to cut 5% of its workforce, according to an internal memo shared by CEO Mark Zuckerberg to employees and acquired by Bloomberg.

Figures put Meta’s current workforce at around 72,500, meaning the layoffs would affect at least 3,600 of the company's “low-performers.”

“We typically manage out people who aren’t meeting expectations over the course of a year, but now we’re going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle,” Zuckerberg said in the memo.

‘This is going to be an intense year’

“I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster,” Zuckerberg said, further stating the company would be backfilling the open roles through 2025.

Those to be ousted from the company in the US are expected to be notified on February 10 and will be given “generous severance”, according to Zuckerberg, with overseas workers likely to be notified at a later date. Meta has cut around 21,000 workers between 2022 and 2023, with Zuckerberg cutting 10,000 of these jobs during the company's “year of efficiency” of '23.

As for this year, Meta’s employee numbers are expected to drop 10% as a result of current job cuts and attrition. Going forward, the company is planning to focus heavily on AI, smart glasses, and its social media platforms., with Zuckerberg likely poised to fill the impending gap in the market caused by TikTok's upcoming ban in the US on January 19th.

Zuckerberg also recently announced that Meta would be ceasing its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs and that Facebook and Instagram would be switching from “politically biased” fact checking services to a community based notes system, similar to Twitter (now known as X).

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• Microsoft released January 2025 Patch Tuesday cumulative update
• It fixes more than 150 vulnerabilities, including three being actively abused in the wild
• Other details about the flaws are not being disclosed at this time

The first Microsoft Patch Tuesday of 2025 is upon us, and it’s a big one, as the update patches 161 vulnerabilities found in various products, including three zero-day bugs that have been actively abused in the wild.

The three vulnerabilities are tracked as CVE-2025-21333, CVE-2025-21334, and CVE-2025-21335. All three have a severity score of 7.8 (high), and all are found in Windows Hyper-V NT Kernel Integration VSP.

"An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain SYSTEM privileges," Microsoft said in the advisory for the flaws.

Added to CISA's KEV

Other details are not known right now, as Microsoft gives users enough time to apply the patch without a swarm of hackers going after them. Therefore, we don’t know who the threat actors are, who the victims were, or how the attackers managed to compromise their targets’ IT infrastructure.

However, in its write-up, The Hacker News says the trio are privilege escalation bugs, and, citing Satnam Narang, senior staff research engineer at Tenable, are thus “very likely used as part of post-compromise activity, where an attacker has already gained access to a target system by some other means."

Since the vulnerabilities are being actively exploited in the wild, users are advised to apply the patch immediately. CISA has already added all three to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, giving federal agencies a deadline of February 4, to apply the patch.

While these three flaws are arguably the most dangerous ones (since they’re being actively used), Microsoft also addressed 11 critical-severity bugs, as well. The remaining 149 are rated as important. Zero Day Initiative says this is the largest Patch Tuesday since 2017. Aside from Patch Tuesday, Microsoft also addressed Edge browser flaws in a separate patch, fixing seven vulnerabilities in the process.

Via The Hacker News

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• New heroes are coming to Marvel Rivals
• Developer NetEase Games wants to release one roughly every six weeks
• This is in addition to other seasonal content like new maps

Developer NeatEase Games has stated that Marvel Rivals will receive a new hero “each half of the season” - or approximately every six weeks.

Game director Guangyun Chen revealed the plans in a recent interview with Metro. He said that “fresh seasonal stories, new maps, and new heroes” are on the way, with each new season broken into “two halves”. In “each half of the season, we will introduce a new hero,” he continued.

The overall goal is to “continue to enhance the experience” and “keep everyone excited in our community.” This means that there are an awful lot of new heroes on the way, indicating a very promising future for the live service hit.

Marvel Rivals launched as a free-to-play title on December 5, 2024. It had an impressive roster of 33 characters on day one, ranging all the way from comic book staples like Captain America and Iron Man in addition to more unusual picks such as Luna Snow and Jeff the Land Shark.

This number has already increased to 35, thanks to the recent additions of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman to coincide with the launch of Season 1. They will soon be followed by Human Torch and The Thing in the latter half of the season, but social media is already abuzz with speculation as to who could be next.

The latest leaks and rumors suggest that Blade, Captain Marvel, Deadpool, and Doctor Doom are all on the cards, which would see us through most of the year on this six week schedule if the developer manages to keep up the pace. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess as the studio has shown that it's not afraid to dig deep into its Marvel source material for picks.

If you’re new to Marvel Rivals and want to give it a try, it’s currently available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.

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• Tekken 8 Version 1.11 is here; the final update before Season 2 begins
• It nerfs guest character Clive Rosfield
• Quality-of-life updates for quick play and customization have been added

The latest Tekken 8 update has arrived, bringing one last batch of changes and improvements before the game's Season 2 content kicks off in Spring 2025.

The patch notes for Version 1.11 can be viewed in full over at the official Tekken 8 website, but the big talking point has to be the changes applied to the game's newest DLC character: Final Fantasy 16's Clive Rosfield.

The patch notes state that these "changes were made to Clive focusing on suppressing the performance of certain overpowered moves." This includes one of his powerful Heat Engagers and a handful of moves that the patch notes state were "difficult to punish" due to their very quick recovery after use. Changes have been made to make these moves slightly more unsafe when they miss or whiff.

Honestly, this could be a blessing in disguise for Clive mains. Like most other Tekken 8 characters, Clive has a veritable laundry list of great moves that up to this point have been overshadowed by a handful of priority attacks. Now, Clive players should feel encouraged to explore his tool kit in full, which should lead to more varied and creative playstyles for the character.

Thankfully, the patch isn't solely dedicated to nerfing Clive. Version 1.11 has also added a litany of quality-of-life improvements to the game. For non-ranked Quick Match and Tekken Ball, players can now infinitely rematch one another instead of being booted back to standby after the usual best-of-three.

Bandai Namco has also provided a solution for those of you who've run out of customization slots for your favorite characters. Well, sort of. A new 'Shared' customization tab has been introduced, allowing up to 20 more customizations that are shared across the entire roster. It's a shame this hasn't been applied to the entire cast, but if you primarily play as a small handful of characters, this is still a positive change overall.

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Netflix has revealed the trailer for its latest reality show, and while the whole thing sounds (and, at first, looks) like a satire, it appears to be honest-to-goodness show that I might not be able to resist.

Celebrity Bear Hunt involves a group of celebrities heading into the Costa Rican jungle to be trained in various survival methods by famous survival maniac Bear Grylls. The celebrities will compete in "epic challenges", and those who lose the challenges won't just be kicked off the show – they'll be sent out into the jungle and hunted down by Grylls, with the goal being to escape his clutches.

It's hosted by UK TV staple Holly Willoughby, and features a group of celebrities probably more familiar as a group to our UK readers. The list is:

• Boris Becker (former tennis player)
• Danny Cipriani (former rugby player)
• Joe Thomas (actor)
• Kola Bokinni (actor)
• Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (TV host)
• Leomie Anderson (model)
• Lottie Moss (model)
• Mel Brown (musician)
• Shirley Ballas (TV host)
• Steph McGovern (TV host)
• Zuhair Hassan (musician)

The trailer involves plenty of promise of celebrities find themselves and having personal and emotional breakthroughs, but I'm really much more interesting in all the footage of people being swept up in giant nets.

I love a good 'people outsmarting each other', so it's really the hunting side of this show that's drawing me in; seeing what techniques Bear Grylls uses to track people, and what they'll do to avoid him. Apparently, the hunting will happen in an area called 'The Bear Pit', so I have this feeling that it might have a whole The Hunger Games vibe too in the end. I suppose I'll find out on February 5th, when we'll see if it's good enough to rank among the best Netflix shows.

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• Arm could be considering move to selling its own chips
• Details of proposed change revealed as part of Qualcomm’s court win over Arm
• Switch in strategy could prove incredibly lucrative for Arm

Update 01/16/25: This article has been updated with a correction to reflect that Qualcomm bought Nuvia, not Arm.

Original article follows.

Semiconductor technology supplier Arm, which almost certainly has its hardware somewhere in your business smartphone, is known for assisting companies to make their own mobile-suited processors, but that could soon change with a mooted shift into manufacturing its own chips.

A report from Reuters discusses Arm’s so called “Picasso” project; a bid to increase revenue by selling its own chips and competing with its own juggernaut customer base - including Qualcomm and Apple - that it normally sells ready-made Arm intellectual property to in order to assist with chip design.

Arm may also be planning to hike the royalty rates for those customers.

Arm v Qualcomm in brief

Details of the proposed strategy were revealed as part of Qualcomm’s court win over Arm in a royalty dispute brought and lost by the latter in December 2024.

This would nominally have included Qualcomm, but its purchase of the start-up Nuvia, in order to use the company's tech to produce its own chips and gradually break away from the prior agreement, led to Arm filing a complaint in US Federal Court in Delaware over a breach in licensing terms.

In the end, however, a jury ruled that Qualcomm’s Nuvia-tech chips were properly licensed, and ruled the company could continue to sell them as part of its route into the personal computing and AI sectors.

Arm’s future plans to “hose” its customers

Filings in those proceedings, that Reuters claims are still under court seal, reveal that the ‘Picasso’ plan for Arm to sell its own chips (or indeed “chiplets”) came at the behest of Arm CEO Rene Haas, who, before he even took on that role, had generally described the company’s biggest customers as “hosed” in an internal Teams message sent in December 2021.

In fact, court evidence suggests Arm executives had been discussing 300% royalty rate increases for its customers using Armv9 - its latest computing architecture, as far back as 2019, in a bid to boost the company’s smartphone revenue by $1 billion USD over the course of a decade.

It’s ultimately unclear as to whether this rate increase will happen or stick at all; use of Arm’s computing architecture doesn’t necessarily require its ready-made component blueprints.

And, as Reuters points out, many of Arm’s biggest customers-turned competitors could survive without those blueprints and still design their own parts.

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• The Comet is a blend of Raspberry Pi, Simputer and Project Ara with a hint of Game Boy
• Its standout feature is the use of hardware extensions that can be quickly removed
• It launches on crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, very soon

Developed in India in the early 2000s, the Simputer, (Simple Inexpensive Mobile computer) was a groundbreaking handheld Linux computer many people believe inspired the Apple iPhone (and by extension, Android devices). It featured a touch interface, stylus input with handwriting recognition, an accelerometer, and a USB master port - all innovations well ahead of their time.

I mention the Simputer now because I’m reminded of it looking at a brand new modular handheld computer set to debut on Kickstarter soon - the Mecha Comet is a portable Linux device aimed at developers, makers, and tinkerers.

Running on open source software, the device features a magnetic snap interface for swappable extensions, which currently include a game controller, keyboard, and GPIO breakout board. Users can also design and build their own extensions using Mecha’s open-source design files and community support.

Mechanix OS

The Mecha Comet is powered by a 1.8 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor with 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB of eMMC storage.

Its 3.4-inch IPS LED touchscreen provides a compact yet functional display for various tasks. Connectivity includes dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz/5.0 GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, two USB 2.0 ports, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. The device also includes a 5 MP camera with autofocus, dual digital microphones, and an HD speaker.

Running Mechanix OS, a Debian-based operating system, the Comet is compatible with over 60,000 software packages from the Debian repository. Users can also port other Linux distributions. Mechanix Shell, built in Rust, supports GPU rendering on Wayland.

Mecha envisions the Comet as a versatile tool for diverse applications, such as a DIY Linux phone, drone launchpad, AI assistant, nanosatellite controller, car diagnostics tool, radio transceiver, DIY robot controller, and even a Tricorder inspired by Star Trek. Some of those ideas might just be wishful thinking, however.

The Comet, which measures 150mm x 73.55mm x 16mm and weighs 220g, has a 3000mAh battery charged via USB-C and includes a gyroscope, real-time clock (RTC), and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for expanded project possibilities. Its security features include a Trust Anchor with CC EAL 6+ certification and accelerated cryptographic capabilities.

Kickstarter backers will be able to benefit from super early-bird rewards when the project goes live shortly, with pricing for the Mecha Comet starting from $159.

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