TechRadar News

• Atomic Heart 2 has been officially announced at Summer Game Fest
• The game looks a lot more open than the first
• A spin-off multiplayer title named The Cube was also revealed at the show

• Atomic Heart 2 has officially been announced at Summer Game Fest
• The game is being developed for PC and console
• Mundfish also unveiled The Cube, a first-person multiplayer spin-off game set in the same universe as Atomic Heart

Mundfish has officially announced the sequel to Atomic Heart, along with a spin-off first-person multiplayer game set in the same universe called The Cube.

Announced during Summer Game Fest alongside an explosive gameplay trailer showcasing the game's dystopian and retrofuturistic open world, Atomic Heart 2 is being developed for PC and console.

"Get ready for dangerous new adventures that will redefine the gameplay experience and raise the bar for the genre's capabilities," reads the game description.

The studio also said the game will have a heavy emphasis on the story, role-playing elements, and player freedom within the retrofuturistic universe of an alternate history.

There's no release date just yet, but you can wishlist the game on Steam right now.

After this, the studio also unveiled the first look at its Atomic Heart spin-off game, The Cube, which is set a few years after the original games. This role-playing (RPG) shooter is also being made for PC and console and doesn't have a release date.

"At Mundfish, we were the first in the industry to implement a technology that allows thousands of objects to move and rotate simultaneously across massive stretches of terrain - online and in real time. No other game has ever done this before," said Robert Bagratuni, Founder and CEO of Mundfish, in a press release.

"This became possible thanks to our innovative proprietary split-rendering system, which redefines how motion is handled in interactive environments. The technology delivers maximum performance even under extreme load. In The Cube, physics, ballistics, and gravity feel completely natural - but under the hood, it’s powered by rocket science. The system enables seamless transitions, precise object tracking, and synchronized multiplayer in a living, ever-evolving world. It’s a true technological breakthrough."

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• Nvidia ditches the main floor but hijacks the spotlight with Grace Blackwell-powered AI machines
• Nvidia DGX Spark delivers 1,000 TOPS in a mini PC that targets serious AI developers and coders
• Nvidia DGX Station boasts a 72-core CPU and 288GB HBM3e GPU memory

At Computex 2025, Nvidia took a somewhat unconventional route by sidestepping the main exhibition floor and instead hosting its own “GTC Taipei” event at a nearby hotel.

There, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered a trio of keynote speeches at the event, unveiling new AI-focused hardware. Among the biggest announcements were two devices: the DGX Spark, a compact mini PC aimed at AI developers, and the DGX Station, a more powerful workstation-class system.

Though Nvidia-branded units were showcased, the real surprise was the range of OEM partners joining the initiative, with 11 models expected across the Spark and Station lines.

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The DGX Spark is built around the new Nvidia GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, which combines a 20-core Arm CPU co-developed with MediaTek (featuring 10 Cortex-X295 and 10 Cortex-X725 cores) and a GPU based on Nvidia’s Blackwell architecture.

Designed for developers, the device delivers up to 1,000 TOPS (FP4/sparse) of performance and ships with a Linux-based DGX OS, Nvidia’s AI development suite also used in its data center platforms like Blackwell and Hopper.

Several partners, including Acer, Asus, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, Lenovo, and MSI, had models on display. At first glance, however, the only visible differences were in the external design.

No internal teardowns were permitted during the event, raising a valid question: how different are these OEM versions beyond aesthetics?

While the DGX Spark promises to be a strong contender for the title of best mobile workstation for AI development, potential buyers may want to wait for detailed reviews before making a purchase.

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The DGX Station, aimed more directly at professionals needing high-end workstation PCs, features the GB300 Grace Blackwell Ultra Desktop Superchip.

It comes equipped with 288GB of HBM3e memory on the GPU and a 72-core Neoverse V2 CPU paired with 496GB of LPDDR5X RAM, making it far from an ordinary desktop.

Like the Spark, it runs on DGX OS and supports Nvidia’s full AI development stack.

The DGX Station board shown at the exhibition was a mockup, though the actual product was displayed during a separate session.

Still, questions remain about how finalized the systems are, especially since full availability isn't expected until late 2025.

Notably, the DGX Station will only be available through OEMs, with Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, and Supermicro leading the rollout.

This fragmented distribution model could introduce variation in build quality and thermal performance, critical factors for users seeking the best workstation PC.

Via PCWatch

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• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach got a new trailer at Summer Game Fest
• The trailer featured actors Luca Marinelli and Alissa Jung portraying their characters
• The game is set to release on June 26, 2025

Ahead of the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach later this month, Kojima Productions has shared a brand new look at the game.

During the Summer Game Fest 2025 broadcast, Death Stranding 2 director Hideo Kojima took to the stage alongside host Geoff Keighley to showcase an exclusive scene from the upcoming game.

The cutscene featured two new characters, Neil, played by Luca Marinelli, and Lucy, played by Alissa Jung. It's difficult to determine the context of the scene, but Neil can be seen attending a meeting with Lucy, as if strangers, before it's revealed that the pair share a past.

According to Kojima, Neil and Lucy share a "deep connection" that will play out throughout the story.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is set to launch on June 26, 2025, for PlayStation 5.

There's also a brand new limited edition DualSense Wireless Controller inspired by Death Stranding 2, which will release alongside the game.

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• Seagate NVMe HDDs may unify storage protocols, but don’t expect speed records
• Enterprise systems might love NVMe HDDs, but gamers and creators won’t benefit anytime soon
• NVMe brings storage consistency, but SAS still holds its ground in raw performance terms

Seagate Technology demonstrated a prototype hard drive at Computex 2025 that utilizes NVMe, a storage protocol typically found in SSDs.

According to PCwatch, the demonstration featured a combination of NVMe SSDs and HDDs using NVMe-oF (NVMe over Fabrics) to communicate over Ethernet.

While the hybrid interface showcased potential for data centers, it remains unclear whether this shift will be feasible for personal computers.

NVMe integration marks a shift in storage interfaces, not performance

Colin Pressley, Seagate's Head of Customer Success, noted, “We have already natively integrated PCIe into our HDD controllers,” signaling a major architectural shift.

The prototype drive supports both NVMe and SAS connections, offering flexibility during what could be a lengthy transition.

However, Pressley was quick to manage expectations: “There are almost no benefits in terms of performance. The latest SAS provides sufficient performance, and just because it becomes NVMe doesn't mean that there is a major improvement.”

For consumers searching for the best HDD, or even the fastest external HDD, NVMe support offers little immediate benefit.

The real promise lies not in speed, but in unification. With SSDs already running on NVMe, bringing HDDs under the same protocol simplifies driver requirements and software architecture.

Importantly, the NVMe-compatible HDD is not based on a proprietary standard. Instead, it follows a formalized version of the NVMe specification, which now includes commands tailored to mechanical drives, such as spin-up protocols.

This adherence to open standards increases the likelihood of broader industry adoption, especially in enterprise environments where consistency is crucial.

However, NVMe HDDs are unlikely to become available to the general public anytime soon. According to Pressley and Seagate, it may take five to ten years for hard drives to fully transition from SATA/SAS to NVMe.

That timeline mirrors previous transitions, like the shift from IDE to SATA, where new standards gradually replaced legacy interfaces.

While this progression seems inevitable for data centers, consumer desktops and laptops are a different story.

Most consumer systems today still rely on SATA for bulk storage, often pairing the largest HDD available with a faster SSD for boot and application performance.

Until motherboard chipsets eliminate SATA support altogether, a shift not expected for at least another decade, NVMe HDDs are unlikely to become mainstream in home PCs.

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• Unihertz Titan 2 brings back the QWERTY keyboard with an impressive 512GB upgrade
• The Titan 2 is not for everyone, but that’s exactly its strongest selling point
• This phone brings back business-class typing and storage in a tank-like body

Unihertz has announced a Kickstarter campaign for its upcoming rugged smartphone, the Titan 2.

In a 16-second ad released by Unihertz, the company said, “We are getting ready for our Kickstarter in June,” offering a first look at a device that feels both familiar and ambitious.

The ad reveals the Titan 2 follows the original Uniherz Titan and the Titan Slim, continuing the brand’s focus on rugged smartphones with physical QWERTY keyboards.

A familiar form factor with rugged credentials

With its square screen and hardware keys, the Titan 2 clearly echoes the BlackBerry era, when such designs were synonymous with business productivity and communication.

The new model appears to be a wider, flat-edged version of the Titan Slim, lacking the curved top and bottom design found on the original Titan.

Though detailed specifications remain scarce, Unihertz confirmed to TechRadar Pro that the commercial version of the Titan 2 will offer a substantial 512GB of internal storage.

This marks a significant upgrade from previous iterations, particularly the 2019 Unihertz Titan, which shipped with 128GB of storage, 6GB of RAM, and a MediaTek Helio P60 processor.

The original Titan was notable for its 4.5-inch 1440x1440 display, global LTE support, NFC capability, and 6,000mAh battery, all packed into a bulky 305g chassis with IP67 water and dust resistance.

The Titan and Titan Slim were never aimed at mainstream users. Instead, they targeted those seeking something unconventional.

The Titan 2 now seems poised to build on that lineage, with greater storage and a refreshed design, while remaining firmly rooted in the company’s niche aesthetic and utilitarian philosophy.

This business smartphone does not appear to be a contender for mass-market dominance. However, its physical QWERTY keyboard could appeal to professionals who value tactile input for communication-heavy workflows.

That said, this device is undeniably a niche product, and physical keyboards have long fallen out of fashion.

The Titan 2 will need to prove that nostalgia and rugged durability can coexist with modern expectations, otherwise, it will remain a niche offering.

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• Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro is getting an update to improve its coding
• The update fixes previous issues with formatting and coherence
• The model is expected to become Gemini Pro’s first official stable release

Google's rapid rollout of new models of Gemini is continuing apace, but the latest version of Gemini 2.5 Pro has some notable improvements that the company claims will put it in play for a while as the first “long-term stable release.” The upgrade also patches up some of the issues that might currently frustrate Gemini Pro users.

For now, the model is still in beta, unlike its friskier sibling, Gemini 2.5 Flash. Gemini Pro 2.5 has reportedly taken longer and dealt with some complicated issues around regressions in conversation that made the AI model seem somewhat underpowered as a brain. Those issues have apparently been resolved, with Google bragging about the coding capabilities of the new model in particular. It's outscored rival models on the Aider Polyglot benchmark, a multi-language coding test popular for measuring AI model software composition.

The updated model also offers developers what Google calls “configurable thinking budgets.” These are essentially a way to fine-tune how much computing power Gemini uses to answer complex queries so that you don't use up all of your credits building an app in one go. It’s already available through Google AI Studio and Vertex AI, and will likely become part of Gemini as a whole in the near future.

Gemini Pro power

And it's not just a technical whiz. Gemini Pro has faced complaints of lacking the same creative and conversational flair of its fellow Gemini models, failing to impress outside of technical tasks. The writing and formatting could get sloppy, and long-form responses tended to ramble or circle back on themselves. Google says it’s fixed that issue, with correct formatting, more nuanced writing, and no trailing off mid-response.

All of those upgrades lead to why Google has declared this version of Gemini Pro to be a long-term, stable model, at least for now. For developers and enterprise users, that kind of certainty is valuable in its own right, just as much as regular upgrades.

The new model will have an impact on Gemini users outside of the office, too. The same improvements to formatting, memory, and contextual understanding will likely be incorporated into the public-facing version of Gemini just to keep things neat. And it fits with Google's strategy to embed Gemini everywhere and encourage everyone to use it for any of their AI needs. Gemini Flash is the default option for those not paying a subscription fee for Gemini. Gemini Nano handles AI for Android devices, but Gemini Pro is intended to be the flagship model, the one that impresses everyone.

Google will definitely try to live up to that vision with the new model, but the competition has hardly gone away. OpenAI, Anthropic, and even Apple are all racing to be on top of the AI model game. Gemini 2.5 Pro proves Google won't be falling behind any time soon, at least now that it's stopped regressing.

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• A huge dataset has been discovered unsecured online by researchers
• This contained roughly 4 billion records - including personal information
• The data could potentially be part of a surveillance effort targeting Chinese citizens

An open instance containing "billions upon billions” of exposed records has been discovered online by cybersecurity researchers - and millions of people could be at risk as a result.

Researcher at Cybernews worked with cybersecurity researcher and owner of cyber risk and data protection site SecurityDiscovery.com to uncover a huge database without a password, leaking 631GB of information, equating to roughly 4 billion records.

The dataset primarily consists of Chinese customers and users from a range of different sources, in what the Cybernews research teams believed is a “meticulously gathered and maintained” database designed to build “comprehensive behavioral, economic, and social profiles of nearly any Chinese citizen.”

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A surveillance effort

This could be part of a surveillance project, researchers argue, and there are plenty of ways that a threat actor could exploit this information, such as social engineering attacks, identity theft, fraud or even blackmail.

“The sheer volume and diversity of data types in this leak suggests that this was likely a centralized aggregation point, potentially maintained for surveillance, profiling, or data enrichment purposes,” the team observed.

The instance was “”quickly taken down” after it was discovered, but it’s not known how long it was open for. Unsurprisingly for suspected surveillance data, the information contains PII like full names, dates of birth, and phone numbers, as well as financial data like card numbers, debt and saving information, and spending habits.

The largest collection of records most likely came from WeChat, a Chinese alternative to WhatsApp, with over 805 million records exposed.

Close behind was a collection of residential data “with geographic identifiers” with 780 million, and a collection named “bank” of 630 million records, primarily with financial and personally identifiable information.

If this data breach is as large as it seems, it contains over a billion records more than the National Public Data breach, which was recently reported as one of the largest data breaches ever.

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• Lenovo quietly launches powerful Strix Halo mini PC with AI focus in China
• Ryzen AI Max+ 395 delivers 126 TOPS performance in compact size
• 128GB RAM and 4TB storage mean it will suit both creative and AI workloads

Lenovo has introduced a compact new system powered by AMD’s most powerful consumer APU to date, the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 “Strix Halo.”

Part of the LCFC AI Mini PC lineup, this machine, now on sale via JD.com in China, combines workstation-class specs with a desktop-friendly footprint that targets AI developers, content creators, and power users.

At the device's core is AMD’s new Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU, featuring 16 Zen 5 CPU cores, 32 threads, and an RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 8060S integrated GPU with 40 Compute Units. It also includes a dedicated NPU delivering up to 50 TOPS. Taken together, the CPU, GPU, and NPU provide up to 126 TOPS of AI performance, which is enough to run LLMs and other AI workloads locally.

China-only for now

Designed for AI tasks, creative workflows, and high-performance gaming, the LCFC system features 128GB of LPDDR5X-8000 memory, which is more than you'll find in many full-sized gaming rigs, and supports two M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 SSDs, each with up to 2TB capacity, for a total of 4TB of high-speed storage.

Although it’s described as a mini PC, at roughly 9.7 x 7.4 x 3.8 inches, it’s firmly in the SFF (Small Form Factor) category; compact enough for tight workspaces while still offering powerful internals.

Connectivity includes a 1GbE Ethernet port and built-in Wi-Fi, although it does not appear to support Wi-Fi 6. The I/O selection includes one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, two USB 2.0 ports, one USB Type-C, HDMI 1.4, and DisplayPort 1.4.

While the DisplayPort is useful, the HDMI 1.4 output is a drawback, as it lacks support for 4K at 120Hz, something expected in modern high-end systems.

The LCFC AI Mini PC is reportedly priced at ¥13,989 in China, which converts to approximately $1,946. That places it in the high-end category, although it's still competitively priced given its workstation-grade specs and AI abilities.

Given the rising demand for compact PCs capable of running AI models locally, there's likely to be international interest should Lenovo decide to make its new system more widely available. For now, however, it appears to be exclusive to the Chinese market.

Via TweakTown

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• The New York Times is requesting that all ChatGPT conversations be retained as part of its lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft
• This would mean that a record of all your ChatGPT conversations would be kept, potentially forever
• OpenAI argues that chats with AI should be a private conversation

Back in December 2023, the New York Times launched a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging copyright infringement. The New York Times alleges that OpenAI had trained its ChatGPT model, which also powers Microsoft’s Copilot, by “copying and using millions” of its articles without permission.

The lawsuit is still ongoing, and as part of it the New York Times (and other plaintiffs involved in the case) have made the demand that OpenAI are made to retain consumer ChatGPT and API customer data indefinitely, much to the ire of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, who took to X.com to tweet, “We have been thinking recently about the need for something like ‘AI privilege’; this really accelerates the need to have the conversation. IMO talking to an AI should be like talking to a lawyer or a doctor. I hope society will figure this out soon.”

recently the NYT asked a court to force us to not delete any user chats. we think this was an inappropriate request that sets a bad precedent.we are appealing the decision.we will fight any demand that compromises our users' privacy; this is a core principle.June 6, 2025

OpenAI describes the New York Times lawsuit as “baseless”, and in a lengthy post on the OpenAI website titled, ‘How we’re responding to The New York Times’ data demands in order to protect user privacy’, OpenAI lays out its approach to privacy.

Brad Lightcap, COO, OpenAI, says that the demand from the NYT “fundamentally conflicts with the privacy commitments we have made to our users. It abandons long-standing privacy norms and weakens privacy protections.”

Private investigations

As more and more people share intimate details of their lives with AI chatbots, which are often taking on the role of a therapist, I can appreciate the need to be able to keep AI conversations private, however, I can also see the NYT’s point of view that if there is evidence that supports its claims against OpenAI then it needs to have access to that data without OpenAI being able to declare it all as too private to share.

At the moment, a ChatGPT chat is removed from your account immediately when you delete the conversation, and scheduled for permanent deletion from OpenAI systems within 30 days. The order would mean that even deleted ChatGPT conversations would have to be retained by OpenAI.

As a ChatGPT user myself, I’ve always appreciated the ability to be able to remove conversations entirely. If OpenAI is forced to comply with this request, then it’s going to affect pretty much everybody who uses the service, on either a free, Plus, Pro, or Teams (but not Enterprise or Edu account holders).

The order also does not impact API customers who are using Zero Data Retention endpoints under OpenAI’s ZDR amendment.

OpenAI has said it has appealed the order to the District Court Judge and will inform us when it knows more.

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If you've ever read Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr. Spencer Johnson, you know the moral of the business parable is that change is inevitable and we should embrace it. If you're unfamiliar with it, I suggest you pick up your iPhone and phone a friend for a quick chat. Doing so might remind you how little the Phone app on iOS has changed in almost two decades. It's a comfort that, according to fresh rumors, might soon evaporate, leaving you crying out, "Who moved my cheese?!"

We're just a few days away from Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2025), and the internet is abuzz with rumors about numerous changes coming to virtually every major Apple platform.

iOS is naturally chief among them and, thus far, the prevailing rumors have dealt with the look, which may lean toward floating frosted glass objects (yes, like visionOS on the Vision Pro). None of these changes gives me real pause, but Mark Gurman's (Bloomberg) latest prognostication is perhaps a bridge too far: a redesigned Phone app.

Gurman is scant on details, but he describes "a new view that combines favorites, contacts, recent calls, and voice mails" in a single view. He does not address the keypad, but I think it's safe to assume that if Apple is touching the other four Phone app elements, it's unlikely they'll leave the Keypad alone.

While iPhone call and communication functionality has seen numerous changes over the years, like call hand-off across ecosystem devices, FaceTime, Name Drop for contact sharing, and, most recently, Satellite support, the Phone App itself has barely changed at all.

This is a good thing.

No dial tone

(Image credit: Future)

Each year, no matter the scale of change for any given version of iOS, the chief complaint I get is, "Why did they change it?"

Most people I've spoken to are not thrilled with recent design and organizational updates to the Photos app or Mail. Sometimes Apple's efforts to streamline apps or make them easier to use result in hidden features or at least moved elements that no average consumer can find (at least those I know).

I'm not saying Apple will do away with the keypad, but a change in how the digits are presented, which has more to do with classic analog phones than any digital communication device, is possible. That would be the kind of change that would send iPhone users over the edge.

The rumored changes to the app, which appear to revolve around losing the distinct Contacts, Recents, Favorites, and Voicemail elements in favor of a long window of stacked elements, are unlikely to draw many cheers at WWDC and even less enthusiasm when it reaches consumers on new iPhone 17 handsets later this year.

There is some good news. Gurman claims the changes will be optional. I wonder, though, if they will be the default. If there's one thing consumers hate more than change, it's having to hunt around to figure out how to reverse it.

So, sure, Apple, spruce up iOS and maybe even give the Phone app a polish, but if you have big changes in store, just make sure they're not the default. If not, don't call me, maybe.

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• AT&T is investigating new claims of a data breach
• The data was posted on a breach forum, and includes plaintexts SSNs
• It could be new, or could be a re-release of older data

AT&T is investigating a leak of data on a cybercrime forum, but with some skepticism, as some have suggested it may just be a re-release of an earlier data breach.

The trove of data includes 88 million customer records, but 86 million of these are unique, including personal information such as dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses.

What makes this breach potentially dangerous is that the data is highly organized, and includes 44 million plaintext social security numbers that could be used to commit fraud and identity theft.

Just a re-release or something more sinister?

The HackRead research team first spotted the files on May 15, with the same collection of data appearing again on June 3 and spreading to multiple other leak sites and forums since then.

There is some debate over the origin of the data, with HackRead finding similarities between encrypted and plaintext values from the collection that could tie it to the April 2024 AT&T breach that utilized the Snowflake vulnerability.

On the other hand, it could be a re-release of a previous breach, or a combination of one of the many AT&T breaches.

For example, in 2024 AT&T confirmed that the data of 51 million customers had been stolen after previously denying that the data was stolen from AT&T systems.

The data was initially stolen in 2021. The famous Snowflake vulnerability debacle of 2024 also saw customer data stolen from AT&T, with the company then negotiating and paying $300,000 in Bitcoin to one of the hackers to delete the data.

The bottom line is that the data includes almost everything a cyber criminal would need to commit fraud or steal an identity, making identity theft protection and credit monitoring a good choice for those potentially affected by the breach.

Via The Register

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• FBI warns BADBOX 2.0 malware has infected over a million devices
• Cheap, Chinese-made, Android-powered devices often the victim
• Devices hijacked to become part of global botnet

Over a million devices have been infected by a dangerous malware strain which has turned them into malicious proxies, the FBI has warned.

In a new alert, the agency urged users to be on their guard against BADBOX 2.0, a malware threat which targets Android-powered devices, often made in China.

The FBI warns devices such as smart TVs, streaming boxes, projectors, tablets, and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices could all be at risk or being turned into residential proxies which are then used for malicious activity.

BADBOX 2.0 malware warning

"The BADBOX 2.0 botnet consists of millions of infected devices and maintains numerous backdoors to proxy services that cyber criminal actors exploit by either selling or providing free access to compromised home networks to be used for various criminal activity," the FBI warning states.

It noted the affected devices often come with the malware preloaded, but it can also be transferred after installing firmware updates and malicious Android applications which have managed to get onto Google Play and third-party app stores.

"Cyber criminals gain unauthorized access to home networks by either configuring the product with malicious software prior to the users purchase or infecting the device as it downloads required applications that contain backdoors, usually during the set-up process," explained the FBI.

"Once these compromised IoT devices are connected to home networks, the infected devices are susceptible to becoming part of the BADBOX 2.0 botnet and residential proxy services4 known to be used for malicious activity."

It added the malware is also able to load and click ads without users being aware, generating revenue for the hackers, and also access victim's accounts using stolen credentials.

The FBI has warned users to monitor their devices carefully, and make sure all their IoT devices come from a reputable source. Users are also instructed not to download apps from unauthorized app stores, and make sure their software and firmware is kept up to date.

The original BADBOX malware was detected in 2023 with a similar mode of operation, targeting cheap unbranded Android TV boxes.

The botnet was successfully disrupted by German authorities back in December 2024, but this doesn't seem to have dissuaded the hackers, who have managed to grow the network across the globe, leading to the re-classification as BADBOX 2.0.

BADBOX 2.0 was initially flagged in early 2025 by cybersecurity experts from the HUMAN's Satori Threat Intelligence team, which, together with multiple partners, removed dozens of malicious apps from the Play Store, banned their developers, and sinkholed communications for hundreds of thousands of infected devices.

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Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Friday, June 6 (game #1229).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1230) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

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

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

Quordle today (game #1230) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1230) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1230) - 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 #1230) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• F

• E

• S

• C

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

Quordle today (game #1230) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1230, are…

• FLUNK
• ESTER
• SPITE
• CHEAP

I was thinking that today’s game was one for the ages after shooting down three challenging words without hesitation. But before I could start thinking of myself as some kind John Wick of Quordle, I hit a wall.

My fourth word was never going to be TREES, as plurals are not allowed, but I tapped it out anyway, before rearranging the letters for a word I had never heard of before – ESTER I have subsequently discovered is a chemical compound made when an acid and an alcohol combine. Kudos if you got this and knew what it meant.

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

Daily Sequence today (game #1230) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1230, are…

• RAJAH
• SALVE
• CORAL
• STUCK

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1229, Friday, 6 June: ELUDE, KHAKI, VISTA, SMOKY
• Quordle #1228, Thursday, 5 June: CHIDE, RABBI, GUSTY, LANCE
• Quordle #1227, Wednesday, 4 June: BANAL, STOUT, SEDAN, HIPPO
• Quordle #1226, Tuesday, 3 June: FUGUE, SYRUP, FLACK, WORST
• Quordle #1225, Monday, 2 June: THINK, BELLE, CRONE, BOULE
• Quordle #1224, Sunday, 1 June: POINT, MERIT, WHOOP, APHID
• Quordle #1223, Saturday, 31 May: CRUMB, ELFIN, DRIER, QUITE
• Quordle #1222, Friday, 30 May: RAJAH, CAUSE, BLACK, ETUDE
• Quordle #1221, Thursday, 29 May: CRIER, DRAPE, STRUT, NEIGH
• Quordle #1220, Wednesday, 28 May: HELLO, BEADY, VIGIL, PURER
• Quordle #1219, Tuesday, 27 May: TWEET, RANGE, POPPY, RADAR
• Quordle #1218, Monday, 26 May: BLEAT, HOWDY, ASIDE, SCOOP
• Quordle #1217, Sunday, 25 May: OCEAN, AMBER, PIPER, GLEAN
• Quordle #1216, Saturday, 24 May: HUSKY, HEIST, FOGGY, POLAR
• Quordle #1215, Friday, 23 May: SHIRE, GIANT, AWAIT, CAPER
• Quordle #1214, Thursday, 22 May: LOSE, GLOVE, STINT, EXCEL
• Quordle #1213, Wednesday, 21 May: NOVEL, CHOSE, DIRTY, DONUT
• Quordle #1212, Tuesday, 20 May: DECOY, SHAKE, MAPLE, PURER
• Quordle #1211, Monday, 19 May: LINK, HANDY, DITCH, WAIVE
• Quordle #1210, Sunday, 18 May: QUACK, ROACH, PURGE, DOWNY

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, June 6 (game #460).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #461) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… I am what I am

NYT Strands today (game #461) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• SOLID
• ALIVE
• SOLO
• MOLE
• LOVES
• SOOT

NYT Strands today (game #461) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #461) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: top, 3rd column

Last side: bottom, 4th column

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

NYT Strands today (game #461) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #461, are…

• HUMAN
• SOUL
• MORTAL
• SOMEONE
• INDIVIDUAL
• SPANGRAM: BE YOURSELF

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Today’s search was a celebration of the self and what makes us singular. It’s fitting, because Strands is very much an INDIVIDUAL pursuit, and like most solo efforts we are in competition with just one other person – ourselves. 

Trying to live like others in order to fit in or be someone you are not is a thankless and exhausting task that usually leads to frustration or humiliation.

Frank Ocean’s wonderful album Blond has a great track called Be Yourself that’s largely made up of an answer machine message left by Frank’s Aunt Rosie, advising her son to avoid alcohol and drugs on his college campus and to “stop trying to be someone else”. “Be yourself and know that’s good enough,” she says. “Don’t try to act like someone else, be yourself. Be secure with yourself. Rely and trust upon your own decisions.” Wise words.

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

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, June 6, game #460)

• SEASICK
• SLEEPER
• PINWHEEL
• ELEVATOR
• BREAKAWAY
• SPANGRAM: YOYO TRICK

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, June 6 (game #726).

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

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

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

NYT Connections today (game #727) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• FOUND
• NUMBER
• STRAIN
• ONION
• STRETCH
• AIR
• FLING
• LAUNCH
• START
• REST
• CHICKEN
• INSTITUTE
• BREATHE
• EQUINOX
• HYDRATE
• SONG

NYT Connections today (game #727) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Fitness essentials
• GREEN: In at the beginning
• BLUE: Tune
• PURPLE: Think of a season

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #727) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: TIPS FOR WORKING OUT SAFELY 
• GREEN: ESTABLISH 
• BLUE: DITTY 
• PURPLE: SPRING____ 

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

NYT Connections today (game #727) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #727, are…

• YELLOW: TIPS FOR WORKING OUT SAFELY BREATHE, HYDRATE, REST, STRETCH
• GREEN: ESTABLISH FOUND, INSTITUTE, LAUNCH, START
• BLUE: DITTY AIR, NUMBER, SONG, STRAIN
• PURPLE: SPRING____ CHICKEN, EQUINOX, FLING, ONION

• My rating: moderate
• My score: 1 mistake

I have an issue with people who REST at the gym, as included in today's TIPS FOR WORKING OUT SAFELY group. I sincerely hope that Connections is not advocating this activity, or should I say lack of activity. 

The annoying thing about it is that someone resting at a gym is usually doing so while simultaneously hogging a machine or station while they rest, check their phone or generally zone out.

I am not in favor of horns in cars – they are used out of anger rather than to alert other road users of dangers – but I am in favor of them in gyms. In particular, to be blasted in people's faces when they are resting too much. As you can no doubt tell, my gym routine is to go there, do the things I have to do and then leave. 

I really wanted to leave Connections today after struggling to complete it. I am delighted to have solved SPRING___, but I found every group tricky, including ESTABLISH – which is where my mistake came, in thinking that it was about ways to start something so I had LAUNCH, SPRING, START and FLING. It made sense at the time. Right, I'm off for some rest.

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

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, June 6, game #726)

• YELLOW: NEWSPAPER JOBS COLUMNIST, EDITOR, PHOTOGRAPHER, REPORTER
• GREEN: EVERYDAY COMMON, REGULAR, ROUTINE, STANDARD
• BLUE: WHAT "CON" MIGHT MEAN CONVENTION, CRIMINAL, DRAWBACK, SWINDLE
• PURPLE: ENDING WITH KINDS OF DOGS NEWSHOUND, SHADOWBOXER, SNICKERDOODLE, TRENDSETTER

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

We're not one for overexaggerating here at TechRadar. But, if you'll humor me, this week's streaming list is packed full of top-tier releases that you won't want to miss.

Indeed, there are plenty of exciting new movies and returning TV favorites to enjoy on the world's best streaming services this weekend (June 4 to 6). So, whether you're ready for the next season of Ginny & Georgia, or can't wait to watch Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal team up in The Accountant 2, you won't want to miss one or more of the following seven projects before you head back to work. – Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

Ginny & Georgia season 3 (Netflix)

Brianne Howey and Antonia Gentry are back as the titular Ginny and Georgia. Season 3 of the Netflix comedy-drama show is out now – and while its 64% Rotten Tomatoes score means Ginny & Georgia has fallen short of a spot on our best Netflix shows list, it has quite the dedicated fanbase who are eager to see more trials and tribulations this season.

In this series' latest entry, the mother and daughter duo are split up after Georgia was arrested for murder during her wedding. With her mother in prison, Ginny needs to see where she stands when push comes to shove. It certainly sounds like a rollercoaster. – Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

• Watch Ginny & Georgia season 3 on Netflix

The Accountant 2 (Prime Video)

The Accountant wasn't exactly received with open arms upon its October 2016 release, but I remember enjoying what it offered when I streamed it at home years later. The arrival of its sequel on Prime Video yesterday (June 5), then, means my weekend movie viewing is covered.

In this action-thriller from Amazon and Warner Bros, Ben Affleck returns as Christian Wolff, an autistic number cruncher who also masquerades as a skilled marksman. This time around, Wolff enlists the aid of his estranged brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal) to investigate the death of former FinCEN director Raymond King (J.K. Simmons) at the request of the company's deputy director (Cynthia Addai-Robinson).

The Accountant 2 has faired far better than its forebear with fans and critics alike, so you can expect to see it calculate a way onto our best Prime Video movies article in the near future. – TP

• Watch The Accountant 2 on Prime Video

Stick (Apple TV+)

While I've never been interested in golf, I'm very excited to watch Stick this weekend. The new Apple TV+ series has debuted with a healthy 77% Rotten Tomatoes score, too, so it sounds like I'm in for a treat and it's up for a spot on our best Apple TV+ shows list.

Here, Owen Wilson plays Pryce Cahill, a professional golfer-turned salesman whose career ended after an on-course meltdown derailed his once successful career. We follow him as he sets his sights on a rising star named Santi (Peter Dager) and aims to repair his reputation by coaching the talented up-and-comer.

With Happy Gilmore 2 set to arrive on Netflix in July, golf-themed comedies are back on the menu. Let's hope either or both won't be a swing and a miss. – LB

• Watch Stick on Apple TV+

Predator: Killer of Killers (Hulu/Disney+)

I was a huge fan of 2022 Predator prequel film Prey (you can read more about why in my Prey review). So, you can bet I was stoked to learn that Dan Trachtenburg, who directed that sci-fi horror flick, was making an animated anthology movie that would delve deeper into the Yautja mythos

Predator: Killer of Killers, which is out now on Hulu and Disney+, follows three human characters as they encounter various iterations of the titular alien warriors at different points in history. Spoilers notwithstanding, these individual tales are more connected than many people realize, too.

I mostly enjoyed my time with Predator: Killer of Killers. Its painterly visuals lend themselves well to the franchise's violent sensibilities, while its anthology format is an intriguing albeit uneven narrative approach to take. Despite that niggle, I'm of the view that it deserves a spot on our best Hulu movies and best Disney+ movies lists. – TP

• Watch Predator: Killer of Killers on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally)

The Alto Knights (Max)

What comes to mind when I say Robert de Niro? To some millennials, it'll be his star turn in the Meet the Parents franchise. To many others, though, it'll be his back catalog of crime genre films.

Well, here's another to add to that collection. Now available on Max, The Alto Knights sees de Niro star in dual roles as Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, two legendary real-life Italian mob bosses whose friendship soured when petty jealousies and numerous betrayals turned them into warring crime lords.

This Barry Levinson-directed period crime drama won't be joining our best Max movies guide due to its incredibly disappointing 39% Rotten Tomatoes critical score. Nonetheless, I'm sure de Niro devotees will get a kick out of it. – TP

• Watch The Alto Knights on Max

Tyler Perry's Straw (Netflix)

Tyler Perry has been busy lately. His previous movie Duplicity released on Prime Video earlier this year, and now he's got Straw on Netflix.

In it, we follow a single mother (played by Taraji P. Henson) whose world unravels in chaos as she struggles to care for her ill daughter. When she accidentally holds her local bank hostage as she struggles to cash a check, this thriller explores the lengths you'd go to in order to protect someone you love.

With a lead you'll feel sympathy for, Straw looks like it'll be posing a lot of questions about what can happen when someone's at breaking point. It remains to be seen if it'll earn a spot on our best Netflix movies guide, though. – LB

• Watch Tyler Perry's Straw on Netflix

Phineas & Ferb season 5 (Disney+)

Today is gonna be a great day, as the beloved theme song goes, because Phineas and Ferb are finally back for their long-awaited fifth season.

It's hard to believe the first aired in 2007, isn't it? Those of us who used to tune in to follow the silly adventures of Perry the Platypus and rock out to some great Bowling for Soup music get to do it all over again in 2025, with the series being revived after a 10-year break.

With 10 episodes to enjoy, I'm looking forward to reliving my childhood all over again. It's great to be back. – LB

• Watch Phineas and Ferb season 5 on Disney+

For more streaming recommendations, read our guides on the best Apple TV+ movies, best Prime Video shows, best Disney+ movies, and best Max shows.

• Infomaniak is the first provider to openly back up a controversial revision to the Swiss surveillance law
• The amendment would require VPNs and messaging apps to identify and retain user data
• Proton and NymVPN are ready to leave Switzerland instead of undermining their privacy and security

A Swiss cloud service, Infomaniak, is the first provider to openly back up a controversial revision to the country's surveillance law, slamming privacy firm Proton for promoting online anonymity.

The amendment would require all VPN services, messaging apps, and social networks to identify and retain user data – an obligation that is now limited to mobile networks and internet service providers.

So far, tech providers have been vocal in sharing their concerns against this revision that, they say, could pose a risk to secure encryption and online anonymity in Switzerland. The ordinance was reportedly met with a strong backlash across political benches, too.

The CEO of Proton, one of the best VPN and secure email providers on the market, even compared these new rules to those in place in Russia, vowing to quit Switzerland if the new ordinance passes. Another Swiss-based provider, NymVPN, also confirmed to TechRadar that it is ready to do the same.

Why does Infomaniak support new Swiss surveillance rules?

Infomaniak is a cloud computing company that claims to offer ethical and privacy-focused online tools like web hosting, cloud storage, and now encrypted email services.

Talking during a debate on RadioTeleSuisse (RTS), Infomaniak's Communication Manager, Thomas Jacobsen, has been especially critical of Proton's stance, accusing Proton and similar tech privacy firms advocating for online anonymity to "prevent justice from doing its work," as reported by Swiss publication Cublic.

Jacobsen also criticized Proton for offering free VPN and email services, arguing that this enables anyone to remain out of the reach of law enforcement. According to him, the criticism coming from Proton and similar firms is because the new rules could potentially end their business model.

New data retention obligations could, in fact, lead to the end of no-log VPN and other services in Switzerland, like Proton VPN, Proton Mail, NymVPN, and Threema.

TechRadar needs you! We want to know what you think about the world of VPNs. Whether you're a novice or a VPN pro, we want to hear your thoughts. Don't worry, though, your responses are completely anonymous, and it takes less than five minutes to complete!

To take part, click the link below: https://futurenet.questionpro.eu/tr-vpn

Jacobsen also pointed out that "the problem is not so much encryption, but anonymity."

Contrary to similar legislative efforts in Europe promoting the idea of a lawful encryption backdoor into citizens' communications, Switzerland has, in fact, taken a different approach and instead targets metadata tracking.

Metadata includes all the details that aren't the content, such as IP addresses, location data, timestamps, data packet size, phone numbers, who you have spoken with, and when. As Jacobsen put it during another interview with RTS, "the outside of the package is enough to bring justice."

However, technologists have long argued that metadata can pose significant privacy concerns due to its ability to reveal users' sensitive information. With advancements in AI-powered data analytics, protecting metadata privacy has become crucial across the industry, leading to the creation of tools like NymVPN and Mullvad's DAITA to protect against these threats.

We approached Infomaniak for further clarification, but we are still waiting for a reply at the time of publication.

How did the Swiss privacy industry react?

Nym's co-founder and COO, Alexis Roussel, was one of the online commentators challenging the company's take on the matter, especially regarding metadata collection.

Talking to TechRadar, Roussel said: "They claim that the definition of privacy is encrypting the message and the metadata is not important, but that's outdated. They upset all the community here."

Roussel also contested the idea of getting rid of online anonymity to facilitate the work of law enforcement, arguing that enforcing preemptive measures of surveillance could undermine democratic values in Switzerland.

He said: "Online anonymity is at the core of the balance of power in a democracy. When the government has access to all your metadata, that's completely reversed."

Under the current system, Roussel explains, the government needs to make a specific enquiry to force online services to record all their data. If the new ordinance passes, though, this data collection will become mandatory and preemptive to any potential illicit activities.

"An obligation to store the data in case, maybe, one day a judge will ask for it – that's not ok," said Roussel. "It's a war against anonymity, which is happening in Switzerland at the federal level."

In Switzerland, the new version of the surveillance law aims to make it impossible for Proton, Threema and@nymproject to operate from Switzerland. We are in the consultation phase. We will fight. https://t.co/BcMBxzIPFCMarch 25, 2025

As public consultations ended on May 6, 2025, we will now have to wait and see what the Swiss government decides.

Nonetheless, Roussel confirmed to TechRadar that there has been significant push-back from political parties and Swiss companies alike.

Some Cantons, including Geneva, have even called on the right to digital integrity as an argument against these rules. Roussel was the main originator of the initiative that introduced this new right to protect citizens' online privacy and data – in Geneva in 2023 and Neuchâtel in 2024 – with over 90% consensus.

"The chances that the ordinance gets overturned either in the parliament or even in the tribunals are pretty high, but they can still push for it, " Roussel told TechRadar.

Nonetheless, "that's already a big problem because it creates a bad precedent. No one is going to invest in privacy right now in Switzerland," he added.

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• Anthropic has developed several US national security-oriented models
• They can handle classified material and "refuse less"
• Many AI developers are seeking US government contracts

Anthropic has unveiled a series of AI models designed specifically for use by US government entities.

The models, named “Claude Gov”, are designed to assist the US government in strategic planning, operational support, and intelligence analysis.

The models are specifically trained to handle classified information and the context of intelligence and defense, and have also been modified to “refuse less” when handling classified data.

Automating and assisting US government

“[These] models are already deployed by agencies at the highest level of U.S. national security, and access to these models is limited to those who operate in such classified environments. [They] underwent the same rigorous safety testing as all of our Claude models,” Anthropic said in its announcement.

It’s not just Anthropic which has started pitching models to the US government. OpenAI and Meta have both recently revealed their willingness to provide AI models for US government use.

Anthropic and Cohere have also separately collaborated with Palantir to develop AI models for government use. Palantir itself is also seeking government contracts, and the development of “ImmigrationOS” for the US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE).

The new Claude Gov models have enhanced capabilities over other enterprise models developed by Anthropic, including “enhanced proficiency” in languages critical to US national security, and a better understanding of cybersecurity lingo.

The White House recently pushed two ‘America First’ AI directives which aim to trade safeguards in return for faster modernization and greater department efficiency.

Via TechCrunch

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As WWDC 2025 (Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference) comes into view (it takes place on Monday, June 9) there is a lot riding on Apple to get it right with Apple Intelligence this time after the fallout from last year’s WWDC when Apple promised a lot of new features, but failed to deliver the really important ones, like a new AI-powered Siri.

Last year, Apple made the classic mistake of demonstrating features that it hadn’t really got working as if they were real. When it became apparent that Apple wouldn’t be able to get the features ready in time, Tim Cook's technology giant had to pull them from release and was left with AI-flavored egg on their Genmoji-shaped faces.

To be fair, Apple did manage to release some of its Apple Intelligence features, like the writing tools, ChatGPT integration, notifications, and the aforementioned Genmojis, but these new AI features already seemed out of date when they launched because of the warp speed of AI innovation.

While Apple was trying to get us excited about emojis featuring our faces, the rest of the world was chatting with AI using their voice in Gemini Live and ChatGPT’s voice mode.

Apple’s development speed, with its traditional once-a-year operating system update, suddenly looked glacial compared to OpenAI and Google, which seem to have taken over the job of writing our future.

In some ways, WWDC 2025 is Apple’s chance to balance the books, reset its ambitions for AI, and show us how, by focusing on great hardware and software integration, it can still be relevant in the modern age of AI, because it can. After all, Google Gemini or ChatGPT runs just as well on an iPhone 16 as it does on a Pixel 9 or a Samsung Galaxy S25.

Thanks to the ever-reliable Marc Gurman and his Power On newsletter, there are some Apple Intelligence features that we think are definitely going to be announced at WWDC 2025, so let’s take a look at those first:

(Image credit: Apple)1. Opening up Apple Intelligence to third-party developers

Apple will be opening up its existing Apple Intelligence models to third-party developers. This will let iPhone app developers access the AI features on iPhone that we're already familiar with, like writing summaries, or even use Apple's models to create their own innovative AI features.

Apple’s existing AI models have about 3 billion parameters, which sounds like a lot, but that’s far less than the cloud-powered AI's from OpenAI and Google. However, Apple's models are perfect for lightweight tasks that can be done on the iPhone without needing to access the cloud.

2. A new AI battery management system

A new battery management system doesn’t sound like the most interesting thing in the world, but anything that helps us get more life out of an iPhone battery sounds like a good idea.

Details are sparse at the moment, but the idea would be that Apple Intelligence will analyze how you use your device and make clever adjustments to help you conserve energy.

3. Live language translation with AirPods

Now this one sounds genuinely exciting! It’s tied to an update to the AirPods software and iOS 19 (or iOS 26, its new name), but it is going to use AI to help in live language translation through your AirPods.

This may sound more like science fiction than reality, but if Apple can get this working flawlessly, it could be a feature that sets Apple apart from its competitors.

In addition to all these new AI features, we’re expecting Apple to quietly rebrand a lot of its existing features in apps like Safari and Photos as “AI-powered.”

Apple's Genmoji tools. (Image credit: Future / Apple)What I'd like to see

So, that’s what Marc Gurman thinks we’ll get for sure, but Apple will be bound to have a few surprises for us up its sleeve on the day. Here’s what I hope we’ll see as well:

1. AI background noise reduction

Surprisingly, one of the biggest cheers from the crowd at the last Samsung AI event was when it demonstrated how AI could effortlessly reduce the background noise, like wind or chatter, in videos using a tool called Audio Eraser.

I think people cheered because they could actually see an example of AI that they’d actually use! Apple has this feature already for the iPhone 16, but it's only available if you edit a video clip, and it's tucked away in various settings and not easily accessible.

If Apple can make it easier to use and work on any audio or video clips, then I think it would have a guaranteed hit on its hands.

2. Tighter AI integration

If we can’t have an AI-powered Siri quite yet, then at least make it easier to integrate existing AI models like ChatGPT and Gemini into iOS.

Yes, Siri currently calls on ChatGPT when a question becomes too complicated, but the process feels a bit awkward and slow.

How about integrating ChatGPT more directly into iOS so that you can use it for performing functions on the iPhone, like opening apps and finding options in Settings?

3. Better AI image tools

I’m sorry Apple, but you are lagging behind Google and Samsung significantly in the area of AI image manipulation. When we compared Galaxy AI’s photo editing tool to Apple Intelligence’s Clean Up, the results weren’t even close.

People expect so much more from AI these days. We want to be able to produce photorealistic images from prompts, not cute AI graphics in Image Studio that don’t look realistic. And when we edit photos, we want the ability to be able to remove objects from an image and add new ones flawlessly using AI.

Apple needs to step up its game significantly here, and I don’t think it’s too much to ask that it does it at this year’s WWDC 2025.

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• OpenAI says it has disrupted numerous malicious campaigns using ChatGPT
• These include employment scams and influence campaigns
• Russia, China, and Iran are using ChatGPT to translate and generate content

OpenAI has revealed it has taken down a number of malicious campaigns using its AI offerings, including ChatGPT.

In a report titled, “Disrupting malicious uses of AI: June 2025,” OpenAI lays out how it dismantled or disrupted 10 employment scams, influence operations, and spam campaigns using ChatGPT in the first FEW months of 2025 alone.

Many of the campaigns were conducted by state-sponsored actors with links to China, Russia and Iran.

AI campaign disruption

Four of the campaigns disrupted by OpenAI appear to have originated in China, with their focus on social engineering, covert influence operations, and cyber threats.

One campaign, dubbed “Sneer Review” by OpenAI, saw the Taiwanese “Reversed Front” board game that includes resistance against the Chinese Communist Party spammed by highly critical Chinese comments.

The network behind the campaign then generated an article and posted it on a forum claiming that the game had received widespread backlash based on the critical comments in an effort to discredit both the game and Taiwanese independence.

Another campaign, named “Helgoland Bite”, saw Russian actors using ChatGPT to generate text in German that criticized the US and NATO, and generate content about the German 2025 election.

Most notably, the group also used ChatGPT to seek out opposition activists and bloggers, as well as generating messages that referenced coordinated social media posts and payments.

OpenAI has also banned numerous ChatGPT accounts linked to US targeted influence accounts in an operation known as “Uncle Spam”.

In many cases, Chinese actors would generate highly divisive content aimed at widening the political divide in the US, including creating social media accounts that posted arguments for and against tariffs, as well as generating accounts that mimicked US veteran support pages.

OpenAI’s report is a key reminder that not everything you see online is posted by an actual human being, and that the person you’ve picked an online fight with could be getting exactly what they want; engagement, outrage, and division.

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