TechRadar News

• Breville has launched a new Brass Accents range of kitchen appliances
• The set includes our top-rated espresso machine, the Barista Touch Impress
• It's part of a general shift away from clinical stainless steel in the kitchen

Breville has given several of its best kitchen appliances an overhaul for 2025, including our top-rated espresso machine, the Barista Touch Impress. Rather than clinical stainless steel, which has long been the standard color for coffee makers, the Barista Touch Impress is now available with warm-toned metal, paired with soft shades of blue, olive green, and off-white.

The Breville Barista Touch Impress has long held the number one spot in our guide to the best espresso machines thanks to its effortless automated dosing, grinding, tamping, and milk frothing, which helps create consistently good coffee time and again.

"Even for experienced baristas [who] are tight on time and space, the compact form and simplicity of dialling-in different coffees makes the Barista Touch Impress a highly desirable machine," wrote our reviewer Joel Burgess, who awarded the machine a full five stars.

The Brass Accents collection also includes the Breville Toast Select, the Smart Oven Air Fryer, and the Juice Fountain Cold. The range is available to buy now direct from Breville, and from Williams Sonoma in the US.

The Brass Accents collection is available in three colorways, including Sea Salt - an off-white shade (Image credit: Breville) A natural touch

Breville's new-look appliances part of a trend for warm, natural shades that we first saw last year when KitchenAid launched its enormously popular (and somewhat controversial) Design Series Evergreen stand mixer. The machine has a sage green body, brass accents, leaf decals, and a real walnut wood bowl.

Some bakers expressed concern that the bowl (which needs special care to keep it in good condition) would be impractical, but Wired writer Kat Merck found it worked just fine for everyday baking, including whipping egg whites and cream.

With its walnut wood bowl, the KitchenAid Design Series stand mixer in Evergreen caused a stir among bakers (Image credit: KitchenAid)

More recently, KitchenAid announced that its entire range of espresso machines is now available in a subtle cream shade called Porcelain White. The last coffee maker to get a new look was the KF60 bean-to-cup machine, which I'll be reviewing for TechRadar in a few weeks.

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• CISA releases new playbook for government firms and enterprises
• The guidebook addresses expanded cloud logs from Microsoft
• Microsoft expanded its cloud logs after July 2023 Outlook incident

Microsoft has recently expanded logging capabilities for its cloud services, which could mean significant changes for US government organizations.

In July 2023, a Chinese state-sponsored threat actor, found a way to access email accounts belonging to government officials working in the State Department, and the Department of Commerce. The fallout was major, and resulted in Microsoft expanding free logging capabilities for all Purview Audit Standard users, among other changes.

Now, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released its guidance, explaining to government agencies and enterprises how to take advantage of the changes.

Navigating expanded logs

The new guidance is a 60-page playbook, so the changes could be quite major.

"These capabilities also allow organizations to monitor and analyze thousands of user and admin operations performed in dozens of Microsoft services and solutions," CISA said. "These logs provide new telemetry to enhance threat-hunting capabilities for business email compromise (BEC), advanced nation-state threat activities, and possible insider-risk scenarios."

The guidance also discusses navigating the expanded logs within Microsoft 365, and using them with both Microsoft Sentinel, and Splunk Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems.

In July 2023, the Chinese cyber espionage group Storm-0558 exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft's Outlook email system to gain unauthorized access to email accounts belonging to U.S. government agencies and other organizations. The attackers used a stolen Microsoft security key to forge authentication tokens, bypassing security measures.

As a result, Microsoft was forced to revoke the compromised security key, bolster its token validation systems, and enhance transparency by providing detailed incident reports and security updates to affected customers. Additionally, it faced scrutiny over its cloud security practices and was pressured to improve safeguards to prevent similar breaches in the future.

Microsoft also launched its Secure Future Initiative (SFI) in November 2023, a comprehensive cybersecurity program aimed at enhancing security resilience across its products and services. It invested heavily in advanced threat detection, prevention, and response capabilities.

Via BleepingComputer

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The first Samsung Galaxy Unpacked of 2025 is sure to be a phone-focussed event, where we're predicting to see the Samsung Galaxy S25 range, spearheaded by the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

While these phones are expected to be iterative upgrades over the Galaxy S24 lineup, their big party tricks could be a suite of new and improved features on the Galaxy AI side; a new powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset should help power these tools.

If you want to watch the event yourself then check out our guide on how to watch Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025. But for all the news and rumors ahead of Unpacked, you're in the right place; read on.

Good afternoon or morning or evening, depending on where you are, I (Roland Moore-Colyer) am here to chat about the Galaxy S25 rumors so far and what we can expect to see at the first Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event of 2025, which takes place on January 22.

(Image credit: Samsung)

So what's all the fuss about? Well as mentioned, this Unpacked is very likely be one that's fully focused on the next-generations Galaxy phones. We're not expecting much else in terms of hardware.

This could be disappointing to some as the Galaxy S25 family as a whole has been tipped to be somewhat of an iterative upgrade over the Galaxy S24 lineup, which brought in Galaxy AI.

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

There's no murmur on any wearables at this Galaxy Unpacked. But as we had the Galaxy Ring launch mid last year, alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, there's already enough wearables from Samsung to keep us ticking over for now.

I'd predict osme AI upgrades for the Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch series, though how these will manifest isn't clear.

(Image credit: Blue Pixl Media)

Speaking of Galaxy AI, I'll buy a hat and eat it if there's no mention of new AI features for the Galaxy S25 series. I'm expecting a host of upgrades and new features, likely an improved Generative Edit being one of the first upgrades out of the gates.

I'd also like to see Galaxy AI better integrated across the One UI operating system, as my colleague and Senior Editor Philip Berne noted in his Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review, Galaxy Ai feels somewhat fiddly to access and use.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Right before I muse more on AI and other bits, first dsome new: just about every single Samsung Galaxy S25 spec has been shown up in what appears to be a new leak. Check them out in the tweet below.

25 pic.twitter.com/rW5EGZJbY9January 17, 2025

So going by those 'leaked' specs, it looks like there's not going to be a lot change with the Galaxy S25 series as a whole. 12GB or RAM for the standard S25 looks promising and should help with snappy AI workloads. And the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy would appear to be a custom version of an already powerful chipset, so there's scope for that to bring some serious performance grunt to the table,

In reference to those seemingly leaked specs, it's over to my colleague and staff writer Jamie RIchards for some context on the tipped Snapdragon chipset.

Snapdragon after all

The Samsung Galaxy S24 (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

There's been some back and forth in the months leading up to Samsung Galaxy Unpacked about which chipset the Galaxy S25 lineup would make use of. Some tipsters pointed to Samsung's troubled Exynos line of chipsets for the new flagships, but production issues seem to have taken too much of a toll for these proprietary processors to make it into this year's lineup.

The latest major specs leak (courtesy of noted tipster @MysteryLupin) points to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for the Samsung Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra. As Qualcomm's flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite is one of the fastest mobile platforms on the market, which bodes well for the S25 series' performance.

From my perspective, I'm hoping the new Qualcomm chipset brings in a big uptick in gaming power for the Galaxy S25, especially the Ultra. Apple's A18 Pro and the A17 Pro before it allowed for true console-quality games to be played on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro, so I'd like to see Samsung manage the same, especially since it used to work closely with Microsoft; imagine proper Xbox games on the Galaxy S25 running natively.

Throwing the ball back over to Jamie, as we take the specs conversation over to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra cameras and their rumored upgrades.

A new Ultra ultrawide?

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (Image credit: Samsung)

Keen photographers will be looking to the Galaxy S-series Ultra's somewhat iconic quad-camera system, and if the latest rumors are anything to go by, there is one key upgrade on the way. We're expecting to see the Galaxy S25 Ultra equipped with a new 50MP ultra-wide camera, up from the 12MP ultra-wide found on the S24 Ultra.

Sure, it's not a revolutionary improvement, but this should lend well to a more consistent camera experience across the phone's four optical zoom levels.

• 1923 season 2 premieres Sunday, February 23
• The show's latest installment marks its second and final season
• Season 2 will consist of eight episodes

February just got a whole lot more exciting, because the second season of 1923, the Yellowstone prequel, will be streaming from the 23rd of February on Paramount Plus. And the newly released 1923 season 2 trailer makes it clear that it's going to be an epic.

This is the final part of the saga, and the tense, exciting trailer feels very much like Yellowstone itself – and while the fact that this is a prequel means we know some of the future, there's still plenty that we don't know about the twists and turns that will come during this second season of one of the best Paramount Plus shows.

What have we learnt from the 1923 Season 2 trailer?

At the end of the first season, the newly married Spencer Dutton and Alex (Julia Schlaepfer) had been separated from one another while Cara feared losing the ranch and Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) suffered a terrible loss.

The second season resumes from there, with Isabel May (from the other prequel series, 1883) narrating once again. Here's the official synopsis: "A cruel winter brings new challenges and unfinished business to Jacob (Ford) and Cara (Mirren) back at Dutton ranch. With harsh conditions and adversaries threatening to end the Dutton legacy, Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) embarks on an arduous journey home, racing against time to save his family in Montana. Meanwhile, Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer) sets off on her own harrowing trans-Atlantic journey to find Spencer and reclaim their love.”

There will be eight episodes of season 2, concluding the story. Indeed, creator Taylor Sheridan said that he needed eight more episodes to do it properly. "I can't wrap it up in two episodes and do the story justice," Sheridan told Deadline. "For [Paramount] it's great because they get more content. For me, I get more runway."

1923 season 2 will be streaming on Paramount Plus from February 23, 2025.

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• Most AI users are optimistic about the technology’s benefits, Workday report claims
• Nine in 10 have more free time to be productive
• Humans can still bring vital skills to the table, so it's not all doom and gloom

Tackling early concerns that artificial intelligence could replace human workers and take our jobs, new Workday research has claimed AI could actually act as a catalyst for a skills revolution.

Tackling the popular narrative of scepticism, Workday's report revealed 85% of active AI users report a high level of optimism surrounding the technology, a noteworthy upgrade over the 78% of non-adopters reporting similar sentiments.

It’s not just in skills where workers are seeing the benefits of AI – 93% of active users also report having more free time when using the technology, enabling them to focus on higher-level tasks like strategy and problem-solving.

Workers are optimistic about artificial intelligence

As AI becomes more embedded in everyday workflows and organizational strategies, we’re beginning to see where its roles are most appreciated, and where the value of human workers remains critical. For example, humans bring more to the table when it comes to ethical decision-making, empathy, relationship building, and conflict resolution, rendering these the least likely areas to be replaced by AI.

More than four in five (83%) believe AI will make human skills like the ones mentioned above more important to employers.

“By embracing AI for good, we can elevate what makes us uniquely human – our creativity, our empathy, our ability to connect – and build a workplace where these skills drive success," noted Workday CTO Jim Stratton.

Looking ahead, Workday calls for joint efforts by tech companies, organizations and even governments to ensure AI’s benefits are felt by everyone. The report also highlights the need for a focus on crucial human skills.

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If you’re reading this article from the comfort of your home office, you’re living a reality that, until recent years, was the exception for a small minority of workers. Now, many businesses across several industries facilitate hybrid or remote work in one way or another, making the home office a more common setup for people than it once was. However, while technology is the enabler for remote work, workers are feeling disconnected from their colleagues.

This disconnect may be caused by location, as we find ourselves more physically distanced from our co-workers. Yet, amidst the growing ‘return to the office’ movement and concerns that remote and hybrid working may be detrimental to the workforce, it turns out that the feeling of disconnect between colleagues is being caused by something entirely different.

The hidden barrier to employee connection

Recent research from Workato found that only 26% of UK workers felt it was harder to connect with colleagues virtually, and even fewer said that not being in the office with colleagues hindered their ability to collaborate. The data shows that location has very little impact on our ability to feel connected with co-workers. UK workers feel distant from their colleagues for an entirely different reason; there is simply too much work to get done and not enough time.

The unachievable workload, and how it is managed, is stealing time from UK workers that could be spent connecting and building relationships with colleagues, regardless of whether they are in the same room or in an entirely different location. This lack of connection is having a knock-on-effect on employee engagement, leaving individuals feeling isolated and teams struggling to collaborate.

Administrative tasks are contributing to a significant lack of time for UK workers, particularly tasks that are highly repetitive such as internal emails and note-taking; time that could be better spent connecting with colleagues. The research found that almost half of workers felt they would need an additional 30-60 minutes each day dedicated to team building, to feel closer to colleagues. With limited resources and only a certain number of hours available in the working day, UK businesses are struggling to strike a balance between optimizing time and nurturing employee engagement – a challenge that could have a significant impact on the long-term success of their teams.

The role of automation in team connection

Creating more spare time at work doesn’t mean employees will be working less – they will be working smarter. When organizations look to deploy automation technology, they are not only improving efficiency by shaving huge amounts of time taken up by repetitive tasks but also the impact on the people responsible for those tasks. Automation paves the way for bigger-picture thinking, giving employees the headspace to consider their career goals, think about improvements within the business, and plan for future resourcing challenges or obstacles. By shifting from task-based to value-based working, organizations can instill a mutual feeling of empowerment amongst all levels of an organization, in a united effort to strengthen the business and contribute to its long-term success.

Empowering workers with smart tools

While the benefits of automation are compelling, it’s of no use if workers are not on board with the changes. So, how are workers feeling about automation? The feedback is overwhelmingly positive. UK workers are seeing the productivity benefits of automation tools, and the quality of their work is improving, too. Specifically, with the use of automation tools, more than 4 out of 5 people in the UK believe automation is part of the solution to make time for more complex work, and 85% believe it is part of the solution for improving productivity.

Implementing automation allows companies to invest in human relationships to increase efficiency and productivity amongst workers. The benefits stretch beyond just improving the bottom line; employees in the UK value automation as an essential tool to strengthen their quality of work, create stronger relationships with teammates, and put time aside for connecting with team members on a personal level.

When a business consists of a strong, happy team, it naturally creates a ripple effect that leads to happy customers; a winning solution for everyone.

Building a workplace for connection and collaboration

As organisations continue to explore what the future of work looks like, many have to take into consideration how they will foster an environment that allows UK workers to be creative, collaborative, and connected. Acknowledging automation as a path forward for elevating work, people, and culture is crucial to the success of companies, regardless of industry or size. Leaders have the opportunity now to invest meaningful time, resources, and money into their workers to better promote a sense of belonging.

We've featured the best online collaboration tool.

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

• A Chinese cybersecurity firm has been sanctioned by the US Treasury
• The firm allegedly has ties to hacking group Salt Typhoon
• Salt Typhoon is accused of carrying out a cyberattack on 9 telco giants

A Chinese cybersecurity firm has been sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for alleged links to the notorious hacking group Salt Typhoon.

Salt Typhoon is perhaps best known as the group who infiltrated the networks of nine major US telecommunications companies and internet providers, including Verizon and AT&T in the largest telecoms hack in US history.

“Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology Co., LTD. (Sichuan Juxinhe) had direct involvement in the exploitation of these U.S. telecommunication and internet service provider companies. The MSS (China Ministry of State Security) has maintained strong ties with multiple computer network exploitation companies, including Sichuan Juxinhe,” the Treasury said in a statement.

A major incursion

The Salt Typhoon hack saw state-sponsored actors targeting high-level government communications through a breach of third-party tech support platform BeyondTrust. Hackers were reportedly lurking inside telecom networks for months before being eradicated.

“The Treasury Department will continue to use its authorities to hold accountable malicious cyber actors who target the American people, our companies, and the United States government, including those who have targeted the Treasury Department specifically,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Adewale O. Adeyemo.

Following the hack, the US Treasury was again hit by a further cyberattack which targeted the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), which is the department in charge of reviewing foreign investments for national security risks.

In January 2025, the Treasury similarly sanctioned a Chinese cybersecurity firm Yongxin Zhicheng Technology Group for alleged ties to Flax Typhoon, the group responsible for hijacking legally required broadband and communications backdoors which allow US law enforcement to intercept communications.

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Many action movies start with a bang. But Back In Action, the new Netflix action comedy starring Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, has started with a splat – multiple splats in the form of rotten tomatoes. According to the review aggregator at the time of writing, the film is far from fresh: it's got a Tomatometer rating of just 24%.

The good news is that there are plenty of much better movies with much fresher ratings, all of them streaming right now on Netflix. Here are three action movies that are among the best Netflix movies you won't regret starting.

RRR

RT critic score: 96%

This action adventure is getting rave reviews. It's the epic, action-packed tale of a fearless warrior on a perilous mission who comes face to face with a steely cop serving British forces in what one reviewer says is "one of the most entertaining films I've seen this year" – and before you go "but it's only January!" he wrote that on the film's theatrical release in mid-2023.

According to Deadline Hollywood Daily, "RRR is one action crescendo after another, never dull but not exhausting either." And the San Jose Mercury News loved it too: "The bonanza with a cast of what looks to be thousands and a storyline about getting back at colonizers is a blast throughout its three-hour-plus running time." According to The Hollywood Reporter, "You won't be bored for a nanosecond."

Rebel Ridge

RT critic score: 96%

When ex-Marine Terry Richmond visits the town of Shelby Springs to post bail for his cousin, things go off the rails and he finds himself going head to head with the local cops and battling a deep-rooted conspiracy. If you've seen the same writer/director (Jeremy Saulnier)'s Blue Ruin and Green Room, you're going to want to see this modern echo of First Blood. And if you haven't, you should stream it anyway.

The movie is "as elementally satisfying as a great Western," AV Club says, while the New York Times waxed lyrical: "Our pulses are elevated by the score, a relentless tattoo of drones and drums, plus the truly sensational camera work of David Gallego which, like our leading man, moves with measured intelligence and makes tactical use of every mirror in sight." According to Empire, it's "an undeniably fun night in."

Hit Man

RT critic score: 95%

Based on an incredible true story, Richard Linklater's wild neo-noir movie stars Glen Powell as strait-laced professor Gary Johnson, who moonlights as a fake hit man for the New Orleans Police Department. As the Irish Times put it, "this old-fashioned sexy caper makes merry with unreliable narration, slapstick and the stress of remembering which lie you told."

Den of Geek says that "Linklater has long displayed a genius for riffing on and shifting between genre tones. And with Hit Man, he’s figured out how to turn a veritable film noir into a meet-cute comedy," and we think ABC News liked it too: "Oooowee," Peter Travers wrote. "What a scorchingly sexy thriller."

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• AMD is purportedly struggling to iron out RX 9070 pricing with retailers
• The theory is that AMD’s original prices were too high compared to where Nvidia pitched its RTX 5000 GPUs
• AMD needs to put all this gossip and speculation to bed as soon as possible

More rumors are circulating about AMD’s RDNA 4 graphics cards, due to launch at some point in Q1 2025, and there’s some fresh info about what could potentially be going on behind the scenes.

There’s no denying that the reveal of RX 9070 models at CES 2025 was confusingly brief, though an AMD exec has since clarified why – namely the lack of time for Team Red’s presentation at that event (a flimsy excuse, yes), and an apparent admission (possible translation issues must be noted, mind) that the company wanted to wait and see how Nvidia pitched its RTX 5000 GPUs.

Fresh speculation (via VideoCardz) from a forum moderator (Pokerclock, who recently brought us gossip on Nvidia’s Blackwell stock levels) at German site PC Games Hardware throws something else into the mix.

Namely a theory that pricing for RX 9070 models has proved problematic and that MSRPs have not been officially agreed, because the price tags AMD planned originally ended up too high compared to what Nvidia announced with its next-gen Blackwell graphics cards.

Pokerclock asserts that there are difficulties in rejigging that price and working out how to balance and correct this with what retail partners already paid for these RDNA 4 products. Working out this – and we must be extremely cautious around this rumor – is what’s apparently causing some trouble for AMD, and kind of leaving its RX 9070 graphics cards in a state of launch limbo, as it were.

(Image credit: Future) Analysis: Time to take action, AMD

Could there be something in this? Well, it does make sense in some ways, by which I mean that Nvidia’s RTX 5070 and 5080 pricing was certainly surprising – it caught me off guard, and likely AMD, too, I’d imagine. Also, it does fit with what’s happened in terms of AMD’s sort of ‘half-launch’ at CES 2025, and the fact that we still haven’t got a date for the proper launch (an event that could be coming this week, if rumors are right – on January 23 or 24, but that’s very close at hand now, obviously).

Moreover, there are multiple sightings of the RX 9070 graphics cards having arrived at retailers, so that also suggests that the pieces of the launch were all fitting into place, and then suddenly an Nvidia-shaped spanner was chucked into the RDNA 4 works when Blackwell pricing was revealed.

It’s notable that Moore’s Law is Dead also spilled some RDNA 4 details in his latest video on YouTube, and there was no rumored pricing, just a comment that he’s heard a lot of different rumors – from $450 (in the US) upwards.

Again, that paints a picture of everything still being rather up in the air at this late stage for RDNA 4, though the YouTuber gives us a rough guess of $499 (in the US) for the RX 9070 and $599 for the RX 9070 XT. That would, based on some purported internal benchmarks from AMD also shared by the leaker, make for a pair of RDNA 4 graphics cards that would be RTX 5070 and 5070 Ti killers.

Interesting and potentially exciting times indeed, but AMD can’t let these rumors on its next-gen GPU launch and pricing continue to simmer and bubble for too long – it needs to make a final decision on RDNA 4 pricing, if the company hasn’t already, of course. And then those prices need to be aired very soon (which might indeed happen, as noted, if the rumor mill is right).

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• Nvidia's Bryan Catanzaro suggests older RTX 3000 GPUs could potentially get Frame Generation
• The new Frame Generation model doesn't need an Optical Flow accelerator
• Tensor Cores could be the deciding factor for the RTX 3000 series receiving Frame Generation

With Nvidia's RTX 5000 series launch on the horizon, it's easy to be tempted into buying the latest and (hopefully) the greatest, but Frame Generation could change that - it's not just being improved on RTX 4000 series GPUs and Team Green's latest Blackwell GPUs like the RTX 5090 (Multi Frame Generation), but potentially RTX 3000 GPUs as well.

Hints that older Nvidia GPUs might finally get Frame Generation, a clever feature that uses AI to generate additional frames to boost overall frame rates, comes from Digital Foundry's interview (which you can view below) with Nvidia's Applied Deep Learning Research VP, Bryan Catanzaro - as reported by Wccftech, Catanzaro mentioned Nvidia will be looking at ways to get the best out of older hardware. We know that the current model of Frame Generation will receive improvements later this month once the RTX 5080 and 5090 launch, which will utilize less VRAM while providing better performance thanks to Tensor Cores.

Catanzaro made it clear that DLSS 3 Frame Generation was built upon Nvidia's Optical Flow hardware accelerator (motion detector for objects between frames), with the RTX 4000 series GPUs maintaining a much more improved version compared to RTX 3000 GPUs - the new model of Frame Generation (and Multi Frame Generation exclusive to RTX 5000 series GPUs) won't require the Optical Flow accelerator, but rather an AI-based solution.

Since the new model will rely on a higher standard of Tensor Cores (which increases AI performance) which both RTX 4000 and RTX 5000 GPUs come with, it isn't that simple for Team Green to bring Frame Generation to the older GPUs. With Frame Generation supposedly using much less VRAM usage and not needing an Optical Flow accelerator, however, RTX 3000 users could be in luck (despite the weaker Tensor Cores).

Again, I must ask, is there a need to buy an RTX 5000 series GPU?

While this is essentially just speculation about future possibilities, there's a chance that Nvidia RTX 3000 series users could get the full package of DLSS 4 that includes Frame Generation. DLSS 3 has been available to both RTX 3000 and 2000 series users with super-resolution, DLAA, and ray reconstruction at their disposal - but Frame Generation has so far been exclusive to the RTX 4000 series.

With the requirement of an Optical Flow accelerator now gone, the chances of Frame Generation making its way to RTX 3000 GPUs are now much higher. The main hurdle that could stop this is the weaker Tensor Cores as I mentioned, but the fact that we're at least getting discussions about it with Catanzaro shouldn't be taken lightly.

For now, it's best to look forward to what improvements DLSS 4 will bring to older GPUs and stay patient for any future updates. If Frame Generation for RTX 3000 GPUs does happen, it could breathe new life into the older graphics cards, and could mean gamers that can’t afford a new RTX 5000 series GPU will continue to be able to play new PC games for a few more years.

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• Oppo has shared details about the Find N5, which is likely to be rebranded as the OnePlus Open 2 outside China
• The Oppo Find N5 will be extremely slim, with just barely enough space for a USB-C port
• It will also have an IPX9 water resistance rating, which is very rare on phones

The OnePlus Open was one of the best foldable phones of 2024, so the company could have released a similar successor and still probably seen it stand up well against the competition. Instead, it seems we’ll be getting some big upgrades.

Across various Weibo posts spotted by Android Authority, Oppo’s Product Manager, Zhou Yibao, has shared images and information about the Oppo Find N5, and based on past form, it’s likely that the OnePlus Open 2 will simply be a rebranded version of this device.

Going by this information, that’s no bad thing, as the Oppo Find N5 will be incredibly slim, with Yibao stating that “thinness is not the limit of Find N5, but the limit of the charging port.” You can see that this is the case in the images below, with only the tiniest sliver of frame on either side of the USB-C port.

Image 1 of 3

The Oppo Find N5 alongside an iPhone 16 Pro Max (Image credit: Oppo)Image 2 of 3

(Image credit: Oppo)Image 3 of 3

(Image credit: Oppo)

That means this is probably the slimmest foldable yet, and that it will be impossible to make a foldable phone that’s much slimmer than this without sacrificing the charging port, or having the half without the port be a lot thinner, which could make the phone feel unbalanced.

Some of the other images also highlight just how slim this phone is, with the thickness being similar to that of four credit cards when the phone is unfolded, and much slimmer than an iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Sadly, exact dimensions haven’t been provided, but the OnePlus Open 2 will almost certainly be a fair bit thinner than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, which is arguably its key rival – at least until the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 launches.

Impressively water resistant

And that’s not the only way that the Oppo Find N5 – and therefore probably also the OnePlus Open 2 – has the Galaxy Z Fold 6 beat, as Zhou Yibao also revealed that it has IPX6, IPX8, and IPX9 water resistance ratings.

It’s the number at the end that’s relevant here, and most phones at best have an ‘8’ rating, which means they can be submerged at least 1.5 meters deep in fresh water for up to 30 minutes. Having the ‘9’ rating there too means this phone is also protected from high-temperature and high-pressure water jets.

It’s not overly surprising that this level of protection could be offered, since this was also a feature of the OnePlus 13, but it’s not present on most phones – including the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, which has an ‘8’ but not a ‘9’ rating.

However, the full rating on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is IP48, with the ‘4’ meaning it has protection from solid objects greater than 1mm in size. The Oppo Find N5 – and probably also the OnePlus Open 2 – has no such protection, so that’s one area where Samsung has this rumored model beat.

It will be interesting to see whether the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 can match this for thinness and water resistance, but we’re doubtful.

As for when any of these phones might launch, we’re expecting the Oppo Find N5 to be unveiled in February, but probably only for China. The OnePlus Open 2 will hopefully launch globally soon after though, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 probably won’t land before July.

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• Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has reported that the iPhone SE 4 could come with support for Apple Intelligence
• Due to the hardware requirements of Apple's AI toolkit, we could end up with an iPhone SE that feels like a flagship
• The current-gen iPhone SE is reportedly running out of stock, suggesting an imminent refresh

Apple could soon make Apple Intelligence much more accessible by equipping the rumored iPhone SE 4 with the company’s full set of AI features.

A report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggests that the supposedly upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE will indeed support Apple’s AI toolkit, and as such come with at least 8GB of RAM and an A17 Pro or A18 chipset (all current Apple Intelligence-enabled devices come with some combination of these specs, or better).

Gurman is a leading commentator on all things Apple and we have referred to his reports and predictions several times in the past, so there’s certainly some weight in this latest rumor.

If the refreshed iPhone SE launches with 8GB of RAM and the A18 under the hood, it’ll match the flagship iPhone 16 for internal power. We’ll likely see differences in battery capacity, and potentially cooling and heat dissipation, but otherwise, the internal hardware of each device could be remarkably similar.

And with Apple Intelligence enabled, the software experience between the two phones could be close to identical, too. We don’t expect the new iPhone SE to feature the Dynamic Island, but otherwise, iOS is likely to feel near-identical on either handset.

The current-generation iPhone SE 3 retails for $429 / £429 / AU$719. We’ve heard rumors of a possible price hike for the iPhone SE 4, but we’re still expecting it to come in below the $500 mark, which would still be substantially cheaper than the iPhone 16, which costs $799 / £799 / AU$1,399.

For some, this value proposition would be hard to ignore. The iPhone SE 4 is expected to launch with a single-camera system, and we’d be surprised to see the Camera Control button make an appearance. But it stands to reason that, for some users, missing out on these features will be worth a couple of hundred dollars in savings.

Personally, if the iPhone SE 4 is as close to the iPhone 16 as these rumors suggest, I think I’ll have trouble recommending the latter – especially considering Apple’s latest flagship is still holding on to an outdated 60Hz display and barely-useful ultra-wide camera.

Android Authority notes that iPhone SE 3 stocks are running low with no sign of replenishment, so it may not be long before we see the rumored fourth-generation model take its place. If you can’t wait until then, feel free to check out our list of the best iPhones.

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• Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim may skip US at launch
• Leaks say it won't come to the US, but don't reveal why
• Similar to how the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold SE also skipped many regions

Having already had to prepare ourselves that the hotly-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim likely won’t launch at Wednesday’s Galaxy Unpacked event alongside the regular Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra – instead leaks say it’ll be dropping around May – it now seems that the Slim might not even come to every market: notably skipping the US if leaks are to be believed.

The first comes via reputable tipster Evan Blass who took to his private X account to state that the S25 Slim “will almost certainly not be offered through US carriers,” with Phone Arena following up with a report from a “historically trusted source” who reached out to tell them that while the S25 Slim will come to 39 markets the US won’t be among them – however the UK and Australia are.

All leaks should be taken with a pinch of salt – especially the Phone Arena leak as we can’t name or verify the claim of the info’s source – but this wouldn’t be the first ‘Slim’ Samsung gadget to boast a limited release in recent years.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Case in point the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim, which wound up being called Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 SE (Special Edition), only released in South Korea and China when it arrived last year. The S25 Slim appears to be having a slightly wider release, but again not quite as wide as Samsung’s flagship devices.

The only question we’re left asking is why it would skip the US specifically? Given Samsung’s home market is South Korea it makes sense it might limit some releases to just that one market, or South Korea and a handful of nearby Asia territories like we saw with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 SE. However, if it is launching more widely, skipping the US – the third largest market for smartphones behind India and China – feels odd.

The only justification we can think of is Samsung is concerned about possible US tariffs that incoming President Trump has threatened to levy at various US imports – especially those coming in from China which is where plenty of smartphones are manufactured. If Samsung plans to produce the S25 Slim in a region Trump is imposing tariffs on imports from then it may decide that releasing the phone in the US won’t be worthwhile, and so while we wait and see precisely what Trump’s plans are Samsung might be taking the route of under-promising and over delivering if tariffs aren’t as impactful as expected.

A Slim by any other name would be just as thin

Beyond borrowing its more limited release the S25 Slim may also copy the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim’s name – i.e. not being called Slim. That’s according to Blass who in a separate post asked why we expect the so-called Galaxy S25 Slim to be branded as such when the Z Fold 6 Slim wasn’t.

Will the Slim get a cmaera upgrade? (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

That’s not to say the S25 Slim won’t be a thin device – with leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo saying the Slim and rumored iPhone 17 Air will be around 5-6mm thick. Compared to the 7.8mm thick iPhone 16 (read our iPhone 16 review) and 7.6mm for the Samsung Galaxy S24 – but a name not focused on it simply being less thick may imply it’ll come with some additional hardware changes and upgrades over the base model.

Such an upgrade has already been teased by rumors suggesting it’ll boast a 200MP main camera instead of the 50MP expected of the base Galaxy S25 smartphone.

For now we’ll have to wait and see what Samsung has up its sleeve for the S25 Slim, but if you’re in the US you probably don’t want to hold your breath that’ll you’ll be able to get your hands on it in 2025.

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• ESET finds bug in a UEFI application allowing malicious actors to bypass UEFI Secure Boot
• The move grants criminals the ability to deploy bootkits to affected systems
• Microsoft addressed the bug in January 2025 Patch Tuesday update

An unnamed, but apparently popular, UEFI application, was signed with a vulnerable certificate, allowing threat actors to bypass UEFI Secure Boot and deploy bootkits to target endpoints.

Cybersecurity researchers at ESET discovered the bug and reported it to the CERT Coordination Center - Microsoft has issued a fix in this month’s Patch Tuesday cumulative update, which was released on January 14, 2025, but all Windows users are advised to apply the patch as soon as possible.

UEFI Secure Boot is a security feature that ensures a computer boots using only software trusted by the manufacturer, protecting against malware and unauthorized software at startup. The UEFI application in question is apparently part of “several real-time system recovery software suites,” including those built by Howyar Technologies Inc., Greenware Technologies, Radix Technologies Ltd., SANFONG Inc., Wasay Software Technology Inc., Computer Education System Inc., and Signal Computer GmbH.

Concerning findings

It was vulnerable to CVE-2024-7344, a bug caused by the use of a custom PE loader instead of using the standard and secure UEFI functions LoadImage and StartImage.

All UEFI systems with Microsoft third-party UEFI signing enabled were said to be affected. The bug can lead to the “execution of untrusted code during system boot, enabling potential attackers to easily deploy malicious UEFI bootkits” even on protected devices.

“The number of UEFI vulnerabilities discovered in recent years and the failures in patching them or revoking vulnerable binaries within a reasonable time window shows that even such an essential feature as UEFI Secure Boot should not be considered an impenetrable barrier,” says ESET researcher Martin Smolár, who discovered the vulnerability.

“However, what concerns us the most with respect to the vulnerability is not the time it took to fix and revoke the binary, which was quite good compared to similar cases, but the fact that this isn’t the first time that such an obviously unsafe signed UEFI binary has been discovered. This raises questions of how common the use of such unsafe techniques is among third-party UEFI software vendors, and how many other similar obscure, but signed, bootloaders there might be out there.”

ESET also stressed that the list of vulnerable devices extends beyond those with the affected recovery software installed, since crooks can bring their own copy of the vulnerable binary to any UEFI system with the Microsoft third-party UEFI certificate enrolled.

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• New custom instructions added to ChatGPT
• Responses become more personal to you
• More new features expected in 2025

OpenAI has confirmed via X.com that it has introduced new customization features to ChatGPT. The new features that allow you to customize how the AI chatbot responds to you are rolling out now in the browser-based version of ChatGPT and on desktop on Windows.

The release currently doesn’t cover users in the EU, Norway, Iceland Liechtenstein, and Switzerland, but will be “available soon” according to OpenAI. It’s also not available yet in the Mac app. OpenAI says the new features will be coming to desktop on MacOS ”in the next few weeks.”

We've updated custom instructions to make it easier to customize how ChatGPT responds to you.With the new UI, you can tell ChatGPT the traits you want it to have, how you want it to talk to you, and any rules you want it to follow. pic.twitter.com/BaXaqAw5cEJanuary 17, 2025

Accessing the new features

The update includes two new options in the Customize ChatGPT dialog box (available by clicking on your icon, and then choosing Customize ChatGPT from the menu that appears). The first is ‘What should ChatGPT call you?’ and the second is ‘What do you do?’ which is asking for your occupation.

In the ‘What traits should ChatGPT have?’ box you’ll find new options have been added including ‘Chatty’, ‘Witty’, and ‘Opinionated’.

Below this box is a new ‘What else would you like ChatGPT to know about you?’ box, where you can type in your interests and values.

Once you’ve entered some information in these boxes you’ll find your interactions with ChatGPT are taken to a much more personal level, which can help save you time, since you don’t have to keep asking it to respond in a certain way. It will also tailor information to your profession.

Click on your user account icon in the top right of the screen to access the new customization options. (Image credit: OpenAI/Apple) Much more personal

I've experimented with the options and the effects are immediate. I love the more chatty GPT, for instance. And if you want a bit of fun you can ask to reply in "casual bro talk", or "like you're in a Jane Austen novel". In fact, the possibilities are endless.

The only thing I found a bit limiting was not being able to set up multiple personality profiles. Currently, if you want to turn off your custom settings, or switch easily between two different modes of reply, you have to go back to this menu then edit and save it every time.

While welcome, this update to ChatGPT is fairly minor, and we’re still waiting for some of the more exciting updates we’ve been promised for 2025, most notably an AI Agent from ChatGPT. So far in 2025 OpenAI has added a new tasks feature, which goes some way towards the goal of an AI agent by enabling you to set reminders for certain times using ChatGPT, but is still a fair way off the full autonomous agent experience we’re looking forward to.

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• Analysts have commented on the branding of the Nintendo Switch 2
• They suggest that it is a good name for the console
• This is because it is unlikely confuse consumers

If you were worried that the average consumer wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the Nintendo Switch and the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, then you can breathe a sigh of relief.

“Thank god Nintendo did not try to be creative with the name - which I think makes a lot of sense,” said Dr Serkan Toto of market research firm Kantan Games while speaking to IGN. Other analysts shared a similar sentiment, including George Jijiashvili of Omdia Research. “While calling it ‘Switch 2’ isn’t creative,” they said, “it’s very clear and effective.”

Although it seems like the obvious choice, Nintendo has traditionally shied away from numeric naming conventions as demonstrated by the likes of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy Advance, or Nintendo 3DS. Still, following the underwhelming performance of the Wii U, which many have attributed to its confusing name, Nintendo appears to be taking a leaf from rival Sony’s book.

“It's a strategy that has served PlayStation very well for quarter of the century,” continued Jijiashvili. “Calling it something like 'Super Nintendo Switch' would have provided nice fan service, but doing so would have risked causing confusion among consumers, similar to what happened with Wii U.”

"Now that Nintendo has all its console eggs in the Switch basket, it simply cannot risk confusing fans," added Rhys Elliott of Midia Research. "After all, Nintendo’s cross-entertainment efforts across film, theme parks, toys, and even alarm clocks all lead back to its core console brand."

The Nintendo Switch 2 was officially unveiled in a brief first-look trailer posted on January 16. It showed off the console’s design, which looks awfully similar to the original Nintendo Switch, and hinted at some of its potential features. Footage of what appears to be a new Mario Kart game was also shown, giving us what could be our first look at a launch title.

You can see how we reacted to the reveal below.

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• President Trump has extended TikTok's service in the US by 90 days
• The extension may not be legally enforceable
• Trump promised to not enforce fines against companies hosting the app

TikTok has restored its service in the US after being offline for less than 24 hours following its ban for failing to sell or divest from owner Bytedance, which the US alleged had connections to the Chinese government.

However, Presdient Trump’s restoration of service (which was acknowledged in-app) may not be legally binding, and could put web hosting services at risk of lawsuits and huge fines.

“Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law,” Senator Tom Cotton warned on X (formerly Twitter), “not just from DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs. Think about it.”

Trust Trump or the law

Despite not being in power at the time the ban was declared, President Donald Trump reassured providers that the 90 day extension would be put into place, and that fines would not be enforced so that Americans could see his inauguration. However, the issue remains that Congress issued a legal ruling that TikTok must divest or be sold to a US company to keep operating in the US, or face the ban.

As a result, providers hosting the TikTok app, such as Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store, could face fines of up to $850 billion, or $5,000 per user who accesses the app via their services.

As The Verge points out, companies which violate the law and restore service would be able to challenge the fines and lawsuits in court by pointing to Trump’s promise to not enforce Congress' ruling against providers.

Also, Trump himself could be challenged in court by TikTok’s competition such as Meta or X, by users who don’t want their data being handed over to the CCP, or by a provider looking to clarify where they stand legally by hosting the app.

However, given major tech CEOs including Zuckerberg, Musk, and Cook have all donated seven-figure sums to the Trump inauguration fund, it's unlikely Trump will face any objections from those looking to curry his favor.

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• Nvidia’s Blackwell stock levels are again rumored to be shaky
• Launch stock of the RTX 5090 might be very thin on the ground
• The RTX 5080 should be better, but still might be tricky to find in the early days

Nvidia’s RTX 5000 graphics cards could be in short supply when these next-gen GPUs first arrive, if a fresh rumor is right – and this isn’t the first time we’ve heard chatter from the grapevine along these lines.

This time it comes from a regular source of rumors on YouTube, Moore’s Law is Dead (MLID), who discussed the subject of Blackwell stock in his latest video.

The top-level summary is that the RTX 5090 is looking very shaky indeed for its amount of launch stock, and the news doesn’t sound all that much better for the RTX 5080.

MLID’s first source – season all of this appropriately – works at a US distributor and said that their organization will only have around 20 boards for the RTX 5080, and nothing at all for the flagship. Yes, zero stock for the RTX 5090, which sounds worrying indeed.

The theoretical allocation of 20 or so for the RTX 5080 graphics cards is for the first month of sales (meaning February), and to compare with the last generation, this distributor had a couple of hundred RTX 4080s back at launch in 2022. So we could potentially be looking at a tenth of that stock for the RTX 5080.

The second source is a graphics card maker (presumably in the US) who said that their firm has the same amount of RTX 5090 boards as with RTX 3090 – and if you recall, RTX 3090 stock was vanishingly thin on the ground. As for the RTX 5080, apparently supply is a ‘fraction’ of that seen with the RTX 4080, although this source doesn’t estimate it’ll be quite as bad as a tenth – more like a third to half of that seen with the RTX 4080.

Another source, also a graphics card maker (in the EU), said that the RTX 5090 is looking like it’ll be ‘very rare’ but that the RTX 5080 seemingly has ‘okay’ stock levels, for the graphics card’s initial launch anyway.

Remember that these are all rumors around third-party Blackwell graphics cards, so they don’t apply to Nvidia’s own Founders Edition RTX 5090 and 5080 cards.

MLID did hear from a contact at Nvidia, although that person made it clear that they weren’t involved in any discussions related to supply – but did observe that Team Green has warned staff that there won’t be many RTX 5090 Founders Editions available from the employee store at launch. They noted that with the RTX 4090, it was very easy to get one of those (heavily discounted) GPUs from that in-house store.

Analysis: Caveats and more optimistic glimmers

Obviously, all this comes with weighty caveats. It’s still only a few sources, even if multiple insiders have chimed in here – and it’s only the one US distributor (others could be faring better, perhaps, especially for the RTX 5080).

Indeed, there’s some mixed chatter here for the RTX 5080, and some indications of stronger stock levels, like that mention of inventory being a third to a half of that seen with the RTX 4080. That doesn’t sound as gloomy as some of the other estimations here, but as MLID points out, RTX 4080 supply wasn’t great, though, and part of the reason it hung around was because this GPU wasn’t very popular. The RTX 5080 could prove a great deal more in demand, and so could still sell out in a relative flash.

We don’t know how much trust to put in this speculation, of course, and the Founders Edition could be different too – there’s no solid evidence on those models. But it certainly makes sense that Nvidia wouldn’t particularly want to prioritize RTX 5090 stock in particular – for its own boards, or third-party graphics cards. Firstly, because AMD RDNA 4 isn’t even remotely competing with Nvidia’s new flagship, and secondly, because Team Green will doubtless want to use the top Blackwell chips for AI rather than the 5090, as that’s where all the big profits lie.

All this doesn’t fill me with confidence about the general picture of RTX 5000 stock, it must be said, particularly as a report from last week chimes pretty much with the assertions here, hinting that it could be a battle to get one of Nvidia’s next-gen GPUs at launch.

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• Marvel Snap is still not available in the US
• It was caught up in the recent TikTok ban
• Service is expected to resume soon, with affected players receiving compensation

Mobile card game Marvel Snap was one of the unexpected casualties of the US TikTok ban, with the app becoming unavailable early yesterday morning.

“A law banning Marvel Snap has been enacted in the U.S,” reads a message displayed to users in the region. “Unfortunately, that means you can’t use Marvel Snap for now. Rest assured, we’re working to restore our service in the U.S. Please stay tuned!.”

If you’re wondering why it was affected, Marvel Snap was developed by mobile studio Second Dinner and published by Nuverse, a subsidiary of TikTok owner ByteDance. Still, the decision to take the game offline in the US was a “surprise” to the developer, per a recent post to its official X / Twitter account.

Unfortunately, MARVEL SNAP is temporarily unavailable in U.S. app stores and is unavailable to play in the U.S. This outage is a surprise to us and wasn't planned. MARVEL SNAP isn’t going anywhere. We’re actively working on getting the game up as soon as possible and will…January 19, 2025

TikTok was also briefly unavailable, though service has since resumed in anticipation of an executive order that will be signed by incoming President Donald Trump. That does not appear to be the case for Marvel Snap, however, with many users on social media still reporting that they are completely unable to access the game.

The latest word from Second Dinner is that it has “been working around the clock to bring Marvel Snap back up in the US and hope to have it back online within 24 hours.” We also now know that players will be “compensated for their lost time” so there’s no need to worry about your missed daily challenges if you currently can’t play.

Fingers crossed that the game will be back soon, or we’ll all have to find something else to do while sitting on the toilet.

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• Citrix Session Recording Agent could be blocking your Windows update
• Microsoft and Citrix are both aware of the issue and are investigating
• We’re hoping for a fix, but the temporary workaround is simple

Microsoft has warned devices with version 2411 of Citrix’s Session Recording Agent might be incompatible with its latest January 2025 Patch Tuesday update.

The latest update, available for Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices, may fail to install if users have Citrix’s software installed.

Updates download and apply, but then fail to complete. Users are then seeing a warning message which reads: “Something didn't go as planned. No need to worry – undoing changes.”

Citrix software is breaking January 2025 Windows update

In a guide for the software update, Microsoft wrote: “Devices that have certain Citrix components installed might be unable to complete installation of the January 2025 Windows security update.”

Citrix is also aware of the issue and promises to be investigating the cause and determining a fix. Home users are not expected to be affected, and not all organizations are likely to be affected given that version 2411 was launched in November 2024.

In the meantime, Citrix says users can avoid the problem and successfully install the January 2025 Windows update by stopping the client and disabling the startup type. When the application is closed, users may install the Patch Tuesday update then re-open their Citrix software.

A company update also provides a set of instructions to circumvent the issue with Powershell or Command Prompt.

The article goes on to explain: “The January 2025 security update is unable to update some of the driver files when 2411 Session Recording is installed. This issue is not observed with earlier versions of Session Recording.”

Although an update to prevent the issue from happening in the first place hasn’t yet been released, the workaround is at least a very simple one. As with any software, users should monitor for updates and install them promptly to iron out issues and prevent any vulnerabilities.

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