TechRadar News

• Genmoji is now available in iOS 18.2 public beta
• Users have been sharing custom AI emojis on social media
• One TikTok post has gone viral with over 2.7 million likes

iOS 18.2 public beta is now out in the wild and one of the biggest new Apple intelligence features, Genmoji, is already proving to be a massive hit.

Apple's generative AI emojis aren't set to officially launch until next month, but users are already taking to social media platforms like TikTok to share custom-designed emoji packs based on different themes.

One TikTok user, secretlygabi's video has been viewed 23.7 million times and has 2.7 million likes, pretty incredible considering the feature isn't even officially released yet.

The video shows themed Genmoji with different sets of emojis such as a holiday-themed set including a Christmas tree, pinecones, and Rudolph the Reindeer as well as a pink-themed set including AirPods Max with pink bows and a pink picnic blanket.

While Genmoji is limited to the best iPhones running iOS 18.2, iPhone 15 owners and below with iOS 18.1 are able to take advantage of the custom-themed icons. By simply selecting the images and turning them into stickers, even iPhones that aren't compatible with Apple Intelligence can get in on the action.

Custom Genmoji packs

(Image credit: Future / secretlygabi / Apple)

Genmoji has only been available to the public for a week, and it's still in development, yet we're already seeing the viral potential of Apple's AI emojis. I had previously written about Genmoji convincing me that Apple Intelligence would be a huge success and viral social media posts like the one above only make me believe that even more.

Apple Intelligence's next wave of features including Genmoji, Image Playground, and ChatGPT integration in Siri is set to arrive in December for all compatible devices including the iPhone 16 as well as the best iPads and best Macs.

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When it comes to maximizing the potential of the cloud, every IT department needs to make critical decisions regarding the appropriate cloud infrastructure for their organization's data and application workloads. With countless different providers, solutions and models on offer, many IT teams find it hard to make informed decisions and identify the one solution that works best for their organization. Factors such as cost, capacity, scalability and security all come into play, and even deciding between public and private cloud can be a challenging first hurdle to cross.

Spot the difference

When it comes to public cloud, there are several key advantages, not least scalability. You can grow and shrink your resources according to demand and whenever you need additional compute power, storage or networking, it is there on tap. In comparison, private cloud platforms are limited to the available hardware within the environment.

Public clouds also offer increased reliability with consistent, dependable services and minimal downtime (SLAs guaranteeing 99.99% uptime are not unusual). At the same time, they typically enhance compliance with various regulatory requirements demands regarding data.

Cost is another factor that plays a part in decision-making. From a public cloud perspective, they usually offer a flexible subscription model with hourly or monthly billing, meaning no need for a costly upfront investment in software licenses or hardware. Some studies have indicated that the public cloud provides a 30% cost reduction compared to hyperscalers based on standardized workload benchmarks. Depending on your particular use case, that could vary.

On the other side of the question is the private cloud and it too offers a number of benefits. When it comes to security, hosting privately obviously means you are the sole tenant with exclusive access to the resources with no other users on the server. All data and applications reside within your company’s boundaries, minimizing the risk of malicious access and data breaches.

Although public cloud can help with some data compliance regulations, the private cloud approach actually provides better regulatory adherence. That’s because it offers enhanced control over compliance requirements meaning organizations subject to healthcare, government or financial regulations can enforce compliance more effectively.

Private clouds also provide an increased level of customization, so you can tailor hardware, software, and configurations to meet your specific needs. This control allows for fine-tuning to create optimal performance, resource utilization, and bandwidth capabilities. And, when considering cost, private clouds offer long-term predictability. Rather than usage-based pricing, which can rise at the whim of the cloud provider, private clouds have all the costs baked in on a fixed infrastructure. This means you know precisely what resources are in operation and how much they will cost over the years. This helps with budgeting and financial forecasting, making it simple to predict lifetime costs of infrastructure.

Private clouds can also include integrated managed services and self-service tools, enabling authorized users to provision resources as and when required. This versatility enhances operational efficiency and reduces the administrative overhead, while managed services can address maintenance, monitoring, and troubleshooting.

Public cloud use cases

Given scalability is the key advantage of the public approach, it is best suited to deploying web applications, APIs and content delivery networks; spinning up temporary environments for development, testing and prototyping; processing large datasets; and hosting collaboration tools, email exchanges and productivity suites.

Private cloud use cases

When considering the private cloud, having exclusive network and hardware and customization is key. This makes it ideal for storing sensitive data, confidential information and intellectual property; running legacy applications that won’t work in a public environment; meeting industry-specific regulations; and undertaking HPC simulations and modelling.

Best of both worlds

The hybrid cloud approach is an alternative for businesses, combining the flexibility and scalability of the public cloud with the control and security of private infrastructure. This blend allows organizations to balance their need for agility with their requirements for data protection, and regulatory compliance.

With the hybrid model, organisations can also optimise costs by keeping routine workloads and sensitive data in the private cloud while using the public cloud for less sensitive operations that demand more computational power. When it comes to innovation, hybrid provides access to cutting edge technologies such as AI, machine learning and big data analytics via the public cloud without the need for a massive upfront investment, while maintaining sensitive legacy applications on-site.

Whichever model suits you best, there is no doubt that some flavor of cloud will help boost your business. Now is the time to explore how cloud technologies can work best for you.

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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

Ongoing discussions on the economic prospects for the UK have left Labour leaders with an unenviable task. They are under immense pressure to propel growth, secure the UK as a tech leader, and steady the country amidst ever changing economic tides. As part of that conversation, many have noted the promising uplift that AI adoption could deliver, following a landmark few years of rapid technological progress.

The International Investment Summit in October 2024 set out these intentions, with the government announcing major investment plans in emerging growth areas, including AI and infrastructure. But is AI as bankable as some economic commentators believe?

AI fatigue

I recently attended a Californian tech tradeshow. Amongst the excitement and future-gazing that one expects, there was also a sense of AI fatigue. Seasoned tech watchers are already forecasting an emerging story they know all too well: the pioneering breakthrough technology, the fervent early adoption, the mass market hype cycle – and then, the growing gap between expectations and reality, the over-investments weighing heavily on balance sheets, the skeptical backlash, the burst bubble.

Is today’s AI market in danger of repeating such a cycle? To answer that question, we need to take a step back.

The release of ChatGPT in late 2022 almost single-handedly changed the AI landscape. Generative AI is now a technology that everybody is aware of, and the scale of that cultural moment has had two key consequences. Firstly, it has meant many people now hear ‘AI’ and think ‘chatbot’ – overlooking the fact that generative AI is just one subset within a field that has a broader, deeply-researched meaning and impact. Secondly, that speculation and confusion about what ‘AI’ now means has left people susceptible to hype and misinformation about the technology.

A business today surveying their options for AI faces significant hurdles. Spurred by a wave of AI hype, there are now a plethora of allegedly AI-powered solutions, too often with underexplained, overstated, or fundamentally misleading claims about AI components capabilities. You don’t have to work in tech to spot this happening. Adverts for AI-powered toothbrushes are rampant on social media, for example.

This phenomenon - one which is rapidly on the rise - is known as AI washing.

AI washing

AI washing can come in different forms. Sometimes it means significantly exaggerating how advanced or capable the AI technology in a product really is. Other time taking conventional or legacy technology and re-labelling it as AI. And sometimes it simply means obscuring the human labor that actually powers a product.

The government’s plan to realize significant growth via AI risk falling short if we do not limit AI washing in all its insidious iterations. Earlier this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission levied $400,000 in response to civil penalties for misleading statements about AI. The UK, a leader in the tech space and a formidable player in the AI race, has an opportunity to go further, putting purpose-built frameworks in place to mitigate against this growing phenomenon.

AI-washed products and services threaten real failures for businesses, consumers, and the many public services that will seek to rely on AI in coming years. Left unchecked, misrepresentation of AI capabilities in critical areas such as healthcare, finance, and security could have disastrous consequences. If AI is to be the shot in the arm that the economy needs, it’s crucial that we don’t allow falsely labelled products to damage user trust and purchasing confidence.

Effective implementation

The UK has successfully played the role of catalyst in important international conversations around AI and its effective implementation. Now, equally concerted investments should be made into AI as part of the national industrial strategy: nurturing the businesses building it, protecting the consumers affected by it, and guiding, supporting, and empowering the businesses adopting it.

Thoughtfully-implemented and well-governed AI will revolutionize industries and drive unprecedented efficiencies globally. However, the realization of this potential hinges on one crucial factor: trust. If consumers, businesses, and policymakers cannot trust how AI is marketed, sold, and deployed, the foundation of this technological revolution will be compromised.

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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

• Intel workers will now get free tea and coffee in the office
• Other reinstated employee benefits are unconfirmed
• Company revenue dropped 1% YoY last quarter, it could drop again next quarter

In an effort to boost workers' morale and encourage them to be more productive in the office by giving them more creature comforts, Intel has restored its free tea and coffee provisions.

The gesture comes after a tumultuous few months for the company, which was forced to lay off around 15,000 workers just a couple of months ago.

Intel had previously put an end to employee perks, like free beverages, fruit, fitness trainers and other in-house amenities as a cost-cutting measure, but it has now reinstated what seems to be its lowest-cost offering.

Intel will give workers free hot drinks again

Speaking about the internal changes, Intel CPO Christy Pambianchi said: “We really aren’t in a situation where we could continue to afford benefits and programs that are above market practice.” Free food and drinks at the company reportedly cost it $100 million annually.

Reducing its headcount by 15% and implementing other cost-cutting measures are hoped to save the company around $10 billion in annual expenses.

In its most recent earnings release, the company revealed revenue dropped 1% year-over-year to $12.8 billion, and also predicted poor performance for the next quarter. At its low point of $12.5 billion, revenue could drop even further, but at its high point of $13.5 billion, Intel could see a small uptick.

Intel CFO David Zinsner commented: “Second-quarter results were impacted by gross margin headwinds from the accelerated ramp of our AI PC product, higher than typical charges related to non-core businesses and the impact from unused capacity.”

Previously synonymous with data center chips, Intel has recently been facing stiff competition from AMD, and losing out on business and subsequently subsidizing chip costs has put the company in a troubling situation.

Furthermore, Nvidia’s early entry to the AI chips market has catapulted it to huge successes – earlier this summer it became the third company to hit a market cap of $3 trillion, marking a mammoth increase over where it was two years ago.

TechRadar Pro has asked Intel whether it will be reinstating any further benefits given the sizable reduction in headcount. We are awaiting a response.

Via Tom’s Hardware

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• A new Indiana Jones and the Great Circle trailer has arrived
• It offers a deep dive into the game's mechanics
• The game launches on December 9

A new trailer for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has arrived, giving us an extended look at the upcoming action-adventure game.

The video lasts just over 14 minutes and provides a couple of new details about some of Indy’s abilities. We see his trademark whip being used for everything from impromptu ziplining to swinging over large gaps and even disarming enemies.

We also learn that he is equipped with a camera, which can be used to take collectible photos or to trigger hints in puzzle segments. Maps, letters, and other pieces of important information are stored in Indy’s journal which can then be viewed at any time.

You can see everything for yourself in the trailer below.

Stealth is a key part of the trailer, with Indy donning disguises to sneak around guarded areas. When that doesn’t work out, there is a rich melee combat system with a variety of possible combo attacks to master. You can make use of guns too, either with Indy’s trademark revolver or those recovered from enemies and the environment.

The trailer also outlines the basic details of the story, which is set after the events of the 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark film. It begins when a mysterious relic is stolen from Marshall College, the Connecticut university where Indy serves as a professor when he’s not out adventuring.

His attempts to discover the meaning behind the theft lead him to the mystery of the great circle, which he will try to solve with the support of allies around the world. The main antagonist is the rival archeologist Voss, who is trying to exploit the power of the Great Circle.

Plenty of interesting locations are shown, including some forbidden tombs, crumbling ruins, the Pyramids of Giza, and a couple more urban environments. A few set-piece moments stand out too, particularly the handful of moments where Indy has to think quickly to escape ancient traps.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is set to launch on December 9 for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. This will be followed by a PlayStation 5 version in 2025.

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• A new patch is being quietly pushed to Windows 10 (and 11) PCs
• It’ll force upgrades in certain circumstances to keep the PC in support
• This update will mean more nag prompts coming to your PC

Windows 10 users – and those running an out-of-date version of Windows 11 – are getting an update stealthily pushed to their PCs that will allow Microsoft to force a future update to the OS (to keep it in support), and also to nag users about support running out, too.

Neowin spotted the deployment of patch KB5001716, which the site notes has been quietly installed on Windows 10 PCs following the release of the October cumulative update. (It was also pushed to Windows 11 version 21H2 devices, which ran out of support over a year ago).

The patch is an update for Windows Update, essentially, and Microsoft notes: “When this update is installed, Windows may attempt to download and install feature updates to your device if it is approaching or has reached the end of support for your currently installed Windows version.”

Microsoft also observes: “After this update is installed, Windows may periodically display a notification informing you of problems that may prevent Windows Update from keeping your device up-to-date and protected against current threats.”

This means that KB5001716 will allow notifications to be presented to Windows 10 (and 11) users telling them that their device is running an unsupported version of Windows that is past its sell-by date for updates and is therefore insecure. For Windows 10 users, this likely translates into further badgering to move to Windows 11.

In some cases, given the first point Microsoft notes, the update may also be forced on your PC (eventually), as we see happening when any given version of Windows 10 or 11 runs out of road and is no longer supported for further upgrades.

(Image credit: Shutterstock/fizkes) Analysis: Repeat performance – the odd history of KB5001716

What Microsoft is doing here is trying to keep your device secure, so in some ways, it’s a perfectly understandable measure. As you may recall, Windows 10 has less than a year of support left now.

However, there are problems with the approach here: namely the stealthy way in which the update turns up on PCs. After checking for updates, this one seemingly just lands on your system – boom – without any warning.

What’s also odd is that if you search for KB5001716 on the web, you’ll find that there’s a history of this update mysteriously appearing on PCs. As reported on various forums such as Reddit, KB5001716 turned up in April 2024, and was piped to PCs before that in October 2023 as well.

What gives? That’s a good question. Presumably, these are revisions of KB5001716 – tweaked updates – that are being redelivered to Windows 10 (and 11) PCs. However, in some cases in the past, there were errors caused by the reinstallation, which seemingly conflicted with previous installs of the patch in some way. If you’ve recently got a message that KB5001716 failed to install on your PC, this is likely to be what’s happened.

The apparent cure for those scenarios is to go to the Windows Update page (in Settings) and click on View update history, then click on Uninstall updates at the top of the panel. Now, scroll back to find the previously installed KB5001716, then select and remove it. Reboot, head back to Windows Update, and check for updates again – whereupon the latest version of KB5001716 (for October 2024) should install okay (hopefully).

There’s seemingly no getting around this update, as it is a necessary upgrade for Windows Update (it’s possible that it may do other things in the background, too, apart from the reminders to upgrade and everything else mentioned in the support notes).

We should clarify that this won’t force a Windows 11 upgrade on a Windows 10 PC which isn’t compatible with the stricter requirements for the newest OS – but it’ll likely continue to nag you about upgrading (for your own good, Microsoft would obviously argue).

Indeed, we’d be surprised if it fired up any upgrade for Windows 11 automatically, even if the PC in question was compatible – but, we guess, perhaps this could happen. Normally forced upgrades are for feature updates, though, meaning new versions of your current operating system, like 24H2 which recently arrived as this year’s annual update for Windows 11. Migrating to a whole new OS, like jumping from Windows 10 to 11, is a much bigger move.

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• Microsoft is ending support for Windows 11’s built-in Mail and Calendar apps after December 31, 2024, and users will need to switch to the web-based Outlook app
• Users can still access emails and calendar events in view-only mode in the Mail and Calendar apps, but won’t be able to send or receive emails
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Microsoft is shutting down the built-in Mail and Calendar apps in Windows 11, which means you’ll no longer be able to send or receive emails or manage your calendar using those apps after December 31, 2024. This has been a long time coming, with Microsoft showing pop-up notifications about this in both apps for months – and now the end is officially nigh.

Users are being urged to switch to the new web-based Outlook app for Windows 11, as explained in a support document that outlines how Microsoft is planning to end support for the Mail, Calendar, and People apps on December 31. It appears that Microsoft wants to streamline all of its email and calendar features and services into this one app that will be accessible on every Windows device.

If you want to use those apps after December 31, it appears you can still do that by switching off the ‘New Outlook’ setting (by unchecking it) found in the new Outlook app’s settings, specifically Outlook > Settings > General > About Outlook.

Windows Latest reports that this will likely be a ‘view-only’ mode, allowing you to view your emails, drafts, contacts, and other details in the Mail and Calendar apps, but you won’t be able to send or receive emails, and will be redirected to the web-based Outlook. It apparently doesn’t work offline yet, and Microsoft is working on adding support for this in the next few weeks, which is good news as most people would expect a desktop email client to let you see and compose emails even if you briefly lose your internet connection.

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Drazen Zigic) What this means for Mail and Calendar app users

What this means for you is that starting January 1, 2025, you’ll have to switch to the new Outlook or use a third-party app. In the meantime, you can choose to follow Microsoft’s advice or close the reminder pop-up, clicking the ‘Not now’ option, although this will reappear the next time you use these apps.

One other workaround that you can try is to downgrade your Mail and Calendar apps to the previous versions, which seemingly gets rid of the pop-ups altogether, but this loophole will also stop working on December 31, 2024.

If you have emails, calendar events, and contacts in the Mail and Calendar apps that are saved only on your device, and you want to be able to access them in the web Outlook app, you’ll be able to export this information by using the ‘Export’ feature in both apps to add those emails or events to either a suitable third-party app of your choosing or to Outlook.

It looks like the reception of the new web Outlook app isn’t so hot, with some people complaining that it doesn’t ‘feel’ like the rest of the operating system. There seems to be a disconnect with the rest of Windows 11, and along with the lack of offline access, it still feels more like a website than a convenient app for many.

Along with Microsoft’s recent mishaps and problems brought on by the new Windows 11 24H2 update, I don’t see this move winning many people over. I think being able to see all of your admin information in one place is useful, but users of the Mail and Calendar apps may have come to rely on using these built-in applications which have been tightly integrated into Windows 11.

If the replacement Outlook web app lacks features and polish, I think Windows 11 users will feel let down at a time when Microsoft needs more people to switch to its latest operating system.

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• Broadcom acknowledges “strong customer momentum” for VCF and VVF
• VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus and Standard subscriptions available
• Too little, too late? This comes 12 months after the Broadcom takeover

Just days short of the one-year anniversary of Broadcom’s wildly controversial takeover of VMware, the company is now looking to offer more cost-effective options for small businesses that were previously priced out of the virtualization giant’s revised pricing structure.

After it transitioned to a subscription-only model, Broadcom VP of Product Marketing Prashanth Shenoy confirmed the next stages of VMware Cloud Foundation.

The company now offers VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus and VMware vSphere Standard, both of which are available to all end-user customers directly from Broadcom as well as via distribution channels.

Broadcom-VMware finally caters to SMBs again

Besides ending the sale of perpetual licenses, pushing customers into ongoing subscriptions, Broadcom also reduced the VMware lineup, grouping software into fewer and more expensive bundles. Both of these changes made it especially expensive for smaller companies to continue using VMware services, leading to widespread uproar.

Shenoy wrote: “To round out the portfolio, for customers who are focused on compute virtualization, we will now have two options, VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus and VMware vSphere Standard.”

Companies wanting only vSphere virtualization can now select from two subscriptions following what’s been described as “strong customer momentum” for VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF).

Suggesting that the company “continue[s] to listen to [its] customers and partners,” Shenoy said: “This combination of added customer choice among our product offerings, along with flexible subscription length, price, and payment flexibility within our per-core subscription model highlight Broadcom’s commitment to our customers.”

However, Broadcom’s efforts could be a case of ‘too little, too late.’ The efforts to pacify smaller businesses with limited budgets come close to 12 months after the company completed its acquisition of VMware.

Just two months ago, we reported that 52% of customers were looking to move to an alternative provider. Six months before that, we revealed that customers were jumping ship, with open-source alternatives like KVM-based and Xen-based proving popular.

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When it comes to the best Prime Video shows and best Disney Plus shows, Fallout and Percy Jackson and the Olympians sit comfortably on our lists. With both expected to return for second seasons both platforms have unveiled a brand new cast member for each show, with Macauley Culkin joining the post-apocalyptic drama and Andra Day joining Disney’s Greek deity fantasy.

Premiering on Prime Video just this year, Fallout proved to be an authentic adaptation of the popular video game, making it one of Prime Video’s top three most-watched titles. But although details of its second season have yet to be unveiled, Macaulay Culkin’s addition to the cast is confirmed and he'll allegedly be playing a “crazy genius-type character”, according to Deadline.

Ella Purnell as Lucy in Prime Video's Fallout. (Image credit: JoJo Whilden/Prime Video)

Culkin’s new character will join an already star-studded cast featuring Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Moisés Arias, and Walton Goggins - whose Outstanding Lead Actor Emmy nomination was just one of 17 that Fallout accumulated this year. Given the successful run of its first season which attracted 65 million viewers in its first 16 days, Fallout season two sure does have a reputation to live up to.

However, Fallout is just one of the shows on the best streaming services returning with an updated cast as Oscar nominee Andra Day is set to play the role of Athena in the next season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney Plus. Day will step into the shoes of the Greek goddess of wisdom – an integral character in Rick Riordan’s series of novels – playing the mother of Annabeth Chase (Leah Sava Jeffries), one of Percy’s (Walker Scobell) closest friends.

The news that Day would be joining the cast of the Disney Plus show was announced at the D23 event in Brazil, followed by a video (see below) posted to social media with Day in character. Disney also announced more cast members for season two including Tamara Smart and Daniel Deimer, who are lined up to play Thalia Grace (the daughter of Zeus) and Percy’s half-brother Tyson.

A post shared by Percy Jackson (@percyseries)

A photo posted by on

Despite the absence of release date details, we know that season two of Percy Jackson and the Olympians will be based on Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, the second book in Riordan’s fantasy series. One year after the events of the first season, Percy returns to Camp Halfblood to find that it’s under threat from Kronos. Along with his shifting friendships and the missing case of his friend Grover (Aryan Simhadri), Percy learns that he has a long-lost half-brother Tyson, who happens to be a cyclops.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is expected to return for a second season sometime in 2025 on Disney Plus.

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• Marvel has released new teasers for Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts
• Cap 4's trailer reveals our best look yet at Harrison Ford's Red Hulk
• The pair will close out Phase 5 of the comic book giant's cinematic universe

2025 is going to be one of the busiest 12-month periods in Marvel Studios' history – and, if trailers for two of its new movies are anything to go by, the comic-book giant could be in for another stellar year.

Fresh off announcing a packed 2025 Disney Plus TV show lineup in late October, Marvel debuted new looks at two of the three films it'll release next year at last Saturday's (November 9) D23 Brasil Expo presentation. The movies in question? Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts, which will arrive in theaters on February 14 and May 2 respectively.

With Sam Wilson's first big-screen outing as Captain America leading the charge, it'll come as no surprise to learn that this Marvel Phase 5 film's latest batch of footage came by way of an official trailer. It's one of the more creatively original teasers that the Disney subsidiary has spliced together in a long time, too, with conflicting snippets of footage, which show off its largely duplicitous cast of characters (Wilson notwithstanding), speaking to its political-thriller vibes. Cap 4's latest teaser comes four months after Brave New World's initial trailer debuted a first look at Harrison Ford's Red Hulk, who's revealed in all his glory in this new round of footage.

As for Thunderbolts, the second of three Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) flicks received a lengthy special-look teaser. The three-minute-long video opens with an extended clip from the film, which shows Bucky Barnes appearing to save Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, US Agent, and Ghost from some unidentifiable bad guys, only for Bucky to turn the tables on the supposed rescuees.

The teaser, which arrives less than two months after Thunderbolts' first trailer unveiled an official look at Lewis Pullman's Bob and Yelena Belova's anti-hero squad, evolves into a more traditional trailer after that, with quick-cut footage that shows its morally complex characters working together as they trade quips and sarcastic barbs. The video also confirms who owns Avengers Tower now, with Valentina Allegra De Fontaine having bought the New York landmark in the wake of Tony Stark's demise in Avengers: Endgame.

Ending on a high?

Weird as it is to say, Thunderbolts could be a surprise hit for Marvel in mid-2025 (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Anyone who's frequented these parts will be aware that, ever since MCU Phase 5 began with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in February 2023, my confidence in Marvel has waned.

Yes, there have been customary successes for the comic titan. In 2024 alone, Marvel has given us one of the best Disney Plus shows of all time in X-Men 97. That animated series was recently joined on the TV front by highly-rated WandaVision spin-off Agatha All Along, whose popularity grew week-on-week. Add in the box-office juggernaut that was Deadpool and Wolverine, an MCU movie I really enjoyed even if some didn't, and 2024 has seen Marvel succeed in its attempts to course-correct after a – by its lofty standards – terrible 2023.

Indeed, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and Loki season 2 notwithstanding, small- and big-screen duds in the form of Secret Invasion and The Marvels continued to showcase Marvel's inconsistent creative approach to its cinematic juggernaut since 2019's Avengers: Endgame. Yes, there were also great films and series that followed Avengers 4 between July 2019 and January 2023 – including WandaVision, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Shang-Chi to name just three.

For every good project, though, there was a bad and/or divisive one, such as Thor: Love and Thunder and – although I liked it – She Hulk: Attorney at Law. Throw in the 2023 Hollywood strikes and other issues that have plagued the studio, and Marvel has not only been fighting fires for years now, but also suffered numerous hits to its previously untouchable reputation.

Based on Cap 4 and Thunderbolts' new teasers, though, it seems the MCU's latest phase will end with a bang, rather than a whimper. And even if it does go out on a low note, it won't sound the MCU's death knell, with eagerly anticipated films like The Fantastic Four: First Steps and two more Avengers movies, plus exciting Disney Plus shows including Daredevil: Born Again, also on the way. Even so, Marvel can't afford to keep churning out critical and commercial duds, so it'll hope 2025 doesn't start as badly as 2023 did.

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• The company claims it will release "major" single-player games every year
• Ghost of Yōtei and Death Stranding 2 are coming in 2025

Sony has pledged to continue its single-player game output on PS5 and - seemingly - future PlayStation hardware.

As reported by IGN, Sony finance and IR head Sadahiko Hayakawa expressed the desire to keep up single-player game release on PlayStation consoles during an investor call.

According to Hayakawa, Sony plans to “continue releasing major single-player game titles every year from next fiscal year onwards.” To back this up, Hayakawa highlighted Sucker Punch's Ghost of Yōtei and Kojima Productions' Death Stranding 2: On the Beach - both of which are slated to launch in 2025 exclusively for PS5. We also can't neglect to mention Astro Bot, which launched this year to near-universal acclaim.

As for what we can expect in 2026 and beyond, well that's a little up in the air. We know that Insomniac Games is hard at work on its Wolverine title, and beyond that, PlayStation Studios has no shortage of development houses including Guerrilla, Naughty Dog, Bluepoint Games, Bend Studio, Housemarque, and Bungie to name but a few.

It is a bit of a relief to hear that Sony plans to keep up with single-player games releases especially after its form on live-service titles. While Helldivers 2 continues to enjoy a healthy playerbase, the same cannot be said of the canceled The Last of Us multiplayer game or Concord - which abruptly shut down two weeks after it launched. That said, Bungie's Marathon and the Horizon multiplayer title are also still in development, so expect even more stabs at the live service model in the future.

It's also very likely that future first-party PS5 games will receive PS5 Pro enhancement features such as better framerates at higher resolutions and support for PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) which dynamically adjusts image quality as you play for the smoothest possible experience.

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• The new M4 Mac mini’s power button is placed underneath the chassis
• It’s not the only strange design choice made by Apple recently
• Apple VP Greg Joswiak states that it’s due to the reduced size of the Mac mini

The new M4 Mac mini will be Apple’s smallest Mac ever and wields plenty of power, but not without a few odd design choices - and one that seems to have particularly upset some users is that the power button has been moved to the bottom of the tiny PC.

However, Apple seems ready to defend its decision. As noted by IT Home (in Chinese), a video posted on the Chinese social media platform Bilibili shows Apple’s VP Greg Joswiak address the matter when questioned, revealing the reasoning behind the design choice - it was simply down to the reduced size of the Mac mini and the idea that “you pretty much never use the power button on your Mac”.

Joswiak also said “I can’t remember the last time I turned on my Mac,” which suggests that Apple’s official position is that most users should leave the system in sleep mode instead. While this is certainly an option for Mac mini owners, it may not sit well with some users (especially considering most traditional desktop PCs and their prominent power button positions).

(Image credit: gizmochina) Will this impact the M4 Mac mini in any capacity?

There’s no doubt that the new placement of the power button is a bit of an odd choice, and we noted as much in our M4 Mac mini review, but it’s nowhere near as strange as what we’ve seen with the new Magic Mouse’s charging port still on the bottom and brand-new M4 Macs omitting Wi-Fi 7. Besides a minor change to how you power on your M4 Mac mini, this shouldn’t impact your experience in any significant manner.

Considering the reduction of the Mac mini’s size coming from the 2023 M2 chip version, this seems to be a small but worthy sacrifice - if placing the power button in a more convenient area meant losing out on the smallest Mac ever, then I stand by Apple’s decision here.

Despite this, I must say that leaving your Mac mini (or any of the best computers, for that matter) in sleep mode constantly probably isn’t the best idea - while it may be more convenient to dive right back into your tasks, it isn’t ideal for saving power (even if it isn’t using much in sleep mode) and periodically shutting down and restarting your devices is good for their performance as it enables you to apply any updates and refreshes your system cache.

While some of the design choices made in the new Mac mini may be worthy of scratching your head at, the power that the M4 chip provides in performance across the board and a price tag starting at just $599 (£599 / AU$999) still leaves this being one of the best Macs ever made.

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• A leaked benchmark has appeared for the ROG Phone 9
• The score points to a jump in AI processing performance
• Asus will unveil the gaming phone on November 19

The Asus ROG Phone 9 is likely to be one of the best gaming phones of the year, and we know it's being officially launched on November 19. Now a new benchmark leak gives us some idea of just how powerful this handset could be.

As spotted by MySmartPrice, the Asus ROG Phone 9 has shown up on the Geekbench ML database. The ML (machine learning) benchmark tests how well a phone can handle a variety of artificial intelligence tests, and the Asus device scored 1812.

For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S24 scored 1243 in the same test, so we're looking at a pretty substantial leap forward as far as AI goes – even if the Asus ROG Phone 9 won't have all of the Galaxy AI software tricks offered by Samsung.

We'll have to wait and see if the phone comes with Gemini Nano on board – that's the local AI model developed by Google, which helps run AI tasks (such as image and speech recognition) on-device without sending anything to the cloud.

Specs appeal

The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro launched in 2024 (Image credit: Future)

The benchmark listing also confirms that the Asus ROG Phone 9 will run the new Snapdragon 8 Elite processor from Qualcomm – something we already knew – and will boast a huge 24GB of RAM to further improve performance.

Those spec bumps help to explain the high AI processing score: if you read our Asus ROG Phone 8 review, you'll see it tops out at 12GB of RAM, and has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor inside, which launched at the start of 2024.

However, the current Pro model does hit the same 24GB of RAM mark – see our Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro review for details – so it's likely that we're looking at the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro here, rather than the standard version.

We were particularly impressed with what the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro had to offer, so we're eager to see what its successor is going to bring with it – and as soon as Asus makes all the details official, you'll be able to read about it on TechRadar.

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Samsung is working on some kind of XR hardware and, while it has yet to detail the product publicly, a newly published patent (spotted by 91mobiles) has given us our best look yet at what it’s working on – as well as teasing that Samsung is unsure what form its XR gadget should actually take.

That’s because the patent describes “electronic devices” which “may be AR glasses and/or a head-mounted device.” This suggests that at this time Samsung is either unsure what kind of XR device it should release, or that it is working on both a Samsung XR headset as well as AR glasses to compete with the likes of the Meta Orion AR glasses.

This vagueness continues throughout the patent description, with Samsung describing the device as potentially having a processor, a display for seeing virtual overlays on the real world, some communications abilities – so it can wirelessly communicate with local devices, like a controller, and the internet – and movement sensors for head tracking, among other ‘standard’ XR device specs.

A battery problem

Scanning through the translated document (the patent was initially filed in Korean) one noticeable omission is the mention of any internal battery, which could suggest the device will need to be connected to a compatible Samsung phone or battery pack to function. A phone connection would align with the approach Xreal glasses have taken, and would be a more achievable target for Samsung’s first AR glasses outing rather than a completely standalone product.

Batteries add a lot of bulk to a wearable, and would force Samsung to have to balance functionality, battery life, and comfort – a tough act considering its relative inexperience in this area of tech.

A wired connection to a phone would also increase the glasses’ reliance on a Samsung/Android device to function, which seems like something Samsung and its partner Google would want as a way to convince techies to leave the AR glasses-less Apple behind.

Connecting to a battery pack would also make sense as the likes of the Xreal glasses do burn through a phone’s charge somewhat rapidly. A battery pack would also allow a user to rely on their phone and glasses without one drastically reducing the remaining battery life of the other.

Still no mention of software

For me, this patent also doesn’t go into much detail on what is by far the most important feature: software. I’m fairly confident Samsung’s hardware will be at least ‘fine’ given its expertise in phones and TVs. For me the biggest question is how will it handle software.

I’ve tested a number of standalone VR headsets, and some wired AR glasses too, and my main critique is most of them don’t offer you enough things to do with them, save one. In my experience Meta’s Horizon OS is ahead by a mile thanks to its huge catalog of software, excellent exclusive apps, and clean layout.

Samsung and Google (who appears to be developing an AR android) need to seriously stick the landing. Either give us some amazing apps out the gate, or keep the price cheap and affordable (ideally do both). Exclusive AR apps would help justify a more premium price, while conversely a lower cost would help to convince people the XR device is worth trying even if it doesn’t do much at first.

We’ll have to wait and see what Samsung announces in the coming months in terms of its software and hardware. There were rumors it might show off a developer kit this year – to tie into the promise of a reveal Samsung and Google made back in July – though as the year comes to a close we might have to settle for a 2025 showcase – though even that might require some luck according to other recent leaks.

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• The rumored Samsung Galaxy Z Flip FE may come equipped with the Exynos 2400 chipset
• The Exynos 2400 also features in some regional versions of the Galaxy S24
• Samsung has yet to confirm the existence of the Z Flip FE or any of its specs

The rumored Samsung Galaxy Z Flip FE could come equipped with the same chipset as some of the company’s flagship Galaxy S24 models.

New tipoffs from noted leaker Jukanlosreve point towards the Samsung Exynos 2400 for the company’s long-suggested cheaper flip foldable, the same chipset issued to Samsung Galaxy S24 handsets in large swathes of Europe and Asia.

In North America, the Galaxy S24 comes equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, commonly considered the class leader for Android chipsets.

Samsung’s foldable lineup is currently exclusively equipped with Snapdragon chipsets, reflected in the devices’ high price tags and premium positioning – in fact, both the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6 feature in our lists of the best folding phones and best Samsung phones.

As for why the rumored Z Flip FE would use an Exynos chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 may be prohibitively expensive to put into a lower-priced foldable device, or it may simply be easier for Samsung to keep up a supply of Exynos chips.

Alternatively, this could be part of an Apple-style push to reduce reliance on third-party chipset manufacturers – as Android Police notes, Jukanlosreve also suggests that the rumored Z Flip 7 will use an Exynos chipset, too, albeit the updated Exynos 2500 version.

Flipping the script on Samsung foldables

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 in blue  (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

We’ve been hearing rumors of a cheaper Galaxy Z Flip phone for months now, and lately, we’ve heard a lot about other potential expansions to Samsung‘s folding phone lineup.

Back in May, we reported that a cheaper version of the booklet-style Galaxy Z Fold had likely been cancelled, but that an FE rendition of the Z Flip was still possible.

More recently, we’ve heard continued rumors of the Z Flip FE launching alongside either the Z Flip 7 or a new tri-fold Galaxy device, though we’re yet to hear of a convincing release date.

At a starting price of $1,099 / £1,049 / AU$1,799, the Z Flip 6 is the cheapest Samsung foldable and the likely candidate for a budget-conscious rework, though we wouldn’t expect it to be particularly cheap by conventional pricing standards.

Phone makers charge a premium for the utility, novelty, and complexity of folding devices, and as such we would expect a cheaper Galaxy Z Flip to cost as much as, if not more than, a conventional flagship phone.

As of now, this is all based on unconfirmed rumors, and as such there’s no sign of any official explanation from Samsung.

In any case, for the latest official announcements as we hear them, be sure to check in with our Samsung phones coverage.

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• The iPhone SE 4's camera module will reportedly enter mass production in December
• This iPhone component usually enters mass production around three months before the phone launches
• That would mean a launch around March, which is in line with previous leaks

It’s looking ever more likely that the iPhone SE 4 will launch soon, as following reports that Apple has begun placing orders for the display, we’re now hearing that the camera module might enter mass production in December.

This is according to South Korean site AjuNews (via @Jukanlosreve), which claims that LG Innotek will start mass-producing the camera modules for the iPhone SE 4 in December.

The site adds that LG Innotek usually begins mass production of iPhone camera modules around three months before the launch of the phone they’re destined for, which would mean we’re likely to see the iPhone SE 4 in or around March.

Exclusive: Apple’s camera partner, LG Innotek, has decided to start mass production of the camera module for the iPhone SE4 in December. They are currently conducting tests ahead of mass production.LG Innotek typically supplies camera modules about three months before a…November 11, 2024

While we’d take these claims with a pinch of salt, this does line up with previous leaks, the most recent of which comes from Mark Gurman (a leaker with a great track record), who claimed in October that we’d see the iPhone SE 4 sometime between March and June.

A new design and plenty of power

So, there’s a good chance the iPhone SE 4 will be with us soon, and based on other leaks, we have a decent idea of what to expect from it, too.

Leaks suggest the iPhone SE 4 will have a larger 6.1-inch display than the 4.7-inch iPhone SE (2022), though there’s some disagreement over whether it will have a notch or a Dynamic Island. Either way, though, that should be an upgrade on the dated design of the current model.

It also looks likely to have a single-lens camera, and it may support Apple Intelligence, which would mean at least an A17 Pro chipset and 8GB of RAM. That would make for a significant power upgrade on the iPhone SE (2022).

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• The new L'OR Barista was created by Italian design company Alessi
• Its pleated finish is the work of designer and architect Michele De Lucchi
• It goes on sale this week for £159.99 (about $200 / AU$300)

French coffee company L'OR has unveiled a new pod-based espresso machine that will bring a touch of Italian style to your kitchen.

Capsule-based coffee makers are a handy way to enjoy espresso without the mess of weighing and grinding beans, but they sometimes look rather bland and utilitarian compared to a manual espresso machine. That's not the case with the new L'OR Barista, which has a striking pleated-effect case created by Italian design company Alessi.

The ridged finish of the L'OR Barista by Alessi was created by artist, architect and designer Michele De Lucchi. De Lucchi, known for his experimental creations, has designed and restored buildings in Japan and throughout Europe, and has received scores of product design awards throughout his career.

(Image credit: L'OR) Double shots

The L'OR Barista by Alessi can take standard-size coffee pods, including L'OR and Nespresso capsules. It's also compatible with L'OR Barista XXL capsules, which contain twice as much coffee as a regular pod. This lets you easily make a double shot of espresso (ideal for cappuccinos and lattes), or pour two shots at once using the machine's double spout.

The new machine will be available this week direct from L'OR and from John Lewis for £159.99 (about $200 / AU$300), and will roll out more widely over the coming months.

If you're in the market for a new coffee maker but would prefer a bean-to-cup model, we're rounding up all this year's best Black Friday espresso machine deals to save you time, effort, and money. For offers on capsule coffee makers and pods, take a look at our guide to the best Black Friday Nespresso deals.

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• Intel acknowledges Arrow Lake CPUs underperformed at launch
• A full and detailed audit is going to take place as to why this happened
• Fixes for the issues are coming, promising significant performance gains

Intel’s Core Ultra 200S processors have got off to a shaky start, it’s fair to say, and Team Blue has acknowledged this – and pledged that fixes are coming.

The new Arrow Lake desktop CPUs – comprising of the Core Ultra 9 285K, Core Ultra 7 265K and Core Ultra 5 245K – have been greeted with a lukewarm reception, particularly for gaming performance, and reviews have been rather varied in the benchmark results they’ve uncovered in this respect.

Robert Hallock, who is VP of marketing at Intel, spoke to Hot Hardware, and said the company takes full responsibility for the initial launch performance of Core Ultra 200 chips being under par compared to Intel’s own expectations (and prerelease hype).

Hallock told the tech site that “our wounds with Arrow Lake not hitting the performance we projected were self-inflicted.”

The Intel marketing guru added: “I can’t go into all the details yet, but we identified a series of multifactor issues at the OS level, at the BIOS level, and I will say that the performance we saw in reviews is not what we expected and not what we intended. The launch just didn’t go as planned. That has been a humbling lesson for all of us, inspiring a fairly large response internally to get to the bottom of what happened and to fix it.”

Hallock underlined that while he couldn’t give specifics, Intel plans to conduct a full audit and will present an itemized list of Arrow Lake problems, explaining every single glitch, along with its performance cost, and what the company is going to do to fix these issues.

Analysis: Intel’s continued run of bad form in 2024

Intel is being refreshingly honest, or Hallock is, rather, which is good to see – and something of a growing theme of late for Team Blue, we’ve noticed. With all the problems Intel has been running into in recent times – throughout this year – this appears to be the decided tactic to try to rebuild trust with the computing public.

Will it be enough? The trouble is that the perception is increasingly becoming one of Intel stumbling from one blunder to another, at least with its desktop CPUs (laptop chips are a different kettle of silicon, and Lunar Lake has landed as a major success, in the main).

We’ve had all the messiness around 13th and 14th-gen desktop CPUs being wonky and unstable (and while that’s finally been put to bed, some folks may still be worried), and now with the 15th-gen on the desktop, there’s a new set of problems at launch. And anecdotally, across various forums, we’ve noticed a fair few complaints from folks who’ve upgraded to the Arrow Lake platform (the CPU has a new socket, requiring a new motherboard) hitting various teething issues which sound unpleasant to say the least.

All in all, with continued issues seeming to crop up around Intel’s desktop processors, creating a general air of uncertainty, these products will hardly be inspiring confidence in the PC community. Intel needs to come back with a strong response here, and a full, transparent audit on Arrow Lake will be a good start – hopefully with the issues fixed down the line, as promised.

We should temper expectations, of course, and it’s not likely that this will be some kind of miracle cure for the performance of the Core Ultra 200S range. However, it promises to deliver a ‘significant’ boost on the gaming front. Also, Hot Hardware’s tweaking of a Core Ultra 9 285K flagship – comprising of memory tuning, Windows configuration adjustments, and disabling some CPU features – reportedly did witness impressive results, at least for some PC games. As ever, gains may vary based on the individual game, and, of course, the configuration of your PC.

However, fundamentally, Arrow Lake still remains more about pushing forward with efficiency than generational performance leaps when it comes to gaming, and that obviously isn’t going to change with some patching work. Here, the predecessor flagship, the Core i9-14900K (or indeed the 13900K) is still likely to remain a better bet, particularly considering pricing (with previous-gen price tags dropping), as was shown in the gaming tests during our review of the new Core Ultra 9 285K.

Furthermore, all this is compounded by the release of AMD’s peppy new Ryzen 9800X3D on the PC gaming front (when stock issues settle down for that CPU, which is a sizeable caveat currently).

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• LG’s stretchy screen now boasts 50% elongation for… bodycon clothing?
• It can fold, bend and twist without damaging the display
• It's the shape of things to come

We've been following LG's quest to make practical, stretchable displays for some time now. And a new report states that while Apple is also experimenting with the tech (as we discovered earlier this year, Apple has patented its own "Stretchable Display") LG has beaten it, and flexible display rivals such as Samsung, to the punch.

LG has announced a new stretchable display prototype, and it's much more bendy than anything we've seen from the firm in the past: where previous prototypes could be stretched out by 20%, this prototype can achieve the kind of deformation that even the Fantastic Four's Reed Richards might consider a bit of a stretch: it can expand by over 50%.

What is a stretchable display for?

LG's stretchable display is designed to change shape according to what you want your device to do. It doesn't just stretch; it can be twisted and folded too, all without damaging the screen. While the image above shows extreme examples, one application might be a tablet that rolls into a foldable phone, or a phone that becomes a wearable.

There are even applications in clothing. LG's concepts include smart displays attached to the uniforms of firefighters to provide real-time information to them and their team, although the announcement skips over the heat protection requirements such a display would require.

The new display uses a micro-LED light source, an improved silicon substrate that's also used in contact lenses, and a new wiring design. The result is a promised lifespan of 10,000 stretches without damaging the display.

We're still a long way from the commercialization of this technology. But it's still enormously exciting; we've seen the future, and it's stretchy.

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• Scammers are targeting pensioners with phishing scams
• Fake winter fuel support texts have been sent to trick victims
• Phishing scams are on the rise, increasingly targeting older victims

With the cost of living crisis and the recent introduction of a means tested winter fuel payment, many in the UK are looking for guidance and support this winter- but scammers are taking advantage of the confusion by sending fake ‘winter heating allowance’ and ‘cost of living support’ texts.

The texts have been sent to UK residents, encouraging the recipient to click on a link that takes them to a webpage made to mimic the official GOV.UK website, where they are prompted to fill in a form with personal information and payment details.

Scammers often try to create a sense of urgency to panic victims into action without the time to think through the implications or details that may look out of place. This scam is no different, with the text telling victims that this is the ‘last notice’ before the deadline.

600 domains identified

Researchers from BleepingComputer identified 597 unique domains related to this campaign, which shows how far reaching the threat is. Similar campaigns have been observed in Lancashire and Belfast, using fake regional support networks to trick victims.

“Please note that the government has decided that the Winter heating_allowance and Cost of Living_support for 2024 have been fully implemented, you have met the requirements,” the text obtained by researchers reads.

“Please be sure to fill in the application information as soon as possible, we will release the money to you within 3days, please note that check, this will be the last notice to you, the online application channel deadline is November 12,” it continued.

By promising a payout but imposing a fake deadline, the scammers create a false sense of urgency so that victims don't are hurried into entering sensitive information.

Phishing scams are on the rise, and are becoming harder to spot, we always recommend taking your time, not clicking any links from untrusted sources, and always getting a second opinion if you aren’t sure.

Via BleepingComputer

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