TechRadar News

• US federal agency issues warning against cellphone usage for work calls
• Warning comes in the aftermath of the breach of several US telecoms providers
• Attack has been attributed to Salt Typhoon, who also breached a number of ISPs

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a warning to its workers that personal mobile devices should not be used for sensitive work calls due to the recent Chinese probing of US telecommunications networks.

The email sent by the CFPB acknowledges that “While there is no evidence that CFPB has been targeted by this unauthorized access, I ask for your compliance with these directives so we reduce the risk that we will be compromised.”

The warning also extends to contractors working for the CFB, and highlights the scale of the attack against US telecoms by the China-related group tracked as Salt Typhoon.

Telecoms attack worries federal agencies

There is no indication on exactly what data may have been exfiltrated from the telecoms providers, but initial reports suggest that call logs, unencrypted texts and some phone audio was exfiltrated by the attackers, including audio from a number of high-profile individuals related to the Harris and Trump campaigns alongside potentially hundreds of thousands of US citizens.

US officials are also cutting down on their phone use in response to the hack, with a former US official who spoke to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) stating, “There is a general reticence to use their cellphones.”

Salt Typhoon also managed to breach several internet service providers (ISP) in early October, including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen, with the attackers also gaining access to a lawful wiretap used for surveillance by US authorities.

As the WSJ notes, a federal agency issuing a specific warning against the use of personal mobile phones indicates the depth and breadth of the attacks.

“Do NOT conduct CFPB work using mobile voice calls or text messages,” the CFPB email recommended. The email also stated that staff should only use authorized online collaboration platforms such as Cisco WebEx and Microsoft Teams to make calls and send messages that contain non-public data.

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• Automation could be stopping us from climbing the career ladder
• Robotics decreased the average local market career value in the 2000s and 2010s
• Low-skilled workers affected by technological change are more likely to vote for Trump

Increased automation through artificial intelligence and robotics could be diminishing career opportunities, new analysis has warned.

Although concerns that AI could replace human workers have largely been squashed, with experts seeing the tech more as a co-worker, it could indeed be preventing us from getting our dream careers, a new research paper has claimed.

While the impacts of artificial intelligence are yet to be quantified, the study explores the deployment of robotics through the late 2000s and 2010s to provide an indicator as to what we might be able to expect.

Automation could ruin our chances of getting our dream jobs

According to the study, one additional robot per 1,000 workers decreased the average local market career value by $3,900 between 2004 and 2008, and by $2,480 between 2008 and 2016. The effects are particularly apparent across industries that are heavily exposed to robotics, such as manufacturing. Following the introduction of more tech, low-skilled workers experience declines in upward job mobility.

Bledi Taska, one of the study’s co-authors, shared on LinkedIn: “It’s not just about robots replacing jobs. It’s about robots reducing the opportunities for people to improve their lives. For many workers, particularly low-skilled ones, the ladder to higher-paying jobs is disappearing.”

The study also explored the “connection between declining career prospects and political behavior” – areas most affected by robotics reportedly saw stronger support for populist candidates like Donald Trump during his first term as president.

This is likely because, as workers lose out on opportunities to climb the career ladder, they look toward politicians who promise economic reform.

Taska summarized: “We can shape a future where technology enhances human potential instead of diminishing it—if we act now.”

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It's that time of the week again. No matter how busy or relaxing the past five working days have been for you, it's time to kick back and watch numerous new movies and TV shows that have recently debuted on the world's best streaming services.

There's plenty to check out on Netflix, too, with the return of hit shows in Arcane and Outer Banks, plus the debut of Netflix's first holiday season film of 2024 (yes, they're releasing earlier each year). If you're not signed up to Netflix, though, we come bearing gifts from three of its streaming rivals as well, so you'll find something entertaining to watch before Monday arrives. Enjoy! – Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

Arcane season 2 (Netflix)

I love Arcane. Ask anyone who I work alongside, or my family and friends, and they'll all claim that there isn't a bigger fan of Netflix's first League of Legends animated adaptation than I.

Almost exactly three years after one of the best Netflix shows' first season absolutely blew me away, its follow-up's highly-anticipated and long overdue debut is upon us. Arcane season 2 is finally here, and I've never been happier for one of my all-time favorite series to return. Before you watch it, check out my Arcane season 2 review to see me wax lyrical about how utterly gorgeous, action-packed, melodramatically soul-crushing, and epic it is. Be sure to visit our Arcane tag page, too, because there's lots of exclusive content from my recent chat with co-creator Christian Linke that's worth reading.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch season 2 act 1, aka its first three chapters, for the third time this week.

Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

• Watch Arcane season 2 on Netflix

Outer Banks season 4 part 2 (Netflix)

We already know Outer Banks has been renewed for season 5 and that it'll be the final outing. Thankfully, we're not done with season 4 yet, and the second part is finally here. You've no doubt been quietly cursing them after episode 5's shocking finale, too – indeed, if you think ending a two-part season on a cliffhanger is cruel, you're not alone!

Don't worry, though, you'll get all the answers (we hope!) in part 2, which has five more episodes to devour. While we haven't had to wait quite as long as some gaps between episodes (I'm still frustrated about the wait for Severance season 2, just saying), you'll be forgiven for wanting to cancel your weekend plans and find out what happens next. I'm not judging.

Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

• Watch Outer Banks season 4 part 2 on Netflix

The Old Man season 2 (Disney Plus)

If you're from the US, you'll likely have seen that The Old Man season 2 is already out on Hulu. For the rest of us, who've been patiently waiting to see what the next installment of the thriller series has in store, we'll finally be able to this weekend as the whole season was made available on Disney Plus on November 6.

Reviews on Rotten Tomatoes reveal season 2 doesn't have a similarly high critical rating as season 1 did, but that shouldn't stop you from finding out what happens next to Dan Chase (Jeff Bridges). The first season earned a place on our best Hulu shows list for its thrilling story and Bridges' compelling performance, and there's even talk of a third season on the cards, according to Variety. Will there be one last mission? We wouldn't put it past Chase to take on another.

Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor

• Watch The Old Man season 2 on Disney Plus (internationally)

Meet Me Next Christmas (Netflix)

Christmas has certainly come early with one of November's new Netflix movies Meet Me Next Christmas. The festive rom-com sees Layla (Christina Milian) race across New York City to find a ticket to a sold-out Pentatonix Christmas Eve concert to reconnect with the man of her dreams.

Milian is no stranger to Netflix's romance section with movies like Falling Inn Love and Resort to Love, so it's bound to be a charming affair with her as the lead. While we wait and see if Meet Me Next Christmas becomes one of the best Netflix movies, I can't wait to kick off the holiday season with this feel-good rom-com.

Grace Morris, entertainment writer

• Watch Meet Me Next Christmas on Netflix

Citadel: Honey Bunny (Prime Video)

Some of the best Prime Video shows and best Prime Video movies are action packed, and Citadel: Honey Bunny has the potential to join our line-up of recommended action hits. Not only that, but it's a spin-off to mainline show Citadel, which my colleague Tom Power wasn't a fan of upon its debut in April 2023. The spin-off is directly linked, too, as the two main characters here are – spoilers! – the parents of Chopra's character Nadia, so expect plenty of backstory.

There are two separate timelines, swapping between 1992 and 2000, picking up with Bunny, a stuntman in films, who recruits a struggling actor Honey for a side gig that endangers her life. The six-part series will focus on their relationship and Nadia's early life, so it's a must watch if you need more Citadel in your life.

Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

• Watch Citadel: Honey Bunny on Prime Video

My Old Ass (Prime Video)

My Old Ass is the latest collaboration between LuckyChap and Amazon MGM Studios, and following the movie's standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, I have high hopes for one of November's new Prime Video movies. The studios have previously worked together on Saltburn and are co-producing The Sims movie next, so I'm excited to see how their latest project turned out as it sounds like another wild trip.

No, really. The plot for this coming-of-age comedy involves a mushroom trip, which is the catalyst for a sci-fi scenario where an 18-year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella) suddenly comes face-to-face with her 39-year-old future self (Aubrey Plaza). You can expect plenty of epiphanies to come next as you follow Elliott on this heartfelt journey of discovery as she prepares to leave home. Make sure to check in on our best Prime Video movies guide to see if it makes the cut.

Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor

• Watch My Old Ass on Prime Video

The Day of the Jackal (Peacock)

The Day of the Jackal, which is already out on Sky in the UK, is a modern day reimagining of Frederick Forsyth's 1971 novel of the same name. In this cat-and-mouse thriller, Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) stars as the steely contract killer hired to assassinate a powerful tech tycoon. Trying to put an end to his killing spree is MI6 agent Bianca (Lashana Lynch) – but can she stop him before it's too late?

If Oscar-winning actor Redmayne and the captivating Lynch (No Time to Die) wasn't enough to have me tune in to this action-packed killer thriller, the rave reviews certainly will. The Standard wrote that The Day of the Jackal is "slick, stylish, and cinematically cool" and that "Redmayne is at his most enigmatic in the role of a chilly killer in this breathless thriller series." Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to watch this series – and I most certainly accept.

Grace Morris, entertainment writer

• Watch The Day of the Jackal on Peacock (US only)

For more streaming suggestions, read our guides on the best Disney Plus movies, best Hulu shows, best Paramount Plus movies, and best Apple TV Plus shows.

• A bug Palo Alto addressed last summer is being abused in the wild
• CISA added it to its KEV catalog, giving federal agencies a deadline to patch
• The bug can be abused to take over accounts and steal data

A critical bug found in Palo Alto Networks’ Expedition program is being abused in the wild, the US government has warned.

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added CVE-2024-5910 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, which means there is evidence of abuse in the wild.

This vulnerability, discovered in Expedition in the summer of 2023, is described as a “missing authentication for a critical function” bug, which can lead to Expedition admin account takeover for crooks with network access. Since Expedition is a tool that helps with configuration migration, tuning, and enrichment, it may contain secrets, credentials, and other data, which would then be at risk of theft.

Proof of concept

Users are advised to apply a patch immediately, since the vulnerability allows threat actors to take over admin accounts, steal sensitive data, and more.

When CISA adds a vulnerability to KEV, it gives federal agencies a deadline to patch it, or stop using the afflicted applications completely. The due date for Palo Alto Networks Expedition is November 28, 2024.

CISA did not share any further details about the attacks, but BleepingComputer dug up a report from Horizon3.ai, who released a proof-of-concept exploit in October 2024. By chaining the bug with CVE-2024-9464, crooks could gain unauthenticated arbitrary command execution capabilities on vulnerable Expedition servers.

This additional vulnerability was also discovered, and patched, last month. Palo Alto Networks said it could have been used to take over admin accounts in firewalls, and take over PAN-OS instances.

For those unable to install the patch immediately, a workaround is available, which includes restricting Expedition network access to authorized users, hosts, and networks, only.

"All Expedition usernames, passwords, and API keys should be rotated after upgrading to the fixed version of Expedition. All firewall usernames, passwords, and API keys processed by Expedition should be rotated after updating," Palo Alto Networks concluded.

Via BleepingComputer

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• Digital Foundry believes PSSR is a huge advancement for PS5 games
• Some of the biggest improvements are visible in Stellar Blade
• Nvidia’s DLSS 3 successor may have some competition

Sony’s PS5 Pro was released on November 7, 2024, giving many people the chance to finally put the new PSSR upscaling method to the test, with strong comparisons to Nvidia’s DLSS on PC.

Digital Foundry’s John Linneman praised the impact PSSR has made on the visual quality of multiple titles, stating, ‘It’s a gigantic leap, it's probably the best implementation I have seen yet in terms of image quality.’

This comes after multiple Digital Foundry tests in titles like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and The Last of Us Part II performed before the console’s official release. The stand-out improvement for Linneman now that the console has been released is visible in Stellar Blade (which runs at 80fps using the game’s PSSR Pro Mode and VRR). Despite the inability to achieve a constant 60 frames per second in games like Elden Ring, the image quality enhancements bode well for Sony’s eventual PlayStation 6 console, which will likely make use of this technology to provide even more impressive graphics and performance.

Nvidia’s DLSS 3 has been the leading upscaling method for RTX 4000 series GPU owners, providing great image quality and frame rates across multiple games (even with ray tracing enabled).

Considering PSSR’s leap over FSR 3 with better anti-aliasing for smoother edges on objects on screen (in performance mode), it brings it closest to Team Green’s upscaler - and while PSSR doesn’t manage to surpass Nvidia’s DLSS (especially in comparison to Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart), it manages to do a great job at providing a decent level of image stability within its performance modes as pointed out by Digital Foundry.

(Image credit: Digital Foundry) How would PSSR fare against DLSS 3’s successor?

We still have no official word on when Nvidia could reveal the new RTX 5000 GPU series, so there is little to go off of when it comes to DLSS 3’s successor, which will likely launch alongside the new GPUs. What we do know is that Nvidia has pushed DLSS 3 as a major selling point of RTX 4000 series GPUs, helping PC gamers get the best out of their hardware.

Since PSSR isn’t better than DLSS 3, it would be hard to imagine the new upscaler standing toe-to-toe with what Team Green has cooking. Don’t let this make you write PSSR off of competition though.

It’s already a great start for Sony for this generation of gaming hardware, and by offering better performance than DLSS’ main competitor, AMD’s FSR, it seems as though PSSR has arrived at the perfect time, especially as Team Red also plans on providing an AI-driven FSR 4. There’s also plenty of chance for PSSR to receive numerous updates and improvements over time.

Does this justify a PS5 Pro purchase? If you’re on PC or plan to make the shift to the platform, I don’t think so. But if you plan on sticking with console-only, especially with titles like GTA 6 now closer than ever (there won’t be a PC version at launch), it might be worth considering a purchase if you want the best that Sony has to offer.

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• A new Android search experience is in testing
• Results are updated in real time from voice inputs
• There's no indication when the feature may launch

With the rise of generative AI bots, it feels like Google's dominance in web search is under serious threat for the first time in a long time, but Google itself is busy testing new features to help users find information faster.

As spotted by well-known tipster @AssembleDebug (via Android Central), Google is experimenting with a real-time conversational search experience on mobile. You simply chat to Google, and the results change automatically with each input, as you ask follow-up questions or submit new ones.

It's not immediately clear where this demo was found, but given the good track record of this particular leaker, it may well have been discovered hidden in early testing code for Android or the Google app on Android.

You can already search Google using your voice on mobile – just tap the microphone icon rather than typing anything in – but the continuous listening and instant refreshes are new, and make the experience smoother and more natural.

Search is changing

The demo of new conversational search in Google app. It continuosly listens to your voice where you can ask followup questions while performing a search.#Android #Google pic.twitter.com/DgXnMx5DU4November 4, 2024

We're seeing a lot of innovation around web search and information gathering at the moment, from Google and many others. Barely a day goes by without some kind of new tool arriving, most often powered by AI.

The idea of voice as an input method is having something of a renaissance as well. Of course, we've been chatting to our smart speakers and smartphones for years at this point, but generative AI has made the conversations more fluid and more useful.

All of the big names in tech are working towards ways of combining multiple inputs together (known as a multimodal approach), so that voice, video, images, and text can all be combined and used for queries.

This is another move towards that. There's no official word from Google on this yet, and we don't know when (or if) the functionality will appear, but there's no doubt the company's products are going to continue to evolve at a rapid pace.

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• Nokia investigation confirms cyberattack with a third party
• The company says its own data is secure
• It will continue to monitor the situation

Nokia has confirmed a recent data breach did indeed happen, but did not affect its own internal data.

The telecoms giant said it had completed its initial investigation into the incident, confirming that a breach had occured, but that its systems, and data, is intact.

"Our investigation has found no evidence of any of our systems or data being impacted. Our investigations point to a 3rd party security incident, related to a single customized software application," the company told BleepingComputer.

End of life

An infamous data leaker known as IntelBroker recently posted a new ad on an underground forum, advertising a stolen archive apparently containing data from the telco giant.

The archive was taken from a third party, and was said to contain a large collection of Nokia source code, with the hacker claiming to have stolen Nokia software, SSH keys, RSA keys, BitBucket logins, SMTP accounts, webhooks and hardcoded credentials.

IntelBroker claims to have breached a third-party vendor via a SonarQube server. There, they downloaded sensitive files belonging to multiple companies, including Nokia.

“We have found no evidence that this 3rd party incident would in any way endanger critical Nokia systems or data, including source code, customized software, or encryption keys. Our customers are in no way impacted, including their data and networks,” Nokia added.

The source code IntelBroker leaked was for an application that the third-party built, for a client of Nokia’s. It was supposed to work on only one network, and will not work elsewhere, it was added. No Nokia code was found inside, either.

The company concluded its statement by saying it was “closely monitoring” the situation.

IntelBroker is reportedly a Serbian hacker who has been active since October 2022, and has a history of high-profile attacks. More than 80 separate leaks have been posted to online forums by IntelBroker to date, with targets including companies and organizations such as AMD, Apple, Europol and HPE.

Via BleepingComputer

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• Warhammer 40,000: Darktide will release on PS5 in December
• Two editions are up for pre-order now
• The game first launched on PC in 2022, followed by Xbox Series X and S in 2023

Horde survival co-op game Warhammer 40,000 Darktide is finally coming to PlayStation 5, more than two years after it first launched on PC and over a year since its Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S debut.

The game is available to pre-order now and will release on December 3. There are two separate editions to choose from, the regular version which costs $39.99 / £32.99 and the $59.99 / £49.99 Imperial Edition.

The Imperial Edition includes base game and some additional content, like the Loyalist Pack (which adds four unique class outfits and eight weapon skin patterns), the Mortis Veteran Portrait Frame, the Caducadas Backpack, and 2,500 Aquilas in-game currency. Those who pre-order this more premium version will be able to play six days early, too.

The PS5 version of the game will launch with all major content and improvements that have been added to the other versions since the game’s launch. This means that you will be able to experience the massive recent ‘Unlocked and Loaded’ update, which overhauled the game’s weapon progression systems, right out of the gate.

Time to go Pro?

The Warhammer 40,000 Darktide store page reveals that the game will support vibration and trigger effects on the DualSense Wireless Controller. It also shows that it will be enhanced for the PlayStation 5 Pro, though provides few additional details.

According to PlayStation fan website PSU, the PS5 Pro version will run in glorious 4K at 60fps. There will then be two modes available for regular PS5 owners, a Performance Mode, which will run at 1440p with a 60fps frame rate, and a 4K 30fps Quality Mode.

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• Alien: Romulus is coming to Hulu in November
• However, there's no word about an international release on Disney Plus
• Many of the other Alien titles including the original are already on Disney Plus

Alien: Romulus is heading to Hulu on November 21, so US audiences will soon be able to stream the latest in the sci-fi franchise in the comfort of their own homes. But so far, it only has a US home streaming release and there's no word on when it's coming to other territories.

News of the movie's Hulu release was confirmed on social media, with the 20th Century Studio's X (formerly Twitter) account writing: "#AlienRomulus is streaming only on @Hulu November 21."

Considering other big names in the franchise like Alien, Aliens, and Alien vs Predator are streaming on Disney Plus too, it's no surprise that fans are asking why it hasn't got a wider release across the best streaming services.

Why isn't Alien: Romulus coming to Disney Plus?

Right now, Disney has not confirmed why it's not streaming in the UK and other areas. However, that doesn't mean the movie is definitely not going to stream on Disney Plus in the future, so we'll just have to wait for official confirmation.

This isn't the only surprising news about Alien: Romulus though, as early this year it got a limited VHS release for people who like to keep it retro. Personally, I don't have a VHS player anymore, but it's still a cool collector's item nonetheless!

An underwhelming trailer for Alien: Earth dropped recently too, so this franchise isn't going anywhere any time soon, for better or for worse. Right now, we're not sure if Earth will do enough to make it onto our best Hulu shows, but only time will tell.

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• Leaker claims Intel Battlemage desktop GPUs are arriving in December
• Previous rumors have suggested an early 2025 launch, though
• Intel may want to step up to get ahead of AMD and Nvidia’s CES launches

Intel could spring new budget GPUs on us in the form of the initial 2nd-generation Arc graphics cards, known as Battlemage, as soon as December.

VideoCardz picked up on a fresh rumor about the Battlemage range as aired by regular leaker Golden Pig Upgrade (or GPU – see what they did there?) on Weibo.

We’re told (via a translation) that Battlemage desktop graphics cards are coming next month, and that the leaker’s hope is that they’ll perform “brilliantly” no less. There could be something lost in translation there, perhaps, but very probably this is just a hope rather than a prediction.

It’s a hope we all share, of course, because the low-end of the graphics card market could really use pepping up.

If you’re familiar with the long-standing rumors around Battlemage, you’ll likely recall that the expectation is that Intel will only produce entry-level 2nd-gen Arc GPUs, and nothing above the budget space. Still, if these are killer budget GPUs – fingers crossed – or even just decent ones, they’ll be very welcome.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler) Analysis: Heading off AMD and Nvidia at the pass?

As ever, this is just a rumor, and it might come to nothing, but this nugget from the grapevine is backed up by other recent speculation. Previous spillage from Weibo has indicated a Battlemage launch before the end of 2024 (complete with a significant generational uplift, we should note), and Intel is already working on 3rd-gen Celestial graphics. Another rumor VideoCardz points out even suggests a November launch.

All that said, there’s been a consistent thread of rumors previously that the next-gen Arc graphics cards may not emerge until early 2025.

It's possible that Intel could be stepping things up, though, and aiming to launch in December to carve out its own publicity with less headwinds – rather than having to compete with the noise made by AMD and Nvidia, whose next-gen launches are coming at CES 2025 if the rumor mill is right. Why wait until early 2025, if you can get in first, and hype up Battlemage more effectively that way?

That could mean a paper launch, possibly – with not much stock available – but we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Even in that scenario, it’ll still be very interesting to see what Intel has planned for Battlemage, because as noted, the budget sector of the GPU market is in dire need of rejuvenation.

Nvidia is not making an effort in the lower-end space at all, and AMD’s purported budget RDNA 3 offerings – the RX 7400 and 7300 – have yet to turn up either (and look very unlikely to at this point).

We could really use more good budget GPU options at the most affordable end of the market – the RX 6600 is looking a bit tired, and over relied upon, at this point – so let’s hope that the most recent mutterings on an earlier launch of Battlemage are on the money.

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As part of our small appliances coverage on TechRadar, we review dozens of different vacuum cleaners each year. Our first vacuum review was published in 2015, and as of October 2024, we'd published 187 reviews.

As well as providing you with all the information you'll ever need about each individual product, these reviews are what we use to put together our rankings of the best vacuum cleaners and the best robot vacuums, alongside secondary guides such as the best cordless vacuums or the best cheap robot vacuums.

Some of these vacuums are tested by members of our team, and for those we can't do ourselves, we use a small pool of experienced reviewers. In order to make this testing fair, and provide you with useful results, we have a strict reviewing protocol. Here's exactly how we test vacuums at TechRadar.

How we test vacuum cleaners Suction

These tests measure how well the vacuum picks up debris of different kinds, on different types of flooring. Equipment required:

• Hard floor
• Carpet or a carpet-like rug
• Masking tape
• Flour
• Cookie crumbs
• Oats

Before running the suction tests, vacuum the area where you'll be testing so it's as clean as possible. Then, using masking tape, mark out an area 1.2m by 1.2m.

Fine debris test

Create a mixture of cookie crumbs (blitzed in a food processor) and flour. Sprinkle 20g of this mixture over the marked-out area. Vacuum on the lowest setting, ensuring that you don't go over any section more than once. Assess how much of the fine dust the vacuum cleaner has picked up. If it hasn't collected all of the debris, repeat at a higher setting, as required until all the dust is gone.

Repeat for hard floor and carpet.

(Image credit: Future)

Large debris test

Repeat as above, but with 30g of oats. Note if the vacuum pings around the oats, moving them out of its suction path. Repeat for hard floor and carpet.

(Image credit: Future)

As part of these tests, take note of how close you can maneuver the floorhead to the edges of the masked area, and if the vacuum will pick up debris close to this border. Comment on your findings.

Hair tests

Assess how well the vacuum can remove hair from both carpet and hard flooring. Ideally, test both long (human) hair and short (pet) hair.

Does this hair become caught around the brushroll, or is it whisked straight into the bin? If the former, how easy is it to remove?

If there are extra attachments designed specifically for hair, put these to the test and comment on your findings.

Battery

If the model on test is cordless, we want to test how long it lasts on one charge. Charge the vacuum to full power. Then run it continuously on its lowest power mode, timing how long it lasts until the battery is completely flat. Repeat for each power option. Record how long it takes to fully recharge the vacuum, from a flat battery.

(Image credit: Future) Usability

These are less standardized tests designed to gain a more complete picture of the usability of a vacuum.

Use the vacuum as a main vacuum for a couple of weeks, being sure to test out all the supplied attachments as well as any special features specific to that vacuum. Consider questions like:

• How comfortable is the vacuum to use?
• Is it intuitive to put together, swap attachments and so on?
• How easy is it to maneuver?
• Can the floorhead reach into tight spots?
• How easy is the bin to empty?
• Are the attachments useful?

(Image credit: Future) How we test robot vacuum cleaners Suction

The suction tests are designed to assess the robot's vacuum cleaning performance. Equipment needed:

• Hard floor
• Carpet
• Oats
• Cookie crumbs
• Flour

Start by vacuuming both the hard floor and the carpet you'll be using to ensure it's as clean as possible.

Fine debris test
Create a mixture of cookie crumbs (blitzed in a food processor) and flour. Sprinkle 20g of this mixture on carpeted floor, covering roughly an area the size of a square meter.

Start the vacuum on the lowest power setting. Assess how much of the fine dust the vacuum collects. If it hasn't pick up all of it, repeat on increasingly more powerful settings.

Repeat this test on hard flooring.

(Image credit: Future)

Large debris test
Repeat the test above, on both hard floors and carpet, but using oats rather than the fine crumb mixture. Pay particular attention to whether the design of the robot vacuum causes oats to be pinged out of the suction path.

(Image credit: TechRadar)

Hair test

Assess how well the robot vacuum pulls up hair from both carpeted floor and hard flooring. Ideally, test both long (human) hair and short (pet) hair. Does this hair become caught on the brushroll(s) or side brush, or is it directed straight into the onboard bin? If the former, how easy is it to remove?

(Image credit: Future) Mopping

Nowadays, many robot vacuums include mopping capabilities. If this is the case, run a series of tests to measure how well these work. We want to see how effective the robot vacuum is with new, wet spills, as well as sticky, stubborn stains on hard floors. Equipment required:

• Hard flooring
• Fruit juice
• Tomato ketchup

Spill a small amount of fruit juice onto the floor and set the robot vacuum to clean the area. How does it handle it – does it push the liquid around or lift it? Does it require multiple passes to clear the juice from the floor?

(Image credit: Future)

Next, spread a small amount of tomato ketchup on the floor, and leave it dry. Set the robovac off on a cleaning cycle and see if the mop lifts it. Run on the standard setting first, and if the mess isn't cleaned, try a more intensive setting.

(Image credit: Future) Object avoidance

These tests are designed to assess how effective the robot vacuum is at identifying and avoiding objects. Equipment required:

• Shoe
• Charge cable
• Sock (dark or light to match your floor)
• Fake dog poop (optional extra)

Place a sock, shoe, charge cable and (optionally) fake dog poop on the floor, with plenty of room around each object. Set the robovac off on a clean and monitor how well it avoids and/or identifies each object. Run this test twice. Record your findings.

Additionally, monitor how well the robovac deals with obstacles during everyday cleans. Note if, for example, it regularly becomes tangled in cables and needs to be rescued manually.

Usability and features

To gain a general overview of the usability and effectiveness of the robot vacuum, use it as your main vacuum for two weeks. During this time, test any special features – voice control, onboard cameras and extending side brushes, for example – as well as fully exploring the companion app.

(Image credit: Future)

During this review period, consider questions like:

• How easy is the robot vacuum to set up and control?
• How much control do you have over settings?
• How accurate is the product's mapping of your home?
• How well does it deal with edges?
• Is any smart home integration effective?
• How noisy is it in use?
• What maintenance is required, and is this straightforward?
• Can the robovac reliably clear room thresholds?

• A Leica projector with Bauhaus-inspired design
• 4K resolution and 3,000 ANSI Lumens
• Screen size from 65 to 300 inches

Leica has launched a new premium home theater projector, the Leica Cine Play 1. The laser projector delivers 4K resolution at up to 300 inches, and the RGB laser promises a service life of over 25,000 hours.

This is a bright projector with up to 3,000 ANSI Lumens, and the zoom range from the Leica Summicron lens is 65-300 inches. The projector includes Leica's proprietary image processing technology which, according to the firm, "employs special image optimization algorithms to ensure particularly natural colour rendition, finely nuanced colour gradation and an outstanding contrast ratio."

(Image credit: Leica) Leica Cine Play 1: audio features, connectivity and price

In addition to the visual features there are two 15-watt speakers. The Cine Play 1 also supports DTS Virtual:X for use in a wider 3D surround sound system.

There's Apple AirPlay, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and multiple wired ports: HDMI, USB and Ethernet. And it comes with the VIDAA streaming system with the usual selection of streaming apps, voice control and smart home integration – it sounds like a smarter option among the best 4K projectors, and it definitely looks smart.

The Leica Cine Play 1 is available from Leica for a recommended price of $3,795 / £2,950 / AU$5,990). The optional floor stand is $495 / £335 / AU$790.

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• Sennheiser Momentum 4 will be issued to Lufthansa first class flyers 'for the duration of the flight'
• Amazon's running a great Black Friday deal for UK buyers
• US buyers might want to wait for Black Friday

Sennheiser's Momentum 4 Wireless Headphones are among the best wireless headphones you can buy, gaining the full five stars in our review. And now they're taking to the skies – but you don't need to be a high flier to enjoy a pair thanks to a newly discovered huge discount (in the UK, that is).

Let's talk about the skies first. Sennheiser has teamed up with Lufthansa for an in-flight collaboration. Travelers in the newest Lufthansa Allegris First Class suites (see main image. Pretty swish, no?) will be offered a special Lufthansa-branded edition of the Momentum 4 Wireless to use "for the duration of the flight". (Boo!)

They're well suited to flight: battery life is up to 60 hours, more than enough to travel the globe, and their noise cancellation makes light work of engine thrum. But don't worry if your travel budget doesn't quite stretch that far, because we've also spotted a really big discount for those of us in the UK. Hopefully similar discounts are coming to the US too – check our best Black Friday headphones deals for top discounts where you are.

Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless' best-ever Black Friday discount

Amazon UK is currently selling the Momentum 4 for £199, which is the cheapest we've ever seen them. The lowest these headphones have ever been is just shy of £245 late last year, so it's a top deal on first-class cans, quite literally.

Things aren't quite so cheap over at Amazon US, where the lowest price we've seen is $219 and the usual price tends to be around $250. Right now they're sitting at $289.98, so perhaps a swathe of Black Friday deals is incoming…

This is the lowest price we've seen yet and an excellent deal on Sennheiser's best wireless headphones for UK buyers: the cheapest they'd been before now is £219, and that was ages ago. This is a massive saving on not just the RRP but on the usual selling price too.View Deal

You might want to hang on for Black Friday here, because while this deal is a significant saving on the RRP we've seen Amazon and other US retailers offer the MOMENTUM 4 for even less.View Deal

These splendid over-ears were released in August 2022 and their relative age (the world of wireless listening gear moves at a startling pace, doesn't it?) is the only reason you might think twice on them.

For sound, comfort and feature set they're incredibly good – one great perk is ‘Sound Zones’. You can create up to 20 profiles (think office, train, gym, home and so on) featuring specific EQ and noise isolation levels – which will magically activate or deactivate when you enter or leave a specific 'zone' wearing the Momentum 4 Wireless. Want max ANC and a bass injection to kick in as soon as you get within throwing distance of the train station? Want to dip into office chatter – but don't want to fiddle with the app (good though it is) at your desk? Sound Zones will make it happen.

Elsewhere you're getting Bluetooth 5.2 with multipoint pairing, aptX and aptX Adaptive higher-resolution audio support (if your file is good enough), Sennheiser's splendid Sidetone tech, which makes your own voice easier to hear during calls, a 'Sound Check', which involves listening to your favorite music to help you create custom presets, and Adaptive ANC, which includes a slider to tweak how much extraneous noise you want to shut out. All in all, they're still excellent in 2024.

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A new phenomenon is reportedly causing confiscated iPhones to reboot on their own and send signals to nearby handsets to do the same – and we don’t know yet if it’s a bug or an intentional feature.

According to a report by 404 Media, law enforcement officers in the US have noticed and warned of an issue whereby iPhones reboot by themselves, in turn becoming much harder to unlock without the original user’s input.

The report says that some officers based in Detroit have hypothesized that the rebooting could stem from a new security feature added in iOS 18, though this is purely conjecture.

The iPhones documented appear to reboot a day or so after being disconnected from cellular service, or after a day of inactivity.

The crux of the issue is how iPhones handle security and unlocking, as there are two main states that an iPhone can occupy when it comes to day-to-day security.

The first is known as Before First Unlock (BFU), which offers much less information and requires a passcode to disengage. 

The second is After First Unlock (AFU), which displays more information on the lock screen, can be disabled with biometrics like Face ID, and, as this report implies, is easier for law enforcement to break into if necessary.

Rebooting an iPhone returns it to the BFU stage, making it substantially harder to access by force.

An iPhone in the AFU state (Image credit: Future )

• US law enforcement officials are reporting that confiscated iPhones are rebooting automatically
• This makes the phones harder to access, and may be a security feature or bug
• Apple has not commented on the situation

What’s more, the report seemingly claims that the rebooted iPhones send wireless signals to nearby handsets that are still in the AFU state to trigger a reboot, though the technical specifics of how this would work aren’t exactly clear yet.

Apple is well-known for its strict approach to user privacy, and has continually refused to allow the FBI to create a backdoor into the iPhone. And as much as this new rebooting phenomenon may hinder law enforcement, it tracks that criminals and thieves would find it harder to unlock stolen phones, too.

However, as Android Authority notes, this report is down to the interpretations of law enforcement officers, and iOS 18 already has a small list of known rebooting glitches. It could be that the reporting officers have simply misunderstood a glitch affecting multiple confiscated iPhone handsets.

Apple has yet to comment on this issue, so be sure to check in with our iPhone coverage for the latest official updates.

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Not long ago OnePlus unveiled the OnePlus 13 with a 6,000mAh battery – that’s bigger either than the OnePlus 12’s battery or basically any other mainstream handset’s. But the company could have something even bigger planned.

According to leaker Digital Chat Station (via 91Mobiles), an upcoming mid-range OnePlus phone could have a 7,000mAh battery. They don’t name this phone, but the mention of it being mid-range means it won’t be the OnePlus 14.

To give you an idea of how big a 7,000mAh battery would be though, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has a 5,000mAh one, the iPhone 16 Pro Max has a 4,685mAh one, and even one of the best gaming phones like the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro only has a 5,500mAh one.

Not the biggest, but much bigger than most

The Doogee V Max has a 22,000mAh battery (Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

It’s not completely unheard of to put a 7,000mAh battery in a phone – in fact there’s even a smartphone with a 22,000mAh battery. But it’s extremely rare to find a phone with a battery of above 6,000mAh, and those that exist tend to be niche devices, which a OnePlus phone probably wouldn’t be.

And while we might not see OnePlus start putting 7,000mAh batteries in all its phones, it does seem the company is interested in using large batteries in general. The OnePlus 13’s battery is huge, and Digital Chat Station claims in this same leak that the upcoming OnePlus Ace 5 series will have batteries of up to 6,500mAh.

Based on past form those phones probably won’t be available in many places outside China, at least under that name, but one of the Ace 5 models could launch globally as the OnePlus 13R, possibly in early 2025.

So if typical smartphone battery capacities just aren’t cutting it for you, there could soon be some much larger alternatives from OnePlus.

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• Google Vids rolls out to Workspace users worldwide
• Vids will allow users to quickly and easily create work-focused video content
• Gemini AI helps with theme, design, text - and even voiceovers

Creating video content at work is about to get an AI boost thanks to a new tool launching on Google Workspace.

The company has today announced the launch of Google Vids, which utilizes its Gemini AI platform to let users create business-focused content from within their browser.

First revealed at Google Cloud Next 24 in April 2024, Vids is described as "an AI-powered video creation app for work", and will now be available to more Workspace plans.

Google Vids rollout

"We know that creating and editing video has felt challenging because in the past it has required special skills or licensing, but with Google Vids the power of storytelling is in your hands," a Google Workspace update blog post announcing the launch said.

"Now teams can build and tell compelling stories at work, scaling and landing their message to engage coworkers in an effective way."

Going forward, Vids will form part of the wider Google Workspace portfolio, sitting alongside existing apps such as Docs, Slides and Sheets, with full interoperability between all.

Users can pick from a number of existing templates, or use Gemini's "Help Me Create" tool to generate a "fully editable initial storyboard" using a Google Doc.

Once users have picked the visual style they want, Vids will create a first video draft using suggested scenes from millions of high-quality stock videos and images, alongside suggestions for text, scripts per scene, and even background music.

Users can then pick from animations, transitions, and photo effects, and even add in their own media from Google Drive or Photos, allowing companies to easily add in branding.

Vids will even add an AI voiceover, with a number of preset Gemini options available, or offer users the chance to record their own by reading along to a teleprompter, add a video recording, or screen recording of slides or other assets.

Google Workspace highlighted a wide range of possible use cases for Vids, from customer service teams creating better support by adding videos to help center articles, to training terms delivering company-wide guidance, marketers using video to share recaps of key campaigns and events, and project management teams sharing meeting recaps, business updates and report share outs.

Google Vids is now rolling out to Workspace users on tiers including Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Essentials, Enterprise Essentials and Enterprise Essentials Plus members.

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• Apple’s High Power Mode ramps up cooling to enable better performance
• It’s now available in more Macs than before
• Limited testing suggests its benefits might not be enormous

We already know that the M4 Pro chip inside Apple’s latest Macs is impressively powerful – it blows holes in the Mac Pro’s M2 Ultra, after all. But you can eke even more juice out of this little chip with a quick software tweak, and it’s now available in a larger range of Macs than ever before.

Dubbed High Power Mode, the setting in macOS Sequoia ramps up your Mac’s fans, providing better cooling to the machine. That in turn allows it to max out its performance, which is particularly useful in sustained workloads like video rendering and color grading, where increased cooling and performance can noticeably shorten working times.

High Power Mode is available in the MacBook Pro and the Mac mini, provided they’re outfitted with the M4 Pro chip. This is an improvement on the previous situation, where only the MacBook Pro with M3 Max, M2 Max or M1 Max chips could use this setting. It means that not only is the barrier to entry lowered in terms of the chip you need, but it’s also now available in the Mac mini for the first time.

(Image credit: Apple)

However, you might not find that High Power Mode provides a huge boost in performance. Ars Technica tested the setting in the Mac mini, where reviewer Andrew Cunningham said that the gains were “essentially negligible” yet came with “considerably increased fan noise.”

During our time testing the new M4 Pro MacBooks, we also found that turning on High Power Mode made only a little difference in benchmark results, and certainly nothing too mind-blowing.

But before you write the feature off entirely, Cunningham did acknowledge that his tests were brief and that you might see a larger effect over a longer period of time. That chimes with Apple’s note that High Power Mode is designed for “sustained” or “intensive” workloads.

We would be very surprised to see Apple include a feature like High Power Mode if it provides no significant benefits while also bringing a noisy drawback, and it’s likely you’ll see some improvement while the mode is enabled for more sustained workloads. But without testing it ourselves, we can’t be absolutely sure.

Still, it’s good to see this feature extended to more affordable Macs. It means that you can get High Power Mode for $1,399 (in the M4 Pro Mac mini) as opposed to the previous starting price of $3,199 for the M3 Max MacBook Pro. Regardless of how much of a performance boost it provides, that’s nothing to sniff at.

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• New report shows ongoing need for human intelligence in cybersecurity
• AI continues to dominate the threat landscape
• Higher pay is the biggest motivator for security researchers

A new report from HackerOne has claimed almost half (48%) of security leaders believe AI is one of the most significant threats to their organization, and nearly 10% of researchers now specialize in AI in order to meet growing demand for AI expertise.

The top vulnerability reported to a bug bounty program was Cross-site Scripting (XSS), and for pentest this was misconfiguration emails. Bug bounty programs tend to focus on real-world attack vectors and user-level issues, whilst pentests focus on discovering architectural and systemic weaknesses.

AI is continuing to dominate the conversation and the landscape, with 55% of all reported vulnerabilities being AI safety issues, and a staggering 171% rise in AI assets in scope on the HackerOne platform.

Tech industries do better

The organizations most successful in actively reducing common vulnerabilities were security mature and tech-focused industries like e-commerce and online services. In fact, Web3 companies had 65% fewer reports for XSS than the average.

Motivation for security researchers is primarily financial, with 77% stating potential income as a driving factor, followed closely by the opportunity to learn new skills (64%).

Most respondents (67%) believe unbiased reviews by humans are the most effective tactic in uncovering AI security and safety issues. AI's tendency for bias means that human intelligence will always be needed in cybersecurity.

“Even the most sophisticated automation can’t match the ingenuity of human intelligence. The 2024 Hacker-Powered Security Report proves how essential human expertise is in addressing the unique challenges posed by AI and other emerging technologies,” said Chris Evans, HackerOne CISO and Chief Hacking Officer.

Humans excel in manual exploitation and reconnaissance, which are two hacking skills which require human creativity, such as spotting unique weaknesses from an outsiders point of view, or uncovering overlooked domains.

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• Three in 1,000 bankers click on a phishing link every month, report claims
• Russia is believed to be the leading force behind banking attacks
• Banks are wary about new tech like GenAI, which does go some way to helping

New research has claimed a concerning amount of banking employees click on a phishing link each month, making it one of the most common threats in the sector.

A report from Netskope found three in every 1,000 employees would fall victim to such scams, so of the estimated 362,000 banking employees in the UK in 2023, this equates to more than 1,000 workers clicking a dodgy link sent to them.

According to the report, hackers are getting a lot of their success from designing phishing pages to mimic the target bank’s website, stealing bank account information and login credentials to commit fraud.

Phishing is rife in banking

Netskope identified Downloader.SLoad (Starslord), Infostealer.AgentTesla, Trojan.FakeUpdater, Trojan.Parrottds and Trojan.Valyria as the most recently used malware families to be aware of, highlighting that Russian criminal groups are the most likely to target this industry.

Despite the serious threat of phishing attacks, banks were found to be more hesitant about adopting new technologies than other industries, with 87% of banks using generative AI compared with the cross-industry average of 97%. More than half of banks also use Data Loss Prevention measures to manage data going into GenAI apps.

"[Banks] are more aggressive at blocking apps without a legitimate business purpose and using DLP to control what can be sent to allowed apps," commented Netskope Threat Labs Director, Ray Canzanese.

The company’s advice to banks, as well as all other industries, is to inspect all HTTP and HTTPS downloads to prevent malware from infiltrating a network. Companies should also ensure that high-risk file types are thoroughly inspected with status and dynamic analysis.

Other basic internet hygiene practices can be adopted by workers, such as questioning the authenticity of any emails they receive and taking part in training campaigns. Boosted protection, like the use of multi-factor authentication and passkeys, can also help to prevent unwarranted access to accounts.

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Anthropic's newest AI model is now available, but Claude 3.5 Haiku costs 4 times more than its predecessor.

The new Claude 3.5 Haiku costs $1 per million input tokens and $5 per million output, that's a huge increase compared to the 25-cent input per million and $1.25 output per million of the previous model.

Anthropic had initially claimed the new AI model would remain at the same price point as the older version, but the company took to X to say that the price would increase due to higher results than expected in benchmarks.

The tweet read, "During final testing, Haiku surpassed Claude 3 Opus, our previous flagship model, on many benchmarks — at a fraction of the cost. As a result, we’ve increased pricing for Claude 3.5 Haiku to reflect its increase in intelligence,"

It's worth noting that this new 3.5 Haiku is far more powerful than the previous 3 Haiku AI model with a more up-to-date knowledge base and the ability to write longer text answers. It may be more powerful, but it's still missing some features found in the older model such as image analysis. Anthropic has said Claude 3 Haiku will remain available for users who want to use the image processing that the new 3.5 Haiku is missing. Anthropic says image input will arrive at a later date.

During final testing, Haiku surpassed Claude 3 Opus, our previous flagship model, on many benchmarks—at a fraction of the cost.As a result, we've increased pricing for Claude 3.5 Haiku to reflect its increase in intelligence: https://t.co/UWTd1RDRVE.November 4, 2024

Claude 3.5 Haiku

Claude 3.5 Haiku is a more advanced version of the cheaper 3 Haiku and Anthropic says it outperforms the company's previous flagship AI model, Claude 3 Opus.

In that sense 3.5 Haiku is worth the increased cost, allowing users to access a far more powerful AI at a lower cost than 3 Opus which is priced at $15 per million input tokens and $75 per million output tokens. If Anthropic's claim that 3.5 Haiku outperformed 3 Opus on benchmarks is true then the 4x price hike compared to 3 Haiku is far easier to digest.

Claude 3.5 Haiku is available now and you can request API access directly from Anthropic's website.

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