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Commentary: A foldable iPad would feel like an evolution of Apple's tablet, unlike foldable phones which can feel like two experiences crammed together.

Congress has until Friday to approve funding for the federal government before it shuts down. But what would a shutdown actually mean for you and your family?

It's not too late to watch some of this year's top fantasy, action and comedy anime releases.

Will using AI lead me to Botox or towards more natural treatments?

Discover the best cheap VPNs for 2024. Enjoy top privacy features without breaking the bank. Keep your online activities private today.

Get the best results for your wireless camera by charging it the right way -- and getting more battery life.

AT&T's latest internet offering uses 5G to get you online. Should you try it out? CNET has the details.

The video game lovers of CNET came together and collected what they think were the best games that came out this year.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is making the case with senators that he should lead Health and Human Services. Kathleen Sebelius, who had the job under Obama, explains the power and limits of the role.

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

The electric SUV, the flagship of the Swedish brand, is the most connected and safe car Volvo has ever made. There’s so much to like, but we also have a few gripes.

• Hollywood power player Frankin Leonard's AirPods post went viral
• He loves what AirPods Pro 2 can do for his hearing
• But they're so very, very white against darker skin tones

When Franklin Leonard posted about his experience of AirPods Pro 2's hearing aid mode, he wasn't trying to go viral. But 250,000 views and over 3,000 likes later, that's exactly what happened. And his post, which we've embedded below, is well worth reading if you're interested in Apple's hearing aid mode.

Leonard is a well-known figure in the entertainment industry and founded The Black List, the famous list of unproduced screenplays that could well include the next big blockbuster. Watching movies – lots of movies – is what Leonard does, but when an illness damaged his hearing two years ago he started struggling to hear the dialog in the movies he loves so much.

As he wrote in his post, "I considered getting hearing aids, but even the cheapest good ones cost thousands of dollars, and health insurance does not cover their cost, even when you have a documented need."

Enter AirPods Pro 2 and their hearing aid feature.

I never post anything this long on Twitter, and I don’t foresee myself doing it again any time soon, but yeah it’s happening. Also, this is not an ad. It's an explanation: For the foreseeable future, it's very likely that you're going to be seeing me wearing Airpods in social… pic.twitter.com/pCNBcUXLggDecember 9, 2024

AirPods Pro 2 hearing aid mode: the good and the not so good

Leonard's folks saw the Apple AirPods Pro 2 ad and bought him a pair for Christmas. "They're already a game changer for me," he wrote. While they're not cheap, they're a fraction of the cost of hearing aids – "and that alone is a potential game changer". Leonard is "overjoyed" by the benefits of hearing aid mode.

That said, he's also identified something that Beats already does but Apple doesn't. Copying in Apple's account, he said "let's talk about skin toned color product" and showed a picture of the AirPods Pro in his ears, where they couldn't look more distractingly white if they were a Hollywood star's teeth.

I know that the pearly whiteness of AirPods is part of the branding, a marketing thing that goes back to the very first iPod and its associated ads. But for people buying AirPods for their hearing aids feature, that visibility may be a downside because it draws attention to them.

It'd be really nice if Apple could take a leaf out of its Beats division's book and offer some colors that are less "look at my AirPods" against olive, brown and black skin. The reaction to the skin toned Beats Fit Pro was very positive, and I'm sure there are lots of people who'd buy skin-toned AirPods in a snap.

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• Check Point spots hackers sending fake Google Calendar invites
• The invites point to a phishing page where they can lose sensitive information
• Google recommends turning on "Known senders" feature in Calendar

Cybercriminals have been spotted impersonating Google Calendar, sending emails which look to steal victim's private, and business, information.

A report from Check Point Security notes how the criminals would tweak the sender email header to make the message look as if it’s a Google Calendar invite coming from a known contact. In the body itself, they would add a .ics attachment, a calendar app file, together with a link to either Google Forms, or Google Drawings. On these links, the victims would then be asked to click on another link, which usually looks like a reCAPTCHA, or support, button.

This link would lead the victim to a website that looks like a cryptocurrency mining, or Bitcoin support site.

Successful attack

"These pages are actually intended to perpetrate financial scams," Check Point Research said in its report. "Once users reach said page, they are asked to complete a fake authentication process, enter personal information, and eventually provide payment details."

The campaign seems to have been a success, with Check Point claiming roughly 300 brands have been infected so far, and more than 4,000 phishing emails sent over the course of four weeks.

Commenting on the findings, Google said the best way to defend is to enable “known senders” in the Calendar. This feature helps, since it will alert the user when they get an invitation from someone who is not in their contacts list, or from someone with whom they’ve not interacted before.

“Known senders” aside, users should also use common sense, and just be careful when receiving any unsolicited message, particularly around those that come with attachments or links. If they are unsure if the message is legitimate or not, they should reach out to the alleged sender via other means, and confirm the authenticity of the received message.

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At Fivex3 Training, a gym in Baltimore, several mornings a week are reserved for older people to train.

(Image credit: Kyna Uwaeme for NPR)

• The OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R launch globally on January 7
• The OnePlus 13 previously launched in China on December 4
• Neither phone's pricing has been announced yet

The long-awaited OnePlus 13 is officially launching worldwide on January 7, alongside its newly-announced midrange sibling, the OnePlus 13R.

OnePlus confirmed the phone's release date for the US and the rest of the world in a press release following the launch of the OnePlus 13 in China on December 4.

A January launch date positions the OnePlus 13 and 13R as direct competitors to the Samsung Galaxy S25 lineup, which we expect to launch in the same month next year.

With this announcement, we also have some newly confirmed official specs for the global versions of the OnePlus 13 and 13R.

The OnePlus 13 in Arctic Dawn (Image credit: OnePlus)

The OnePlus 13 will come equipped with the class-leading Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and a display with a 2k resolution, a 1-120Hz variable refresh rate, and 4500nits of maximum brightness. It is the first OnePlus phone to have both an IP68 and IP69 water and dust resistance rating.

OnePlus says the display used for the OnePlus 13 is the first to be rated A++ by DisplayMate, an independent display rating organization.

The OnePlus 13 will be available in three color options at launch: Black Eclipse, Arctic Dawn (white) and Midnight Ocean (blue). The Midnight Blue option is apparently the first phone to feature micro-fiber vegan leather, which improves scratch resistance.

The OnePlus 13R features a triple-camera system, a 6,000mAh battery, and Gorilla Glass 7i on the front and rear panels. It features a flat display – unusual for OnePlus – and measures in at 8mm thick.

The OnePlus 13R will launch in two colorways: Nebula Noir and Astral Trail – though we don’t have any confirmation of what these titles exactly describe.

We expect OnePlus to announce the price of both phones at the OnePlus 13 launch event on January 7, but the latest rumors suggest the 13 will cost as much or a little more than its predecessor, the OnePlus 12, which still starts at $899 / £849 (it’s not available in Australia).

The announcement also marks the first time OnePlus has confirmed the existence of the OnePlus 13R, the latest addition to the company’s lower-end flagship phone series a la the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE.

In our OnePlus 12 review, we found the most globally available Chinese phone to be a stylish, speedy, and altogether superb handset, and hype for its follow-up has been building over the last few months (as our OnePlus coverage can attest).

If you find yourself intrigued by this one-of-a-kind brand, feel free to check out our guide to the best OnePlus phones.

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• Disney has cut a trans storyline from Pixar's Win or Lose
• This isn't the first time it's cut LGBTQIA+ themed stories
• Many brands have been subject to huge pile-ons for inclusivity

If you're looking for a Christmas present for the LGBTQIA+ folks in your life, Disney would very much like to sell you items from its Pride collection: there's a Pride version of Mickey Mouse, a Disney Pride pin, a Disney Stitch... you get the idea. As the page says: "The Walt Disney Company proudly works with nonprofits throughout the year to support the LGBTQIA+ community globally."

So, it's a shame that that pride doesn't seem to extend to including LGBTQIA+ characters in the best Disney Plus shows or best Disney Plus movies any more. The Hollywood Reporter has learnt that Disney has excised a trans storyline from the upcoming Pixar series Win or Lose, which follows a softball team and focuses on a different character each episode.

All the lines referring to the trans character's gender identity have been excised, and the decision was made months ago – possibly while LGBTQIA+ people were spending their pink pounds at the Disneyland After Dark Pride Nite in California.

Why has Disney removed trans representation from its Pixar show?

If you ask the people on my socials, many of whom are working in the entertainment industry and many of whom are LGBTQIA+, the answer is simple: they think it's cowardice. LGBTQIA+ inclusion in TV shows, media and pretty much anything else has been the subject of orchestrated pile-ons by right-wing "anti-woke" activists, and all kinds of firms from Budweiser to Target have rolled back or abandoned inclusion altogether. With the incoming administration determined to wage a "war on woke" and diversity under attack, you'd need to be as brave as a Disney princess to stand up for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Disney's management, it seems, are not as brave as their princesses.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney said: “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”

This isn't the first time Disney has self-censored, although it denies that that's what it's doing: earlier this year, the Disney Channel series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur cancelled an episode centered on a recurring trans character. Disney says it hasn't banned it; it's just decided not to show this particular episode because reasons.

This isn't just bad news for LGBTQIA+ viewers. It's bad news for LGBTQIA+ talent: the character whose storyline Disney cut from Win or Lose is played by Chanel Stewart, who is trans – the casting call was specifically for a trans actress – and is now "very disheartened". If Disney is scared of simply featuring trans characters for fear of backlash it doesn't bode well for the actors, animators and other employees currently working for the company – or for the LGBTQIA+ folks hoping to see even a sliver of representation in Disney's shows and movies.

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• Apple has brought its Look Around feature to web browsers
• This is Apple’s Street View rival in Apple Maps
• It brings Apple Maps closer to Google Maps in terms of features

Apple Maps and Google Maps have been rivals for years, and each one can lay claim to doing certain things better than the other. Both services let you view maps from a pedestrian’s perspective, but until now Apple’s version has been limited to the Apple Maps app, not its web view (which launched in July 2024). With the latest update, though, that’s all changing.

As noted by Chris Carley on Threads (via 9to5Mac), you can now get Apple’s Street View rival (called Look Around) when using Apple Maps in any of the best web browsers, including Safari, Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. According to 9to5Mac, this feature was likely added around December 11.

Look Around lets you take a street-level look at any area that’s covered, moving the view around 360 degrees and moving up and down along streets and paths. It’s currently available in the US, Canada, UK, the European Union, Australia, Japan, and a handful of other locations. Apple has a full list of its available locations on its website.

Breaking free of Apple’s apps

(Image credit: Apple)

With Look Around now supported in browsers, you’re no longer limited to using the feature on Apple devices. Previously, you needed to have the Apple Maps app on your iPhone, iPad or Mac, but now that you can access it from a browser you can use Look Around from a Windows PC if you want to (although it still doesn’t work on any of the best Android phones).

That could help make Look Around a much more popular feature, as it won’t be dependent on the user having an Apple device. Instead, anyone can now use it, provided they have a compatible web browser.

Carley added that the web version of Look Around doesn’t appear to have the parallax effect (whereby background objects appear to move more slowly relative to your viewpoint than foreground ones) that can be seen when moving the view around in the iOS and macOS versions. This effect does seem to work when you move forward or backwards in Look Around, however, and it seems probable that Apple will update the web view to bring this in line with its app versions of Apple Maps.

Apple Maps’ web view is currently in beta, and many features – like transit maps, viewing 3D buildings, and signing in and saving locations, are unavailable. But with addition of Look Around, you’ve just got another reason to switch over from Google Maps.

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• Some monthly costs are going up for Adobe's Photography plans
• The cheapest option will no longer be available for new users
• Changes come into effect from January 15, 2025

Brace yourself for price rises if you're signed up to one of the Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom photography plans – these are the subscription options that just give you access to the photo applications, rather than the whole of Creative Cloud.

As per the Adobe blog (via PetaPixel), these new prices come into effect from January 15, 2025. At the moment we just have US pricing, but you can calculate the equivalent price rise for your region. Long story cut short: the users currently paying Adobe the least money will have to cough up more cash, or start paying annually.

The new pricing structure – the plan on the left is going away for new subscribers (Image credit: Adobe)

The Photography plan with 20GB of storage (including Photoshop, Lightroom, and Lightroom Classic) will be $14.99 a month rather than $9.99 – a bump of over 50%. You'll need to commit for a year ($179.88) or pay an unspecified termination fee, or switch to the $119.88-per-year plan, which remains unchanged (and locks you in for longer).

On top of all that, this cheapest plan is going away, and won't be available to new subscribers next year, so these changes are only for existing subscribers. If you're signing up for Photoshop after January 15, the cheapest option will be twice as much as it currently is (though you do get 50 times as much cloud storage).

Going up

Photoshop recently added a reflection removal tool (Image credit: Adobe)

There's no change to the more expensive monthly ($19.99) or yearly ($239.88) Photography plans with 1TB of storage, which of course send more revenue Adobe's way. As mentioned above, from January 15, these plans will be the only way to just get Photoshop without the rest of Creative Cloud.

Prices for the Lightroom-only plan with 1TB of storage are going up too, though you will now get Lightroom Classic as well as Lightroom. Going forward you need to pay $11.99 per month rather than $9.99 a month – so it's 20% more expensive. Again, you need to commit for a year ($143.88) or pay a penalty.

Adobe would prefer you to lock yourself in to the $119.88-per-year plan, the cost of which remains unchanged. If these prices are now a little too rich for your blood, then you might want to check out our guides to the best Adobe Lightroom alternatives and the best Adobe Photoshop alternatives.

These new prices "better reflect the value that the apps deliver" Adobe says, noting it hasn't raised subscription prices since it started demanding continuous monthly or yearly payments for Photoshop rather than one-off fees for each version. If you're an existing subscriber, look out for an email from Adobe close to renewal time.

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The biggest fight of the year, Fury vs Usyk 2, is just a few days away and the heavyweight title fight will go down in history as the first boxing bout to feature an AI judge.

The AI experiment will be "free from bias and human error" according to Turki Alalshikh the man behind the tool branded by Ring Magazine, which he purchased in November.

Alalshikh has yet to reveal the technology behind the AI-powered judging, although according to Forbes it could be Jabbr, a company that has provided AI-powered stats for combat sports for a while now.

This is an interesting move for the world of boxing, considering the human-error that is often criticized when it comes to scoring fights. While the AI judge will not be used for the official scorecards in Fury vs Usyk 2, it could ultimately be incorporated into future title fights down the line.

This opens up a lot of discussion about using AI in sports, especially without human input. In Premier League Soccer, VAR (Video Assistant Referee), while controversial due to human error, is still overseen by a qualified team of officials who use the technology to come to a decision. Automated offside decisions are used across European soccer leagues, however, there's no room for interpretation with the offside rule: it's either onside or offside. With boxing, however, there's an element of subjectivity that comes into play, like the intent of a fighter for example, so relying solely on AI could in fact be a hindrance.

AI judging in boxing

AI models are trained on huge amounts of data, but that means there's a human element to the training that ultimately decides how any AI reacts to certain situations. Would an AI boxing judge's model lean in favor of specific fight styles? Would this lead to athletes evolving their skills to cater to an AI judge rather than the traditional aspects of the sport?

An AI judge in boxing is an intriguing development and one that might end up making its way into official scoring cards further down the line. I expect the best compromise is AI-powered monitoring of judges' scorecards to remove contentious decisions from the sport for good.

Looking for how to watch Fury vs Usyk 2? The first fight in May saw Oleksandr Usyk win by split decision in 12 rounds (115–112, 114–113, 113–114). As we head towards the second fight Fury is very slightly favored to win by some, but most critics find it hard to separate the two.

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• Samsung is launching four new AI-enhanced appliances at CES 2025.
• The oven, fridge, washer, and dryer will have AI Home displays built in
• Apple is also rumored to be launching an AI smart display very soon

Samsung appears to be following in Apple's footsteps by taking a 'screens everywhere' approach to smart-home tech – and it's starting with your kitchen. Samsung has revealed four new smart appliances that it will be showing off at CES 2025 in Las Vegas: a refrigerator, a washing machine, a dryer, and an oven, all of which are equipped with screens and AI assistants.

Samsung already sells fridges with 21.5-inch and 32-inch Family Hub smart displays built in, which let you control compatible devices (such as Samsung's robot vacuums and air conditioners) without an extra display unit cluttering up your countertop, but with its new appliances the company is focusing less on screen size and more on smarts.

Instead of the Family Hub, each of the new appliances is equipped with one of Samsung's much smaller AI Home screens, which range in size from 9 inches to just 4.3 inches.

Samsung's smart ovens offer recipe suggestions, cooking temperatures and times, and let you check on your meal via your smartphone (Image credit: Samsung)

So why would you want AI in your oven as well? Well, it could potentially make you a better cook. Samsung's new Bespoke Wall Oven, for example, can recommend times and temperatures for specific recipes, monitor your food while it's cooking, and let you check in on its progress via the SmartThings app and the oven's internal camera. No more worrying about your cake sinking if you open the door too soon.

It can also suggest recipes based on the ingredients you have to hand, help you prepare a shopping list for those you don't have, and even suggest dishes based on your workout stats and diet goals when connected to Samsung Health.

The updated Bespoke Fridge lets you control third-party devices compatible with the SmartThings ecosystem (such as Ring video doorbells and Philips Hue lights), see their locations, and control everything using voice commands.

Meanwhile, the Bespoke AI washer and dryer set gives you real-time updates on washing cycles and energy monitoring. We'll aim to bring you a good look at all four new appliances when we see them in person at CES, so stay tuned.

Built-in or standalone?

Last month, rumors emerged suggesting that Apple is planning to release a new smart-home display, potentially running a new operating system and sporting a 6-inch screen.

Building screens into appliances is an interesting approach that means you won't need additional devices cluttering up your home, though it does raise the issue of upgrades. If Apple does indeed release a new smart home display next year, it might have a regular update schedule, similar to the company's tablets, with a new model launched every few years.

You won't be able to replace your fridge's built-in smart hub so easily, meaning you'll be stuck with the same hardware for a lot longer. Samsung does release regular updates for its smart appliances, improving security and adding new features, but opting for a standalone tablet means you can benefit from advances in hardware more quickly.

On the other hand, how advanced does even the best smart display really need to be? You aren't going to be running Photoshop or generating AI videos on your washing machine, and any truly heavy lifting could be done in the cloud.

Both systems have their merits, and it'll be interesting to see how the two compare when (and if) Apple unveils its new 'screens everywhere' system in the new year.

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Salesforce has revealed the second generation of its AI agent platform in the latest sign of the technology becoming a truly transformational change for businesses everywhere.

The launch of Agentforce 2.0, just three months after the platform's initial launch in September 2024, promises even more tools and services for companies looking to get to grips with growing AI demand.

Set to be available in February 2025, although some tools will get an earlier release, Agentforce 2.0 offers more customization options for enterprises eyeing up the next step in their AI journey.

Agentforce 2.0

The launch of Agentforce 2.0 forms part of what Salesforce calls its "digital labor platform", which looks to augment and boost worker experiences and productivity.

The release will include a new library of customizable pre-built skills and workflow integrations for Salesforce's entire portfolio, covering its CRM, Slack, Tableau, MuleSoft and more, alongside advancements in agentic reasoning and retrieval augmented generation (RAG), greatly improving the response time and accuracy of agents.

There's also new CRM skills to make agents smarter and more effective, such as helping sales teams nurture leads and even join calls to provide instant feedback on interactions with customers.

There will also be the ability to deploy Agentforce in Slack, with Slack Actions now available in Agent Builder, meaning the platform could send a direct message providing a summary of a project's status.

Agent Builder has also been give a major upgrade that will let users create a new agent in seconds using natural language descriptions, and can even auto-generate relevant topics and instructions from its skills library to get your work up and running.

“Agentforce 2.0 takes our revolutionary Salesforce digital labor platform to another level, with new reasoning, integration and customization features that supercharge autonomous agents with unprecedented levels of intelligence, precision and accuracy,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO, Salesforce.

“The demand for Agentforce has been amazing — no other company comes close to offering this complete AI solution for enterprises. We’re seamlessly bringing together AI, data, apps, and automation with humans to reshape how work gets done. Agentforce 2.0 cements our position as the leader in digital labor solutions, allowing any company to build a limitless workforce that can truly transform their business.”

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