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POC’s Obex Connect headset turned me into a music-on-the-mountain person.

• Corsair has said that only one of its prebuilt PCs has been affected by Nvidia’s hardware-level fault
• That appears to back up Nvidia’s assertion that the problem, which slows down PC gaming performance, is indeed ‘rare’
• Corsair also underlined that it’s thoroughly checking graphics cards to ensure they meet the official hardware spec going forward

Corsair has shed some further light on RTX 5000 GPUs, as used in its pre-built PCs, and how widespread the reported problems are with Nvidia’s new graphics cards falling short of their official hardware spec.

In case you missed it, there’s recently been some controversy over a ‘rare’ chip-level fault in some Blackwell graphics cards, whereby some rendering pipelines for 3D graphics are missing, slowing down performance in some PC games.

While this is a serious issue – and definitely something that shouldn’t have happened – Corsair has assured us that the problem is as rare as Nvidia indicated (perhaps even rarer).

If you recall, Nvidia said that this issue could hit up to 0.5% of the potentially affected GPUs (RTX 5090 and 5080 boards, and Team Green later admitted that this fault can also be found with RTX 5070 Ti models, but not vanilla 5070 cards). However, according to Corsair, only one customer has run into trouble with a Blackwell GPU that’s short on its rendering pipeline (ROP) count.

Corsair informs us: “Initially, our testing procedures did not flag this specific ROP discrepancy during our production process. However, upon learning of this issue, we immediately implemented a thorough review of the detailed production reports for each system shipped to date. Matching the expected breadth of this issue, we have identified only one customer with an affected GPU and are actively working with them to provide a replacement.”

Corsair further adds that it has now implemented proactive measures regarding this potential problem with Nvidia’s graphics cards, and the company now has a “multi-stage testing protocol during system production to specifically validate the correct ROP count on all RTX 50-series GPUs.”

Corsair also says it’ll test all GPUs going forward to ensure they meet their official specs, observing that: “Every graphics card, including those in the RTX 50 series, undergoes rigorous testing to confirm it meets the manufacturer’s specifications, including the correct ROP count.”

(Image credit: Corsair) Analysis: Rarity and the blame game

On the face of it, what Corsair is saying here – that there’s just one case the firm has encountered – suggests the problem isn’t affecting many Blackwell GPUs at all. However, obviously this is a very limited sample, and we must be cautious about reading too much into the finding.

Or it could be the case that Corsair didn’t get all that many RTX 5000 GPUs through from Nvidia – theoretically a supply of a couple of hundred would see one faulty board. But as I said, there’s not much point trying to make too much out of this, save for that it seemingly backs up what Nvidia has claimed: that this is a ‘rare’ issue.

To address another point that’s come up here, on some online forums, I’ve seen something of a fuss about PC builders not testing these Nvidia GPUs and picking up on the ROP count being deficient, but I don’t think that’s entirely fair. By which I mean it’s reasonable to assume that a video card provided by Nvidia, or indeed AMD or Intel, lives up to the hardware spec. Should you really need to check that all cores, or rendering pipelines, or other hardware, are present? I’d argue not, though at the same time, given this incident, it’s now perhaps prudent to do so – exactly as Corsair has.

Really, though, a GPU, or CPU, or any PC component, should not ship from the production lines with some hardware-level fault present that impairs the experience for the end user (albeit not massively in some cases, but still – these Blackwell GPUs all cost a lot of money).

This is an issue that the chip maker – Nvidia – should’ve picked up on during QA testing, or indeed the board maker (Nvidia’s partners who take said chips, and make their graphics cards with them). A GPU with a glitch like this shouldn’t be reaching a PC builder (or consumers directly) in the first place.

At any rate, if you have purchased a PC from Corsair, the company notes it offers “lifetime tech support” and you are obviously free to check any Nvidia Blackwell graphics card to see if it has ROPs missing.

You can do that with CPU-Z Validator now – as we explained in a recent article, it will actively warn you in its latest version, which is useful – or as Corsair suggests you can use GPU-Z. The latter process is simple: just download and install GPU-Z, run the app, and go to the ‘Graphics Card’ tab where you can see the ROP count (it’s the seventh line down on the left-hand side). If it has 8 fewer ROPs than the official spec, the GPU in question has this hardware fault, sadly.

Quite why the Nvidia App doesn’t warn you in the same proactive way CPU-Z does, I’m not sure, as this would seem like an obvious move for Team Green to have made by now (given that this problem has been known about for the best part of two weeks at this point).

Via Tom’s Hardware

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Curious about taking mushroom gummies? You should know about the potential benefits and risks beforehand.

Prime Video's huge library has gotten even bigger with plenty of new arrivals in March. Among this month's additions are the Monty Python movies, all three Back to the Future movies, and plenty of classics too, as well as some coverage from the NHL.

So whatever you're in the mood for, you're sure to find it here. Or, if nothing new takes your fancy, there are plenty of options in our best Prime Video shows in March 2025 round-up, which has plenty of genres for you to explore.

Prime Video's constant haul of fresh content every month is why it's one of the best streaming services around and you can also check out the cream of the crop available in our best Prime Video movies guide, which we update regularly.

You can also stream Anora, this year's Best Picture winner, and Wicked, which won Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, this month if you're keen to catch up with some Oscar winners. However, if you're looking for something new to watch on the platform, have a look at the list below for its latest arrivals.

Everything new on Prime Video in March 2025

Arriving March 1

12 Angry Men (movie)

1984 (movie)

A Breed Apart (movie)

A Bridge Too Far (movie)

A Force of One (movie)

Across 110th Street (movie)

Adios, Sabata (movie)

American Gangster (movie)

Assassination (movie)

Asterix: The Mansion of the Gods (movie)

Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion (movie)

At Close Range (movie)

Back to the Future (movie)

Back to the Future II (movie)

Back to the Future III (movie)

Best Seller (movie)

Billy Two Hats (movie)

Blacula (movie)

Blame It on Rio (movie)

Bloodsport (movie)

Blow Out (movie)

Blue Velvet (movie)

Body of Evidence (movie)

Bojangles (movie)

Born to Win (movie)

Breathless (movie)

Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (movie)

Clara's Ghost (movie)

Class (movie)

Cooley High (movie)

Criminal Law (movie)

Dark Angel (movie)

Dead Like Me (movie)

Death at a Funeral (movie)

Diary of a Hitman (movie)

Diggstown (movie)

Double Impact (movie)

Electra (movie)

Eric Idle's What About Dick? (movie)

Eve of Destruction (movie)

Evidence of Blood (movie)

Exterminator 2 (movie)

Extremities (movie)

Flawless (movie)

Flesh + Blood (movie)

Fool for Love (movie)

Friday Foster (movie)

Funny Thing Happened...Forum (movie)

Good Guys Wear Black (movie)

Grievous Bodily Harm (movie)

Gun Belt (movie)

Hackers (movie)

Hair (movie)

Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (movie)

He Walked by Night (movie)

Heaven's Gate, Michael Cimino's (movie)

Hero and the Terror (movie)

Hollywood Shuffle (movie)

I Want to Live! (movie)

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (movie)

Jack the Giant Killer (movie)

John Sturges' The Hallelujah Trail (movie)

Kiss Me, Stupid (movie)

Koyaanisqatsi (movie)

Last Tango in Paris (movie)

Mademoiselle (movie)

Malone (movie)

Man of the East (movie)

Masters of the Universe (movie)

Messenger of Death (movie)

Moby Dick (movie)

Monty Python Conquers America (movie)

Monty Python Live (Mostly): One Down, Five to Go (movie)

Monty Python Live at Aspen (movie)

Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (movie)

Monty Python: The Meaning of Live (movie)

Never on Sunday (movie)

No Way Out (movie)

Not Without My Daughter (movie)

Odds Against Tomorrow (movie)

Over the Top (movie)

Personal Velocity (movie)

Prison Girls (movie)

R.O.T.O.R. (movie)

Rabbit Academy (movie)

Raging Bull (movie)

Rain Man (movie)

Rescue Dawn (movie)

Rob Roy (movie)

Robocop 2 (movie)

Robocop 3 (movie)

Robocop (1987) (movie)

Robocop (2014) (movie)

Rollerball (movie)

Rolling Thunder (movie)

Rosebud (movie)

Runaway Train (movie)

Rush (movie)

Semi-Tough (movie)

Separate Tables (movie)

Shanghai Surprise (movie)

Slaughter (movie)

Stagecoach (movie)

Stanley & Iris (movie)

Story & Pictures By (movie)

Strange Invaders (movie)

Sunnyside (movie)

Superbeast (movie)

Supernova (movie)

Swallows and Amazons (movie)

The 7th Dawn (movie)

The Addams Family seasons 1–2

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (movie)

The Battle of the Last Panzer (movie)

The Boss (movie)

The Boyfriend School (movie)

The Facts of Life (movie)

The Favor (movie)

The Fortune Cookie (movie)

The Gravedancers (movie)

The Group (movie)

The Hoodlum Priest (movie)

The Killing (movie)

The Mean Season (movie)

The Misfits (movie)

The Naked Face (movie)

The Neanderthal Man (movie)

The Night They Raided Minsky's (movie)

The Party (movie)

The Rachel Papers (movie)

The Scalphunters (movie)

Thelma & Louise (movie)

Three Amigos! (movie)

Tough Guys Don't Dance (movie)

Truck Turner (movie)

Ulee's Gold (movie)

Vampire's Kiss (movie)

Wishin' and Hopin' (movie)

Arriving March 3

The Year I Became a Liar (movie)

Landline (movie)

Demain Des Hommes (movie)

Long Lost Family season 13

Long Lost Family: What Happened Next? season 8

PMNH: Sharks vs. Maple Leafs (sports coverage)

Arriving March 4

Thomas Müller - One of a Kind (movie)

Oblivion (movie)

Arriving March 5

Vice (movie)

PWHL: Minnesota vs. Montreal (sports coverage)

Arriving March 6

A Dog and Pony Show (movie)

A Girl's Best Friend (movie)

A Kid in Aladdin's Palace (movie)

A Stork's Journey (movie)

Adventures of the Wilderness Family 2 (movie)

Adventures of the Wilderness Family 3 (movie)

Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (movie)

Back to the Secret Garden (movie)

Bait Shop (movie)

Big Trip 2: Special Delivery (movie)

Birds of Paradise (movie)

Bowling for Columbine (movie)

Brave New Girl (movie)

Breaking Brooklyn (movie)

C-Bear & Jamal S1 (movie)

C.I. Ape (movie)

Care Bears to the Rescue Movie (movie)

Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-Lot (movie)

Care Bears: Share Bear Shines (movie)

Care Bears: The Giving Festival (movie)

Carjacked (movie)

Centurion (movie)

Chihuahua Too! (movie)

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (movie)

Crave (movie)

Dear Lemon Lima (movie)

Drive (movie)

Drugstore Cowboy (movie)

Ella Enchanted (movie)

Final Score (movie)

Four Kids and It (movie)

Guardians of Time (movie)

Hanna (movie)

Henry & Me (movie)

Horrid Henry: The Movie

Last Vegas (movie)

Leapfrog: Scout & Friends Adventures in Shapeville Park (movie)

Leapfrog: Scout & Friends The Magnificent Museum of Opposite Words (movie)

Legend of Kung Fu Rabbit (movie)

Marco Polo: Return to Xanadu (movie)

Norm of the North (movie)

Officer Down (movie)

Picture This (movie)

Ping! (movie)

Pit Pony (Seasons 1–2)

Popular Mechanics for Kids (Seasons 1–4)

Sea Level (movie)

Sk8 Dawg (movie)

Star Kid (movie)

Step Up Revolution (movie)

Stolen (movie)

The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl (movie)

The Big Trip (movie)

The Care Bears Big Wish (movie)

The Ghost Writer (movie)

The Last Full Measure (movie)

The Legend of Secret Pass (movie)

The Shipping News (movie)

The Spy Next Door (movie)

The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (movie)

Toughest Man in the World (movie)

Trading Mom (movie)

Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection (movie)

Vamps (movie)

Walking with Dinosaurs (miniseries)

Zandalee (movie)

Arriving March 7

Elevation (movie)

F Marry Kill (movie)

Dupahiya (movie)

Par De Ideotas (movie)

Know Where to Hide: Wie Niet Weg Is... (TV show)

For Better or for Worse season 2

Before 30 (TV show)

Suky (movie)

Grind season 2

Paradise City (movie)

Classic Cup (TV show)

NHL Coast to Coast (sports coverage)

Arriving March 8

Minibods season 2

Arpo season 2

NWSL Challenge Cup: Orlando Pride vs. Washington Spirit (sports coverage)

ONE Fight Night 29 (sports coverage)

Arriving March 9:

1987 (movie)

Arriving March 10:

Faultline (movie)

PMNH: Red Wings vs. Senators (sports coverage)

Arriving March 11:

Iliza Shlesinger: A Different Animal (TV special)

The Wasp (movie)

PWHL: Minnesota vs. Ottawa (sports coverage)

Arriving March 13:

Death Squad (TV show)

Devil's Rock (movie)

From Dusk Till Dawn (movie)

Garrison (movie)

Girls Gone Gangsta (movie)

Igor (movie)

In the Name of the King 3 (movie)

Ironclad (movie)

Killers (movie)

The Demolitionist (movie)

The Great Raid (movie)

The Railway Man (movie)

The Wheel of Time season 3

Arriving March 14

Be Happy (movie)

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (movie)

Liars Club (movie)

NHL Coast to Coast (sports coverage)

Arriving March 15

The Kill Room (movie)

Morangos Com Acucar season 3

NWSL: Orlando Pride vs. Chicago Stars FC (sports coverage)

Arriving March 16

1991 (movie)

Vive Latino 2025 (presented by Amazon & Amazon Music)

Arriving March 17

Hidden Uganda (movie)

PMNH: Flames vs. Maple Leafs (sports coverage)

Arriving March 18

Anora (movie)

Hellboy: The Crooked Man (movie)

The Program (movie)

PWHL: Montreal vs. Boston (sports coverage)

Arriving March 19

Manes season 3

Arriving March 20

Tyler Perry's Duplicity (movie)

My Best Friend's Girl (movie)

Knuckles season 1

Woman in Gold (movie)

Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed (movie)

The Sweeney (movie)

Arriving March 21

The Last Duel (movie)

Sing Sing (movie)

Wicked (movie)

After 30 (movie)

Finding Nina (movie)

America Made with Love: Part I (TV show)

NHL Coast to Coast (sports coverage)

March 22

NWSL: Portland Thorns FC vs. Angel City FC (sports coverage)

Chico Bento (movie)

March 23

Québec-Montréal (movie)

March 24

PMNH: Canucks vs. Devils (sports coverage)

March 25

Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes (movie)

PWHL: New York vs. Ottawa (sports coverage)

Work It Out Wombats! season 9

March 26

Bosch: Legacy season 3

Holland

LOL: Chi Ride È Fuori season 5

Monsters vs. Aliens (movie)

Animal Kingdom (movie)

Feast II (movie)

Feast III (movie)

Faster (movie)

Fay Grim (movie)

The Hunter (movie)

Elite Squad (movie)

Boy A (movie)

Brand New Day (movie)

March 28

Desconectados 2: Reconectados (movie)

NHL Coast to Coast (sports coverage)

March 29

That's What She Said (movie)

Little World (TV show)

NWSL: Washington Spirit vs. Bay FC

March 30

The Mirage

March 31

Bloodline

Dostana 2

Umesh Chronicles

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• ISACA report claims 73% of IT workers have felt burnt out or stressed
• ISACA calls for more support, particularly for less seasoned workers
• There’s still significant potential for promotions and pay rises

IT workers across Europe are battling increased stress as a result of underfunding, heavy workloads and a lack of mentorship, new research from ISACA has claimed.

Around three-quarters (73%) of IT professionals have experienced work-related stress or burnout, according to the report, which highlights the negative implications on talent retention and career prospects.

However, to solve these issues requires a much broader solution, because both internal and external factors have led to the current state, says ISACA.

Workout burnout affects talent acquisition and retention

Three in five (61%) say that a heavy workload has contributed to their stressed state, with tight deadlines (44%) and a lack of resources (43%) also proving problematic. Poor workplace wellbeing is also said to stem from difficult or unsupportive management, however external considerations like the ongoing global skills shortage are also affecting IT workers.

Despite the negative sentiments, the IT sector does have its benefits. For example, nearly half (47%) choose to remain in their current job because they find it interesting, and more than two in three (68%) have had a salary increase or promotion within the last two years.

Furthermore, there in four (74%) say their company has paid for certifications as part of their career development, with 90% having participated in career-advancing certifications.

“With skilled employees in such high demand, it is in companies’ best interests and simply the right thing to do to make sure the tech workforce feels supported, motivated, and invested in," noted ISACA Chief Global Strategy Officer Chris Dimitriadis.

But there’s more that companies could be doing to show their appreciation for staff, including providing mentors to younger sector entrants – only 15% of European IT professionals have any sort of mentor, despite three in four (76%) acknowledging the importance of good mentors or role models.

Dimitriadis added: “A balanced, well-supported workforce is key to sustaining the industry’s growth and innovation.”

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This compact 1080p graphics card may leave you wanting more.

You can't keep a clean home without vacuuming but how often do you need to do it? We asked experts to find out.

Developed to boost productivity and operational readiness, the AI is now being used to “review” diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility polices to align them with President Trump's orders.

• Some Spotify users reported being unable to access music
• Regular app users weren't affected; it's a crackdown on 'cracked' apps
• Users of cracked apps aren't being banned

Many Spotify users have found themselves unable to access the service – and the reason appears to be the use of cracked or otherwise unauthorized apps.

Some reports of Spotify apparently being down started to circulate on the 3rd of March, but it turned out that the service was only unavailable to a very specific group of users: people using apps based on the highly unofficial Spotify Premium APK.

The Spotify Premium APK aims to enable people to access some or all of the Spotify Premium features without being Spotify Premium subscribers (ie, without paying for the music streaming service), and it appears to have been blocked on 3 March.

What's going on?

Why some Spotify users are finding their apps don't work

TechRadar understands that the reported app problems are indeed due to Spotify taking routine measures to enforce its terms and conditions, which prohibit the use of cracked apps. And we also understand that nobody who's been using such apps is going to be hit with the ban hammer: they'll just be knocked back to the free service.

Some sites have suggested that the abrupt demise of the APK exposes users to risk: they say that if now-blocked users go looking for alternative ways to cheat the system, they could end up in the parts of app download websites where malware and fraudsters tend to congregate. And that's true, but of course that's not Spotify's problem.

What's surprised me is how many people seem to prefer the risk of cracked apps to just sticking with a free Spotify sub, getting Premium bundled with something else or just putting on their old-school pirate hats and downloading specific songs from the usual places.

And that's got me wondering: what it is that they value here if it isn't the music? Would they still want a cracked app if Spotify offered the same Premium features but the music were made by AI instead? I'm not sure I want to know the answer to that one.

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• Prime Video has started testing AI dubbing on select titles
• 12 licensed movies and shows will be dubbed in English and Spanish
• The pilot program will also use local human experts for quality control

Prime Video is testing a new AI-assisted feature for dubbing its movies and shows to make its content accessible to even more of its over 200 million strong global subscriber base.

Starting on Wednesday (March 5), some Prime Video subscribers will be able to see new English and Latin American Spanish dubbing for 12 of its licensed movies and shows, including El Cid: La Leyenda, Mi Mamá Lora and Long Lost.

The streaming service announced that it will initially trial the new pilot program only on these select titles, which suggests that more of the best Prime Video movies and best Prime Video shows will eventually get access to the feature if it proves successful.

Indeed, Raf Soltanovich, the VP of technology at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, said in a statement alongside the announcement that "AI-aided dubbing is only available on titles that do not have dubbing support", but that Prime Video is "eager to explore a new way to make series and movies more accessible and enjoyable".

As part of the test phase of the new AI feature, Amazon says that it will take a hybrid approach that will still require local language experts to review the automated dubbing to ensure that it has been translated accurately.

Which streaming services are experimenting with AI?

The new dubbing feature is the latest AI-powered tool that Amazon is trialing on Prime Video. Last year, it rolled out a new AI-based recommendation system for creating more personalized content suggestions as well as 'X-Ray' for recapping movies and shows.

It's an area that's seeing a lot of interest among the best streaming services. For example, Disney's ESPN also started using generative AI for recaps, but received backlash due to translation errors. Despite this, it's pushing ahead with a new AI-powered football analyst for live commentary.

As for AI dubbing, there's increasing experimentation. In January, a licensing startup called Lumiere Ventures jumped onboard the AI dubbing bandwagon with an AI speech company called ElevenLabs for the international release of the Lionsgate movie Armor.

And while ElevenLabs' CEO Mati Staniszewsk did say that "AI doesn't replace the magic of human creativity", an increasing number of services are using it. YouTube was one of the earliest to adopt an AI-powered dubbing tool for video translation back in 2023.

However, not every streamer has had success with AI dubbing. For instance, Netflix received backlash in December 2024 over the dubbing of Norwegian disaster series La Palma with many taking to social media to complain about how terrible it looked.

Netflix AI mouth replacement on dubs looks terrible from r/netflix

That's surprising considering that only a couple of months earlier Netflix had announced how it was making non-English movies and shows better by starting to offer classes to voice actors involved in unscripted reality TV shows from South Korea.

Perhaps an approach that combines both would work best then, as utilizing the efficiency of AI to make quick work of a translation would of course save time, but employing language experts to review this seems to be still essential to ensure it's done effectively.

Considering Prime Video is using this hybrid approach for its AI dubbing pilot program, it might prove to be the most effective way of executing such a feature. Make sure to check back in with TechRadar to see what we make of the latest update once we've had a chance to test it out.

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A new OLED Roku TV has just been announced, under the Philips name, and with a launch price of just $1,299 for a 65-inch model, it's a very tempting proposition – Roku is one of the best smart TV interfaces out there, and combined with an OLED screen, you're going to get some serious picture quality.

Like all the best OLED TVs, it includes 4K 120Hz support for gaming, including AMD FreeSync. So it looks like a good package… but as someone who's seen basically every current OLED TV in person, I wouldn't be drawn in by its flashy budget price.

I'd buy the LG B4 65-inch, which is currently available for $1,199 for the 65-inch model at Amazon and also at Walmart – and then I'd buy a Roku Ultra (2024) to add those Roku features, which costs under $100. Same total price as the Roku, but I think that's a preferable setup, so let's dig into why.

The LG B4 delivers the rich image quality of OLED, with LG's expert image processing to make the most of it, as well as a great built-in smart TV system. It has four HDMI 2.1 4K 120Hz ports, making it future-proof for gamers too – a rarity even in 2025. This price is also available at Walmart – but stock is running low in all cases!View Deal

First, an important caveat: I haven't tested or measured the Philips Roku TV, so I'm having to make a few educated assumptions here – though I'm confident about them.

I strongly suspect that the Roku TV is using the same 'tier' of OLED screen as the LG B4, rather than the significantly brighter screen used in the LG C4 – and it definitely isn't the much brighter again screen used in the LG G4.

I just don't think it's possible to use the brighter screen and to bring the TV in at this price – so that means you're not going to get any better performance from the Philips Roku TV than you'd get from the LG B4.

Indeed, I suspect you'll get worse performance, because I very much doubt that the processing is better on the Philips TV than the LG model. For a start, LG knows OLED TVs better than anyone; and second, the Philips-branded TV is almost certainly made by Skyworth (which currently holds the license to make Philips-branded TVs in North America).

This is a company that's known for making some TVs with impressive bang for buck, but not for cutting-edge and advanced image processing in them.

The LG B4 is an impressive TV based on our extensive review – especially for its current super-low price. (Image credit: Future)

(For those who know international TVs: the excellent Philips-branded OLED TVs available in Europe are produced by TP Vision, which actually does invest in pretty cutting-edge image processing, hence why its TVs, such as the Philips OLED809, are rated highly by us – and are also priced accordingly.)

So for $100 less than the Philips Roku TV, you'll get better image quality from the LG B4, I'm very confident. And if you add the Roku Ultra, you'll still get the Roku interface, and you'll have paid the same as the Philips TV overall (though LG TVs have a good smart TV software of their own).

You're also getting some slightly better gaming features in the LG OLED, including Nvidia G-Sync support for PC gaming.

Both TVs offer four HDMI 2.1 ports for 4K 120Hz support, though, which is good – it means the Roku TV is more future-proof than previous budget OLED TVs not made by LG.

I can very much understand being tempted by the Roku OLED, and I expect it'll receive discounts in the future that make it even more tempting. But right now, I'd stick with the safe hands of LG given the current prices.

There's one thing to note, though: the 65-inch LG B4 seems to be selling out. The new version, the LG B5, is due in the first half of 2025 (though with an exact date), so if you're tempting by it at this price, you may need to move quickly.

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At Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona, AI is the hottest topic on people’s lips. From Samsung and Huawei to Intel and Qualcomm, every tech company has something to say about AI - and the more I listen to them, the more concerned I get.

In a private meeting room in the depths of Qualcomm’s massive event stand, I attended a roundtable discussion hosted by Durga Malladi, the SVP and General Manager of Technology Planning and Edge Solutions at Qualcomm. He had a lot to talk about - Qualcomm has been at the forefront of on-device AI hardware for a while now, teaming up with Microsoft at Computex last year to deliver a new generation of Copilot+ AI PCs.

I’ll spare you the reams of business-focused use cases Malladi and the other Qualcomm staffers had to talk about, and get straight to the good stuff: the rise of so-called ‘AI agents’.

AI in your pocket… and your laptop, and your car, and your house

For the uninitiated, ‘agentic’ AI (a term that seems to have mysteriously entered the tech industry parlance without any fanfare) refers to AI-powered natural language tools that essentially act as a sort of personal assistant - capable of carrying out a wide range of tasks that would normally require you to navigate through multiple apps or websites on your device.

'Appless' AI assistants like Rabbit and the ill-fated Humane AI pin have been floated before, with limited success. (Image credit: OpenAI / Rabbit / Humane)

One example Qualcomm gave was its Automotive AI suite (the Snapdragon Ride Elite and Snapdragon Cockpit Elite processors) - your car could soon be able to buy you concert tickets while it drives you to the venue, and then go park itself and pick you up afterward when you text your partner that you’re ready to leave the venue. All of this could stem from a straightforward verbal command.

Yes, this does mean that the AI agent has access to your banking details, and your geographical location data, and your message history, and… the list goes on. Malladi assured me that the agent’s processes are heavily encrypted and stored exclusively on local hardware, to the point where it would take an extremely driven individual to access it (much like your existing encrypted data). But it’s a fundamental operating requirement of AI agents to be able to see everything about you - and Qualcomm’s plan for making users a bit more comfortable with this idea might actually drive me in the opposite direction.

Digital doubles

Your personal AI agent, Malladi explains, is “the equivalent of your digital persona. It is you.” Now, I’m going to sidestep the fact that this is a bit frighteningly close to the plot of the Black Mirror episode ‘White Christmas’, and instead focus on the way we as real-world tech users will engage with such a feature. I’m sure I don’t speak for everyone here, but I don’t want an AI assistant who slowly starts to mimic and predict my actions with better and better accuracy. If anything, I’d be happier with an agent that offers a more distinct and unique personality.

That’s not the only issue I have with this whole process, though. Malladi explains that these agents - in your phone, in your laptop, in your car, and beyond - will be effectively able to replace the entire ecosystem of apps that modern devices have become entirely adapted to. “We’ve been living in this app-centric world for about fifteen years now,” he says. “These apps are silos by themselves”.

Is Google Maps really a tool that needs to be filtered through an AI agent? (Image credit: Future)

He’s not entirely wrong. I can see the appeal: instead of needing to open a maps app, and a restaurant review app, and a search engine, and so on, you can simply ask your AI agent to do all the work, and it’ll do it. “The agent is the first interface, and the only interface,” Malladi explains. “You’re never going to see the apps.”

Never? That feels a bit unlikely. For starters, some apps are borderline non-functional without a proper visual interface. Navigation tools like Google Maps and Waze can provide step-by-step directions that the agent feeds to you, sure, but I don’t know a single person who doesn’t also want the visual map open at the same time. My 24-hour gym requires me to bring up the app to get a QR code for access to the building - can the agent simply pluck that from the app, or do I still need to sign in normally?

The death of apps?

There are other problems with this ‘appless’ vision of the future of tech. The app ecosystem across both the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store has grown to monstrous proportions over the past decade; Malladi likens the arrival of AI agents to the shift from using websites to using apps, saying: “You can accomplish the same thing by going to a website, but in a dedicated app, the UI - the whole process - is streamlined. This is the next step in this process.”

But I think this is a significantly larger potential shift than that - and if the past is anything to go off, those sorts of massive changes to the established norms risk becoming a turn-off for potential consumers.

And what about free software that relies on in-app ad revenue to turn a profit? Under Qualcomm’s plan for agentic AI, developers of such tools could be cut straight out of the market - after all, nobody wants an AI helper that’s just going to feed them ads from other apps, and no rational advertiser is going to pay to have a bot sit patiently and watch a 30-second ad before proceeding (although it’s a rather amusing thought).

I'm still going to have a tonne of games on my phone, too - AI agents can't replace that. (Image credit: Asus)

Still, Qualcomm is confident that AI agents will become commonplace in the future, even if such a change has to happen gradually. Malladi was keen to emphasize the advancements in both NPU hardware and LLM software that make this possible: just a few years ago, running such an advanced AI model on local hardware simply wasn’t feasible, but with more powerful processors and more efficient models, it’s now easy to install a pre-trained model on a device like a phone or tablet.

I’m reluctant to say outright that I’ll refuse to embrace AI agents if they do become widespread. As a tech journalist, it would be downright foolish of me to refuse to engage with new technologies just because I prefer things the way they are. But I definitely think that we’re a lot further away from universal adoption of agentic AI than Qualcomm would like to believe - although I have to commend the company for wanting to get ahead of the curve, because if this thing does blow up in popularity, Qualcomm will be front and center.

Oh, but promise me the voice commands thing won’t be mandatory, okay? I don’t want to shout at my phone in public.

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Everyone’s favorite music-recognition app, Shazam, just got a new update that comes with a small, but particularly helpful new feature that has improved its integration with Spotify and Apple Music. The latest version of the app (version 18.9), which arrived on March 5, comes with an improved syncing feature that automatically adds your identified songs within the Shazam app to a playlist in your Spotify or Apple Music account. So far, it seems as though it’s available to Spotify and Apple Music users only.

When you use Shazam’s Music Recognition on iPhone and iPad, it will automatically add those songs to a special playlist in your account titled ‘My Shazam Tracks’. Before Apple rolled out the 18.9 version of the app, songs identified manually through the Shazam app itself would be synced to a separate playlist in your Spotify or Apple Music account, but not songs discovered through the Control Center. The new update changes that, and will now add songs to the playlist when identified through Siri and Shortcuts, as well as the Control Center.

The new update will automatically add your Shazam-searched songs to your own 'My Shazam Tracks' playlist in Spotify and Apple Music. (Image credit: Future)

Since joining the Apple family back in 2018, Shazam has evolved into more than a simple music recognition app and has improved the experience of the best music streaming services through its integrations - and its new ability to predict music you'll listen to in the future. According to the iOS App Store description, here’s exactly how you can expect the latest update to further improve your experience:

‘We’ve made syncing songs to Apple Music and Spotify better than ever! Shazam will now include songs found via Music Recognition in Control Centre, Siri, and Shortcuts to your “My Shazam Tracks” playlist in Apple Music or Spotify.

Simply toggle “Sync your songs” off and on in Shazam settings to re-sync all your previously discovered songs from the Shazam app. You may need to reopen Spotify to see the playlist refreshed.

Don’t forget to keep your Shazam History safe and in sync between your devices. To do this, turn on iCloud sync in Shazam Settings’.

For me, Shazam is one of my go-to music app companions, when it comes to song identification and I can’t quite put my finger on what’s currently playing - or even when I like the sound of a song and want to learn more. It also works wonders for when a familiar song starts playing during a movie or TV show. It’s a small, but rather effective new feature, and this is how you can take advantage of it for yourself.

How to sync your Shazam songs to Spotify or Apple Music Go to the Shazam app and tap the settings icon

(Image: © Future)

It can be found in the 'My Music' section of the app when you swipe up on the main song search page. From there, connect your Spotify or Apple Music account to Shazam and enable the 'Sync your songs' toggle.

When you enable the toggle, Shazam should sync all of your identified songs to your Spotify or Apple Music account to create your 'My Shazam Tracks' playlist. If it doesn't sync at first, I got mine to work by turning the toggle on and off a few times.

Head to Spotify or Apple Music to see your newly synced playlist

(Image: © Future)

Once your Shazam-searched songs have synced to your new playlist, listen to your heart's content.

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• YouTube warns users of an ongoing phishing scam
• The scam includes an AI-generated video of its CEO
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YouTube is warning its users of a new phishing campaign using an AI-generated video of its CEO Neal Mohan as bait.

In a post on its official community website, the company said it is “aware that phishers have been sharing private videos to send false videos, including an AI generated video of YouTube’s CEO Neal Mohan announcing changes in monetization.”

“YouTube and its employees will never attempt to contact you or share information through a private video. If a video is shared privately with you claiming to be from YouTube, the video is a phishing scam,” YouTube said in the pinned post. “Do not click these links as the videos will likely lead to phishing sites that can install malware or steal your credentials.”

Falling victim

The attack goes like this: scammers used AI to create a deepfake video of the YouTube CEO discussing changes in monetization on the platform. They then shared it as a private video with their targets. In the description of the video is a link that leads the victims to the phishing landing page - studio.youtube-plus[dot]com.

There, they’re prompted to “confirm the updated YouTube Partner Program (YPP) terms”, to continue monetizing their content and accessing YouTube’s features - but obviously, by “confirming” the terms, the victims would just be sharing their credentials with the attackers.

Furthermore, in true phishing fashion, crooks added a false sense of urgency, threatening the victims that their accounts will be restricted for a week if they do not comply with the new rules. That includes the inability to add videos, receive monetization, and more.

Once the victims enter their credentials, the page says the account is under review.

The campaign appears to have been active since late January 2025, and “many creators” have already fallen victim, reporting that their channels had been hijacked and used to broadcast live cryptocurrency scam streams.

Via BleepingComputer

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