Feed aggregator

• A bill in Florida could force social media platforms to create encryption backdoors for law enforcement
• The "Social Media Use By Minors" bill would prevent minors from using or accessing any ephemeral messaging features
• Privacy experts warn such requirements will make young people less safe online instead

Florida is considering a bill that could force all social media platforms that allow accounts for minors to provide an encryption backdoor for law enforcement.

The bill will also prevent minors from using or accessing ephemeral messaging features, meaning messages that disappear after viewing, including WhatsApp's view once. Social media providers will also be required to give the minors' parents or guardians access to all messages posted by their children.

Known as the "Social Media Use By Minors" bill (SB 868/HB 743), the proposal is the latest legal effort to protect children's safety online. Yet, privacy experts warn that such requirements will make young people less safe instead.

"Asking for the impossible"

As digital rights experts at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) wrote, "The bill is not only privacy-invasive, it’s also asking for the impossible."

Encryption is used by the best VPN and encrypted messaging apps to keep users' online activities private. WhatsApp and Signal employ end-to-end encryption to scramble data into an unreadable form to ensure only your intended recipients can read your messages.

As per their own words, Florida's lawmakers want to force "social media platforms to provide a mechanism to decrypt end-to-end encryption when law enforcement obtains a subpoena."

Cryptographers and other experts, however, have long warned that what's known as an encryption backdoor cannot be implemented without undermining the whole system's security. That's because, besides the possibility of authorities misuse, malicious actors will end up being able to exploit this entry point.

Florida wants to introduce such requirements specifically for providers that allow minors to open an account in a bid to improve children's safety online. Yet, EFF experts believe it will acheieve exactly the opposite result.

"This would likely lead to companies not offering end-to-end encryption to minors at all, making them less safe online," they said.

Florida’s “Social Media Use by Minors” bill is an ill-advised attempt to backdoor end-to-end encryption that asks the impossible. It should not be allowed to move forward. https://t.co/AXIKwX0Hj7April 13, 2025

Another contentious point is the plan of "prohibiting minor account holders from using or accessing messages that are designed to disappear or self destruct."

Again, according to EFF experts, targeting this feature would solely end up harming the privacy of everyone instead, without achieving anything to protect children. Even ephemeral messages can be saved and reported if needed.

The "Social Media Use By Minors" bill seeks to expand the reach of Florida's Social Media Law (HB 3), which came into force at the beginning of the year. Among other things, the law introduced mandatory age verification checks for accessing material deemed harmful to minors and a ban for opening a social media account to children younger than 14.

The HB 3 law was hit by a complaint back in October, raising concerns around free speech implications. The lawsuit is still ongoing at the time of writing.

For EFF expert is a no-brainer – lawmakers should reject the bill and focus on alternative protections, like better consumer privacy laws and digital literarcy at school.

"Minors, as well as those around them, deserve the right to speak privately without law enforcement listening in."

A global push

Florida is only the latest government pushing to get law enforcement greater access to encrypted data. The UK, EU, and even Switzerland – once believed to be a privacy paradise – are considering some form of encryption backdoor at the time of writing.

The tech industry doesn't look willing to weaken the security of their systems, though. Apple decided to kill its iCloud E2E feature in the UK for not building a backdoor and is now challenging the UK in court. While Signal has reiatered more than once that the company would rather leave the market than undermine encryption.

You might also like

• Is it possible that quantum computing ends up saving encryption? Here's how it could happen
• "A dangerous approach" – Experts urge the Swedish Parliament to reject the encryption backdoor law
• France rejects controversial encryption backdoor provision

Polaroid is not in the business of perfection. Its photographs, going back many decades, have a somewhat indescribable look, a graininess and rough-hewn quality so iconic that Instagram copied it (along with the logo) when it launched almost 15 years ago.

That legacy of imperfection continues with the Polaroid Flip, the company’s most accomplished and accessible instant camera, which finally delivers the imagery and usability goods at a “yes, I can afford this” price.

Where the $599 / £500 i-2 was a pro-level shooter for those who knew the ins and outs of exposure and focus, the Flip is simpler and does that work for you and might deliver better images because of it.

In some ways, the Polaroid Flip, which I had a chance to play with, is a throwback. The instant camera – available in black or white – features a fold-up flash that might remind people of the once ultra-popular 600 series. However, this one is better integrated into the smooth body design and offers far more throw power (up to 15 feet).

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Where the i-2 has a three-element lens system, the Polaroid Flip features four lenses. They’re housed in an internal dial that automatically chooses the right lens for a shot. The camera does this thanks to another critical choice Polaroid made for the Flip: it uses sonar instead of LiDAR for focus and lens selection.

Sonar, which uses sound waves, is accurate and more forgiving than LiDAR. Polaroid memorably used sonar with its first analog instant camera, the SX-70. In that attachment, though, the circular sonar screen was giant. It’s thumb-tip-sized on the Flip.

The company focused on ease of use for this consumer-friendly but full-sized Polaroid print camera. There are minimal buttons and controls, with just enough visual feedback to keep photographers engaged instead of confused.

Aside from the shutter button, there is another large button on the side to eject the film cartridge (the camera uses Polaroid I-film cartridges, which do not include a battery), a large red shutter button on the face, a flash control button, and a small settings button to control shot style. You can shoot on a timer or even do a double exposure. On the back of the flash housing is a small, monochrome LED screen that shows the number of pictures remaining in the cartridge and your other camera settings.

While there isn't a lot of feedback on how to frame or light your photos, the Flip does include a tiny red LED light in the rangefinder that lights up when you're too close to a subject or the image exposure is poorly lit (too dark and you need the flash or maybe too backlit).

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)Image 2 of 3

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)Image 3 of 3

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

It's child's play getting started with the Flip, which employs a familiar press-and-hold to set exposure and focus and then a full press to take the shot.

The photos slide out of the front and still take about 15 minutes to develop fully. There are 8 shots per cartridge, and a pack of two can cost $36. The Flip’s internal battery supports shooting up to 15 packs.

You can connect the camera to the Polaroid app, though I think the controls are limited and there is no direct way to get the images from the camera to your phone, but then why would you want to?

Image 1 of 4

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)Image 2 of 4

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)Image 3 of 4

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)Image 4 of 4

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Polaroid reps handed me a Flip at a pre-launch event, and I quickly noticed that while I liked the curved and familiar-feeling body, it was a bit heavier than even the Polaroid i-2. It wasn’t bad, though, and I was soon shooting still-life images, people, selfies, and trippy double exposures. In other words, I was in my happy place.

The camera is fast and fun to use, and my resulting photos were sharply focused on the subjects (you can get as close as about 46 cm) with impressive bokeh behind them. The results still look like Polaroid camera photos, never as sharp, clear, or deeply colorful as what you might get with your best iPhone, but that’s not the point of a Polaroid instant analog camera.

I have all these photos on my desk. I can hold them, share them, let people leave with them, and tack them on their walls. I guarantee these are the kinds of images that will make people feel something.

And now, they can do it for $199.99 / £199.99. That’s a great starting price, and it even ships with a strap. The film will cost you, so that’s a concern, but you won’t shoot as much as you do with your smartphone and will likely consider each of these prints somewhat precious.

It’s a special camera, for special times. At least, that’s my opinion.

@techradar

♬ original sound - TechRadar You might also like

• I tried the Polaroid I-2 and was instantly transported to a simpler, happier time
• The best instant camera 2025: top retro prints from Polaroid, Instax and more
• Fujifilm unveils chic Instax Mini 41 and it fixes two of my biggest problems with instant cameras

The cybersecurity landscape is evolving with serious pace, and organizations are facing increasingly sophisticated threats from attackers who are constantly finding new ways to bypass traditional defenses.

For years, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) has been heralded as a cornerstone of modern security practices, providing an additional layer of protection beyond passwords. However, as threat actors sharpen their tools and exploit vulnerabilities, it has become clear that MFA alone is no longer sufficient to safeguard sensitive information.

To truly protect against today’s advanced threats, organizations must embrace a layered security approach that goes far beyond MFA.

The limitations of multi-factor authentication

The concept of MFA is simple yet effective: requiring multiple forms of verification—such as a password and a one-time code sent to a mobile device—adds an extra layer of security. It could be seen as locking your door with two different locks instead of just one. This has been especially valuable in combating password-based attacks, as it makes it significantly harder for attackers to gain access with stolen credentials. Yet, despite its strengths, MFA is far from infallible.

Sophisticated attackers have developed numerous methods to bypass MFA protections. Phishing remains one of the most common tactics, where users are tricked into revealing their MFA credentials on fake websites or through deceptive communications.

Man-in-the-middle attacks intercept session tokens during transmission, rendering MFA useless in certain scenarios. MFA fatigue attacks—where users are inundated with repeated authentication requests until they approve one out of frustration or confusion—are becoming alarmingly frequent.

SIM swapping allows attackers to hijack phone numbers used for SMS-based authentication, while session hijacking enables them to bypass MFA altogether by stealing authenticated tokens. These techniques demonstrate that while MFA is necessary, it is insufficient as a standalone solution.

The rise of AI-driven cyberattacks and the proliferation of SaaS applications further complicate the picture. As businesses increasingly rely on interconnected systems and cloud-based platforms, managing identities—both human and non-human—has become more challenging than ever. Attackers exploit these complexities to target vulnerabilities in identity management systems, leading to a surge in identity-driven breaches.

The need for a layered security approach

To address these challenges, organizations must adopt a layered security strategy that incorporates multiple defenses working together to protect against threats. This approach, often referred to as “defense in depth,” recognizes that no single security measure can provide complete protection. Instead, overlapping layers create redundancies that ensure if one layer fails, others remain effective.

A foundational element of this strategy is the implementation of zero trust architecture. Zero trust operates on the principle of “never trust, always verify,” meaning that every user and device must be continuously authenticated and authorized before accessing sensitive resources. Unlike traditional perimeter-based security models—which assume that everything inside the network is safe—zero trust assumes that threats can exist anywhere and requires constant vigilance.

Zero trust builds upon MFA by incorporating additional checks and balances into the authentication process. For example, adaptive authentication uses AI and machine learning to assess risk factors such as user behavior, device type, location, and login patterns before granting access. Biometric authentication methods like fingerprint scanning or facial recognition add another layer of security while improving user experience by eliminating reliance on passwords or codes.

Enhancing endpoint protection

Endpoint protection is another critical component of a layered security strategy. Devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets are often the first line of defense against attacks—and also the most vulnerable entry points for attackers seeking access to an organization's network. Advanced Endpoint Detection & Response can detect and prevent malware infections, unauthorized access attempts, and other threats targeting devices.

Implementing robust endpoint security measures involves not only deploying software solutions but also ensuring that devices are regularly updated and patched. This includes maintaining strong identity and access management (IAM) practices to ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive data from these devices.

Network segmentation and monitoring

Network segmentation further enhances security by dividing an organization's network into smaller segments or zones based on sensitivity levels. This limits the spread of potential breaches and ensures that attackers cannot move laterally across the entire network even if attackers gain access to one segment.

Comprehensive monitoring and detection systems play a vital role in identifying and responding to threats in real time. Centralized monitoring solutions can analyze vast amounts of data from across the organization's infrastructure to detect anomalies or suspicious activity. When combined with automated response mechanisms, these systems enable rapid remediation before threats escalate into full-blown breaches.

The future of cybersecurity

The future of cybersecurity lies in embracing a holistic approach that combines technology with proactive strategies. Organizations must invest not only in advanced tools but also in employee training programs to raise awareness about phishing attacks and other social engineering tactics. Security policies should be regularly updated to reflect emerging threats and technological advancements.

It’s clear that the cybersecurity landscape will continue to evolve at breakneck speed. Threat actors are becoming more sophisticated by leveraging AI-driven techniques and exploiting gaps in traditional defenses like MFA. Organizations must remain agile and adaptable—constantly reassessing their security strategies—to stay ahead of these evolving threats.

While MFA remains an important piece of the puzzle, it is no longer enough on its own. A robust layered security approach ensures that if one defense fails, others remain effective in protecting sensitive information from compromise.

The days when locking your door once or twice was enough are long gone; today’s threat landscape demands multiple layers of protection working together seamlessly. Only by embracing this mindset can organizations hope to safeguard their assets in an increasingly interconnected digital world where attackers are always one step ahead—and where cybersecurity must evolve just as rapidly as the threats it seeks to counteract.

We've featured the best privacy tool and anonymous browser.

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

Celebrate the season with new releases including Devil May Cry, The Beginning After the End and more.

Email marketing is a long established method for effective communication with existing and potential customers. Luckily, long gone are the days of complex and time consuming processes needed to send great marketing emails to your lists - this is where email marketing platforms now come in.

Wix is best known for being one of the best website builders on the market. This is mostly thanks to it's super easy to use drag-and-drop website building tools. However, it also offers users a host of other business tools to help them engage customers and grow their businesses - including a helpful email marketing tool.

Wix Email Marketing is the company’s email marketing platform. It lets users create, send, and track email campaigns right from their website dashboard. Originally launched as Wix ShoutOut in 2014, it became part of Wix Ascend before becoming a standalone platform in 2023. This change came when Wix discontinued the Ascend Business Suite. The service starts with a free plan that allows 200 emails per month, offering basic tracking and customer segmentation. Paid plans begin at $10 per month for the Essentials tier (or cheaper with one of our Wix promo codes)

What makes Wix Email Marketing special is its seamless integration with Wix websites. It automatically collects contacts from your site and makes it easy to add website content to emails. This creates a unified marketing approach that is especially useful for small businesses using the Wix ecosystem.

(Image credit: Wix) Wix Email Marketing: Pricing & plans

As of 2025, Wix Email Marketing offers a free plan and three paid tiers that are separate from Wix website builder plans. The free plan allows up to 200 emails per month. It includes a drag-and-drop editor, templates, basic automation, segmentation, and custom reports. However, all emails will carry Wix branding.

The Essentials plan costs $10 per month. It raises the limit to 500 emails and adds premium features. These features include AI content creation for subject lines and email copy, along with scheduling for optimal send times.

The Core plan is priced at $24 per month. It lets you send up to 5,000 emails monthly and removes Wix branding, which helps in creating a more professional image. You can also share emails on the web using a custom domain, boosting your marketing reach.

For larger businesses, the Advanced plan costs $49 per month. It supports up to 1,000,000 emails each month, making it ideal for companies with big contact lists. This tiered pricing shows Wix's shift after discontinuing the Ascend Business Suite in 2023. It creates a more focused platform for email marketing while integrating other Ascend features into standard website plans.

Wix Email Marketing: Features

Wix Email Marketing features an easy-to-use drag-and-drop email editor, much like its website builder. Users can pick from about 20 ready-made templates for different needs or start fresh. They can customize colors, fonts, and backgrounds to fit their brand. The platform includes AI tools to create catchy email text quickly. It also supports multimedia like videos, images, buttons, and product listings linked to your ecommerce site. All templates work well on both desktop and mobile, ensuring a consistent look.

The service allows for basic automation of triggered emails based on customer actions. Wix sets up relevant automations automatically based on your website features. For example, store owners get payment confirmation emails, while bloggers receive notifications about new posts. Analytics tools track delivery rates, open rates, and clicks in real time. This helps users see what content works best and improve future campaigns. The platform allows customer segmentation for focused messaging. However, advanced options are limited compared to specialized email marketing services. Business users can add company details, taglines, and logos to their emails for consistent branding.

(Image credit: Wix) Wix Email Marketing: Setup

Setting up Wix Email Marketing is easy, especially for existing users. You can find the tool in the Email Marketing section of the dashboard under Marketing & SEO. Start by choosing a pre-designed template or creating a campaign from scratch. The template library has options for promoting products, sending newsletters, or announcing special offers. The system guides you step-by-step with clear instructions and visuals, making it user-friendly for beginners.

The creation process is simple: first, design the email using the drag-and-drop editor. Then, select recipients either individually or by segments. You can preview and test the email if you want. Finally, publish and send or schedule the campaign.

A key feature for Wix owners is automatic contact collection. The system gathers contacts from your website, including ecommerce customers and form submissions, making it easier to build your email list. But the platform also suggests filtering out inactive contacts before sending campaigns to maintain good deliverability rates.

Wix Email Marketing: Support

Wix Email Marketing uses the same customer support system as Wix. There is no dedicated support for the email tool. All users can access the Help Center, which has detailed articles on using email features, from creating campaigns to maintaining lists. The Email Marketing page also has a thorough FAQ section. This section answers common questions about file types, sharing options, and usage rights.

For direct help, Wix provides 24/7 customer support for all paid plans. Users can submit tickets, request callbacks, or use chat support in over ten languages. Subscribers to the higher-tier Business Elite plan ($159/month) get priority support, faster response times, and a direct phone service hotline.

Wix Email Marketing: Final verdict

Wix Email Marketing is an easy-to-use tool, helping cement Wix's position as one of the best small business website builders. Its biggest strengths include a simple interface, smooth integration with websites, and fair pricing.

Even free users can start email marketing campaigns with ease. AI content creation helps those who struggle to write engaging copy. Plus, automated setup processes make it friendly for marketing newbies. For existing site owners, it’s a great way to begin email marketing without a steep learning curve. The platform has enough features for basic promotional needs.

However, Wix Email Marketing has some drawbacks compared to dedicated services like Mailchimp or AWeber. Advanced users may find its automation options limited. Creating complex customer journeys or triggered campaigns can be a challenge. While customization meets basic needs, it lacks the depth seen in specialized platforms. The free plan is good for testing, but email limits on lower-tier paid plans could hinder growth. The jump from 500 emails on the Essentials plan to 5,000 on the Core plan is a big price jump for scaling.

All in all, Wix Email Marketing is best for small to medium-sized businesses already using Wix. It’s great for those who value ease of use and integration over advanced features. It works well for businesses starting their email marketing journey. However, companies with more complex needs or larger subscriber lists might find it lacking.

(Image credit: Wix)

• Atomos StudioSonic are studio-grade headphones for $199
• Large 50mm drivers, with 180º rotating earcups
• 10Hz to 40kHz frequency range, 105dB sensitivity, 30-ohm impedance

Atomos is well known for its high-end video gear for movie-makers, videographers and streamers – and it's just launched an equally hardcore pair of headphones with what looks like a seriously stunning specification.

The new StudioSonic Production Headphones are wired over-ears with 105dB sensitivity and 30-ohm impedance, so they're not difficult to drive at all (no amp needed), and the frequency range from 10Hz to 40kHz is very impressive.

There are 50mm drivers (40mm is typically the largest dynamic driver you get among the best wireless headphones, for reference) powering this, and I'd expect a very neutral sound from them as monitoring cans.

(Image credit: Atomos) Atomos Studiosonic Production Headphones: features, pricing and availability

The Studiosonic Production Headphones have 50mm drivers and the ear cups can be swiveled 180 degrees for when you need single-ear monitoring. The detachable two-meter cable is coiled to make it anti-tangle, and there are dual 3.5mm and 6.5mm ports for wide compatibility.

They're closed-back so you won't annoy the people around you – and to isolate you from them – and they're made with ultra-soft memory foam so they'll stay comfortable through even the longest listening, mixing or recording sessions.

They're not intended for purely recreational music listening, but with specs like these for a very reasonable price, they could be an interesting contender among the best wired headphones for those with an eye on music production.

The headphones are available to order now but they won't be shipping until June 2025. The RRP is $199, roughly £150 / AU$312 ex tax.

You might also like

• Beyerdynamic re-releases 39-year-old headphones again, and I'm still buying them
• The best over-ear headphones
• The best headphones of every kind

I’ve been an iPhone user since 2009 when I got my first iPhone 3G, and since then I’ve been a loyal customer, upgrading annually to the best smartphone Apple has to offer.

When Samsung released the S25 series of smartphones earlier this year with AI at their core, I knew I had to finally give Android a proper go and see what Google’s mobile operating system was capable of.

Over the next few weeks I’m going to pit my S25’s Galaxy AI features against my iPhone 16 Pro Max’s Apple Intelligence capabilities to see which smartphone has AI features worth using compared to those that are just a gimmick.

When I received the S25, early last week, the first thing I decided to do was test Galaxy AI’s photo editing prowess, after all, Clean Up on iPhone is one of the most complete Apple Intelligence features to date, or so I thought.

The dog Image 1 of 3

Original image (Image credit: Future)OriginalImage 2 of 3

Galaxy AI (Image credit: Future)Galaxy AIImage 3 of 3

Apple Intelligence (Image credit: Future)Apple Intelligence

To start my Galaxy AI Generative Edit versus Clean Up comparison, I decided to start by erasing my French Bulldog, Kermit, from his very plain grey bed. I thought this was a good starting point as while the bed is a plain background, there would be the shadow of the dog coming from the natural sunlight of the window in front of the camera.

Galaxy AI had no issue removing Kermit from his bed, in fact not only did it remove the shadow, it continued the brown stitching of the bed’s border, and smoothed out the surface to completely erase any sign of Kermit from the photo.

Apple Intelligence’s Clean Up, on the other hand, failed miserably at this simple task, leaving Kermit’s shadow while removing the dog from the bed. This AI editing created a sort of blur effect that would never pass for an edited image, let alone an original one.

Galaxy AI 1-0 Apple Intelligence

The croissant Image 1 of 3

Original image (Image credit: Future)OriginalImage 2 of 3

Galaxy AI (Image credit: Future)Galaxy AIImage 3 of 3

Apple Intelligence (Image credit: Future)Apple Intelligence

Next up, I took my two smartphones to my local coffee shop to test AI photo editing out in the wild. As I went later in the day, there were only two croissants left, one regular and one pain au chocolat.

For this test, I decided to remove the pain au chocolat from a photo as the coffee shop’s branded paper underneath was monochrome and a repeating pattern that I thought would make for an interesting comparison.

Again, Samsung’s AI editing was impressive, to say the least. Not only did the pain au chocolat completely disappear from the image, but Galaxy Ai replicated the branded pattern perfectly, keeping some crumbs for added realism.

The iPhone’s attempt was again, pretty rubbish, creating a sort of crumpled paper effect and leaving the pain au chocolat’s shadow in plain sight. This was again pretty disappointing from Apple Intelligence, there may be a trend appearing here…

Galaxy AI 2-0 Apple Intelligence

The coffee cup Image 1 of 3

Original image (Image credit: Future)OriginalImage 2 of 3

Galaxy AI (Image credit: Future)Galaxy AIImage 3 of 3

Apple Intelligence (Image credit: Future)Apple Intelligence

I asked the barista behind the bar if he could pour a Flat White so I could try and remove the coffee cup from his hands using Galaxy AI and Apple Intelligence.

I thought it was worth trying just to see how the AI photo editing tools handle pouring liquid, and again the results are night and day.

On the S25, the cup disappeared, Galaxy AI recreated the barista’s thumb, inserted some objects on the surface, and tried to create the impact of the hot milk on the sink below.

While the liquid’s physics is somewhat off, the editing of the hand and the recreation of what Galaxy AI perceived to be behind the cup were seriously impressive.

As for Apple Intelligence… I’ll let the image do all the talking.

Galaxy AI 3-0 Apple Intelligence

The empty shop Image 1 of 3

Original image (Image credit: Future)OriginalImage 2 of 3

Galaxy AI (Image credit: Future)Galaxy AIImage 3 of 3

Apple Intelligence (Image credit: Future)Apple Intelligence

At this point, I had completely accepted the disparity in effectiveness between Samsung and Apple’s offerings, so I decided to push Generative Edit and Clean Up as far as these flagship smartphones would allow me to.

I took a photo of the busy coffee shop, and after erasing one of the people from sight I decided to go even further and just erase everything from the photo, leaving nothing but the seating.

Again, Galaxy AI passed with flying colors, recreating the shops outside the window, and extending the sofa where I had removed my table and coffee cup. Apple Intelligence, well… It mushed everything together and was absolutely useless.

Galaxy AI 4-0 Apple Intelligence

A whitewash

It’s fair to say there’s a clear winner when it comes to AI photo editing between these two devices, and if you follow any smartphone news you’re probably not surprised.

What was surprising to me, was just how amazing Galaxy AI’s photo editing is, and how bad Clean Up on my top-of-the-line iPhone is.

I’ve used Clean Up in the past and found it did a decent, but hardly mind-blowing job when it comes to removing a subject from a photo. After using the S25, I can’t believe Clean Up has even shipped in its current state knowing what alternatives are out there.

I want to emphasize that both companies have taken a different approach to AI photo editing. Apple wants to keep the image as close to the original as possible, while Samsung is happy to showcase its AI power and offer more emphatic editing.

While I think that’s worth keeping in mind, I do still think Apple’s Clean Up approach should be capable of some of the simple edits you’ve seen above. Instead, it’s come incredibly short of the mark when Samsung’s offering is capable of truly achieving what it sets out to do.

You might also like

• Android 15 devices must have at least 32GB of storage, which should benefit the best cheap phones
• My favorite iOS 18 app is a tool you're probably not using – and I suggest you try it right away
• This wild phone battery rumor has me wondering whether iPhone will ever catch up to Android

• Windows 11 24H2 couldn’t be installed by the users of some wallpaper customization apps
• This was because of compatibility issues with said apps and 24H2
• Microsoft has now resolved those problems, for the most part anyway

Microsoft has finally lifted a compatibility block preventing some Windows 11 users from upgrading to the latest version of the OS because they had certain third-party wallpaper apps installed.

These are apps that let you install custom wallpaper on your Windows 11 machine, and the applications in question didn’t play nice with Windows 11 24H2, misfiring in various ways. That included causing errors, glitches with the wallpapers themselves, vanishing desktop icons, or even issues with virtual desktops.

Windows Central noticed that Microsoft has now marked these problems as fixed in a Windows 11 release health status update. So, those with said wallpaper apps are okay to go ahead and install the 24H2 update.

Well, in theory anyway, although there are some caveats here, which I’ll come onto next.

You may recall that this compatibility block was put in place right when 24H2 first came out, at the end of September last year, so it has taken quite some time to smooth over these issues – and there’s a reason for that, too.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) Analysis: Slight complications

As noted, there are some catches here, as Microsoft tells us in its release health dashboard update.

For starters, the compatibility block is only being gradually removed, so you may be waiting a bit longer yet, depending on your PC configuration and the exact app you have installed.

Microsoft explains: “Note that several wallpaper applications are currently included in this compatibility hold. For this reason, the specific timing of the resolution of this issue on a given device may depend on the application being used and the timing of that application’s update. As new versions and updates are released for these applications by their respective developers, it’s expected that these issues will be resolved.”

Hence the lengthy wait for the resolution of this affair, as it seems that Microsoft wasn’t tinkering with Windows 11 24H2 itself to make these apps work, or at least not doing much in the way of that. Rather, it was apparently waiting on the individual app developers to make their software good with 24H2 themselves.

Microsoft further notes that when you fire up the Windows 11 24H2 installation process, you might see a message telling you to uninstall a wallpaper app. You’re advised to either do this – and just dump the wallpaper app for now – or try updating the app, as said prompt might have appeared because you’re running an older version of the program.

In other words, updating the wallpaper app and trying to install Windows 11 24H2 again may work – but if not, you’ll likely have to remove the application.

Windows 11 24H2 has a history of issues with third-party customization software going back well before release, deep in its testing phase when some popular utilities were banned (to the chagrin of some Windows Insiders). Because 24H2 is built on an entirely new underlying platform, Germanium, this has caused a whole lot more problems than any other update for Windows 11 thus far.

And while such a big shift could be expected to be a headache, and trigger more bugs than normal, the amount we’ve witnessed has essentially been a minor avalanche, and a distinctly unpleasant experience for some Windows 11 users.

You may also like...

• Microsoft warns that anyone who deleted mysterious folder that appeared after latest Windows 11 update must take action to put it back
• Windows 11 is getting a very handy change to the taskbar, as Microsoft takes a leaf from Apple’s Mac playbook
• Windows 11 fully streamlined in just two clicks? Talon utility promises to rip all the bloatware out of Microsoft’s OS in a hassle-free way

Our five-star LG G5 review reveals why this has been one of 2025’s most anticipated TVs. With a fresh, new display panel called Primary Tandem RGB OLED (also known as ‘four-stack’) it offers increased brightness and more dynamic color than its G4 predecessor, along with deep black levels that hold up in brighter viewing conditions. It’s fair to say I’ve been properly waiting to get my hands on the LG G5 for a while now.

I first saw the LG G5 at an event at Dolby HQ in London, and seeing it next to its predecessor, the LG G4, the fullscreen brightness boost had me excited. It would be no easy task to follow in the footsteps of one of the best OLED TVs of 2024, the LG G4, but early impressions had me believing it could do it.

Now, after sinking a load of time into the G5, I can confirm it’s an outstanding TV. If you’re thinking of buying one, you’re in for a treat. Below, I’ve made a list of four movies that I watched during my testing that showed off the G5’s potential to be one of the best TVs of 2025, and I also discuss how it handles sports.

The Batman

(Image credit: Future)

A regular reference disc I use for testing TVs, The Batman is a difficult movie for TVs to make look right. It was mastered at 400 nits (as opposed to the most common 1,000 nits for HDR) meaning it’s incredibly dim to start with. Not only that, but it’s a dark movie with a lot of low-light scenes that really test a TVs handling of black levels.

Thankfully, handling the challenges of The Batman was a riddle that the G5 solved easily. Played on 4K Blu-ray with the TV in Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode, black levels were deep and accurate, and shadow detail was excellent. Intricate details in clothing, such as Batman’s symbol on his suit, were clearly displayed even in the darkest scenes.

Contrast was also superb, with a perfect balance between light and dark tones in high contrast shots, such as the opening crime scene. Here, light from lamps cut through the gloomy surroundings without sacrificing the accuracy of the dark tones. This movie really showed off just how nuanced the G5 is when handling moody tones.

Wicked

(Image credit: Future)

A new addition to the 4K Blu-ray collection here at TechRadar, Wicked is an extremely colorful movie. Greens, pinks and blues are prominent throughout, and I’ve found green in particular can be a challenge to display accurately, especially on budget TVs.

The G5’s color display was outstanding. Every color was not only vibrant with the right level of bright punch, but remained true-to-life in Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode. The G5’s boosted brightness also came into play, and really added gloss to HDR highlights during Elphaba and Glinda’s first arrival into Emerald City.

The G5’s contrast paid dividends here as well, adding depth and giving everything a realistic, almost 3D-like effect without making things look artificial.

Oppenheimer

(Image credit: Future)

Much like The Batman, Oppenheimer is great for testing black levels and contrast. It’s also useful for its black-and-white scenes, which show how a TV can handle high contrast sequences while showing a range of gray tones in between.

The G5 displayed fantastic contrast in HDR Filmmaker Mode (the 4K Blu-ray does not have Dolby Vision). Not only were the blacks deep and highlights bright, but a full range of gray tones was exhibited. Shadow detail was also solid, maintaining details in clothing, including in a scene when Oppenheimer tours the University with Admiral Strauss, which is often subjected to black crush (meaning the finest differences in deep blacks get lost into one blocky color).

In the same sequence, the drawing room is a bright white. The detail of light shining through the windows can get lost here if TV aren't able to tone map the brightness well, but the G5 delivers them perfectly.

Elemental

(Image credit: Future)

Elemental is another colorful entry on this list, but one with the more dazzling, bright hues that are typical for Disney animation.

The G5 demonstrated breath-taking colors during Elemental (once again in Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode), particularly in scenes where Ember interacted with crystals or blew glass. The colors were as vivid as I’d hoped for, and HDR highlights were shimmering throughout – this really is a showpiece for the brightness backing the improved color range of the new panel.

Textures such as flowing water, fanning flames and the skin of wind and earth creatures were highly detailed. And they all had a realistic sense of depth, thanks once again to the G5’s brilliant contrast.

Sports

(Image credit: Future)

As I said earlier, a fullscreen brightness boost is one of the most exciting new elements of the G5 compared to its predecessor. This is extremely important when viewing sports, especially with something like football where a big vibrant green field and the crisp colors worn by the players are the key focal points.

Watching an HD stream of an Arsenal v Real Madrid match-up with HDR on Prime Video, I opted for Standard picture mode over Sports due to the latter’s oversaturated and gaudy colors. In Standard, the G5 expertly displayed the players and pitch, showing accurate texture and colors. Its 4K upscaling was also effective, ensuring that textures on screen were clear and detailed.

Crucially, the fullscreen brightness boost was there. That’s often a real weakness of the best OLED TVs, but the G5 had excellent fullscreen brightness, and even showed only minimal reflections from the overhead lights in our testing room, making them far less of a distraction.

As expected, motion handling was good, with no motion adjustments needing to be made, though the Natural or User Control motion settings (with de-blur and de-judder set to 3) helped show sports at their best.

You might also like

• LG C5 OLED TV review - the excellent step-down model from the LG G5
• I review TVs for a living, and here are the 3 best TVs you can buy today
• I saw the LG C5 OLED TV's new personalized sound mode in action, and it's the best AI TV feature I've seen so far

• Google Cloud’s us-east5-c (Columbus, Ohio) zone had a six-hour outage
• It was caused by a failure to its uninterruptible power supply
• Over 20 services and some storage disks went down

Much like the unsinkable Titanic met its demise when it sank, Google Cloud has recovered from a major outage caused by an interruption to its uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).

The company confirmed that its us-east5-c zone, otherwise known as Columbus, Ohio, experienced “degraded service or unavailability” for a period of six hours and 10 minutes on March 29, 2025, blaming it on a “loss of utility power in the affected zone.”

Over 20 cloud services suffered reduced performance or downtime as a result of the outage, including BigQuery, Cloud SQL, Cloud VPN and Virtual Private Cloud.

Google’s uninterruptible power supply just had a pretty major failure

In its incident report, the company explained exactly what had happened: “This power outage triggered a cascading failure within the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system responsible for maintaining power to the zone during such events.”

“The UPS system, which relies on batteries to bridge the gap between utility power loss and generator power activation, experienced a critical battery failure,” the log continues.

Google’s Columbus zone uses powerful chips from Intel like Broadwell, Haswell, Skylake, Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids and Emerald Rapids, as well as the AMD EPYC Rome and Milan processors to power its cloud computing services. The cloud giant also noted that “a limited number of storage disks within the zone became unavailable during the outage.”

Engineers were made aware of the outage at 12:54 PT on March 29, successfully bypassing the failed UPS and restored power via generator by 14:49 PT. Most services were brought back online pretty quickly, thereafter, but some manual action was required for a full restoration hence the six-hour outage.

Google now promises to learn from this event, hardening cluster power failure and recovery paths and auditing systems that did not automatically failover, as well as working with its UPS vendor to mitigate future incidents.

You might also like

• Check out the best cloud computing services
• Oracle quietly confirms public cloud data breach, customer data stolen
• Keep your data online with the best cloud storage and best cloud backup tools

There has been increasing attention on open and closed technologies in relation to the development of AI and large language models (LLMs) in the past few years. Meta released Llama as open source, XAI released GROK-1 and, of course, the open source release of China’s DeepSeek model in recent months has been widely publicized.

It’s evident that open source technology benefits from community adoption and development, enabling faster iteration, greater security testing and the contributions of many more active minds, experiences and skill sets.

Whether the recent LLM releases are driven by such beliefs or by commercial instincts (likely both), it certainly helps in preventing a single player from dominating the market. This perspective was highlighted by the ironically named OpenAI trying to stifle DeepSeek adoption in recent weeks.

A shifting state of play

The tensions of open versus closed technologies have long existed in less sensitive, yet still important, areas. Closed technologies tend to be much more widely adopted as they are more easily packaged and deployed and require less depth of expertise. This can lead to monopolies of the type exemplified by Microsoft or Adobe, whose dominance stifles any real competition; the sheer weight of users and finances might preclude serious challenges. In other areas there might not be monopolies, but still a general market domination by a handful of vendors.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a good example, where VMware and Citrix have shared the spoils for many years. And if their dominance has been challenged in recent years, this has been due to the growth of cloud hyperscalers which, for the most part, were extensions of existing global, powerful big tech such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon.

This state of play is starting to shift somewhat, driven in part by dissatisfaction and distrust of the cloud giants (almost certainly concentrated further by their involvement in AI). This is causing many organizations to ‘reshore’ on-premises or cloud hosted in their own private data center. This dissatisfaction has been fueled by the slow collapse of VMware - perhaps the most well known and widely used of the legacy VDI vendors.

The fall of VMware

VMware was purchased by Broadcom in November 2023, who almost immediately announced several changes including the divestment of their end user computing (EUC) which included Horizon VDI services. The EUC business was subsequently purchased by KKR, a global investment firm, that now offers VDI services under the ‘Omnissa’ brand.

The lack of interest shown by Broadcom in the EUC service is a huge knock in confidence for the continued viability of this model, which is not profitable enough for them. It’s uncertain whether the software can be revived under new ownership and there have been worrying indications.

Last year, Gartner warned of uncertainty regarding Omnissa’s roadmap and continued semi-dependence for many users on other VMware products. Concerns are currently compounded by recent large-scale layoffs which in one sense should be expected as a post-sale reconstruction, but of course could easily result in the loss of critical internal expertise and a drop in service levels. The recent upheaval has also caused issues concerning price increases and significantly lengthy waits for renewal quotations.

New VDI opportunities

Such concerns are driving customers towards other options and, with Citrix remaining complex and expensive and certainly out of the reach of many SMEs, we are seeing a rise of open source related solutions starting to emerge. Many organizations are now offering KVM-based solutions which both avoid the increasing risks and expense associated with the legacy vendors to offer more accessible, flexible and cost-efficient VDI services.

Changes in Microsoft virtualization access licensing in recent years helped open possibilities in the space, which has allowed for more efficient use of hardware and more bespoke options. There are industry specific services arising to serve architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), media production and other compute heavy sectors as well as more generalist, knowledge worker options for finance, law and similar businesses.

As VDI offers the potential for higher levels of security, more efficient estate management and greater flexibility in our continuing challenging economic climate, this is to be welcomed.

Challenging big tech dominance

Innovation is critical for a healthy technical ecosystem and the ability to address specific industry requirements, whilst also continuing to focus on lowering carbon impacts and creating greater resilience. Businesses and channel operators should be open to such possibilities and actively engage with potential future partners to support development and mitigate the likelihood of monopolies and big tech dominance.

We can see the overreach of some of these players in the news every day; supporting independent innovators is a proactive means of preventing an overgeneralization of power and its associated risks. An open world, rather than a closed one.

We've featured the best productivity tool.

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

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Tuesday, April 15 (game #1177).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1178) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1178) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #1178) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1178) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1178) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• S

• G

• C

• I

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1178) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1178, are…

• STUMP
• GRAFT
• CHORD
• INPUT

A nice clear run for me today, without any major bumps.

With the letters I had available there were no alternatives for any of the four answers, it was just up to me to work out what they were.

Thankfully, this was one of Quordle’s more straightforward days, without any obscure words.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1178) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1178, are…

• CHART
• PIVOT
• STOKE
• MUMMY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1177, Tuesday 15 April: SLEET, MERIT, HARSH, FORAY
• Quordle #1176, Monday 14 April: DRAWL, CROOK, ACTOR, LANCE
• Quordle #1175, Sunday 13 April: SHALE, KINKY, SHORN, WHOOP
• Quordle #1174, Saturday 12 April: BLIND, OVOID, CACHE, THING
• Quordle #1173, Friday 11 April: FOLLY, PITHY, SCOWL, CURLY
• Quordle #1172, Thursday 10 April: LEAST, SEWER, UNTIE, NOOSE
• Quordle #1171, Wednesday 9 April: LITHE, LEFTY, KNOLL, MULCH
• Quordle #1170, Tuesday 8 April: WIDTH, VISOR, MEDAL, BROOK
• Quordle #1169, Monday 7 April: BROTH, SHOUT, BRUTE, CABIN
• Quordle #1168, Sunday 6 April: AMBER, GAUZE, STORE, SLICK
• Quordle #1167, Saturday 5 April: GUSTY, VAULT, WHINE, BEGAT
• Quordle #1166, Friday 4 April: OAKEN, LOOPY, CURIO, BUTTE
• Quordle #1165, Thursday 3 April: ASCOT, JETTY, DRUNK, JOLLY
• Quordle #1164, Wednesday 2 April: INDEX, QUEEN, INCUR, STOLE
• Quordle #1163, Tuesday 1 April: HUMUS, BALMY, WORRY, ERECT
• Quordle #1162, Monday 31 March: RECUT, MOODY, WHERE, BRACE
• Quordle #1161, Sunday 30 March: CRIME, DRINK, CLOVE, TRUER
• Quordle #1160, Saturday 29 March: LATER, ODDLY, CUMIN, AGREE
• Quordle #1159, Friday 28 March: TERSE, MUSHY, PROVE, FROND
• Quordle #1158, Thursday 27 March: CRONE, APNEA, LIGHT, AWOKE

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, April 15 (game #408).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #409) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Fore!

NYT Strands today (game #409) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• LIPPY
• CHIP
• GLUTE
• PITY
• CLUE
• DOOR

NYT Strands today (game #409) - hint #3 - spangram letters How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 9 letters

NYT Strands today (game #409) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: bottom, 4th column

Last side: top, 3rd column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #409) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #409, are…

• DRIVER
• WEDGE
• IRON
• PUTTER
• WOOD
• CHIPPER
• UTILITY
• SPANGRAM: GOLF CLUBS

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

A belated tribute to the Masters, perhaps. Although, like happy hours, there’s always a major golf tournament going on somewhere in the world, so maybe Strands is bigging up the Chinese Open, which begins in Shanghai tomorrow (thanks, Google).

Not being much of a golf person, I had never heard of a UTILITY club before, but it makes sense to have one club that’s a hybrid of different clubs that you can use if you don’t know what to select.

Despite my lack of real-world experience, I completed today’s round without the need for a hint. Amazing what you can learn from watching the final hour of a four-day event.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, 15 April, game #408)

• SOUR
• NITRO
• LAGER
• BOCK
• STOUT
• PORTER
• PILSNER
• SPANGRAM: MICRO BREWERY

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, April 15 (game #674).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #675) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• CROWD
• SCORE
• MAMBA
• ENGINE
• BOA
• SIMBA
• KATY PERRY
• SCAR
• LION
• GARTER
• SCRATCH
• MERINGUE
• CORSET
• SCRAPE
• TANGY
• STOCKINGS

NYT Connections today (game #675) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Cabaret garms
• GREEN: Deface with a nail
• BLUE: A sound in common 
• PURPLE: Cut a rug

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #675) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: BURLESQUE WEAR 
• GREEN: MESS UP THE SURFACE OF 
• BLUE: THEY ROAR 
• PURPLE: LATIN DANCES WITH A VOWEL CHANGED 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #675) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #675, are…

• YELLOW: BURLESQUE WEAR BOA, CORSET, GARTER, STOCKINGS
• GREEN: MESS UP THE SURFACE OF SCAR, SCORE, SCRAPE, SCRATCH
• BLUE: THEY ROAR CROWD, ENGINE, KATY PERRY, LION
• PURPLE: LATIN DANCES WITH A VOWEL CHANGED MAMBA, MERINGUE, SIMBA, TANGY

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 1 mistake

After two losses in a row I am just relieved to have completed Connections today.

Not that it was easy, with the multiple traps (SCAR and SIMBA from The Lion King being the most obvious).

I knew that the inclusion of the first pop star in space, KATY PERRY, had to do with one of her songs – but all I could think of was Fireworks and Hot and Cold and neither of those helped. I’m annoyed I missed it.

It’s funny how you get groups sometimes. I was trying to think of all the things that MAMBA could possibly be (snakes, candy, sports, it wasn’t a long list) and added “number five” even though I knew that was relevant to mambo not mamba – and then it clicked.

I am super-pleased to get a purple group, even if it was in a very roundabout kind of way.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, 15 April, game #674)

• YELLOW: DESIST ABSTAIN, AVOID, CEASE, REFRAIN
• GREEN: CARD GAMES BRIDGE, HEARTS, SPEED, SPOONS
• BLUE: ELEMENTS OF GREEK DRAMA CHORUS, HERO, HUBRIS, TRAGEDY
• PURPLE: SECOND WORDS OF "PETER PAN" CHARACTERS BELL, DARLING, HOOK, PAN

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

• As well as making room for more Gemini, Google has been updating its photo and video sharing service
• One of the new features includes Google Photos integration in the Gemini app
• While one of the features is still a rumor, we hope that it will be rolled out soon

It’s a busy and certainly an interesting time for Google at the moment, and it’s not just because Gemini is slowly taking over. While the company is doubling down on Gemini’s integration across the board of its services, it’s taking the time to seriously upgrade other platforms under its broad umbrella - Google Photos being one of them.

Just as Google Messages has been testing some useful upgrades, the company hasn’t forgotten about its photo sharing and storage software, which has also received its fair share of updates and new features, big and small. Two of them are very recent rollouts for Google, and though the third is only a speculation as of now, we’re hoping to see it come to fruition in the near future.

Google Photos gets Gemini integration on Android

(Image credit: 9to5Google)

In October 2024, Google Photos rolled out ‘Ask Photos,’ an AI search tool powered by Gemini that allows you to use natural language questions to filter through your gallery in the Photos app. With this new integration, Android users will be able to connect it to Google Photos and find photos inside the Gemini app itself.

According to 9to5Google, there are two sides to this new integration, the first allowing you to find images and videos based on the following:

• Your saved faces and relationships in Google Photos
• The location / date a photo / video was taken on
• A description of what’s in a photo
• Conversation with the Gemini app

For example, you can use prompts such as ‘Find my photos of Alex’, ‘Show me recent selfies’, and ‘Show my photos from my most recent trip’. The second part allows you to ask about specific details in your photos and videos, such as ‘What are the top 10 things we saw on our last trip?’ - similar to the Ask Photos function in the Google Photos app.

Dark mode for Google Photos’ web version

Whether you use Google Photos or not, you probably use dark mode settings on other platforms - for me, it’s always turned on when I'm using YouTube or TikTok. For a while, dark mode was exclusive to the Google Photos mobile app, but just a few weeks ago, Google finally brought it to the web version.

It’s a small upgrade for Google Photos, but one that will be very popular with users for sure. You can activate dark mode for Google Photos on the web very easily:

• Head to photos.google.com in your web browser
• Click Settings, and then go into the Appearance section
• From there, you can select your choice from different options, including Light, Dark, or Use Device Default

Google Photos tipped for a big redesign

(Image credit: Future)

While this is still speculated, it could be a great design overhaul and one that could make managing your photo library a little smoother.

We first spotted this a few weeks back following a leak shared by Android Authority, which pointed to possible changes we could see in the future, one of which shows the ‘Today’ heading no longer having a checkmark next to it but with what looks like a filter icon instead. Additionally, the leak shows a floating search bar in place of the usual Photos Collections and Search tabs.

You might also like

• Google Gemini update for Wear OS spotted – here’s what the AI voice assistant will do
• The Wizard of Oz is coming to the Las Vegas sphere in 16K thanks to the power of Google DeepMind AI
• Adding Google Gemini to Samsung's Ballie AI robot sounds impressive, but I'm not sure it matters

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Two-minute review

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)

Lenovo’s Yoga series has long stood out in the ultra-portable laptop space, thanks to its sleek design and lightweight build—and the new Slim 7i Aura Edition continues that tradition. Weighing just 3.33 lbs (1.53kg) and measuring under an inch thick when closed, it’s designed for those who value portability without sacrificing style.

Under the hood, the Slim 7i Aura Edition features an Intel Ultra 7 256V processor, Intel Arc 140V GPU with 8GB of VRAM, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 1TB SSD. While this setup isn’t geared for heavy-duty tasks like high-end gaming or intensive creative work, it’s more than capable for everyday use. Whether you’re writing papers, doing light photo or video editing, streaming content, playing some less visually intensive games or multitasking across browser tabs, it gets the job done smoothly.

One of the standout features is the vibrant 2K IPS touchscreen, which offers a buttery-smooth 120Hz refresh rate. While the hardware won’t always take full advantage of that refresh rate in more demanding scenarios, it still delivers a fluid and visually engaging experience. Adding to the entertainment value are the quad 2W speakers with Dolby Atmos support, providing surprisingly rich and immersive sound. Topping those impressive specs is a 4-cell 70Wh battery that lasts a pretty long time and doesn’t take long to charge.

There are some design features that may turn away potential buyers. Despite the serviceable portability, other aspects of the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition don't work well. This starts with the design that’s lacking in several places from the protruding webcam lip to missing some ports alongside a power button placement that is just weird.

Speaking of the webcam, it’s not the best compared to other laptops and isn’t really good in most lighting conditions outside of broad daylight. There aren’t even any sort of AI tools or anything to make image quality better either which is disappointing. Then there’s the reality that the laptop doesn’t have a fingerprint reader for log-in which means that the only biometric measure is the camera which can be inconsistent.

Priced between $1,049 and $1,399, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition is an attractive buy if users can get past some caveats. This laptop should definitely work for students or casual users in need of a stylish, capable machine with just enough power for office work, light creative work and entertainment.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition starts at $1,049 and can reach as high as $1,399
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? It is available now in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia

Available now, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition can be purchased in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Though the ultra-portable laptop can be bought through Lenovo’s online store, there are other ways to get it depending on the territory you live in.

When it comes to cost, be prepared to pay somewhere between $1,049 and $1,399 within the United States on the Lenovo online store. Our review configuration featuring the specs mentioned above comes out to $1,049.

Right now, the users who want an option with less RAM at 16GB, base-level Intel integrated graphics and 512GB SSD storage are going to pay around $1,280 at the moment. Potential buyers looking for 32GB of RAM to review configuration are currently going to pay $1,399. Regardless of the choices, this is definitely an affordable lightweight laptop for general computing tasks.

There are a few options for the UK buyers through Lenovo’s online retailer. Both feature 32GB of RAM, integrated Intel graphics, 1TB SSD and 14.5-inch 3000 X 1872 OLED display with touch capabilities. Setting them apart starts with the £1,300 configuration that has an Intel Core Ultra 7 255 Processor with Windows 11 Home 64. Meanwhile, at £1,690, purchasers can get an Intel Core Ultra 7 285H Processor and Windows 11 Pro 64.

Citizens of Australia on the Lenovo store have one option available at the moment. At $2,999, potential buyers can get an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, Arc 140 V, 32GB RAM 1TB SSD and the lovely 15.3-inch 2.8K IPS display with touch capabilities.

Value: 4.5 / 5

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Specs

Here are the specs for the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition at a glance.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Design

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)

• Light, thin and made up of premium feeling aluminum
• Lacks SD Card and only has one USB-A
• Webcam lip and power button placement buttons problematic

The Luna Grey colorway of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition sets the right tones against the Lenovo logo top panel when closed. It’s a great way to appreciate all of the rounded lines that accentuate the sleekness and light weight. Made up of a mix of raw and recycled aluminum, the laptop has a special coating that prevents smudging and fingerprints. That includes the chassis, keyboard and touchpad as well. From the looks alongside feel, the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition comes off as a premium product that has a bit of environmental consciousness to it.

There aren’t a lot of ports on the laptop but enough for someone who relies on simpler computing tasks for sure. On the right side includes a single USB-A and USB-C sitting above the power button and webcam shutter switch. The opposite side will provide users a HDMI port, USB-C port and 3.5 combo audio/microphone headphone jack.

Compared to others within its tier of ultra portable laptops, the lack of additional USB-A ports or even a SD Card slot could bring issues for the creative sect of users that Lenovo is trying to court with this laptop. Even the power button placement comes with its own set of problems as picking up the laptop in the wrong way can put the laptop to sleep. Adding to that is the lack of a fingerprint scanner which makes the webcam the only biometric option for unlocking the laptop.

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)

Before opening the display, half of the laptop protrudes out a bit thanks to the webcam which looks a bit awkward. Once opened, the top half reveals the lovely 2880x1800 IPS touch screen surrounded by bezels that can be laid flat at a 90 degree angle. The bottom half features a nice feeling keyboard that’s pretty quiet alongside a pretty smooth touchpad. Between the keyboard are two speakers with the remaining ones on the bottom panel.

Overall, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition strikes a balance between elegant design and functional performance, though a few layout quirks and limited port options may leave many users wanting more.

Design: 3.5 / 5

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Performance

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)

• General computing tasks run briskly
• The 15-inch 2K IPS touch screen is wonderful in motion
• Intel Arc 140V GPU doesn’t help much when it comes to gaming and heavy creative work

During my week and some change with the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition, most of my time was split between using Google Chrome and Adobe Suite. This was the best way to get an understanding of how general computing tasks work on the laptop.

The Intel Ultra 7 256V and 16GB LPDD5X RAM do a great job of ensuring applications run smoothly and open quickly regardless of how many Google Chrome tabs I had open. Despite having five browser windows open with dozens of tabs open, there wasn’t a hint of slowdown. Meanwhile, fan noise remained quiet and the bottom became slightly warm on the lap.

Keeping expectations in check, creative tasks worked pretty fine as well. Using Photoshop, editing 1080p images wasn't a problem regardless of how many layers were in a file. Rendering times were a bit on the slow side for the same resolution when attempting to add video content to the Photoshop file with a two minute video taking around three or so minutes to do so.

The time on encoding on Premiere Pro was a lot quicker though at around 30 seconds for a minute of HD video. Attempting to go higher in the resolution does lead to a less performance especially when rendering which can stretch pretty long.

Intel may be the king of CPUs but the same can’t be said in terms of their more recent ambitions into discrete GPUs. The included Intel Arc 140V GPU has 8GB of VRAM but it seems to help more in creative tasks than gaming.

On desktops, the GPU has compatibility issues compared to rivals Nvidia and AMD so expect similar situations here. During our benchmark test for games this was more than obvious as Borderlands 3 could only hit 25 frames per second at 1080p resolution while Shadows of The Tomb Raider couldn’t even run at all at the same resolution. This means that more CPU intensive games that require a lot of visual processing like Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm and Total War: Warhammer III fared fairly better.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Benchmarks

Here's how the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition performed in our suite of benchmark tests:

25GB File Copy: 1,613.44 Transfer Rate (in MBps)

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test: Write - 3297.3, Read - 3825.2

Geekbench 6.3: Single-Core - 2531, Multicore - 10711

HandBrake: 6:23

CrossMark: Overall - 1652

PugetBench for Adobe CC: Photoshop - 5935, Premiere Pro - 3276

3DMark: Fire Strike - 8214, Time Spy - 3982

Borderlands 3: 1080p 25.20fps, 2880x1800 13.30

Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm: 1080p 52.284fps, 2880x1800 37.345

Web Surfing (Battery Informant): 14:10:07

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Battery life

4-cell (70Wh) battery

If drained, can get 3 hours of battery life with a 15-minute charge

A shame considering that more casual or serious PC gamers won’t be able to make the most of the beautiful 15-inch 2K IPS touch screen that also has a 120Hz refresh rate. Delta E<1 helps maintain color accuracy while also supporting 100% P3 and 100% sRGB color gamuts.

During general computing tasks, text is crisp and easily readable while images are bold and lush. The 500 nits of brightness are used to great effect as well alongside watching video content means lush colors and blacks are deep regardless of settings. For more sensitive eyes, the display is also TÜV Low Blue Light and Eyesafe certified.

The same can be said for the 4 2W speakers that come with Dolby Atmos compatibility. From watching or creating videos to listening to music on Tidal, audio quality is fine regardless of loudness levels which can get pretty high. Bass can get really deep without any distortion and mid-tones are identifiable which is surprising considering how small they are.

Performance: 4 / 5

Battery life on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition is on par with some of the best ultra light laptops in its class thanks to the 4-cell 70Wh battery. During our Web Surfing Battery Informant test, I was able to get 14 hours and some change out of the device. This allowed me to make it throughout an entire day through a single charge of moderate usage.

I realized this while working my hybrid Digital Editor position as I worked in an office three times a week. During those times on a full charge, the end of the day would leave me at around half of battery life.

Charging is through one of the USB-C ports and the adapter supports Rapid Charge Express which gives around three hours of runtime with just a 15-minute charge. I was able to get around full in close to an hour.

Battery life: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition? Buy it if...

You want an affordable, lightweight laptop with reputable performance for everyday computing and light creative tasks

Weighing in the ballpark of three pounds while being less than an inch thick when closed makes this a great laptop to throw in an average-sized backpack despite having some good components that make running various general computing and easier creative tasks a breeze.

You need a beautiful screen and audio experience

The lovely 15-inch 2880x1800 IPS touch screen is elevated with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Add four 2W speakers into the mix and this laptop provides a serious audio/visual experience.

Don't buy it if... 

You require a long-lasting battery

We squeezed around 14 hours of juice during benchmark testing but daily use gave us somewhere between 8 to 10 hours on one charge. That doesn’t even count the quick charging capabilities as well.

Don't buy it if...

You need an industry leading design that matches functionality

The overall shape and size is wonderfully portable but there are some flaws in the design. This includes a webcam lip that pokes out when closed, lack of SD card slot, only one USB-A port and the sensitive power placement on the right side is problematic.

You want something that provides better gaming and creative performance

A shame that users won’t be able to make the most out of the 120Hz display, considering the specs don’t allow for much high end gaming or hyper intensive creative work.

You require a good webcam

The FHD webcam doesn’t work well in low light and there isn’t any type of software to improve functionality in that sense.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Also consider

If our Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition review has you considering other options, here are two laptops to consider...

Macbook Air 15-inch (M4)

Creatives looking for a lightweight and affordable laptop may find the Macbook Air 15-inch a great option if fine with losing an inch in display real estate and lack of Wi-Fi 7.

Read the full review here

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo B1MG

Though the MSI Prestige may be a bit more expensive, it performs nearly similarly while having a better webcam, power button layout and SD Card slot.

How I tested the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition

• Tested this laptop over the span of a week and some days
• Used for Google Chrome, Tidal and Adobe Creative Suite

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition was tested over a one-week period. General computing tasks were conducted using Google Chrome, including the use of Google Docs and YouTube. Creative software such as Adobe Premiere Pro and Photoshop was used to assess performance in content creation. Instagram was used to evaluate webcam and microphone functionality.

The 15-inch IPS touchscreen display was assessed by streaming multiple 4K YouTube videos to examine visual output and speaker function. Additional audio performance was tested using music playback on Tidal.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed April 2025

• OnePlus has confirmed that it will launch a smaller model of its Watch 3
• New leaks suggest that it could be a rebadged Oppo Watch X2 Mini
• That would mean a 43mm chassis, with a cheaper price to match

Two new leaks appear to indicate that the promised smaller version of the OnePlus Watch 3 will be a OnePlus Watch 3 Mini that's essentially a rebadged Oppo Watch X2 Mini.

The OnePlus Watch 3 is one of the best Android smartwatches of 2025 so far, but it lacks appeal for some because of its hefty size. That large chassis packs 120 hours of battery life, but is simply too large for some customers to wear.

Earlier this year OnePlus promised us a smaller version, and we've now got a good idea of what we can expect it to look like.

As we reported a few weeks ago, the Oppo Watch X2 Mini is very likely to offer us a glimpse at the OnePlus Watch 3. Oppo and OnePlus share the same parent company, and thus a lot of hardware.

Now, two further new leaks seem to confirm that the OnePlus Watch 3 'Mini' is on the way, and that it'll essentially be a re-branded 43mm Oppo Watch X2 Mini.

On April 10, X leaker Abhishek Yadav claimed that the new Oppo Watch X2 Mini launched in China would "launch as a rebadged OnePlus Watch 3 Mini in India and globally."

The Oppo Watch X2 Mini is a 43mm smartwatch with a 60Hz LTPO AMOLED display, a dual-chip design that aids battery life, and Wear OS 5.

Now, new US Federal Communications Commission listings for a new OnePlus smartwatch point to a 43mm smartwatch that's likely to launch any day now. As spotted by 91Mobiles, not only is the chassis identical to the Oppo Watch X2 Mini, its battery capacity of 345mAh is also identical.

A cheaper, more enticing OnePlus Watch 3?

The OnePlus Watch 3 has endured a torrid start to life since it was unveiled earlier this year. While it's a fantastic watch on paper, the launch was delayed for two months because of a typo in the design – the back read 'Meda In China'.

Then, in the weeks between the initial launch and the new release date of April 10, the US started to impose sweeping tariffs on imported goods from many countries, notably China. As a result, OnePlus has raised the price of the larger 46mm model from $329 to $499, an increase of more than 50%.

The OnePlus Watch 3 Mini will certainly be cheaper than the existing model, which could slightly soften the blow. However, US customers are likely to face a similarly massive price hike on the smaller model. As such, the OnePlus Watch 3 Mini could well cost 50% more than we were expecting, just like the larger model.

The expected price hike would be a devastating blow to an otherwise excellent smartwatch with great health chops, Google's suite of Wear OS technology, and segment-leading battery life. It can't match the best Garmins, but it is leaps ahead of Apple Watch and Pixel Watch alternatives for longevity.

Sadly, a price hike would put it into the territory of the oft-discounted and excellent Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. The OnePlus Watch 3 might be one of the first casualties of tariff-fueled tech price hikes, but it probably won't be the last.

You may also like

• OnePlus Watch 3 gets surprise price hike in the US – and you can already guess why
• OnePlus Watch 3 is now available to purchase, with discounts until the end of April
• I've been an Apple Watch user for 10 years – here are 8 things Garmin still does better

• Nintendo is 'losing their identity' according to former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida
• Yoshida suggested that Nintendo is more focused on hardware than innovation
• He says the Switch 2 offering third-party titles for new players is "exciting" but less so for those who already play the same games on multiple platforms

Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida thinks "Nintendo is losing their identity" by focusing more on the Switch 2's hardware instead of innovation.

In a recent interview with Easy Allies following the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, where we finally received an in-depth look at the upcoming console, Yoshida shared his thoughts on the reveal, calling it a "mixed message from Nintendo".

"In a sense, I think Nintendo is losing their identity, in my opinion," Yoshida said. "For me, they are always about creating some new experience, like designing hardware and games together to create something, [an] amazing new experience. But Switch 2, as we all anticipated, is a better Switch, right?"

Yoshida explained that Nintendo has always done things differently when it comes to its reveals, but now compares it to what other companies, like Sony and Microsoft, usually do by focusing on hardware details.

"It's a larger screen, more powerful processor, higher resolution, 4K 120fps. They even had their hardware person starting the stream as other platforms do.

"And because it's a better Switch, the core premise of the whole Switch 2 is, 'We made things better', and that's something other companies have been doing all the time."

Special guest Shuhei Yoshida gets real about the Switch 2 pic.twitter.com/CzZYPnTtueApril 14, 2025

Yoshida then praised the Switch 2's ability to offer third-party games like Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition for the first time for new players but suggested it was less tempting for those who already play games on multiple consoles.

"Of course it's a more powerful Switch, so it's great if your gaming was only on Nintendo hardware," Yoshida said. "It's the first time for you to play amazing games like Elden Ring. But for us, like, the core gamers, who own multiple hardware and play games on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, the games they showed off - especially from third parties... In theory, it's amazing to have all these all-stars of industry games on Nintendo hardware, however, what they showed were like... oh."

The Nintendo Switch 2 officially launches on June 5, 2025, and will cost $449.99 / £395.99 or $499.99 / £429.99 for a Mario Kart World bundle.

Although pre-orders are now live in the UK, Nintendo has announced that US pre-orders and Canada pre-orders have been delayed to "assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions."

The company confirmed that the launch date is unchanged and will provide a new pre-order date soon.

You might also like...

• Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders live: latest UK stock updates as My Nintendo Store's pre-order date arrives, while US pre-orders remain delayed
• Nintendo Switch 2 vs Nintendo Switch: comparing price, specs, design, features and more
• Consoles in the US could be hit with a 145% tariff, which means the Nintendo Switch 2 might get even pricier

• After launching iPhone cases in 2024, Beats is now ushering in cables
• It's a further expansion into mobile accessories with a focus on affordability and fun colors
• Beats is making three cable types in two sizes and four colors

Beats has already had a packed 2025 with the much-anticipated release of the Powerbeats Pro 2, but for the tech brand’s second act it’s striking a slightly different tone. No, it’s not a follow-up to the return of the iconic Pill speaker or a new shade of Solo Buds; instead, it’s a new mobile accessory and one that I couldn’t be more excited about.

Alongside the iPhone 16 lineup in September of 2024, Beats introduced its iPhone case – a sleek, ergonomic plastic one that had a microfiber lining to protect the hardware, support for MagSafe, and maybe most importantly, a sapphire layer for Camera Control.

And now Beats is making cables. No, not for audio but for charging devices and even accomplishing data transfers. Best of all, like the Solo Buds, these are platform agnostic and look to use the same high-end braided materials of the Apple-made ones, but with fresh, vibrant, and plain fun shades.

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

Beats Cables will come in three models for this launch: USB-C to USB-C, USB-A to USB-C, and USB-C to Lightning. You can pick between a shorter 20cm size or a longer 1.5m one, and Beats is offering four colors: Bolt Black, Surge Stone, Nitro Navy, and Rapid Red.

The best part, though, might be the price. In either size for just one cable, it’s $18.99 / £18.99 / AU$28.95, or Beats is selling two 1.5m cable packs for $34.99 / £34.99 / AU$54.95. That price just includes the cable, or two, with Beats being quick to note that no power adapter is included. In the new advertisement spot, and in shared images, Beats Cables are shown being plugged into Apple 20-Watt bricks, so for now, Beats isn’t entering the power market.

Though, I wouldn’t be shocked to see this mobile accessory division of Beats expanded again. First we got cases, now cables and I wouldn’t mind the return of a MagSafe battery pack in some fun colors.

As far as the specs are concerned, Beats Cables are designed to plug and play with both Apple-made devices and Android ones. The USB-C to USB-C cable are designed for charging at up to 60-watts, provided the power source and device it's plugged into support this. These cables also support USB 2.0 data transfer speeds. You can use these for syncing, charging, and CarPlay with an iPhone, or even for Android Auto with an Android device.

USB-A to USB-C does work with both Apple and non-Apple devices, but the spec is a bit lower for charging at up to 15-watts. Data transfer speeds are the same up to USB 2.0. You can also use either USB-A to USB-C or USB-C to USB-C cables to power other Beats devices like the Pill or to recharge headphones.

Beats USB-C to Lightning cables support fast charging with select Apple devices – think the iPhone, iPad, or even AirPods. You can also data sync or use these for CarPlay.

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

All of these boast a braided, colorful design with color-matched ends and Beats says these are reinforced to prevent fraying and go through thousands of hours in testing to ensure durability. While it isn’t specified if recycled materials are used in the cable itself, the packaging is made from 100% plant-based material.

TechRadar will be putting these cables through some tests in short order, and if it’s anything like the Beats cases for the iPhone 16 lineup, I have a feeling these will be a hit. Especially for those who have ever wished Apple’s USB-C to USB-C cables were a bit more affordable or came in some fun colors – this is the solution.

Beats will begin selling its USB-C to USB-C, USB-A to USB-C, and USB-C to Lighting cables in Bolt Black, Surge Stone, Nitro Navy, and Rapid Red in 1.5m or 20cm sizes direct from Apple – and likely on Amazon – right now, and will arrive in Apple Stores on April 17, 2025.

You might also like

• Chipolo's Pop item tracker upgrades the AirTag in nearly every way I wanted, and it works with Android too
• Disneyland Resort will let you have a say in its night-time spectacular, but you’ll need an iPhone or Android to do it
• Apple has a plan for improving Apple Intelligence, but it needs your help – and your data

• Conduent has filed a new 8-K form with the SEC
• It noted a January 2025 breach and said some customer data was taken
• So far, no groups assumed responsibility for the attack

Conduent Incorporated, an American business process services company, has confirmed suffering a cyberattack and a data breach in a new filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In a new 8-K form, Conduent said that in mid-January 2025, it experienced an “operational disruption” caused by unauthorized access from a threat actor. The attackers allegedly accessed a “limited portion” of the company’s environment, and remained there for days (in some cases, for hours, Conduent said)

Earlier reports said the attack happened after a “third-party system compromise on an operating system”.

Monitor your credit score with TransUnion starting at $29.95/month

TransUnion is a credit monitoring service that helps you stay on top of your financial health. With real-time alerts, credit score tracking, and identity theft protection, it ensures you never miss important changes. You'll benefit from a customizable online interface with clear insights into your credit profile. Businesses also benefit from TransUnion’s advanced risk assessment tools.

Preferred partner (What does this mean?)View Deal

Supply chain attack

While the attack did not have a material impact on the company’s operations, it did result in the theft of sensitive data.

Conduent offers a range of services, including transaction processing, automation, and analytics, across various sectors such as healthcare, transportation, and government.

Some of its biggest clients include the US Secret Service, District of Columbia Medicaid, and others. It serves hundreds of government and transportation organizations.

In the attack, the threat actors stole data generated by Conduent’s clients: “As part of its ongoing investigation, the company determined that the threat actor exfiltrated a set of files associated with a limited number of the company’s clients,” the filing reads.

“Due to the complexity of the files, the Company engaged cybersecurity data mining experts to evaluate the exfiltrated data and was recently informed of its nature, scope and validity, confirming that the data sets contained a significant number of individuals’ personal information associated with our clients' end-users.”

At press time, no groups assumed responsibility for the attack, and the data has not yet leaked on the dark web.

According to BleepingComputer, this is not Conduent’s first incident, as the company also suffered a data breach in 2020, when the Maze ransomware group managed to encrypt the company’s devices and steal corporate data.

Via BleepingComputer

You might also like

• Software supply chains are coming under attack more than ever
• Take a look at our guide to the best authenticator app
• We've rounded up the best password managers