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Passwords are falling out of fashion with younger generations around the world, as passkeys provide faster and more secure login without the hassle of remembering, new research has claimed.

New data from FIDO Alliance shows passkey awareness has risen from 39% familiarity in 2022, to 57% in 2024.

Moreover, businesses are missing out on revenue from younger generations, with 50% of people aged 25-34 abandoning at least one purchase per month because they had forgotten their password.

Youngsters want authentication alternatives

Recent findings from Google claim passkeys are four times simpler to use than passwords, making them highly attractive for youngsters looking to log in rapidly or make a quick purchase. Passkeys are also phishing resistant, as they are stored on a local device such as a phone, which means that an account secured with a passkey cannot be accessed by a hacker without that device. They would also need the authenticator app you use, as well as your chosen method of verification, such as a fingerprint or facial scan.

Forgetting a password can quickly ruin an online experience, with over half (56%) of those surveyed by FIDO Alliance giving up using an online service because they had forgotten a password, with the number rising to two thirds (66%) for those below the age of 35.

Password managers are already taking some of the sting out of constantly having to remember passwords, but that doesn’t mean their usage isn’t declining. In fact, password usage decreased daily in 2023 with biometric authentication now ranking as the most popular login method.

China and India are leading the passkey revolution, with adoption rates at 80% and 73% respectively, while the UK ranks third at 66%. The research also indicates that tech savvy youngsters are becoming more aware of the cyber threats that affect them personally, with 54% of 18-24 year olds and 61% of 25-34 year olds seeing scams and suspicious messages getting smarter and more targeted.

“Consumer expectations are changing, and this data should serve as a clear call to action for brands and organizations still relying on outdated password systems," noted Andrew Shikiar, CEO at FIDO Alliance.

"Consumers are actively seeking out and prefer passwordless alternatives when available, and brands that fail to adapt are losing patience, money, and loyalty – especially among younger generations.”

“When consumers know about passkeys, they use them. Excitingly, 20% of the world’s top 100 websites and services already support passkeys. As the industry accelerates its efforts toward education and making deployment as simple as possible, we urge more brands to work with us to make passkeys available for consumers. The pace of passkey deployment and usage is set to accelerate even more in the next twelve months, and we are eager to help brands and consumers alike make the shift,” Shikiar concluded.

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AMD’s Ryzen 9800X3D is close at hand now, and Gigabyte has given us a look at a new feature for its latest motherboards that boosts the performance of 3D V-Cache chips (and other Ryzen CPUs besides).

VideoCardz points out the revelations that come from a video (and presentation slides therein) uploaded to YouTube by Gigabyte, which informs owners of its AM5 motherboards that they can install the latest BIOS and get access to an ‘X3D turbo mode’ that speeds up their CPU for gaming.

The Ryzen 9800X3D is mentioned – even though it’s not officially confirmed yet, it is strongly rumored to be the sole Zen 5 X3D processor set to launch on November 7 – and we’re told we can expect frame rate boosts to the tune of up to 5%.

The motherboard maker claims that Tomb Raider gets a 5% boost, Horizon Zero Dawn gets a 4.5% uplift, and Far Cry 6 a 3.5% increase with the 9800X3D in turbo mode. We don’t get to learn anything about the PC configuration or settings used here, though, save for the fact that it’s a measurement of turbo mode on, versus turning off the feature.

Gigabyte explains that this is a one-click turbo mode (turned on in the BIOS) that works with all X3D chips, including past generations (not just 9800X3D, or other Zen 5 X3D chips when they arrive), and indeed it will give vanilla Ryzen processors a similar boost, too.

So, this is good news for gamers who have any Ryzen CPU in a Gigabyte AM5 motherboard, not just X3D owners.

Analysis: Tempering expectations and peeking under the hood

This is a little odd, as previous leaks from Gigabyte had suggested that X3D turbo mode could provide a massive boost for PC games (there was talk of up to 35%), and these are far more modest increases aired here – but they are still gains which are well worth having. (And if any huge gains were in evidence, these were always likely to be outliers of one kind of another – it’s possible that the previously mentioned figures included EXPO memory overclocking as well as this turbo mode).

What’s the feature doing under the hood? As VideoCardz notes, the turbo mode appears to turn off SMT (multi-threading with the CPU) and doing so has benefits for games, as well as fine tuning aspects of power usage and core distribution. Dropping SMT is the reason why Gigabyte recommends you only turn on X3D turbo mode when gaming, as it’s likely to drag down the performance of your everyday apps (and demanding non-gaming workloads in particular).

If the leaks are right, the Ryzen 9800X3D processor is set to provide an 8% performance boost for gaming compared to the Ryzen 7800X3D, and the gains from turbo mode will be on top of that (but also applicable to the 7800X3D, too – perhaps not to quite the same extent, though).

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Apple’s brand-new MacBook Pro laptops come with a range of upgrades, from the M4 chip to faster Thunderbolt 5 ports. The improvements extend to the display, and that’s great news if you want to use the MacBook Pro in either bright outdoor sun or in very dark surroundings.

Apple says the mini-LED display inside the M4 MacBook Pro can ramp up to 1,000 nits of brightness when you're viewing SDR content outside. That’s much brighter than the 600 nits the M3 model was capable of in these conditions, and it should help make on-screen content much more visible when the sun is shining.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the MacBook Pro’s display can now drop down to a mere one nit of brightness in low light, compared to two nits on the previous version. If you want to work in the dark without blinding yourself with a bright screen, your eyes will feel the benefits even more.

The values for HDR content have not changed – the MacBook Pro will still offer up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness for HDR media and up to 1,000 nits of sustained full-screen brightness, which is the same as you’d get with the M3 model.

(Image credit: Apple)

Other display elements remain the same between the M4 and M3 MacBook Pro. You can still expect True Tone technology, the ProMotion variable refresh rate up to 120Hz, and support for the P3 wide color gamut.

However, there is one other change that’s come not to the display itself, but to the tech that lives inside it: the MacBook Pro’s webcam. Apple has upgraded it with a 12MP resolution, but perhaps more interesting is the addition of Center Stage and Desk View. The former feature automatically keeps you centered in the middle of your video call’s frame as you move around, while the latter shows a top-down view of your desk without you needing to tilt your camera. Both were previously only available while using Continuity Camera on a compatible iPhone, but can now be used on both the MacBook Pro and the M4 iMac.

There have long been rumors that Apple is working on bringing out an OLED MacBook Pro that would swap out the MacBook Pro’s mini-LED display for something even better, but given that the latest MacBook Pro lacks an OLED screen, that’s clearly something for a future update.

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It probably won’t come as much of a surprise to hear new research has found British workers often have to give up their spare time for work related commitments - but if you’re one of the 1 in 3 British workers who regularly skips their lunch break to catch up on admin tasks, HP has new tools for you.

The company has announced its new Amplify AI programme, which is set to offer “tools, resources, training, and certification” to make sure partners are well equipped to use AI to help their customers and within their own business.

An earlier survey, found that just 42% of workers and 51% of business leaders believe that AI can alleviate tedious tasks and allow employees to focus on the more critical aspects of their work - but HP hopes this will improve.

An AI PC for your admin needs

Alongside the Amplify programme, the company HP is releasing the new HP OmniBook Ultra 14 Flip, its next-gen AI PC 2-in-1 laptop costing £,1699 and featuring an inbuilt AI companion which can answer questions, analyze documents, and gather insights to help reduce workloads.

“AI is set to be a significant driver of change in the future of work, increasing productivity and allowing workers to enjoy their jobs more by taking simple and repetitive tasks off their plates,” said Neil Sawyer, Managing Director of HP’s Northwest Europe market.

“In the UK, according to HP’s WRI, 65% of workers believe AI will make their jobs easier, and at HP we want to make this a reality by empowering workers with the latest in AI technology to achieve their aspirations.” he continued.

Recent research has shown that British workers are overwhelmingly confused about how to integrate AI into their day-to-day work, and in fact only one in four workers actually use AI every day.

We have seen a slew of new products such as these, as Lenovo AI capable PCs saw a 228% rise in the second quarter of 2024. These products are hoping to encourage workers to adopt AI for mundane tasks to boost productivity across the board.

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