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Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections: Sports Edition No. 108 for Jan. 9.

• Sony gave us a first look at the latest prototype of its NFL coaches headset.
• This announcement comes after the tech giant became the leagues' official technology partner.
• The NFL Commissioner unveiled the headset during Sony's 2025 CES keynote.

(Image credit: Future)

We’re covering all of the latest CES news from the show as it happens. Stick with us for the big stories on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok for the latest from the CES show floor!

Yes, Tom Brady showed up at Delta Air Line’s 2025 CES keynote, but before that, football and sports at large were making an impact at this year's show. In fact, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appeared at the Sony press conference, which tracks as the tech giant the NFL's official technology partner and the sport's official headphones supplier.

We’ve seen aspects of this partnership come to life, most recently with Sony’s Beyond Sports helping to power the alternative real-time telecast of The Simpsons football game on Disney Plus and ESPN Plus. That broadcast was made possible with Sony’s Hawkeye solution, which tracks players using sensors on the field but also various cameras.

When the partnership was announced, Sony teased us that a headset designed for NFL coaches was in the works, and we got our first look at it during Sony’s press conference. If you guessed it would feature Sony branding, you’re correct, and that tracks for being a corporate sponsor.

(Image credit: Sony)

We don’t have specs or any further details, but this is the latest prototype of the coaches' headset that Sony is developing for the NFL. It will feature active noise cancellation, something that Sony knows a thing or two about, considering the performance of the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones, and there will be some extra connectivity here.

These will be connected to Verizon’s 5G network – the carrier is another partner of the NFL – though it’s unknown if they’ll also feature Bluetooth or other connectivity. There is a large boom microphone for clear pickup, even when on the sidelines, and there is also a receiver of some sort. Chances are as we approach the next NFL season, Sony will be ready to share a bit more.

It’s clear, though, that the partnership between the two brands is growing, as Sony and the NFL frequently work together to ensure replays, develop camera locations, expand Hawkeye to new stadiums, and much more. Indeed, we got a quick behind-the-scenes look at the camera setup and production areas at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, thanks to the companies' growing partnership.

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The fires burning across Los Angeles have affected tens of thousands of people, including athletes and staff for the city's sports teams. Pasadena's iconic Rose Bowl was under evacuation warning.

(Image credit: Harry How)

At CES 2025, it’s been all about the big-screen TVs. Several TV brands have confirmed new 100-inch-plus TVs including Hisense, Samsung, TCL and LG. While this isn’t Hisense or TCL’s first rodeo into the 100-inch TV world, Samsung announced a 115-inch version of its Samsung QN90F Neo QLED TV as part of its 2025 Neo QLED lineup. LG also revealed a 100-inch model of its QNED85 as part of its 2025 QNED TV lineup, throwing its hat in the 100-inch ring.

These brands, all responsible for making some of the best TVs on the market, have experience with larger screen sizes before, with CES 2024 and 2024 in general seeing a mass increase in 98-inch sized TVs. But CES 2025 is taking things a step further, breaking the 100-inch barrier.

Hisense also revealed a 116-inch, RGB mini-LED TV, called the 116-inch UXN, to add to its already stacked 100-inch TV lineup, including the 110-inch UXN, 100-inch U8K and more. It even announced a 136-inch MicroLED TV that it says will be consumer-ready, due for release in 2025, with a 163-inch version to follow.

While the demand for big screen TVs seems to be on the rise, it does beg the question – are these TVs going to become the go-to, big screen option for home theater fans, replacing projectors? Honestly, I don't think so. Not yet anyway.

It’s all about the money

Samsung goes big with a 115-inch model of the QN90F (pictured) - but what price will it be? (Image credit: Future)

While we don’t yet have confirmation on the pricing of the majority of the announced big-screen models, we can look at other, currently available models for an idea. The prime example is the Hisense 110-inch UXN. A mini-LED capable of 10,000 nits peak brightness (though based on my testing of it, it’s closer to 3,000 nits sustained peak brightness when measured on a 10% window), the 110UXN costs roughly $15,000 / £20,000, so is very much a premium TV.

For the cream of the crop of larger screen TVs, such as the 97-inch LG G4, you’ll be looking to pay $24,999 / £24,999. This is far beyond most people’s budgets and means larger TV screens sit out of reach.

For this, you could easily get one of the best 4K projectors, including the ultra-premium JVC DLA-NZ800, which costs $14,999 / £14,999, and a large screen, up to 150-inches, to go with it. Even dropping down to the still excellent Sony XW5000 (which I had experience with at my previous retail job) which costs $4,999 / £4,999, and adding a decent sized screen to this and you’re still way off the premium TVs above.

Even the LG CineBeam Q, one of the best ultra short throw (UST) projectors, can hit over 100-inch projection for under $1,000 / £1,000. So why would you opt for anything other than a projector at these 100-inch sizes?

Cheaper, big screen TVs – for and against

The Hisense L9H projector (left) vs the Hisense 100-inch U7K (right) (Image credit: Future)

OK, so above I picked some of the most extreme examples of big-screen TVs. The truth is there is a crop of 100-inch mini-LED TVs, one of the better panel types for bigger screens, out there for under $5,000 / £5,000 – some for as low as $2,000 / £2,000.

The Hisense U8K, one of 2023’s best mini-LED TVs, is one of those budget sets, retailing for around $3,999, but we’ve seen it as low as $2,599 during Black Friday before. For a mini-LED TV of this quality, which we praised for its detail, brightness and contrast, that’s a bargain at this size.

I even tested a 100-inch Hisense U7K against the Hisense L9H Laser TV (UST projector) to see which was better if you wanted a big home theater screen on a budget, and although I chose the L9H projector, the U7K mini-LED TV came very close and even bested the projector in some areas (namely during brighter viewing conditions).

Edge-lit, big screen TVs such as the Samsung CU8000 (pictured) can struggle with dark images. (Image credit: Future)

There’s also a score of cheap, big screen QLED and LED models from Hisense, TCL, Samsung and more, for as low as $1,299 / £1,299, which is significantly cheaper than what you would have to fork out for a decent projector and screen. Of course, it’s crucial to make sure these TVs have the right type of lighting – edge-lit TVs are best avoided, as I discovered testing a 75-inch budget Samsung.

However, the overall issue with these cheaper, big screen TVs, is they can have noticeable flaws. This could be poor backlight control, resulting in backlight blooming, and poor black uniformity (the ability to display dark tones evenly across the whole screen), something similarly priced projectors are unlikely to suffer from.

The other problem is, for how much you would spend on one of the ‘better’ affordable big screen TVs, such as the Hisense U8K or a more premium set, you could easily get a very good ultra short throw projector. The Hisense PX3-Pro, which costs around $3,499 / £2,499 and earned four-and-a-half out of five in our review, thanks to its excellent HDR picture quality and high versatility, is a prime example of this.

Final thoughts

While it appears that big screen TVs are indeed here and could be the future of home theater viewing, they ultimately aren’t going to replace projectors anytime soon. To get the very best quality from a large screen TV, you’d need to spend more than you would for a very good 4K or UST projector and an even larger screen (over 130 inches, say).

Don't get me wrong, some of the big-screen TVs we’ve seen here at TechRadar, myself included, are certainly impressive and rival the most elite of projectors. But until these big-screen TV prices reduce, they’re not going to dethrone the projector for those looking for the best bang-for-your-buck home theater.

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TechRadar will be covering all of the latest CES news from the show as it happens. Stick with us for the big stories on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok for the latest from the CES show floor!

Here are some hints — and the answers — for the Jan. 9 Strands puzzle, No. 312.

Here are some hints and the answer for Wordle No. 1,300 for Thursday, Jan. 9.

A new tech company is hoping to revolutionize the way we do laundry and we got to see it firsthand at CES 2025.

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Off the hook!

NYT Strands today (game #312) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• LOAF
• FINE
• SCAM
• CORK
• SKIP
• PICK

NYT Strands today (game #312) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Chicken of the sea

NYT Strands today (game #312) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 4th row

Last side: right, 3rd row

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

NYT Strands today (game #312) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #312, are…

• BIGEYE
• BLUEFIN
• SKIPJACK
• ALBACORE
• YELLOWFIN
• SPANGRAM: TUNA FAMILY

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 2 hints

It took me two hints before I cottoned on to today’s Strands being all about Tuna – or “the chicken of the sea” as one canned tuna brand calls it, which is not accurate but is a bit more catchy than obligate ram generators of the sea.

Because we think of tuna in cans or fillets rather than as living creatures, it’s easy to forget their size – Atlantic YELLOWFIN tuna are enormous and can weigh as much as a horse. They’re fast too, swimming at speeds of 42mph.

My favourite fact about the tuna is that they never stop moving, as their movement and respiration are connected and because of this they don’t stop to sleep and instead employ a technique where they shut down one half of their brain so they can continue moving and staying vigilant to threats and then after a while shut down the opposite half of their brain. I’ll try it when I do Strands tomorrow.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, 8 January, game #311)

• OVEN
• SINK
• ISLAND
• BACKSPLASH
• COUNTERTOP
• SPANGRAM: KITCHEN REMODEL

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and 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.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 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 #1081) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* 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 #1081) - 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 1.

Quordle today (game #1081) - 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 #1081) - 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 #1081) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• R

• H

• T

• I

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

Quordle today (game #1081) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1081, are…

• RESET
• HUMOR
• TENOR
• IMAGE

I came close to getting Quordle in six goes today, but seven still equals my PB, although I really struggled to get IMAGE. I knew it ended in E and had an M and I, but after guessing Maize it took me a good few minutes of brain freeze and word inventing until I got to image.

Today, I got to that stuck stage where I almost guessed words I knew were incorrect just so I could fill out the puzzle.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Daily Sequence today (game #1081) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1081, are…

• FILLY
• NORTH
• BROOK
• NAVAL

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1080, Wednesday 8 January: MINCE, SADLY, RISEN, VOUCH
• Quordle #1079, Tuesday 7 January: CREED, FILET, ROUTE, TAPER
• Quordle #1078, Monday 6 January: PIVOT, WOOLY, GRUNT, GROOM
• Quordle #1077, Sunday 5 January: BORAX, JUDGE, CADET, SALON
• Quordle #1076, Saturday 4 January: CORER, CRATE, QUASI, EXIST
• Quordle #1075, Friday 3 January: PERKY, QUARK, NAVEL, SHEEN
• Quordle #1074, Thursday 2 January: UNIFY, SWORE, DEPOT, INTRO
• Quordle #1073, Wednesday 1 January: CLING, SUITE, WORRY, TONIC
• Quordle #1072, Tuesday 31 December: PLUMP, TUBER, IRATE, ICILY
• Quordle #1071, Monday 30 December: TODDY, GROIN, GROWN, VERVE
• Quordle #1070, Sunday 29 December: PURER, SPLAT, RABID, EMCEE
• Quordle #1069, Saturday 28 December: BUNCH, LABOR, TRIPE, BUNNY
• Quordle #1068, Friday 27 December: BRAWL, LYING, ORGAN, CRONY
• Quordle #1067, Thursday 26 December: TATTY, OVERT, FLOUR, SWEPT
• Quordle #1066, Wednesday 25 December: LIVER, CRIER, SHORE, MURKY
• Quordle #1065, Tuesday 24 December: TIPSY, SCALE, FLYER, VALVE
• Quordle #1064, Monday 23 December: SNAKE, SAVVY, ELBOW, TWEED
• Quordle #1063, Sunday 22 December: DOUBT, SLURP, PAPER, CIVIL
• Quordle #1062, Saturday 21 December: STRIP, BUDGE, SAPPY, SHELF
• Quordle #1061, Friday 20 December: PENAL, EAGLE, DILLY, QUITE

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 clues.

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 #578) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• SHINING
• FINANCE
• TABLE
• SIT
• STAND
• STAY
• TO
• IT
• SEA
• STALL
• COME
• FROM
• LEGAL
• HEEL
• BOOTH
• SALES

NYT Connections today (game #578) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: A pitch to sell from
• GREEN: Well trained 
• BLUE: The office
• PURPLE: Last line of patriotic song

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 #578) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: VENDOR'S SPOT AT A MARKET
• GREEN: DOG COMMANDS
• BLUE: CORPORATE DEPARTMENTS
• PURPLE: LAST WORDS IN "AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL" 

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

NYT Connections today (game #578) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #578, are…

• YELLOW: VENDOR'S SPOT AT A MARKET BOOTH, STALL, STAND, TABLE
• GREEN: DOG COMMANDS COME, HEEL, SIT, STAY
• BLUE: CORPORATE DEPARTMENTS FINANCE, IT, LEGAL, SALES
• PURPLE: LAST WORDS IN "AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL" FROM, SEA, SHINING, TO

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: Perfect

It’s an odd feeling getting the purple group second, and not one I’ve experienced often. “FROM SEA TO SHINING sea” felt almost too obvious – like, yellow-group obvious.

My first thought about today’s words was Stephen King novels – IT, The SHINING, The STAND – and that’s as far as I got before seeing the LAST WORDS IN “AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL” and DOG COMMANDS.

VENDOR’S SPOT AT A MARKET didn’t include the best one – blanket on the floor, the spot most often deployed by someone who doesn’t have an official spot at the market. There’s a Saturday market near me where another “spot” comes into play – opened suitcase on top of a dustbin. This is a style of selling that’s exclusive to perfumes of dubious provenance, the suitcase necessary for speedy departures. Best to stick to sellers with a BOOTH, STALL, STAND or TABLE.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, 8 January, game #577)

• YELLOW: SECTION BRANCH, DIVISION, LIMB, WING
• GREEN: ACCESSORIES FOR PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT BOW, DRUMSTICK, MALLET, PICK
• BLUE: DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF AN ELEPHANT EAR, MEMORY, TRUNK, TUSK
• PURPLE: WORDS MISSPELLED IN NU METAL BAND NAMES BISCUIT, CORN, LINCOLN, STAINED

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.

Janisse Quiñones, CEO of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said the fight to contain the flames has put immense strain on the system.

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As hurricane-force winds fan the most destructive wildfires in California history across bone-dry foothills, communities face the dual threat of natural forces and a warming world.

Authorities say that before a Green Beret blew up a Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel, he consulted ChatGPT—exactly the scenario police have been warned of for the past year.

Eligible taxpayers can prepare and file their returns early at no cost.

• HP ZBook Ultra 14-inch G1a mobile workstation PC weighs less than 2Kg
• It is the only device in its category able to support 128GB of RAM
• G1a is also powered by the fastest mobile CPU right now, the AMD AI Max+ Pro 395

HP has released a compact powerhouse which it says could challenge what is possible in mobile computing.

The company says this workstation enables users to handle complex AI workflows, render graphics-intensive projects, and work with large language models (LLMs) locally.

The ZBook Ultra is powered by the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 395 processor, boasting 16 cores and 32 threads with clock speeds ranging from 3.0 GHz (base) to 5.1 GHz (boost).

Fast charging delivers 50% in 30 minutes

The new HP ZBook Ultra comes with AMD Radeon Graphics and a neural processing unit (NPU) that delivers up to 50 TOPS for AI-enhanced tasks.

There's 128GB of unified LPDDR5X memory and the ability to allocate up to 96GB directly to the GPU, with storage options offering up to 4TB of PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD.

The HP ZBook Ultra 14-inch G1a Mobile Workstation gives the option of a WUXGA (1920 x 1200) anti-glare panel, which features ultra-wide viewing angles, 400 nits of brightness, and 100% sRGB color accuracy.

For an even more enhanced visual experience, the device offers a vibrant 2.8K OLED display with touch support, boasting refresh rates from 48Hz to 120Hz, 100% DCI-P3 color accuracy, and it's TÜV-certified for low blue light.

This device comes with a couple of connectivity options including USB Type-C port (10Gbps), an HDMI 2.1 port, a combined headphone/microphone jack, Wi-Fi 7 support, and, on the left side, a Thunderbolt 4 port.

On the right, there's another Thunderbolt 4 port, a USB Type-A port with 10Gbps and charging support, and a security lock slot.

Powered by an HP XL Long-Life 4-cell, 74.5Wh polymer battery which supports fast charging technology, the ZBook Ultra gets 50% charge in 30 minutes.

The heavy-duty performance of the device, weighing about 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg), with a thickness of only 0.73 inches, is cooled by the HP Vaporforce Thermals.

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Authorities in South Korea are continuing to try to arrest impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, following his failed declaration of martial law over a month ago. As the country continues to be mired in political crisis, analyst are studying the health of the country's democracy. And as our correspondent in Seoul tells us, they're drawing comparisons to recent events in the U.S.