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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed a ceasefire vote today, alleging Hamas reneged on parts of the agreement. And, examining Los Angeles' wildfire prevention methods for the future.

(Image credit: Bashar Taleb)

• Garmin has rolled out its ECG feature to more territories
• It can now be used in the EU and Australia
• It works on watches like the Venu 3, Fenix 8, and more

This week, Garmin has rolled out a massive upgrade to all of its best Garmin watches in the EU and Australia, bringing its ECG feature to customers for the first time.

The company announced that the ECG app is now available in the EU and Australia. As you might expect, the ECG app lets you record your heart rhythm to check for signs of atrial fibrillation, which can lead to health complications in later life.

You can view the results immediately or in the Garmin Connect Smartphone app.

ECG finally rolls out to Garmins in the EU and AUS

(Image credit: Future)

ECG functionality has been a mainstay of the best smartwatches on the market for a few years now. The Apple Watch Series 4 popularized the tech back in 2018, with the company shipping an FDA-approved ECG using the device's digital crown. Now you'll find it in all of the best Apple Watch models, as well as offerings like the Galaxy Watch Ultra and Series 7.

As to which Garmins can take advantage of the feature, the company hasn't updated its support page quite yet. However, supported models currently include:

• D2
• Enduro 3
• Epix Pro (Gen 2)
• Fenix 7 Pro
• Fenix 8
• Quatix
• Tactix
• Venu 2 Plus
• Venu 3
• Venu 3S

As noted, you'll need both a compatible Garmin and the Garmin Connect app to use the ECG feature.

Earlier this month the company unveiled its stunning new Garmin Instinct 3, the company's rugged, durable, outdoor smartwatch replete with a flashlight, 24 days of battery life, and a durable outer shell. There's even a Solar version that promises infinite battery life in the right conditions.

Garmin's ECG feature is already available in the US, as well as other countries including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

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The way we talk to our phones will be entirely different in 2025 compared to 2024. At the moment we think about AI on our phones as being a mild curiosity, but that’s about to change. We’ll be able to ask our phones to perform complex tasks for us in a way that’s going to start becoming normal incredibly quickly. It will be like we’ve all got a personal assistant in our pockets that can do pretty much any task we ask it to.

Want it to find you a flight to Hong Kong on Monday evening? No problem. Want it to find you a restaurant that has great vegetarian options for tonight, and email the location to your date? No problem. Want it to send you the top stories from TechRadar every Friday at midday? No problem. (I’m sorry for the shameless self-promotion in that last suggestion, but you get the idea.)

A whole new world

And it's all going to happen very quickly. This January OpenAI has already released ChatGPT tasks. This is still in beta form, so a bit of a work in progress, but is currently available to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Teams users, and will let you set reminders for ChatGPT to notify you about things in the future. So, you could ask it to send you a breakdown of the top stories from CNN every Monday morning, for example. It’s only a first step towards the real breakthrough, the autonomous AI agents that ChatGPT has been promising us for what feels like ages now, but still feels significant.

More excitingly Samsung is about to upgrade its AI offering at its Galaxy Unpacked event on 22 January to something really special. The company has already teased what it will be with the release of a video trailer of a busy woman in an office – we know she’s busy because she says she’s “off to her next meeting” – asking her AI assistant to book a pet-friendly Italian restaurant with outdoor seating and email the details to her friend Luka, and put it in her calendar.

Samsung’s virtual assistant, called Bixby, is already in its Galaxy phones, but this sort of functionality is beyond what it’s currently capable of, so it looks like Bixby is about to evolve into a true AI virtual assistant before our very eyes. The questions that remain, and that will be answered on the 22nd, are what exactly it will be capable of and what hardware you will need to run it.

This year we're also going to get an important Apple Intelligence update from Apple, which is likely to arrive around March or April. iOS 18.4 will give Siri onscreen awareness, i.e. the ability to look at what’s happening on your phone, so it can take action on what you’re looking at. It will also get personal context knowledge, so it can act more like a personal assistant with direct access to your calendar, email, and messages.

Jarvis is coming

Google has its Gemini AI which is creeping into everything from your browser to your car, but even more importantly, it also has Jarvis AI, its AI assistant, which will be able to do much more. Jarvis can browse the web for you, which means you can ask it to do anything that you can do in a web browser.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is focusing its Microsoft Copilot 365 AI agents on solving our trickiest business problems. Meta will be flooding social media with autonomous AI bots and X won't be far behind.

In fact, it feels like only one big name in the technosphere is absent here, and surprisingly it's one of the early pioneers in the virtual assistant space – Amazon. Despite a strategic collaboration with Anthropic to use its Claude AI, Amazon has been slow off the mark to equip Alexa with AI capabilities. Rohit Prasad, Amazon's AGI team's head scientist recently talked to the FT and acknowledged the delays, but said that Amazon has plans to fully transform Alexa’s brain through a kind of "transplant" to swap out the old question-answering style Alexa for the type of conversational chat you get with generative AI models.

It better hurry up, because with Samsung leading the way next week with Galaxy Unpacked, and the other big names not far behind, Amazon risks Alexa being left in the AI wilderness.

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Insta360 Flow 2 Pro: Two-Minute Review

Not even a year since Insta360’s original Flow Pro smartphone stabilizer arrived on the market, and it already has a successor in the shape of the Flow 2 Pro. The new gimbal (perhaps unsurprisingly given the timeframe) doesn’t represent a huge leap forward, however – merely a logical progression in a few key areas.

This is another compact handheld gimbal for keeping an attached smartphone level and its movements smooth, enabling the user to capture more stable and professional-looking video footage while on foot or, with the gimbal perched on a flat surface thanks to its integrated tripod, use their phone like an automated camera operator, moving around while the gimbal uses its software to track and follow their movements, keeping them in the frame.

All the key advantages of the original model either remain untouched or improved upon, thankfully. The lightweight folding design, for instance, makes the Flow 2 Pro one of the most portable smartphone stabilizers around, just like the Flow Pro. And, like the Flow Pro, it features a magnetic clamping system that makes mounting your phone and deploying the gimbal and a refreshingly quick and painless process. The clamp grips securely to the sides of your phone, accommodating devices between 64mm and 84mm wide, and then simply sticks to the gimbal arm via its strong magnet, fixing into place with a satisfying ‘thunk’.

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(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

I think the design is even better this time around, though, because the Flow 2 Pro’s construction is tougher and more durable than that of its predecessor, even down to the built-in tripod legs being less awkward to pull out and providing a more stable platform for hands-free stabilization.

In its folded state the Flow 2 Pro is impressively small. I was even able to lug it around in my coat pocket, which isn’t something I could say for many of the other best smartphone gimbals. The basic bundle comes with a soft cloth drawstring bag for storage in such situations, but Insta360 also sells an optional hard-sided carry case with snug cut-outs for the gimbal, magnetic clamp and (also optional) fill light. This case, which comes with a removable shoulder strap and netted compartment space inside the lid for storing cables and other small accessories, is the ideal way to store the Flow 2 Pro when not in use, and I’d have liked it included in the basic package – but I suppose keeping it as an optional upgrade does hold the overall cost down for those who want to get in at the lowest price point.

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(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

As for the smartphone stabilization itself, I have no significant complaints at all – it all works brilliantly, and the Flow 2 Pro feels much more comfortable in my hand than the original Flow Pro. The three-axis gimbal can support handsets up to 300g in weight, stabilizing them using one of three modes: Follow (which follows both the pan and tilt movements of the user but keeps the roll axis fixed); Pan Follow (similar, but keeps both the tilt and roll axes fixed); and FPV (which follows the user’s movement on all three axes).

There’s also an Auto mode, which follows tilt and pan movements and adapts its sensitivity automatically in real-time, plus the option to fix all axes in place at any time by holding down the trigger on the handle. The sixth and final mode is Active Plus, which adds extra sensitivity and responsiveness to the above modes and is engaged by tapping, then holding down the trigger.

You can also manually move the gimbal using the on-handle controls, with the thumb stick supporting tilt and pan motion and, in FPV mode, the jog wheel controlling roll axis movement. Single tapping the trigger turns subject tracking on and off, double tapping resets the phone to a level central position and triple tapping spins the phone through 180º so that it faces the opposite direction to its current facing.

The minimalist circular control setup is similar to the Flow Pro’s, albeit with a few tweaks to aid ergonomics. It’s now slightly more tactile and the four mode lights for Auto, Follow, Pan Follow and FPV are situated at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock on the circle rather than in a row at the top. The green indicator light, which pops on to tell you that tracking is in progress, is retained from the Flow Pro, as is the NFC tap point above it, which can be used for first-time one-tap pairing for both Android and Apple phones.

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The 21cm extension stick, which expands out from the handle to create extra distance between the user and the phone, is retained from the previous model but a new Free Tilt option expands the Flow 2 Pro’s repertoire of motion. It moves the arm out of the way, which allowed me to capture upwards and downwards tilting shots I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to get.

On the software side of things, the Flow 2 Pro retains its Apple DockKit support, which means it can track subjects in over 200 iPhone camera apps, including the likes of BlackMagic Camera, TikTok and the iPhone’s own native camera app. Obviously this leaves Android users feeling a little short-changed in comparison, as the only way they can track on the Flow 2 Pro is via the Insta360 app.

However, the app is great – and I think delivers by far a smoother, smarter and more responsive tracking experience than any apps that use the DockKit integration. New tracking features added for the Flow 2 Pro include the ability to track groups of people, track while zoomed up to 15x and the Pro Framing Grid, which can modify tracking to keep the subject off-center in the frame for a more pleasing ‘golden ratio’ composition.

The app also includes support for Dolby Vision and Apple ProRes video recording, a new teleprompter option to help content creators stick to the script and support for remote control of the gimbal via a second smartphone or an Apple Watch. I like the idea of a remote control but having to pull out a second smartphone isn’t really ideal – so hopefully Insta360 will take inspiration from the Hohem iSteady M7’s integrated remote control for future stabilizers.

I did get the opportunity to try out a couple of the optional accessories such as the MagSafe mount, which is a much more elegant and slick mounting option than the spring-loaded magnetic grip and the LED fill light, which slots directly onto the gimbal arm’s USB-C output (which can also be used to top up your phone’s battery) and provides either warm, neutral or cool light in one of three intensities. It’s not as flexible as the LED that comes included on the Hohem M7, but it’s powerful enough to enable night-time vlogging, and can face both forwards and backwards.

With up to 10 hours of battery life, the Flow 2 Pro delivers roughly the same amount of use on a full charge as the original model. By the standards of small stabilizers, it’s good – and significantly longer than the 6.5 hours offered by the DJI Osmo 6 Mobile, its closest rival.

Insta360 Flow 2 Pro: Price and Availability

The Insta360 Flow 2 Pro is available to order from its launch day, 16 January 2025, in two bundles and two color finishes: Stone Grey and Summit White.

The Standard Bundle costs $159.99 / £144.99 / AU$239.99, and includes the Flow 2 Pro itself plus a magnetic clamp, USB-A to USB-C charging cable and soft storage back. The Creator Bundle costs $189.99 / £169.99 / AU$289.99, and includes all of the above plus a USB-C to USB-C charging cable, a magnetic phone mount for MagSafe iPhones and the Spotlight, a small fill light that clips directly to the gimbal arm.

This launch price is slightly higher than the launch price of original Flow Pro (which arrived in July 2024); taking into account inflation, however, I’d consider it roughly the same – although I would expect the original Flow Pro to fall in price now that its successor has arrived – the Flow 2 Pro’s most established rival, the DJI Osmo 6 Mobile, has already.

Insta360 Flow 2 Pro: specs Insta360 Flow 2 Pro: Also Consider

DJI Osmo Mobile 6
We think DJI’s small folding gimbal feels nicer in the hand than the Flow 2 Pro, but in other areas the Insta360 has it beat thanks to longer battery life and, for Apple users at least, that all-important ability to track using third-party camera apps. We’d expect the upcoming Osmo Mobile 7 (or equivalent) to up its game sharply, however.

Read our DJI Osmo Mobile 6 review

Hohem iSteady M7
While significantly pricier and bulkier than the Flow 2 Pro, the M7’s impeccable stabilization can balance phones up to 500g in weight. Even better, it comes with app-agnostic tracking via an AI camera module that doubles as a fully customizable fill light, plus a touchscreen module that works as a remote control.

*Our Hohem iSteady M7 review is in progress

Should I buy the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro?

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen) Buy it if...

You want the best small gimbal for iPhone
The Flow 2 Pro’s Apple DockKit support grants it far more utility for iPhone users than its folding, compact competitors, allowing human subject tracking for over 200 iOS camera apps.

You travel light
With its folding, lightweight build, which also manages to be reassuringly sturdy, the Flow 2 Pro is the perfect stabilizer with which to document your day trips and weekend breaks. It works as a power bank, selfie stick and tripod too!

Don't buy it if...

You want the best all-round tracking gimbal
Larger, pricier stabilizers like the Hohem iSteady M7 and Zhiyun Smooth 5A AI feature AI tracking modules that allow them to track human subjects with any app for both Android and iPhone.

You already own the original Flow Pro
The improvements here are notable, but not so valuable that it’s worth ditching your nearly new Flow Pro for the upgrade. If you own the original, our advice would be to wait until the Flow 3 Pro (or equivalent) comes along.

How I tested the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro

• One week of use
• Tested with iPhone 13 and various iOS apps
• Used inside and outdoors both on tripod and in hand

I used the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro in and around my home for a week, using it to record footage both on the move and with it fixed it place via its built-in tripod. I tested it with my Apple iPhone 13 and a variety of camera apps – including the Insta360 app, BlackMagic Camera and the iPhone’s own native camera – to record b-roll and vlog-style videos.

First reviewed January 2025

• Mercedes-Benz is adding Google Cloud’s Automotive AI Agent to its cars.
• The upgrade uses Google Gemini for real-time, personalized help.
• The new MBIX AI will appear first in new CLA models.

Google's dream of making its Gemini AI your road trip pal is becoming more real, at least if you own a Mercedes-Benz. Google Cloud’s Automotive AI Agent is making its debut in Mercedes-Benz’s updated MBUX Virtual Assistant. The assistant is built on Google’s Gemini AI to offer nuanced, conversational support.

The value is easy to understand. If you're on the road and hungry you could just ask your car, “Where’s the best Italian place around here?” Not only would you hear some options, but the AI would take the initiative to add, “The lasagna gets rave reviews, but avoid the tiramisu, it’s a little too soggy.”

The Automotive AI Agent is designed to handle multi-turn conversations and even remember the context of your previous chats. So, if hours after you ask about Italian restaurants, you inquire, "Are any of those places you mentioned before open late?" the AI won’t act like you’re starting from scratch. And the AI does know quite a lot partly because of Gemini's earlier integration with Google Maps. That means the AI can offer live traffic updates, nearby points of interest, and alternate routes. If you're stuck in a traffic jam, the car might suggest a quicker way home that keeps in mind your preference for avoiding toll roads.

MBUX Gemini

Google and Mercedes are betting that the ability of automotive AI agents to process complex queries and provide accurate, context-aware answers will make a difference when people decide what kind of car to buy. By making interactions smoother, more intuitive, and useful, this AI could make your drive easier. No more stopping on the shoulder to Google “nearest gas station,” and no more arguments about whose turn it was to check the directions.

That said, there’s a fine line between helpful and creepy. The assistant remembers conversations, which is great when it’s reminding you about that vegan café your partner wanted to try – but what happens when it casually recalls your midnight McDonald’s run from three weeks ago? The balance between utility and privacy will be a key factor in whether drivers fully embrace this technology.

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• New claims emerge about Apple and Samsung’s rumored super-thin phones
• The devices will reportedly have only a middling battery life
• Battery life could suffer if the thin chassis can’t adequately dissipate heat

There’s been much talk in recent months about the so-called iPhone 17 Air, a seriously slimmed down version of Apple’s flagship phone. And Apple’s not alone, with Samsung reportedly working on a Galaxy S25 Slim phone to rival Apple’s offering. Yet both devices could come with a notable downside, and it’s all thanks to their form factors.

According to leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo (via Notebookcheck), both the iPhone and the Samsung phone will be around 5-6mm thick. Compare that to 7.8mm for the iPhone 16 and 7.6mm for the Samsung Galaxy S24 and you get an idea of how much thinner the new phones will be.

But all that slimness comes at a cost, says Digital Chat Station. According to its post, that cost will make itself known in the devices’ batteries, which will have capacities of 3,000mAh to 4,000mAh.

On first blush, that might not seem like much of a problem – after all, the batteries in the iPhone 16 and Samsung Galaxy S24 already fall within that range. But the issue here is that the thinner bodies of the upcoming phones could make heat dissipation much trickier.

Heat can negatively affect battery life, so if the super-slim chassis retain more warmth than their regular-sized siblings, it could mean you find yourself reaching for the charging cable a lot more frequently.

Feeling the heat

(Image credit: Future)

Part of the problem is the high-end chips we’re expecting to see inside these phones. The iPhone 17 Air is rumored to get Apple’s A19 chip, while Samsung’s S25 Slim could be outfitted with the Snapdragon 8 Elite. While these chips are incredibly performant (or are expected to be, in the case of the unreleased A19), keeping them cool in such thin devices could prove to be difficult.

That said, both Apple’s chips and their Snapdragon rivals are known to be very efficient and able to output strong performance without getting unreasonably hot, so the battery impact might not be as bad as feared. For one thing, it seems unlikely that Apple would release a phone that doesn’t have what it calls “all-day battery life” such is the prevalence of that phrase at Apple’s recent launches.

Still, we expect that the thinner cases will bring with them all sorts of engineering challenges, including heat dissipation and its impact on battery life, so we’ll have to see whether there’s a noticeable deterioration when the phones launch this year.

And there’s one other interesting outcome we might see from the release of these devices: they could spur other phone makers into boosting their own products’ battery capacities. Digital Chat Station notes that some manufacturers of Android phones are thinking about releasing phones with battery capacities of 5,000mAh and higher. That means if battery life is important to you, it’s worth keeping an eye on phone launches over the next 12 months.

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From Blue Apron to Dinnerly, I've spent years cooking with boxed ingredients shipped to my door.

In the build up to the 2025 Oscar ceremony, Netflix has acquired the streaming rights to Anuja, shortlisted for the Best Live Action Short Film Oscar, which the platform announced by dropping a sneak peak video (see below). Now that awards season is in full swing, I’m slowly checking off all the possible nominees on my watchlist in time for the ceremony on March 2, and Netflix has made my job a lot easier - it's why it remains one of the best streaming services.

Premiering at the HollyShorts Film Festival in August last year, Anuja is set in Delhi, India and follows the life-changing journey of the nine-year old title character played by Sajda Pathan, who works alongside her older sister in a garment factory. When a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her to attend school presents itself, Anuja has a big decision to make that could affect her sister’s fate as well as her own. While we don't know exactly when Anuja will be released on Netflix, its sneak peak clip promises an inspiring story of resilience and determination - and I can’t wait to add it to my Netflix list.

With Adam J. Graves in the director’s chair, the creative team behind Anuja is made up of some of Hollywood’s most known figures including Mindy Kaling and Guneet Monga Kapoor (from the Oscar-winning short movie The Elephant Whisperers). Additionally, Priyanka Chopra-Jones serves as executive producer. From what started as a short film making waves with audiences in India, Kaling has since expressed her excitement for the short film’s transition to a global platform.

“Anuja is a story that means so much to me—it’s powerful, hopeful, and full of life, just like the incredible young girls it represents,” Kaling stated, adding that “the film brings attention to crucial issues while celebrating resilience, humor, and hope. I’m delighted that, with Netflix joining the team, the conversation will expand as it reaches audiences far and wide”.

Usually, I’m not one to go for a short movie since lengthy feature dramas are more up my alley, but since broadening my streaming options and downloading platforms such as Mubi for the first time, short films have been cropping up more than before. And as someone who gets heavily invested in all things awards season, seeing Anuja’s sneak peak video and place in the Oscars shortlist has opened my eyes to short films as a growing artform, and I have a feeling that more will be added to my watchlist from here on in.

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• Deepfakes and critical infrastructure attacks are the top concerns in Blackberry's Global Threat Intelligence Report
• 600,000 attacks were launched against critical infrastructure between July-September 2024
• 45% of these were against financial institutions

Critical infrastructure attacks continue to dominate the cybersecurity conversation, with Blackberry’s Global Threat Intelligence Report revealing nearly 600,000 attacks were levied against critical infrastructure attacks between July-September 2024.

The finance sector continues to face a huge amount of cyberattacks that could leave it on its knees, and is the target of 45% of these attacks, with healthcare organizations close behind making up 30% of incidents, followed by 17% for Government services. Downtime is costly for these sectors, making them more likely to pay a ransom to restore systems quickly - making them an attractive target.

The rise of AI has inevitably led to a rise in cyberattacks, but also in the particularly predictable rise in deepfake scams. These scams use an AI-generated image, video, or voice to impersonate an executive, or to infiltrate companies. This is projected to lead to a staggering $40 billion loss by just 2027, highlighting it as a growing threat.

Improving threats, improving tools

Deepfakes are eroding trust and present an unprecedented challenge for stakeholders who can no longer be 100% confident in the authenticity of executive communications.

This has outlined the serious need for deepfake regulatory frameworks, like the emerging US No Fraud AI Act and the Canadian legislation regarding non-consensual media.

Unsurprisingly, ransomware groups also shape the threat landscape, with infamous groups like LockBit and ALPHV proving to be ‘silent but deadly’ by evading detection.

“Our attack surface has never been wider, with threat actors and nation states broadening their horizons into cyber espionage attacks, while ransomware groups are becoming more sophisticated in their campaigns,” said Ismael Valenzuela, Vice President of Threat Research & Intelligence at BlackBerry.

“However, we’ve also never been better prepared. We have the tools, technology, and protocols to protect ourselves and mitigate the impact of attacks, and our industry is equipped to keep up with changes in threat actor methodology.”

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• Nintendo Life launches 'Better eShop', an "improved" alternative to Nintendo's online store
• The store features content filters, better discoverability, faster load times, and more
• 'Better eShop' was created following community feedback on Nintendo's eShop

Nintendo Life has officially launched 'Better eShop', an alternative to Nintendo's online store with an improved user experience and discoverability.

'Better eShop' was created after the website asked its community what they would like changed about Nintendo's current eShop, which Switch players have previously expressed frustration with due to its layout and overabundance of games.

"The Nintendo Switch eShop launched with the console back in 2017," the About page reads. "Since then there have been minimal improvements to the eShop interface and the storefront has been flooded with 1000s of new 'games', which could often be described as spam. It is now a chore to use with no signs of change, aside from Switch 2."

With 'Better eShop', Nintendo Life has now implemented many features that improve upon users' issues, including customizable content filters to sort through genres that automatically filter out "spam" games, refined discoverability, and added user reviews.

Load times are also much faster than the eShop's, a dark mode has been added, and has been optimized for mobile. There's also an option to purchase Wii and Wii U music, as well as the ability to add and remove items to a cart, however, "as as a limitation of the actual eShop you will still need to buy each game individually."

Nintendo Life also plans to add wishlist functionality, a way to display screenshots on the game page, display all users' reviews in one play, mute publishers, and add more regions. For now, it's limited to just the US, UK, and the EU.

According to the About page, 'Better eShop' was built in less than a week, and sits on top of the Nintendo Life game database.

"Data has been collected from various sources and is updated daily," it reads. "It's quite possible that Nintendo will start blocking us from gathering the data - but until then, we will continue to build and improve the Better eShop."

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Whatever US politicians were hoping for, what they got was a huge increase in users signing up to Duolingo to learn Chinese and American users flooding Chinese apps.

Calculating air pollution from wildfires and other events has become more complicated. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily more accurate.

Vidiots and the Bob Baker Marionette Theater teamed up to provide an escape from reality for families facing trauma and loss from the Los Angeles wildfires.

(Image credit: Ryan Kellman)