Every now and then there's a Wordle that's so difficult it ends thousands of streaks in one go. Today's Wordle is one of them.

According to WordleBot, the New York Times' in-game helper tool, puzzle #1,214 has an average score of 5.7. That makes it the hardest since October 2022 and indeed the third hardest ever. Inevitably, avid Wordlers took to Twitter (or X, whatever) to share their stories of woe with the world. 'Wordle 1,214 X' is trending top of the social platform right now as the complaints pour in.

So, why is it so difficult, why are people so angry, and how could you have avoided failure today?

To answer those questions I'll need to reveal the solution, so don't read past this point if you haven't played yet, because SPOILERS FOR TODAY'S WORDLE, GAME #1,214, ON TUESDAY, 15 OCTOBER 2024 will follow.

Third hardest ever

Okay, solution coming up, so really do stop reading if you don't want to know what it is.

Or, if you haven't played yet, head to my NYT Wordle today page for some last-minute hints.

**FINAL SPOILER ALERT**

Today's answer is CORER. Yes, CORER.

At the time of writing, WordleBot has analyzed around 42,000 games, of which around 10,000 have been failures; that's around 25%. Another 30%, meanwhile, only solved it on the final guess.

That explains the super-high average score of 5.7; yes, some people did solve it in three, four or five guesses (well done if you're one of them!), but the majority either needed six or failed entirely.

I've recorded the WordleBot average scores each day since it launched in April 2022, meaning I now have a list of 926 games ranked by difficulty. By that measure, CORER is the third hardest ever, behind only PARER (game #454, average score 6.3) and MUMMY (#491, 5.8), both in late 2022.

The common theme in the failures today is evident from a glance at Twitter, where those familiar rows of green squares have a tell-tale gap from top to bottom in the center:

Wordle 1,214 X/6🟩🟨⬛⬛🟨🟩⬛⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩 this has to be the worst Wordle ever!October 15, 2024

Wordle 1,214 X/6*⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩the streak is over. That’s a lousy word.October 15, 2024

Wordle 1,214 X/6🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩Abysmal and I hate this app and I hate this worldOctober 15, 2024

A perfect Wordle storm

This pattern indicates that the game is one of the too-many-answers variety, where the solution only differs by one letter from several other words. Today, COVER, COWER and CODER were all arguably more likely answers, while COPER, COMER and COYER were also possibilities.

It's a common scenario that plays out with ER-ending words, simply because there are so many of them. My analysis of every Wordle answer shows that 141 of the game's 2,309 original solutions end in ER, making it by far the most likely ending. It's therefore easy to identify the pattern – but incredibly difficult to then narrow down the correct start of the word.

That leads to the pattern above, where people who had CO-ER kept adding the wrong middle letter.

Not only is it a too-many-answers word, and an ER word, but CORER also contains a repeated letter, R. These make the game more difficult by default, because most people don't like playing a repeat; it feels like throwing away a letter.

Finally, there's the fact that CORER really isn't a common word, to the extent that judging by the Twitter response, some people haven't even heard of it at all.

Put all that together and you have all the ingredients for a nightmare Wordle – so it's no surprise that so many people are failing.

So, what could you have done differently if you lost your streak today?

The best way to solve this kind of Wordle

I've played every Wordle ever and only lost once, plus my streak is now over 1,000 – so I know a thing or two about avoiding defeat in this game. That's not exactly a superpower, but it's the closest I come!

I scored a five today, and it should have been a four if not for a silly mistake. But I was never in danger of losing my streak, despite a terrible opening guess that left me with 967 possible solutions. That's because I've learned what to do and not to do on days like this.

I'll start by pointing out that if you play Wordle on hard mode, I can't help you. On hard mode, you're not allowed to leave out letters that are already green, meaning if you found yourself with that CO-ER pattern early on, you'll have had no option but to blindly guess letters in search of the right one. There are good strategies out there for avoiding defeat on hard mode, but you'll need to look elsewhere for what they are.

If you played in standard mode, however, then I do have some advice.

Firstly, you'll want to identify as early as possible whether or not you're dealing with an ER word. The obvious trick here is to make your start word one that includes both of those letters. STARE used to be my opener of choice for years until I switched to playing random for the sake of variety, and is one of WordleBot's favorite words too. CRANE is the 'bot's first choice, or you could try CRATE, TRACE, CARET, CARTE, TASER, PARSE, SNARE or many others.

Any of these will point the way to an ER answer early on, but if your start word doesn't include one or both of those letters you should fix that on the second guess unless you know for sure that it's not a possibility (because one has been ruled out already, or a different letter is green at the end, for instance).

That's what I did today. My random start word was VINYL, which was useless, but I followed up right away with STARE and uncovered the yellow R and E.

(Image credit: New York Times)

That was enough info for me to know that it was probably an ER word, so the next step was to confirm that while ruling in/out as many words as I could.

The best approach at this stage is to list as many words as you can, to see which letters might be in play. There were apparently 68 still open to me at this stage (WordleBot told me that afterwards), and I reckon I came up with about half of those. That was enough to give me a good steer as to the best letters to play next.

For instance, I could see that O was the most likely missing vowel to appear, featuring in the likes of BOXER, JOKER, GOFER and MOWER. P was also a common letter – POWER, POKER, DOPER, MOPER, PURER. And then there was the repeated R…

It might seem silly to play a repeated letter at this stage, but there are loads of answers that fit that pattern, including RIDER, RUDER, ROWER, ROGER CURER and indeed CORER – plus plenty of non-ER words that would still have fit (RECUR, ERROR, FREER).

So I put all that together and played ROPER, and that did the trick in that it reduced my options to only one. I then messed up by playing BORER rather than CORER, which was a shame, but ultimately finished with my streak intact.

The key thing, above everything I've said before, is to never just blindly guess letters in search of the missing one.

Let's say you had CO-ER on the third guess – it would be tempting to guess COVER next, right? Don't do it. Instead, look at which words it could be: COVER, COWER, CORER and CODER, for instance. Your next guess should then be something like VOWED, as that would rule in/out COVER, COWER and CODER depending on which one of V, W or D turned yellow/green. And if none of them did, the answer would be CORER.

It can go against instinct to do this, because in some ways you're wasting a guess – you know it won't be the answer. But scoring a five when it could have been a four is always preferable to failing entirely, so don't be a hero – play it safe and live to fight another day.

This may not be of any consolation to you today if you lost your streak, but on the plus side it's very unlikely we'll get another word as difficult as this one for a while. Good luck!

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A quick start out of the gate is an enormous advantage for sprinters, swimmers, jockeys and race car drivers alike. It’s also extremely valuable to cybercriminals. By exploiting a zero-day vulnerability before anyone else knows about it, cybercriminals gain an early window to infiltrate systems and achieve goals like stealing data or deploying ransomware while avoiding detection.

Attacks that exploit zero-day vulnerabilities cannot be prevented — but they can be faced with confidence. This article offers practical guidance containing these threats by building a resilient IT infrastructure that features reducing the attack surface, fast detection and effective response.

The Frustration of Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

It is an inescapable fact that every operating system and software application have vulnerabilities that are not yet known by the vendor or the organizations using the product. Another unhappy fact is that cybercriminals are constantly looking for these vulnerabilities, and when they find one, they begin working hard to find a way to exploit it.

Organizations need to come to terms with the reality that adversaries sometimes succeed in developing an effective zero-day attack and there is little they can do to prevent the initial strike. Instead, they must focus on blocking the escalation of the threat and preventing attackers from gaining access to precious data or establishing control over the whole system.

Essentially, exploitation of a zero-day vulnerability is just the first stage of a longer battle for control over your valuable digital assets. To win that battle, security teams must proactively reduce their exposure to attack, stay on top of vulnerabilities, master threat detection and response, and ensure they can restore operations quickly after an incident.

Reducing the Attack Surface

The first priority in reducing the risk from zero-day vulnerabilities is to minimize the attack surface. Core strategies that will help include disabling unneeded services, implementing a robust patch management process, and segregating your network into distinct segments to isolate critical systems and sensitive data.

Another critical best practice is configuring stringent access controls that adhere to the least privilege principle. Even if an attacker gets into the system, their ability to move laterally will be restricted, since each account has only the access rights necessary for the user to perform their tasks.

For an even more robust approach, highly privileged accounts can be replaced with just-in-time (JiT) elevated privileges that are granted only after additional verification and that last only as long as needed for the task at hand. Such an approach further limits the ability of an adversary to escalate privileges.

Discovering and Mitigating Vulnerabilities

What makes a vulnerability a zero-day is that it is discovered by adversaries and exploited in attacks before anyone else knows about it. Software vendors usually quickly provide a security patch or mitigation strategy. Unfortunately, many organizations fail to perform the recommended action in good time, so they remain at risk from the vulnerability far longer than necessary.

Accordingly, a robust patch management strategy is another vital element in reducing the attack surface area. That strategy should include scanning systems for unpatched vulnerabilities so they can be mitigated promptly. One option is a traditional patch management tool that scans systems regularly. However, as the number of software products in use has grown, this process now takes more time than ever before. Modern solutions use a discovery process known as a scan-less scan, which maintains a real-time inventory of the software installed on the system and flags any vulnerabilities as they appear.

Detecting Threats in Their Early Stages

Attackers don’t advertise the time and place that they are going to attack, but entire websites are devoted to detailing the tactics and techniques that they use. Identity threat detection and response (ITDR) solutions leverage this knowledge, with a focus on detecting threats relating to identity and access control systems. Signs of these threats include unusual login attempts, suspicious access requests and unplanned changes to privileges. Detection of a threat can trigger automated responses like blocking access and resetting credentials.

Organizations also need an endpoint detection and response (EDR) system. EDR complements ITDR by monitoring endpoints for potentially malicious activity and enabling prompt response to those threats.

Of course, if these solutions flag too many events as suspicious, security teams will be overwhelmed with false alerts. Accordingly, file integrity monitoring (FIM) is also crucial, since it can filter out planned system changes and empower IT teams to focus on swift response to real threats.

Ensuring Quick Recovery

Organizations must also be prepared for attacks that succeed in taking down key systems and destroying or encrypting valuable data. To minimize disruption to the business in the wake of an incident, they need a documented strategy for data recovery and getting processes back on track as soon as possible.

A robust recovery plan starts with backing up key data and systems, testing those backups carefully and storing them securely. If attackers make malicious changes, IT teams should be able to identify the specific assets involved and granularly reverse the modifications. In a broader disaster, IT pros need to be able to quickly restore key domain controllers, applications and data to reduce downtime and business losses.

Conclusion

While it is not possible to prevent cybercriminals from discovering and exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, organizations can and should take action to reduce the impact of these attacks. By implementing the practices above, organizations can build a multi-layered security strategy that enhances their resilience against not only zero-day exploits, but other types of cyberattacks and insider threats.

We've rated the best identity management software.

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

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The blazing-fast speeds, extremely low latency, and massive connectivity achieved with 5G technology are changing how mobile media is being perceived. As such, storage solutions need to keep up with the growing demands of the content supply chain. In 2009, 4G introduced the concept of mobile data as an object that is downloaded to a device and is then played back. This innovation led to an increase in the amount of data processed on mobile devices.

For example, more than 500 hours of video content are uploaded in a single minute just on YouTube alone, and 5G is only going to increase how much media can and will be consumed worldwide. In this article, we’ll provide insights on how the 5G innovation will change storage requirements and the way media is consumed on mobile devices.

Impact of 5G on Media Consumption

The performance of 5G far surpasses standard wired Ethernet ports on desktop computers, with speeds up to 20 Gbps in theory. This is compared with the typical 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps of wired Ethernet. In practice, 5G is more than a match for most wired connections, capable of download speeds from 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps, which is on par with your desktop computer. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile own the 5G infrastructure and are able to create private 5G cells, where a higher performance can be achieved and may even reach 20 Gbps as you don’t have to share the bandwidth with many devices.

UHD Streaming

5G's higher speed and lower latency allow high-resolution videos such as 4K and 8K to be streamed easily with minimal buffering on mobile devices. For reference, a 4K stream requires about 25 Mbps of bandwidth, while an 8K stream calls for 100 Mbps, both of which are demanding, but easily achievable with 5G. As a consequence, consumers can seamlessly stream UHD videos from their phones in almost any setting.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR): AR and VR apps, with their full immersion, rely extensively on high bandwidth and low latency. Although 5G's 1ms latency is significantly higher than Ethernet's 10-30 microseconds latency, it is still suitable for these applications. To meet these fast requirements, storage systems must be capable of real-time data retrieval and processing.

Interactive Live Streaming: High-data volume and speed for 5G empower new interactive live streaming possibilities, such as multiple angles and instant replays. To achieve this, the underlying system and storage infrastructure need to be efficient and quick enough to handle countless requests while maintaining sub-second video latency.

Storage Challenges and Solutions

As more advanced and data-driven media technologies become possible through 5G, older, conventional storage infrastructures face various technical limitations:

1) Scalability: The surge in high-resolution and interactive content calls for storage solutions that are capable of handling increased amounts of data. Conventional storage systems might be unable to keep up with the amount of information created by innovative, 5G-enabled applications due to their sheer size and rapid expansion. Distributed storage systems, such as those using software-defined storage (SDS) architectures, offer the scalability needed to handle these demands efficiently.

2) Bandwidth Management: Compression technologies are used to effectively manage the greater data bandwidth offered by 5G networks, with many of them leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for more efficient algorithms. These algorithms help reduce the size of the data being stored or transferred, making sure that bandwidth is not wasted while preserving media quality.

3) Security: Given the massive amount of data pushed through 5G networks, security is growing even more important and challenging. With massive amounts of data being sent around at an unprecedented rate, traditional encryption methods may fall short. Improving encryption techniques and incorporating blockchain for data integrity and Self-Encrypting Drives (SEDs) into storage solutions can improve security.

Future Trends

Edge Storage: As 5G becomes more widely available, it will be critical to make better use of "edge storage,” which is a type of decentralized storage that keeps data close to where it's needed. This approach has the potential to reduce latency while improving performance and overall user experience in real-time applications such as AR/VR and streaming for Apple Vision Pro and similar devices.

AI-Driven Storage Optimization: The use of AI in storage management is likely to become more widespread in the 5G era. AI tools can analyze usage patterns and dynamically optimize storage allocation, making sure that resources are used to their fullest potential. For example, AI can predict which content will be accessed frequently and then cache it in high-performance storage tiers, while less frequently accessed data is moved to lower-cost storage.

5G as Backbone for Broadcasting: Mobile broadcasting and network infrastructure, including cables, are not particularly suited to sudden changes in mobility. 5G technology reduces the need for extensive infrastructure, making it an ideal solution for dynamic, live broadcasting environments such as breaking news or outdoor events. When combined with edge computing, 5G enables local processing of video feeds, reducing latency and boosting broadcast efficiency. This seamless integration improves the efficiency and speed of live content delivery, representing an important shift forward in the media industry.

5G as Backbone for Mobile Broadcasting: Leveraging 5G has the potential to transform how cameras and other devices connect with the Outside Broadcasting (OB) trucks. With technically up to 20 Gbit, private 5G cells and an acceptable latency of 1ms, the setup becomes considerably more flexible. Inside the OB truck, data storage receives the recorded data and may send it out via 5G and allows for real-time editing and graphic overlays directly from that storage. 5G technology can also greatly improve mobile broadcasting workflows by delivering rapid speeds of up to 10 Gbps. This allows for the seamless transmission of uncompressed 4K or 8K video directly from cameras to production facilities without sacrificing video quality.

5G as Backbone for Live Broadcasting: For live sports broadcasts, 5G enables near-instantaneous synchronization of multiple camera feeds with an ultra-low latency of only 1 millisecond. Thanks to these precise positioning and angles, viewers get to enjoy an immersive, “live-like” experience from any screen. Furthermore, 5G’s impressive speeds easily support real-time editing and graphics overlay right from the field, allowing editors to integrate live feeds and make quick edits with minimal delay.

Conclusion

Innovative storage solutions and 5G completely transform the way media is consumed on mobile devices, and the latter will continue to change the way digital media is consumed on every screen. Storage technologies must meet security standards and continue evolving to keep pace with 5G’s increased bandwidth management and scalability requirements to ensure viewers enjoy always-on seamless experiences. Luckily, 5G higher speeds and lower latency makes it easy to transmit live 4K content over the internet from anywhere possible. 5G and advanced storage solutions can not only facilitate great viewing experiences; they can vastly improve upon them. Who knows what’s next?

We've rated the best cloud storage.

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

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Cloudflare has announced the deployment of its 12th generation servers, powered by AMD EPYC 9684X Genoa-X processors, delivering improved performance and efficiency across its infrastructure.

The new processor has 96 cores, 192 threads, and a massive 1152MB of L3 cache - three times that of AMD’s standard Genoa processors.

This substantial cache boost helps reduce latency and improve performance in data-intensive applications, with Cloudflare saying Genoa-X delivers a 22.5% improvement over other AMD EPYC models.

Updated AI developer products

According to the cloud provider, the new Gen 12 servers can handle up to 145% more requests per second (RPS) and offer a 63% increase in power efficiency compared to the previous Gen 11 models. The updated thermal-mechanical design and expanded GPU support offer enhanced capabilities for AI and machine learning workloads.

The new servers are equipped with 384GB of DDR5-4800 memory across 12 channels, 16TB of NVMe storage, and dual 25 GbE network connectivity. This configuration enables Cloudflare to support higher memory throughput and faster storage access, optimizing performance for a range of computationally intensive tasks. Additionally, each server is powered by dual 800W Titanium-grade power supply units, providing greater energy efficiency across its global data centers.

Cloudflare is keen to stress these improvements are not just about raw power but also about delivering more efficient performance. The company says the move from a 1U to a 2U form factor, along with improved airflow design, reduced fan power consumption by 150W, contributing to the server’s overall efficiency gains. The Gen 12 server’s power consumption is 600W at typical operating conditions, a notable increase from the Gen 11’s 400W but justified by the significant performance improvements.

The new generation also includes enhanced security features with hardware root of trust (HRoT) and Data Center Secure Control Module (DC-SCM 2.0) integration. This setup ensures boot firmware integrity and modular security, protecting against firmware attacks and reducing vulnerabilities.

The Gen 12 servers are designed with GPU scalability in mind, supporting up to two PCIe add-in cards for AI inference and other specialized workloads. This design allows Cloudflare to deploy GPUs strategically to minimize latency in regions with high demand for AI processing. Looking ahead, Cloudflare says it has begun testing 5th generation AMD EPYC "Turin" CPUs for its future Gen 13 servers.

Separately, Cloudflare has introduced big upgrades to its AI developer products. Workers AI is now powered by more powerful GPUs across its network of over 180 cities, allowing it to handle larger models like Meta’s Llama 3.1 70B and Llama 3.2, and tackle more complex AI tasks. AI Gateway, a tool for monitoring and optimizing AI deployments, has been upgraded with persistent logs (currently in beta) that enable detailed performance analysis using search, tagging, and annotation features. Finally, Vectorize, Cloudflare’s vector database, has reached general availability, supporting indexes up to five million vectors and significantly lowering latency. Additionally, Cloudflare has shifted to a simpler unit-based pricing structure for its three products, making cost management clearer.

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The FBI created a cryptocurrency company and crypto token as a bait for scammers who participate in ‘pump-and-dump’ schemes, new reports have revealed.

The tactic, which involve making fake trades to boost prices before cashing out, worked very well, with 18 people arrested for ‘widespread fraud and manipulation in the crypto currency markets’, marking the first ever set of criminal charges brought against financial service firms for ‘wash trading’ and market manipulation in the cryptocurrency industry.

Over $25 million in cryptocurrency was seized during the operation, along with trading bots responsible for millions of dollars worth of ‘wash trades’ for around 60 different cryptocurrencies, which have been deactivated.

‘Operation Token Mirrors’

The cryptocurrency the FBI created was an Ethereum-based instrument named NexFundAI, which they used to track unsuspecting traders.

‘Wash trades’ refers to the illegal process of buying and selling the same security as a form of market manipulation. Recent reports suggest that as much as 70% of all crypto currency transactions fall under this category, so it's no wonder police want to crack down.

“These are cases where an innovative technology – cryptocurrency – met a century old scheme – the pump and dump. The message today is, if you make false statements to trick investors, that’s fraud. Period.” stated Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy.

“These charges are also a stark reminder of how vigilant online investors must be and that doing your homework before diving into the digital frontier is critical. People considering making investments in the cryptocurrency industry should understand how these scams work so that they can protect themselves.” he adds.

Also charged by the Security and Exchange Commission were three ‘market makers’, which refers to individuals who engage in two-sided markets of a security.

There’s been a flurry of bad news stories for crypto investors recently, with crypto-linked cybercrime seeing a record year, with stolen funds inflows doubling to around $1.58billion in 2024.

Via The Register

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Rumors that Fujifilm is making an all-new camera with a new kind of sensor, tipped for 2025, have plenty of fans excited. Details are thin, to say the least, and initial speculation has been based on what makes most sense according to Fujifilm's current camera lineup, most plausibly landing on a digital compact with a 1-inch sensor.

That logic would pit the would-be Fujifilm camera against the likes of the Sony RX100 VII, which is one of our favorite premium compact cameras. However, there has recently been a surprising development that suggests this new sensor could, in fact, be a unique vertical one rather than being horizontally positioned like in pretty much every digital camera.

So, you would hold this camera horizontally – which is the easiest way to hold a camera – yet make vertical format pictures and videos, like the natural way on your phone. In analog terms, it's the approach of half-frame, which is the format of the recent Pentax 17: it uses 35mm film but takes two half-sized vertical pictures in the space of every single frame on the film roll.

The difference here is that Fujifilm's rumored camera isn't analog but supposedly digital. So, is a digital half-frame camera a smart idea or a gimmick?

The Pentax 17 is a popular half-frame analog camera that shoots pictures in vertical format when held horizontally, like above. (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

Is a digital 'half-frame' compact camera a gimmick?

If anyone can make a digital compact with vertical sensor work, presumably being aimed at content creators, it's Fujifilm. Fujifilm is a trending camera brand – its X100VI is one of the most popular and sought-after cameras in recent memory. Analog photography is also trending, with the half-frame Pentax 17 proving to be one of the hits this year. So bringing the two design concepts together into one: a retro digital compact with social-friendly vertical photos and videos – it should make sense.

Am I convinced? Yes and no. Let's say the rumor is true. On the one hand I think a 'half-frame' digital compact is an easy sell in 2024, especially with Fujifilm's retro looks. But what would it be like to actually take pictures and videos with said camera?

Let's be clear: You can simply rotate a regular digital camera 90 degrees to shoot in vertical format and rotate those video clips using a video editor. Or you can sacrifice video resolution by cropping into your horizontal videos to make a vertical one. However, these steps are awkward, and a camera that's optimized for shooting vertically makes a lot of sense in 2024 and beyond.

Most people view short-form video content and photos on their phones vertically, so why not just make capturing in that format as easy as possible? Sure, shooting half-frame is counter intuitive at first. However, you'd get the full-resolution of the sensor for vertical video rather than having to crop down to a lower resolution, and avoid unnecessary time editing. Being a dedicated camera, you would also get a superior user experience over using your phone instead.

Half-frame makes even more sense for analog photography, where your photos are permanently exposed onto a film roll. For instance, I love creatively thinking in pairs, which is another layer of image curation, plus you double the number of your shots on a film roll. In a way you don't get the same practical benefits with digital and a memory card that can hold thousands of photos. As an aside, I wouldn't be the only one hoping that Fujifilm follows in Pentax's footsteps and develops an analog camera, especially as it's one of the leading producers of photographic film.

I can see a digital half-frame compact resonating with many people, and being ridiculed by others. Personally, I'm all for brands trying new things and I hope this rumor turns out to be true. If the camera materializes, it'll certainly spark debate and offer creators a unique shooting experience to wrap their heads around.

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With October in full swing, you might be looking for some of the best horror movies to stream. But outside of the classics and the spooky new movies, one of the best streaming services has just dropped a contender for my favorite horror series of the year, a perfect adaptation of Junji Ito's manga Uzumaki. After being let down by the 2000 movie (which is available on Prime Video in the US and Shudder in the UK), it is refreshing to finally see it done properly.

Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror is a four-part adaptation of Ito's frankly massive manga that throws you in the deep end from the first episode alone. The show is streaming on Max and Adult Swim in the US and Channel 4 in the UK. It wastes no time in establishing this terrifying world, where citizens in the town of Kurouzu-cho are plagued by spirals. Surreal as the concept is, it grips you immediately, with this obsession and paranoia around spirals resembling that of a disease. People are terrified of it, to the point where some seriously crazy stuff happens. It's gritty, it's dark, and Max is really delivering that tone especially when you look at DC hit The Penguin, which we compared to The Sopranos, and rightfully so.

I was also pleased to discover that even people who have never read the manga could get sucked in. My partner watched the first episode with me and since then has been keen to tune in when it airs each week, and ironically, we found ourselves becoming just as invested in the spirals as the people on-screen. With less horrifying stuff happening, of course.

Junji Ito's lines come to life on screen

(Image credit: Adult Swim)

For me, the most striking thing of all is just how stunning this is to look at. It's the reason the manga gripped me too, I found myself desperate to turn to the next page to see what horrific, albeit beautifully drawn thing would greet me this time, and watching the TV adaptation is no different. Sticking to the original black and white design, it's like watching a moving version of the manga. This is exactly where the movie failed, in my opinion, because it was a color live-action take on the tale and it simply did not work. Ito's terrifying world is best when it's devoid of any color at all, I say let's keep it that way.

The art is beautiful. It's also the worst thing you'll ever see. I have omitted some of the really awful imagery to not spoil it. If you have read the manga already, you'll no doubt find yourself anticipating certain famous moments, and even when I knew what was about to happen I still found myself cringing. From transformations to mutations to people having psychotic breaks due to the spirals, nothing can fully prepare you for it. If you we wondering, yes, it is even worse when it's animated.

Uzumaki has been in the works for a long time, and I am glad they spent so much time making it as accurate to the source material as possible. There's little point diverting from it too much when Ito has given us such a great story. It's up there with some of the best anime shows you'll watch.

When you're done here, there are plenty of other spooky offerings to sink your teeth into as well. I also recommend James Wan's Teacup and some of these indie horror games (Cult of the Lamb is my favorite!). But until then, please do step into the horrifying world of Uzumaki. You won't regret it.

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This week, after months of waiting for a follow-up to the hugely successful Nintendo Switch handheld we finally got brand new Nintendo hardware in form of a clock called Alarmo. We also saw some major AI developments for Gemini, and the RTX 5090 price leaked (spoiler, it ain't cheap).

To catch up on all of this and more, we've collected the week's biggest news stories here so you can find out about everything you missed.

Once you're up to speed why not check out our picks for the seven new movies and TV shows to stream this weekend (October 11).

8. Apple struggled to keep a lid on the M4 MacBook Pro

(Image credit: Wylsacom)

Apple doesn’t really do leaks, so this week was something of a shock for tech fans used to its watertight launches.

Not only did we see a wave of credible video and benchmark leaks for the rumored M4 MacBook Pro, several people in Russia claimed to be selling the unannounced laptop on a classified ads site. Not quite on the level of leaving an iPhone 4 prototype in a bar, but not far off.

While it’s possible that those now-pulled adverts were fakes, the sheer number of convincing leaks suggests that an M4 MacBook Pro is coming soon – potentially with more Thunderbolt ports and a Space Black version.

• Read more: The M4 MacBook Pro leak circus just got even wilder

7. Toyota revealed a future powered by hydrogen cartridges

(Image credit: Toyota)

Hydrogen hit the headlines again this week as a possible fuel source for cars and even homes as Toyota revealed some concept portable cartridges that look like giant AA batteries.

Toyota says the cylinders have been developed using its experience in shrinking the hydrogen tanks in its fuel-cell electric vehicles. The concept is certainly an alluring one – rather than having to refuel at petrol stations or EV charging points, you could just swap out your power source when your hydrogen levels run low. In theory, at least.

Whether the concept makes it to reality remains to be seen, but it’s hopefully at least somewhere down the road – we can’t endure broken EV charging networks for much longer.

• Read more: Toyota’s portable hydrogen cartridges look like giant AA batteries – and could spell the end of lengthy EV charging

6.Nintendo finally launched new hardware

Nintendo announced new hardware this week, but it wasn’t the Nintendo Switch 2. Instead it revealed (of all things) a new sound clock called Alarmo.

It features a 2.8-inch LCD screen that tells you the date, time, and shows a playful Nintendo mascot – including Link, Olimar, and (of course) Mario – who react to what you and Alarmo are doing. Though if you stay in bed for too long Alarmo might send a less friendly face to motivate you – like the evil king Bowser.

What makes this smart alarm clock clever however is its in-built motion sensor which can track your movements. Alarmo can track your sleep habits which you can review in the morning, can be waved at to snooze your alarm, and can detect when you sit up to stop your alarm.

Alarmo’s only available to buy for people who are paid Nintendo Switch Online members right now, but it should be launching to the general public in January 2025.

• Read more: Nintendo Alarmo looks like a delightfully fun smart alarm clock

5. Google's Imagen 3 rolled out worldwide

(Image credit: Google)

This week Google updated its Gemini AI chatbot to use the latest Imagen 3 software for generating images. It’s easy to use too, you just ask Gemini to create an image using the same text prompts that you use to talk to Gemini normally. Imagen 3 sees considerable improvements over the previous version, with much better detail in images, especially where text is concerned.

Imagen 3 is available to everybody who can access Gemini, on a laptop or smartphone, even if you are on the free tier, however, while the image quality of Imagen 3 is superb, and there don’t seem to be limits on how many images you can create a day, there is one slight annoyance – you need to be a Gemini Advanced subscriber if you want to use it to generate images of people.

• Read more: Google Gemini’s new AI image generator just rolled out to everyone for free

4. The Apple Intelligence release date leaked

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple Intelligence finally has a release date... sort of. We were told Apple’s AI tools would arrive on iPhone, iPad, and Mac as part of a software update in October, and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has given us a date.

Gurman suspects iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 will arrive on October 28, ushering in a new era for Apple as it moves into the AI-powered future. It’s definitely an exciting time to own Apple products, but will features like Writing Tools, Clean Up, and notification summaries be enough to make people care about AI?

At WWDC, Craig Federighi called it ‘AI for the rest of us’, but time will tell if the ‘rest of us’ even want AI to begin with. Expect to see Apple Intelligence features roll out over the next year with Genmoji and Image Playground arriving before the end of the year and Siri’s long-anticipated update set to release in early 2025.

• Read more: Here's when the first AI features are set to arrive on your iPhone

3. The Loop Dream helped us sleep well

(Image credit: Future)

Loop released its latest noise reducing ear buds, Loop Dream, which are specifically designed for sleep. Offering the highest noise reduction in the Loop range at 27dB, Loop Dream features redesigned oval tips that put less pressure on your ear canal as well as a new, silicon-coated loop that secures the buds in the cavum of your ear.

These handy little buds proved to be massively useful for our Managing Editor of Lifestyle, who's been using them for the last three weeks - and finally slept well because of it.

• Read more: I tried sleeping with Loop Dream

2. Nvidia apparently losing its mind with next-gen GPU pricing

The RTX 4090 (Image credit: Nvidia/Future)

It was a rocky ride for Nvidia this week from the rumor mill, and the most eye-opening piece of speculation came regarding the purported price tags that Team Green could pin on RTX 5000 graphics cards when they arrive (likely early next year).We were seriously shocked to discover that Nvidia is apparently mulling – and it is just a consideration at this point – a price of between $1,999 and $2,499 for the flagship RTX 5090. And the leaker who shared this – YouTuber Moore’s Law is Dead – reckons that the company is looking more towards the $2.5K mark, than a mere two grand. Yikes.

Furthermore, Nvidia may be thinking about pitching the RTX 5080 from $1,199 up to $1,499, and the RTX 5070 could go for $599 to $699. An RTX 5070 that is potentially equipped with only 12GB of VRAM, we should note, adding to the indignation around this week’s Nvidia-related leaks.

What’s going on with these prices? We’re honestly a bit baffled, but a theory proposed that maybe Nvidia is testing the reaction to this pricing, when the figures were inevitably leaked, could offer up some hope that there’ll be a reversal of course here. Come on, Nvidia – don’t do this to us. The worst thing, in some ways, is that these days it almost feels inevitable that Team Green will push the envelope when it comes to expensive, and that worse still, this gives AMD no incentive to price more competitively with RDNA 4 GPUs, either, when they arrive. Meh…

• Read more: Rumored RTX 5000 GPU price leaks are shocking – Nvidia should just call the RTX 5090 a Titan if it’s going to charge up to $2,500 for it

1. Panasonic revealed the world’s smallest zoom lens for full-frame

(Image credit: Panasonice)

Panasonic's new Lumix S 18-40mm F4.5-6.3 became the world's smallest and lightest zoom lens with autofocus for full-frame cameras – and it's an ideal pairing with the Lumix S9 mirrorless camera, for which a big firmware update was also announced, plus improvements to Panasonic's Lumix Lab app.

Tipping the scales at just 0.34lb / 155g and measuring just 40.9mm in length when retracted, the 18-40mm is positively tiny yet still packs a wider than average 18mm perspective that's ideal for video creators, weather resistance, focus breathing suppression, plus decent close focusing capabilities – just 0.15m / 0.49ft. It's exactly the lens that Panasonic's polarizing Lumix S9 for content creators needed, a camera that we labeled "small, simple, powerful, flawed" in our Lumix S9 in-depth review, but whose compact form felt rather redundant without a complementary L-mount lens. That changed with the new 18-40mm which, along with the firmware update, gives the Lumix S9 gets a second wind and could realize its potential as one of the best YouTube cameras.

• Read more: The Lumix S 18-40mm is officially here, and it's officially tiny

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Sorry Netflix, but I haven't forgiven you for canceling one of the best drama shows The Society. Yes, I know it's been years now, but with the amount of cancelations the best streaming service has recently done, it's a hurtful reminder of the beloved shows that were cut short by the Netflix ax.

The harsh memory of The Society's cancelation was brought back to the front of my mind while writing about Netflix quietly canceling the most realistic zombie show I’ve ever seen Black Summer (sob!). Unfortunately, the streaming giant has scrapped over 15 shows this year so far, with dark comedy Greek mythology-inspired series Kaos being the most recent show to be controversially canceled.

The Society definitely deserves a space on my list of seven shows canceled by Netflix in 2024 so far that you should still watch, even though it was canceled four years ago – but I'm just not over it. And I'm not the only one either, with watchers creating a Change.org petition to renew The Society for a second season.

Following its debut in May 2019, the YA drama was renewed for a second season in July of the same year. Production was set to start in March 2020 for the new instalment, but Netflix decided to can The Society season 2 due to the Covid--19 pandemic.

This best Netflix show with 86% on Rotten Tomatoes isn't just your average teen drama with the formulaic tropes of teenage angst, high school gossip and best friend backstabbing. It's actually a thoughtful and realistic portrayal of community, politics and culture with a unique premise that had a lot of potential to become a huge success.

Why you should stream The Society

What would you do if there was a killer in your community? With no police or prison around, would you execute the criminal or lock them up and throw away the key? What if you're pregnant and there's no hospital staff or midwives to help you deliver your baby? These are the sorts of issues that arise in The Society.

Commonly described as a modern take on The Lord of the Flies, The Society follows a group of teenagers who return home from a school trip and realize all of the town's adults have mysteriously disappeared. In order to survive, they create their own society, which quickly descends into chaos and becomes a "survival of the fittest" with shocking deaths, betrayals, and secrets as the high school students rebel against the rules.

While the intense plot, unpredictable twists, and unraveling mystery will keep you intrigued throughout the 10-episode series, it's also the complex and authentic characters that make The Society a must watch. There's an eclectic mix of teenagers you meet - some you love and some you hate. From a manipulative psychopath to a devout Catholic, they all have their own stories to tell and deal with their issues in various ways.

The Society also raises awareness on important social issues such as teen pregnancy, domestic abuse, mental health, and living with a disability that makes this fantastical story all the more true to life and engrossing.

(Image credit: Seacia Pavao/Netflix )

Hopes of The Society season 2 was struck down with even more bad luck when the show creator revealed to Variety that he and his creative partners nearly released a graphic novel that would have revealed season 2's storylines, but the publisher went out of business.

However, he did add that the writing crew are working out how to continue the story in a new way. He said: "I have consistent conversations with a bunch of the writers and Marc Webb about how we might bring this back in some way. We don’t have an answer yet, and I wouldn’t count on it, but I don’t do that with every show that gets canceled."

"The audience still wants to talk about it. They are still moved by it and want answers to the questions and then new questions are posed. I just don’t know whether the world is going to work in a way that aligns for us, but we’ll keep trying for a while because it’s gotten under my skin as well." Fingers crossed this happens!

Now that The Society has been canceled before season 2, I won't ever get the answers to the series biggest mysteries – please Netflix, I need to know where the adults went and who the mystery father of Becca's (Gideon Adlon) baby is. Despite this, The Society is definitely still worth the watch, and deserves as much praise as it gets.

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While I resent the accusation, I have from time to time been branded as clumsy. I used to rarely drop things, but in more recent times I’ve found myself knocking over glasses, ripping clothes, and damaging a frankly stupid amount of phones; most of these were test units, but still. 

Despite this tendency for pricey flagship phones to hop out of my hands or decide to miss my pocket, I never use a case with such smartphones. Even with some of the best foldable phones – the most fragile of handsets – I eschew the case life. 

Am I an idiot? Probably. But I do like to see the industrial design of the best phones, rather than swaddle them in less-than-lovely plastic. 

Equally, all the boasting about the best Android phones making use of Gorilla Glass has encouraged my apathy when it comes to extra phone protection. But then one falls, either by my own hand or though sheer physics, to the floor, and cracks, chips or dents. 

Except, that is, for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. 

I’ve harped on about the benefit of titanium on phones, which has helped the large iPhone withstand all manner of chassis punishment; it won’t patina though. 

But I’ve yet to extoll the brilliance of Apple’s Ceramic Shield glass. Introduced with the iPhone 12, I've always simply assumed it was Apple’s answer to Corning’s Gorilla Glass. Yet I now feel I’ve slept on how good Ceramic Shield is. 

In some 10 months of use, my iPhone 15 Pro Max has gone through the wringer. It’s slipped off my sofa, bumped into my desk, and fallen to the ground, and each time it's emerged unscathed. 

Shields up!

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

The most impressive example was back in August when I was visiting Liverpool. I chucked the phone onto a hotel bed, and given the heft of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it bounced with gusto from the duvet and flew through an open bathroom door to land face-down with a sickening clatter on the tiled floor. 

I thought "that’s it, the phone is done for," and thanked my foresight for having a spare Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to hand. 

But as I gingerly lifted the iPhone from the floor, turning it over with dread, I saw that it was totally undamaged. I couldn’t find a single ding or dent in it – even the protruding camera module looked fresh and fine. 

I was genuinely surprised. Such falls have ruined other phones that have had the misfortune to trigger clumsy-Roland mode. 

And it had me thinking that despite my love of the Action button, or the consistency of the camera systems, Apple's Ceramic Shield glass might just be my favorite feature of recent iPhones.

So if you’re after a durable phone that also looks stylish, rather than doing an impression of a brick, I simply have to give the Ceramic Shield iPhones my seal of approval – you go hunting for one on our best iPhone deals page. 

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As the best Android smartwatches battle to bring Android's Wear OS 5 update to older generations of devices, mixed fortunes mean a rollout for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 could be close at hand. Not so for older Pixel Watch owners, who could have a long wait in store.

This week, Samsung has rolled out its seventh One UI 6 Beta update to the Galaxy Watch 6. As noted by Android Police, it's the first update to the beta program in almost a month, but could signal that a stable One UI 6 watch build is almost ready for release on the older Samsung Galaxy Watch models.

It's great news for owners of the older Galaxy Watch model, who could get a taste of the new Android wearable software before to long, packaged in Samsung's own One UI, of course.

But while Samsung's Wear OS 5 rollout could be imminent, there's bad news for owners of the Pixel Watch 1 and 2, following the latest update from Google about the rollout.

Wear OS 5 coming to older Pixel Watch models later this year

(Image credit: Future)

Google rolled out its Wear OS 5 upgrade for the Pixel Watch 1 and 2 in late September, but users quickly reported big problems with their devices being bricked by the new software.

Google later confirmed to TechRadar it was aware of the issue and had paused the Wear OS 5 rollout. At the time, Google said it was "actively working on a resolution," but a new update reveals that could still be some ways off.

Overnight, Google told its support forum members "We plan to resume the WearOS 5 rollout to these devices later this year, once we’ve mitigated the observed issues, and will share additional updates with our community as they become available."

The timeline of "later this year" isn't a huge confidence boost, and certainly doesn't indicate that Wear OS 5 is coming anytime soon. With Samsung readying its own Wear OS 5 update imminently, Google's struggles are a shame for users, but longer term they could put Google on the back foot – especially if Samsung can demonstrate it has more reliable and consistent software support for its older devices going forward.

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Nearly two in five (38%) British consumers plan to reject third-party cookies when Google implements its now opt-in model on Chrome soon, with another one in five (22%) still undecided, new research has claimed.

A report from Apply Digital paints the picture of a very divided landscape, with around one-third each having a net positive (35%) or net negative (32%) view of cookies for their web browser.

Based on the responses of 2,000 UK residents, the study sheds light on evolving attitudes towards online data privacy and personalized online experiences. It arrives after years of efforts, failed attempts and delays by Google to phase out third-party cookies – a plan that is now being reconsidered.

Many Brits are prepared to block third-party cookies altogether

Attitudes towards cookies varied by age, with younger consumers typically more open to cookies that enable a fluid and connected experience across the web.

Despite these widespread concerns about online tracking, the desire for personalized online experiences remains strong, with around two in five (41%) more likely to purchase from brands that offer tailored services.

"While Google received a lot of criticism from marketers for backtracking on cookie deprecation, the results of our survey suggest that a stay of execution may have been sensible," noted Matt Gould, Chief Commerce Officer at Apply Digital.

However, some factors were highlighted that could influence consumers to share their data via third-party cookies. Incentives like rewards, points, personalized recommendations and promotions all hold this power.

Gould added: “If third-party cookies are to have a future over the longer term, businesses need to become more data smart in how they strike a balance between privacy, personalisation and control.”

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Imagine running a race with shoes that are just a bit too small. At first, they feel comfortable, giving you the grip and support you need to forge ahead. But as the race goes on, the tightness starts to pinch, slowing you down and making every step more painful, restricting your ability to succeed. This restriction is the reality many small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) face when they rely on basic accounting software like QuickBooks. What once felt like the perfect fit for a company just starting can quickly become a hindrance as the business grows, creating barriers to efficiency, decision-making and, ultimately, growth.

While QuickBooks and similar tools are popular choices for startups and young companies, it can be challenging to recognize the signs that these systems are no longer sufficient. As the complexities of running a business expand, the software that once seemed capable can start to show its limitations, including inefficient manual data entry, system bog down, lack of synchronization and an inability to scale to meet new demands or market shifts. How can SMBs recognize when it’s time to graduate to a more robust solution, and what steps should they take to ensure a seamless transition?

Common Growth Challenges

SMBs are the lifeblood of our economy, representing 99.9% of all U.S. businesses. Many of these businesses face a range of challenges as they scale and grow. By understanding these four telltale signs, companies can better identify when they are outgrowing their current systems and need to consider alternative solutions that better empower them to break through growth ceilings.

The first significant sign and source of pain for expanding SMBs is difficulty generating detailed, real-time financial and operational reports. Traditional accounting software often can’t provide the insights needed for strategic decision-making. For instance, a growing company might struggle to create customized reports that provide insights into specific product lines, regional performance or customer profitability. This limitation can delay decision-making, cause missed opportunities and reduce overall competitive edge.

The second sign comes as SMBs expand and find that their existing software can’t effectively consolidate data across multiple entities. Financial data might need to be manually compiled from various sources or instances and administrators of QuickBooks, resulting in time-consuming processes, a higher risk of errors and inconsistent data across the organization. This lack of centralized data can make it challenging to get a clear picture of overall financial health or areas needing improvement.

The third sign comes from overall growth that spurs an increase in transaction volumes and complexity. Traditional accounting systems often lack the scalability to handle this increase efficiently. A business experiencing rapid growth might face transaction processing delays, data server capacity limitations, data entry bottlenecks and financial inaccuracies. These issues can impact cash flow management and jeopardize customer satisfaction.

The fourth sign is that the existing system is missing industry-specific tools needed to succeed in the company’s sector and keep pace with a competitive market. Businesses may find themselves cobbling together a patched solution to address industry challenges without full integration. This makeshift solution can result in disparate systems, mismatched data and the grueling task of manual data entry. For instance, a manufacturing company using a basic ERP that lacks specialized production scheduling or inventory management tools is forced to rely on disconnected software or manual processes to fill the gaps. This reliance hinders efficiency and competitiveness.

The Hidden Costs of Sticking with Outdated Software

As SMBs grow, the risks associated with outdated software become more evident. Beyond these signs and the immediate pain points like slow transaction processing and time-consuming reporting, the costs of not upgrading can be significant and far-reaching, impacting a business’s bottom line.

Basic accounting systems often lack advanced security features, making them more susceptible to cyberattacks and data breaches. With cyber threats on the rise, these vulnerabilities could result in compromised financial information, loss of sensitive customer data and costly recovery efforts.

Furthermore, relying on outdated software can increase inefficiencies across various business functions. Manual data entry, multiple software integrations and disjointed workflows can waste valuable time and resources. Over time, these inefficiencies accumulate, leading to higher operational costs, reduced productivity and missed growth opportunities.

Tips for Transitioning to a Comprehensive Business Management Solution

The first step is recognizing these pain points and acknowledging the risk of not acting. The next is to develop a strategic plan with clear, actionable steps to transition to a more effective and robust business management solution. SMBs should consider these tips when developing this plan:

Assess Your Business Needs and Objectives: Business leaders must thoroughly assess their current software’s limitations and identify specific needs, such as better reporting, project management, enhanced security or real-time inventory management. Creating a checklist of must-have features can help identify the right system.

Evaluate Solutions: When looking for a new system, consider the available options regarding scalability, data visibility and accuracy, integration capabilities and industry-specific features. Researching multiple players and comparing their features, customer reviews, and pricing is essential to ensure that decision-makers do their due diligence.

Assess the Level of Community Support: Moving to a new system has tremendous benefits but also requires time and resources. SMBs want to be sure that after implementing a new system, they utilize ongoing support processes, resources and channels to learn best practices, get free training and engage with developers and fellow customers to ensure the company gets the most from its technology investment. Given that there is an expected learning curve to adopting new technology, this training provides a more seamless transition to the new system and helps team members become more efficient.

Plan for Data Migration: Creating a detailed plan for migrating existing data from the old system to the new one is imperative for a seamless transition. Consulting with an IT professional or implementation partner to avoid data loss or corruption during data migration can help mitigate risks.

As SMBs grow, they inevitably face new challenges that their initial tools and software may not be equipped to handle. Basic accounting software like QuickBooks, while sufficient in the early stages, can become a barrier to growth due to its scalability, reporting, data management and security limitations. Recognizing the signs that your business has outgrown its current system is crucial to avoiding these growth barriers and maintaining competitiveness.

We list the best UK small business accounting software.

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

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When it comes to the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max (or indeed any new iPhone), most Apple fans don’t expect to hear much about the design process outside of official Apple events.

It’s a pleasant surprise, then, to see that two Apple designers have spoken out about the motivations and design process behind one of the iPhone 16 family’s most interesting new features – the Camera Control.

With Apple Intelligence still not ready, the brand-new Camera Control is one of the few concrete reasons to upgrade to the iPhone 16. That may be why Apple senior product designer Rich Dinh and human interface designer Johnny Manzari chose to talk up the new button's benefits on Cool Hunting magazine’s Design Tangents podcast.

The Camera Control concept

Dinh explained that the Camera Control exists to make capturing photos and videos easier: “We set off asking the question ‘how can we get closer to one of our visions in the camera experience?’ which is ‘never missing a moment’ [...] I think the magic of Camera Control is that fast capture experience, getting us a little bit closer."

Manzari added: “What’s exciting about Camera Control is that it delivers a lot of improvements on the real fundamentals, so if you click it quickly launches into the camera, click again and it takes a photo, click and hold and it will take a video. All of this is without you having to readjust your grip or make any changes, it’s really just the fastest experience we’ve ever had.”

Camera Control on the iPhone 16 (Image credit: Future)

He also noted that the Camera Control is a technological first for Apple: “This is a combination of a force sensor and a capacitive sensor on this mechanical button, which is an Apple first – we’ve never really done that before, but it unlocks all these new experiences.”

Dinh added: “You are physically moving the button for the half-press, and we use that force sensor underneath to detect that tiny micron-scale movement, send a signal over to the Taptic engine, and really give you that haptic feedback.”

He also said that the Camera Control was designed with the “best materials”, for durability and aesthetics: “you have sapphire, you have stainless steel trim, and on the iPhone 16 you have aluminum all around it – all of those things have to be color matched.”

Dinh continued: “The amazing thing about the button is that it is flush. We’re hoping that the phone feels very much like your phone today in how you grip it and handle it, but we’ve added a little chamfer in there to give that really lovely half-press and full-press experience.”

Family-focused functionality

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

In usual Apple style, the pair were sure to link the Camera Control – and iPhone more generally – to real-world and family-focused experiences.

Manzari said: “When my daughter [...] was little, I was using a lot more traditional camera equipment back then. And over the years it’s really shifted to iPhone [...] It’s just much easier to hang out with your kids when you’re not bringing a lot of equipment with you.”

He added that the "precise, but also playful” tools included in the iPhone should be as useful to a small child as they are to a professional photographer.

Dinh said: “I have two little kids, a two-and-a-half-year-old and a six-year-old, and they both do the funniest stuff, but having camera control be able to get you up and running and capture that video – I have videos that probably wouldn’t have been captured otherwise.

He continued: "When you ask someone to do something again it isn’t the same, so having that instantaneous capture has been amazing.”

The full 27-minute episode of Design Tangents is available on Apple Podcasts, and for the latest tech news and analysis be sure to also check out the TechRadar Podcast.

And, as ever, check out our iPhone coverage for the latest news, tips, and updates on Apple’s smartphone lineup.

Camera control: our verdict

So, is the Camera Control actually as "amazing" as Apple suggests? The people who designed it are hardly going to mention any downsides, so here's a more balanced take.

Firstly, the Camera Control is genuinely exciting, and as the designers say, it the first time Apple has implemented this kind of technology – that's a fact, not an opinion.

In our reviews of the iPhone 16 lineup, we found the Camera Control to be an "excellent addition to the iPhone", adding a lot of utility in an intuitive way.

Similarly, we found that Dinh's claims that the Camera Control was made with premium materials to be accurate, finding that the new button feels "super high-end, even on the affordable iPhone 16."

The Camera Control button isn't immune from the staggered – well, messy – rollout of the iPhone 16's full feature set. The most natural use for a button like this is a half-press focus and full-press shutter combo, but this isn't available yet.

We also found the button to be awkwardly placed for vertical photo and video capture.

However, connecting with the ergonomics of traditional cameras, and thereby encouraging landscape photographs, fits with Apple's more traditional stance on photography in the age of AI – Cupertino has sided firmly with the idea that photographs are images of what actually happened, rather than the more ambiguous "memory"-based approach adopted by Google.

Vertical video is an increasingly popular and important format, though, and as it is the Camera Control is inconvenient to use this way - and any ideas of tradition are somewhat undercut by upcoming AI cleanup tools, anyway.

Ultimately, the Camera Control is a great addition, and we're thrilled to see Apple bring such an inventive and useful feature to the entire iPhone lineup – but in typical Apple style, it's best used in a certain predetermined way.

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