Zoom has announced strong end of year financial results, showing the apparent continuing appeal of its video conferencing platform even in a period where many companies announced mass layoffs and huge cost-cutting measures.
The platform saw a 27% growth in customers, which CEO Eric Yuan puts largely down to its dedicated, and growing, enterprise customer base.
Enterprise revenue was up a staggering 24% and accounting for more than half of the company’s total revenue on its own, with Zoom now boasting an estimated 213,000 Enterprise customers.
Zoom end-of-year results
Total revenue for the fiscal year was up 7% year-over-year to the sum of $4.39 billion, with the final quarter accounting for almost exactly a quarter of that, at $1.12 billion (up 4% YoY).
“While the macroeconomic situation continues to negatively impact our overall growth, we have maintained a healthy balance sheet," Yuan said.
Zoom’s predictions for the future are slightly more modest than its recent successes, but it still measures a healthy growth with fiscal year 2024 revenue estimated to sit between $4.44 and $4.46 billion.
While Zoom has an aspirational outlook for the year ahead, it has not been immune from the struggle facing almost every technology firm in recent months as spending has slowed down. Just days after its fourth quarter ended, the company announced the redundancies of around 1,300 workers, or 15% of its headcount - one of the most significant layoffs proportionally with other companies tending to stick below 10%.
Zoom owes much of its success to the continuing trend of hybrid working, with companies being forced to spend on video calling suites to enable collaboration among workers. With no immediate sign of a mass return to office, the company looks to be in a fairly good spot for some time yet.
Samsung might be developing its own smart ring, a wearable that could monitor your health and fitness data in a similar way one of the best fitness trackers.
Like the Galaxy Buds, Galaxy S23, and Galaxy Watch 5, the new smart ring would likely use the brand’s typical naming convention and be called the Galaxy Ring. Not many details are known about it yet, but the trademark filing that revealed its existence described Galaxy Rings as “smart devices for measuring health indicators and/or sleep in the form of ring” (that's translated from Korean).
This description sounds a lot like existing smart rings such as the Oura ring. In our four-star Oura ring review, we commended its impressive array of health sensors, although it is fairly expensive compared to a typical smartwatch at $299 (about £230 / AU$420) – and that price tag can feel like an especially tough pill to swallow when you consider that smartwatches are more useful than rings thanks to their screens.
However, rings have their advantages too. For one, they tend to last longer on a single charge than a smartwatch, and they also tend to be more of a fashion item.
Do you want a Galaxy Watch or a Galaxy Ring?(Image credit: Future)
As much as I love the capabilities of my Fitbit, it’s not the nicest-looking wearable – especially not compared to my favorite analog watch. So whenever I have to dress smart, it’s not hard for me to find a reason to swap my fitness tracker out for a tech-less option.
However, while I’m unlikely to need fitness stats while wearing a suit – it’s hardly suitable attire for a 5km run or 99% of sports – both fitness trackers and watches are now packed with sensors that monitor a variety of health figures and other data, some of which can potentially save lives.
Electrocardiogram tech in wearables allows them to pick up if you have an irregular heart rhythm – an early sign of some serious health issues – and the Apple Watch 8 includes crash detection, which can automatically send an alert to emergency services if you’re in an accident.
With a smart ring, we can have the best of both worlds – we can wear a more conventional watch that suits our style, and still monitor our vital health data. Plus, if Samsung does enter the smart ring market we might see the tech come down in price, making rings an even more appealing option.
Trademark filings don’t guarantee that we’ll ever see the product in question – there’s a chance that Samsung is simply claiming the name before some other brand tries to make a Galaxy Ring of its own – but given the growing interest in fitness and health wearables, we wouldn’t be surprised if Samsung (along with other device makers) has a smart ring on the way.
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The Galaxy Ring could be Samsung's take on the health-tracking Oura Ring
Scientists are using human brain cells to create biocomputers that offer “unprecedented advances in computing speed, processing power, data efficiency and storage capabilities” over the current zeitgeist in computer processing, artificial intelligence (AI).
Per an article in academic journal Frontiers in Science (FiS), scientists note that this form of biocomputing, known as organoid intelligence (OI), is a natural progression because AI was inspired by our understanding of the human brain.
OI is driven by lab-grown cell-cultures known as brain organoids, three-dimensional clusters of brain cells, sharing structures, such as neurons and other cells that power our capacity for memory and to learn.
Organoid intelligence
This certainly sounds impressive, but, just like AI, OI has to break the skepticism barrier on its own. After all, isn’t the reason why we defer most of the tasks in our daily lives to computers precisely because they operate faster than we do?
Thomas Hartung, Professor at John Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health, thinks that trying to get computers to think like humans is less effective than simply making the human element central to a computer.
“Silicon-based computers are certainly better with numbers,” Hartung explained. “For example, AlphaGo [an AI that beat the world’s #1 Go player in 2017] was trained on data from 160,000 games. A person would have to play five hours a day for more than 175 years to experience that many games.”
“[But] we’re reaching the physical limits of silicon computers because we cannot pack more transistors into a tiny chip. The brain is wired completely differently. It has about 100bn neurons linked through over 1015 connection points. It’s an enormous power difference compared to our current technology.”
Hartung also claimed that brains are more energy efficient that the computers powering AI models. “For instance, the amount of energy spent training AlphaGo is more than is needed to sustain an active adult for a decade.”
OI is still in its infancy and has several shortcomings, not least that brain organoids currently contain about 50,000 cells when, to be practical, this needs to be scaled up to “10 million”, according to Hartung.
And just like with AI, there are ethical concerns, though the idea that actual human brains can develop consciousness is perhaps more pressing than the notion that a computer could.
Still, in December 2022, one of the FiS article’s co-authors, Dr. Brett Kagan, authored a study where a flat brain cell structure learned to play Pong, and the science community has bigger plans for the technology.
For instance, Hartung notes that “personalized brain organoids” can be cultured from adult skin cells, allowing scientists to study the effects of neurological conditions, such as Alzheimers, and test the effects of certain substances on learning and memory processing.
The challenge from here, he says, is building up a scientific community willing to investigate OI further.
AI having its day in the sun suggests that this is a realistic goal, but we have, in all likelihood, a long time - years, perhaps decades - to go before the technology is in any way usable or bearable within an enterprise setting. That’s never stopped us from reporting on cool, far-off future developments like DNA storage before, though.
The GSMA has announced the introduction of open network APIs that it hopes will help provide developers with universal access to telecom networks like never before.
Unveiled at MWC 2023 in Barcelona, Open Gateway has been described as a “paradigm shift in the way the telecoms industry designs and delivers services in an API economy world”.
The GSMA says Open Gateway is designed with developer-friendly tools and code in an effort to encourage developers to tap into the network APIs and deploy services both more quickly and easily.
GSMA Open Gateway
Open Gateway has initially launched with eight universal network APIs: SIM Swap; Quality on Demand; Device Status (Connected or Roaming); Number Verify; Edge Site Selection and Routing; Number Verification (SMS 2FA); Carrier Billing - Check Out; and Device Location (Verify Location). In the year ahead, the Open Gateway initiative plans to launch even more APIs to help connect developers to participating networks.
The work has been made possible thanks to the GSMA’s collaboration with the Linux Foundation, who together have created the CAMARA open-source project, which already has 21 of the most prominent network operators signed up
Among the initial signatories a Telstra, America Movil, AT&T, Axiata, Bharti Airtel, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, e& Group, KDDI, KT, Liberty Global, MTN, Orange, Singtel, Swisscom, STC, Telefónica, Telenor, TIM, Verizon, and Vodafone.
These are all networks that plan to facilitate the rollout of more connected technologies, including autonomous vehicles, drones, robotics, and extended reality. Use cases could extend beyond the typical consumer to other official bodies, too: the SIM Swap API is said to be pivotal to fighting financial crime, for example.
Developers looking to get on board with the GSMA Open Gateway can expect to hear more about early adopter programs over the next 12 months, including through events like Microsoft Ignite and Build, and AWS re:Invent.
"By applying the concept of interconnection for operators to the API economy developers can utilise technology once, for services such as identity, cybersecurity or billing, but with the potential to be integrated with every operator worldwide. This is a profound change in the way we design and deliver services," said Mats Granryd, Director General of GSMA.
We're all aware of the need to keep our computing devices secure, with a range of security solutions available for PCs and laptops - but what about our mobile devices?
Smartphones have made huge leaps forward in terms of power and capabilities over the past decade, becoming high-level computing devices in their own right, holding not just our apps, photos and games, but also becoming an entry point for work.
With many of us now embracing hybrid working, having a smartphone geared for work is a crucial tool, but they also need to be kept safe from cyber-threats - so here's some tips to keep your mobile devices safe and secure.
Keeping safe online
Sadly, some parts of the Internet aren’t really a safe place to visit, and this can be true when mobile browsing as well as being on a PC.
Dodgy websites can look to infect your device with malware or other malicious software, installing trackers or keyloggers, with phishing websites looking to scam their victims out of their hard-earned cash,
Fortunately, Bitdefender Total Security offers an anti-phishing system that scans webpages and warns you if you land on a fraudulent site. It also comes with the Bitdefender Web Protection tool, which filters all mobile traffic, not just your intentional browsing, to provide real-time protection against all online dangers.
Full scanning, all the time
Let’s face it - most of us spend a lot of time on our phones or other mobile devices, using them for a wide range of activities and functions.
This includes whatever apps and services you may have installed on your device - but how much do you really know about your apps? Bitdefender’s On-Demand & On-Install Scan function scans your Android phone or tablet to ensure all your apps are legitimate and safe, checking each app once you install it, and alerting you if there are any issues.
Bitdefender Total Security also protects your phone by using AI models to spot any unusual app activity, as well as intercepting threats before they hit, and flagging potential scam chats or messages, making sure you never fall victim to even the most devious threats.
Watch out for scams
Security scams are sadly a common part of online everyday life, with hackers and fraudsters looking to con victims in any way they can, With many of us checking emails or browsing the web on our mobile devices, it can be deceptively easy to accidentally click on the wrong link or web page, and end up on a scam site.
Fortunately, Bitdefender Total Security comes with built-in Scam Alert protection, blocking threats and websites it detects as harmful, making sure your handset remains safe.
And to make sure your internet usage remains protected from prying eyes, Bitdefender VPN encrypts all traffic on your device, offering up to 200 MB per day of encrypted traffic for Android and iOS devices.
Yours and yours only
If the worst does happen, and your mobile device is lost or stolen, then you can still rest assured that your data is safe from criminals.
Bitdefender Total Security’s Anti-Theft tool allows you to remotely locate, lock, wipe or send a message to your device in case of loss or theft. It will even allow your phone to snap a mugshot of anyone who tries to tamper with it, sending it to your Bitdefender Central account.
The platform’s App Lock tool is also able to protect your most treasured apps, securing them with a PIN code for that extra level of safety, meaning no one can change or alter your settings or private info. Finally, its Smart Unlock tool means you can set your phone to allow direct access to your protected apps only when using a trusted Wi-Fi network, keeping all your precious information safe.
For news on all the latest threats, you can also get real-time updates about malware outbreaks and scams on the Bitdefender Blog.
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Why securing your smartphone might be the best move you make
Leaks around the iPhone 15 are arriving thick and fast at the moment, with the latest imagery reveal focusing on the most expensive iPhone 15 Pro Max model – and there are a few changes from the current model to talk about.
These renderings are courtesy of well-known tipster Ice Universe, and we get a look at the iPhone 15 Pro Max from just about every angle possible. The images are apparently based on schematic information that Apple has given to its supply chain partners.
Intriguingly, the same leak refers to the "iPhone 15 Pro Max (or iPhone 15 Ultra)" – we had previously thought that the iPhone 15 Ultra might be a completely separate model, but the implication here is that it will be rebranded Pro Max.
Exclusive：iPhone 15 Pro Max（or iPhone 15 Ultra），Rendering based on CAD.Compared with 14ProMax,bezel is narrower，but thicker.Titanium alloy middle frame with frosted process, Type-C ，No physical button design. pic.twitter.com/d4fLOeqWSuFebruary 25, 2023
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Camera bumps
There's not a huge amount of change in the design from the iPhone 14 Pro Max, though the chassis is more curved than it has been before. The height and the width are said to be slightly less on the 2023 model, while the thickness has gone up a little. We're talking fractions of millimeters here though.
Those fractions apply to the rear camera bump as well, it would seem, with the bump on the iPhone 15 Pro Max set to be a touch shallower than on its predecessor. It seems the camera bump will be slightly different on all the iPhones this time around.
You can see these images are showing the expected switch from Lightning to USB-C for the data and charging port, and there are gaps for the power and volume buttons – perhaps because Apple is using solid-state haptic buttons this year.
Analysis: a leaky time for Apple
In the last few days alone we've seen plenty of information about the upcoming iPhone 15 range, something that we imagine Apple boss Tim Cook isn't all that happy about. We've seen unofficial renders for both the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Plus, for example.
On top of that, we've seen real life pictures of the new USB-C port, and rumors of a brand new dark red color that could be available as an iPhone 15 Pro special edition. And those are just the leaks from the last week or so.
That has to be a worry for a company that plays its cards as close to its chest as Apple does, and it feels as though we're seeing more leaks than normal this time around. These phones aren't expected to get a full unveiling for another seven months.
It shows how tricky it is to keep anything under wraps these days, especially when a host of partners and suppliers are involved too – leaks can come from any one of them, and it's difficult for Apple to keep control over every link in the iPhone chain.
Mobile World Congress (MWC) is back, promising a slew of big launches across the phones space including new handsets, new technologies and more.
It's the biggest mobile tech show of the year, when major players from all across the industry get together to show off products, make deals, and check out some of the innovations that will be making their way to consumer devices over the next 12 months.
In recent years, we've seen fewer smartphone launches at MWC – these now tend to be at separate events, including Samsung Unpacked – but there will still be a lot of news and announcements coming out of the event across several days.
We'll be on the ground at MWC as always, and will be bringing you all the big news as it happens. Ahead of the official start of the event, here are the most exciting launches to look out for.
When is MWC 2023?
MWC 2023 runs from Monday, February 27 to Thursday, March 2 – though expect most of the big announcements to happen towards the start of the week, rather than the end. It takes place in Barcelona, Spain, with a wide range of exhibitors in attendance, and plenty of conferences and meetings happening across the course of the event.
What to expect at MWC 2023
Just about everyone who's anyone in mobile tech is going to be in attendance at MWC 2023: even if companies aren't launching new products, they'll certainly be showing off existing ones (like the Oppo Find N2 Flip, for instance).
We've already had a few hints and rumors about what to expect at this year's Mobile World Congress, and these are some of the areas where we're anticipating that there will be plenty of news and new gadgets to pore over.
Phones, foldables, and rollables
Expect to see more of the OnePlus 11 Concept(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
As we've already mentioned, we don't get many phone unveilings at MWC these days – though there were a smattering of launches at MWC 2022. Launches we do know about are the OnePlus 11 Concept, an international expansion for Honor's folding Magic Vs phone (above), and global availability for the Xiaomi 13 (plus maybe one or two other Xiaomi surprises).
We'll also sure to get demos of the latest folding and rolling screen technology ready to be deployed in the phones of the future. Expect to see various screens and prototypes shown off at MWC 2023, with improvements in terms of resolution, clarity, and durability – particularly from the Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Honor.
It continues to get easier and cheaper to make folding phone screens, which means more models are on the way, and phone makers can get more creative when it comes to designs and form factors. As for screens that extend by rolling, we know that multiple manufacturers including Samsung are interested in this sort of tech.
AI, apps, and satellite tech
A robo-bartender at MWC 2022(Image credit: MWC)
It's difficult to get away from artificial intelligence at the moment – ChatGPT, anyone? – and this is undoubtedly going to spill over into MWC 2023. Expect to see plenty of AI demos running on smartphones, as we've already seen from Qualcomm's Stable Diffusion test in the Galaxy S23, and news about how much better handsets are going to get in this regard in the not-too-distant future.
Apple steers clear of Mobile World Congress now – though that wasn't always the case – but Google usually makes an appearance to promote Android and support its partners. We won't get any major Android news, but there might be one or two software updates or new apps mentioned; plenty of app makers and developers are going to be in attendance at MWC 2023.
Speaking of Apple, the satellite tech that it has added to the iPhone 14 will most probably see a response from the mobile companies who are at MWC this year. Satellite connectivity and satellite messaging are likely to be on the agenda, giving us an idea of how we might be communicating without cell signal or Wi-Fi on the phones of the future.
6G and networking
5G is so 2022(Image credit: MWC)
There's a lot that goes on at Mobile World Congress that isn't terribly exciting to humble consumers – supply chain deals, infrastructure upgrades and so on – but what this means at our end is hopefully cheaper tech and faster speeds. We haven't heard much about 6G just yet, but that might be about to change at MWC 2023.
You might be thinking that the 5G speeds that you're getting on your phone – if you're getting them at all – aren't good enough yet for us to even think about 6G right now, but this is part of what MWC 2023 is about: previewing future tech. We wouldn't be surprised if we hear news of some 6G testing and theoretical upload and download rates.
Don't panic, 5G fans, because there'll be plenty in the way of news and updates about the existing technology too, whether that's in terms of expanding coverage, better connection speeds for phones, or cheaper internal components that can maintain a high-speed link without using up quite so much battery life.
VR and the metaverse
VR companies will be out in force at MWC(Image credit: MWC)
Virtual reality headsets count as mobile tech, and you'll notice that MWC tech roundups are often accompanied by shots of people wearing weird and wonderful boxes on their heads. Just about all of the big names in VR and AR are going to be at MWC, even though there might not be many major new product unveilings.
Mobile World Congress is often a time for smaller tech companies to shine, and that could well be the case when it comes to realities virtual, augmented, and mixed. Look out for innovative new gadgets from manufacturers that aren't so well known, as well as improvements in the underlying hardware technologies.
There are plenty of metaverse-related talks and discussions happening at MWC 2023 – so even if consumers aren't completely sold on the idea at the moment, those who work in the mobile industry are still keen to push it. As always, we'll pick out the news that's actually newsworthy to share with you.
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MWC 2023: foldable phones, chatbots, 6G and everything to expect
The CEO of chip giant AMD has said that the high-performance computing (HPC) industry needs to start becoming significantly more efficient, or it will need to turn to nuclear energy.
AMD CPU and GPU performance typically double every 2.4 years which is good progress by any means, but power efficiency has not seen such considerable improvements.
Speaking at International Solid-State Circuits Conference, Dr Lisa Su noted that with zettaflop HPCs on the horizon, we should turn our attention to performance per unit of energy in order to make zettaflop computation a reality.
Going nuclear
According to current trends and assuming that progress doesn’t slow down, AMD reckons that zettaflop computation could be here in about a decade (although Intel reckons it could be here in about half that time).
The reality is that when they arrive isn’t as important as when they will become available on a usable, energy-efficient scale.
Currently, Su generously estimates that an HPC capable of performance measurable in zettaflops would use 500MW of power, or the equivalent of several thousand homes. To provide such power, consistently and reliably, it’s likely that a nuclear reactor would be required.
While there have been noticeable improvements to efficiency in previous decades, progress is beginning to slow as the room for further improvements diminishes.
“This flattening of efficiency becomes the largest challenge that we have to solve, both from a technology standpoint as well as from a sustainability standpoint,” said Su.
She explained that compute efficiency should become the number one priority in order to solve the problem. While our existing means have slowed down, Su explained that there could be other solutions including employing artificial intelligence and machine learning to high-performance computing.
While there could be a nominal sacrifice to accuracy, working on improving this could be the way forward. Whichever combination of methods AMD and other companies ultimately use to deliver performance improvements, it’s clear that the journey between the first zettaflop-capable HPC and real-world use is likely to be a long one.
Nokia owner HMD Global has lifted the lid on not one, not two, but three new smartphones ahead of MWC Barcelona 2023 – and one of them is so easy to repair that you may never have to step foot inside an electronics store again.
Manufactured in collaboration with global repair community iFixit, the Nokia G22 is designed to be easily repairable by anyone, anywhere, with just a handful of cheap tools.
The phone’s battery, screen, charging port and back cover can all be popped off and replaced in a matter of minutes, which HMD Global says should allow owners to keep using the G22 for years after its three-year warranty has expired.
We tried our own at-home repairs on a Nokia G22 sample sent to us in advance of the phone’s announcement, and it really is a pretty simple process. All you’ll need is a G22 Fit Kit – which HMD Global says will be available to purchase from iFixit.com for as little as £5 (around $6 / AU$9) – as well as whatever replacement parts your phone requires (which will also be stocked by iFixit.com).
Image 1 of 2
The Nokia G22 has a 50MP main rear camera with AI imaging algorithms(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
Image 2 of 2
The Nokia G22 has a 6.5-inch, 90Hz HD+ display(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
The G22 itself will retail for £149.99 (around $180 / AU$260) – which could make it one of the best cheap phones to launch in 2023 – and begin shipping in the UK from March 8. In addition to its repairability credentials, the phone will arrive packing a 6.5-inch, 90Hz HD+ display, a Unisoc T606a processor, a 50 MP main rear camera, a 5,050mAh battery and IP52 water and dust resistance.
It’ll be available in two storage configurations – 64GB and 128GB, both with 4GB RAM – and the G22 will also run Android 12 to begin with, HMD Global says.
Clearly, those specs suggest the Nokia G22 isn’t going to challenge the best iPhones and best Samsung phones to the title of best smartphone in 2023, but HMD Global is here targeting consumers who aren’t interested in spending four figures on their mobile devices (hence the company’s focus on repairability and longevity).
“People value long-lasting, quality devices and they shouldn’t have to compromise on price to get it. The new Nokia G22 is purposefully built with a repairable design so you can keep it even longer,” HMD Global’s Head of Product Marketing, Adam Ferguson, said in a presentation given to TechRadar.
Good things come in threes
(Image credit: HMD Global)
Nokia has also unveiled two new entries in its popular C-Series line, the Nokia C22 and Nokia C32, ahead of MWC 2023.
Boasting all the durability bells and whistles of the brand’s existing C-Series smartphones, the C22 will be available in two storage configurations – 64GB with either 2GB RAM or 3GB RAM – and offer a whopping three-day battery life.
The phone will retail for £109.99 (around $130 / AU$195) and begin shipping in Spring (which is between March and June, for our Australian readers).
The C32, on the other hand, will arrive sporting Android 13 and a 50MP main rear camera (where the C22 has to make do with a 13MP main lens), and retail for the slightly more expensive price of £129.99 (around $155 / $230). Both phones will share the 6.5-inch, HD+ display of the aforementioned Nokia G22.
We’ll be sharing our thoughts on all three phones once we’ve spent some more time with each of them in the near future. In the meantime, stay tuned to TechRadar for all the latest news and announcements to emerge from this year's MWC trade show.
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Unofficial iPhone 15 Plus renders reveal the phone's revamped design
You don't have to wait long for an iPhone 15 leak or rumor at the moment – they're spilling out pretty much every day – and we've now got some unofficial renders showing off the revamped design of the iPhone 15 Plus model.
These renders are based on schematic information given to third-party supply chain partners and obtained by 9to5Mac, which we'd say is one of the more trustworthy sources out there when it comes to Apple information.
In terms of the changes coming to the phone's design, we've got the more rounded edges to the screen and chassis that have been mentioned in earlier rumors. There's also a USB-C port rather than Lightning, another switch that's expected this year.
How the iPhone 15 Plus might look(Image credit: 9to5Mac)
To the millimeter
There's a thicker camera bump this time around, and it appears that the Dynamic Island is coming to the iPhone 15 Plus (and the iPhone 15) – so it's no longer going to be exclusive to the Pro models. We've heard this before, too.
Compared to the dimensions of 160.84 mm x 78.07 mm x 7.79 mm for the iPhone 14 Plus, the iPhone 15 Plus measures 160.87 mm x 77.76 mm x 7.81 mm according to this source. There's really not that much in it, just fractions of millimeters.
Demand has reportedly been weak for the iPhone 14 Plus – and it was of course brought in to replace the mini model that also sold rather poorly – so Apple will be hoping that the 2023 version attracts a few more buyers.
Analysis: some subtle changes
As we've seen from previously leaked unofficial renders of the iPhone 15 Pro from the same source, Apple isn't completely throwing out the iPhone design and starting again from scratch this time around. The design changes will be small and subtle.
When you've got a design that's as iconic and as well-established as the iPhone one, it's going to be difficult to come up with genuinely new innovations and changes – although the introduction of the notch with the iPhone X in 2017 was rather inspired.
Most of the best work we're seeing in phone design at the moment is coming from foldable phones, and Apple's entry into the market is still thought to be some way off. In fact the device we end up getting might be more of a folding iPad than a folding iPhone.
As for the iPhone 15 series, the most significant switch this year could well be the adoption of that USB-C port, as dictated by EU regulators. However, there has been talk that there might be restrictions on what you can actually hook up to it.
If you're already a Wordle addict then Quordle could be your next must-play game. This spin-off takes the familiar Wordle format and makes it harder by giving you four puzzles to solve simultaneously.
As you might imagine, it's hard! So if you already find yourself searching for Wordle clues, you'll probably need some for Quordle too.
I'm a Quordle and Wordle addict who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #397 and bookmark this page so you can easily return tomorrow.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Quordle today (game #397) - hint #1 - Vowels
How many different vowels are in Quordle today?
• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Quordle today (game #397) - hint #2 - total vowels
What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?
• The total number of vowels across today's Quordle answers is 8.
Quordle today (game #397) - hint #3 - repeated letters
Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?
• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.
Quordle today (game #397) - hint #4 - total letters
How many different letters are used in Quordle today?
• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 11.
Quordle today (game #397) - hint #5 - uncommon letters
Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?
• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.
What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?
• C
• O
• C
• C
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #397) - the answers
(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)
The answers to today's Quordle, game #397, are…
CONIC
OMEGA
CADET
CANNY
Today's Quordle was a tricky one, despite the fact that - for the second day in a row - three answers started with a C. That's because a couple of those words (CONIC and CANNY) were also somewhat obscure and contained repeated letters, while another answer, OMEGA, is just a difficult word all round. I managed to solve it with one guess, but for a while it was very much in the balance.
Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar.
As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.
The website also includes a practice mode - which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! - and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements - specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.
Oh, and it's difficult. Really difficult.
What are the Quordle rules?
The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.
1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.
2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.
3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…
4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two.
5. Answers are never plural.
6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.
7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.
8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle's Hard mode.
9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.
10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.
What is a good Quordle strategy?
Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can't blindly throw letters at it and expect to win - you'll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.
That's the case in Wordle too, of course, but it's even more important in Quordle.
There are two key things to remember.
1. Use several starting words
Firstly, you won't want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words.
The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.
For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options - you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe - but something like that should do the trick.
If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!
2. Narrow things down
Secondly, if you're faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options - for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH - you'll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options.
In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It's risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it's the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure - you simply don't have enough guesses.
In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.
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Pirated copies of a popular video editing software tool for Mac devices have been found distributing malware on torrent sites.
Researchers from Jamf Threat Labs stumbled upon an instance of XMRig - a popular cryptocurrency miner that’s often used in cryptojacking attacks, disguised as Apple’s Final Cut Pro offering.
Cryptojacking is essentially device hijacking, where a threat actor installs a miner and sends all of the generated tokens to an address they own. It’s called hijacking because when a miner is running, it usually takes up all of the device’s computing power, rendering it useless for pretty much anything else.
Hiding from antiviruses
Deeper analysis by Jamf determined that it was a pirated version of Final Cut Pro, modified to run XMRig in the background.
While XMRig is usually picked up by antivirus programs, this variant somehow remained under the radar. At the time of their report, the researchers said, VirusTotal was still not recognizing the pirated Final Cut Pro version as malicious.
The program was being distributed through Pirate Bay, the researchers added, as Pirate Bay is one of the world’s most popular torrent sites, and the user that uploaded it is a “well-known uploader”.
Commenting on the discovery, Apple told 9To5Mac: “We continue to update XProtect to block this malware, including the specific variants cited in JAMF’s research. Additionally, this malware family does not bypass Gatekeeper protections. The Mac App Store provides the safest place to get software for the Mac. For software downloaded outside the Mac App Store, Apple uses industry-leading technical mechanisms, such as the Apple notary service and XProtect, to protect users by detecting malware and blocking it so it can’t run.”
As usual, the best way to protect against these threats is to only download legal software, from legitimate sources. Torrents, cracks and keygens, and other illegal software found online are filled with viruses and malware. To keep the endpoints protected, one can also install an antivirus program, a firewall, and set up multi-factor authentication whenever possible.
Marvel Studios has reportedly cast Invincible's lead voice actor Steven Yeun in its forthcoming Thunderbolts movie.
According to Deadline, the Oscar-nominated star has joined the Marvel Phase 5 movie in an undisclosed role. However, the outlet suggests that Yeun has not only been cast as a major player in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film, but that he'll feature prominently in other upcoming Marvel projects.
Yeun's star has been on the rise in Hollywood in recent years. Since leaving The Walking Dead in 2016, Yeun has featured in plenty of popular movies and TV shows. Those include Invincible – he'll voice Mark Grayson again in Invincible season 2 later this year – on Prime Video, Jordan Peel's Nope, and A24 drama Minari, for which he earned a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination in 2021.
Marvel declined to comment when Deadline reached out regarding Yeun's supposed casting. Given Deadline's track record for breaking news about MCU hires, though, it's all but confirmed that Yeun is the latest big-name star to join Marvel's cinematic juggernaut.
Steven Yeun is one of Hollywood's most in-demand actors right now(Image credit: Universal Pictures)
Yeun's casting in Thunderbolts will add to a busy 18-month period for him. Aside from Invincible season 2, Yeun is set to star in Netflix comedy-drama series Beef, which arrives in March. Looking further ahead, he'll also feature in Bong-Joon Ho's latest feature, Mickey 17, opposite The Batman's Robert Pattinson, due out sometime in 2024.
Yeun joins a stacked cast list for Marvel's Thunderbolts movie. Billed as an anti-hero film in the vein of Warner Bros' The Suicide Squad, Thunderbolts already counts Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier (Sebastien Stan), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) among its packed lineup. Harrison Ford is also on board, with the legendary actor set to take over from the late William Hurt as General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross in the MCU.
The superhero movie, which is currently slated to release in July 2024, is being helmed by Paper Towns' Jake Schreier. Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow) is penning the script, with filming reportedly due to get underway in mid-2023.
From playing one Invincible superhero to another
Yeun could portray a different kind of superhero in Thunderbolts(Image credit: Amazon Prime Video)
With no official confirmation on who he'll play in the MCU, Yeun could portray any number of fan-favorite characters from the comics. However, Marvel fans already think they've cracked the case, with many suggesting he'll play the true villain of the piece.
Potentially major spoilers follow for Thunderbolts. Turn back now unless you want the surprise ruined for you.
EXCLU: After facing off with aliens in NOPE and zombies in THE WALKING DEAD, Steven Yeun is now ready to face off against some superheroes in the MCU as he has joined Marvel's THUNDERBOLTS pic in a secret role expected to be significant in future films https://t.co/6XjI6vHtPjFebruary 23, 2023
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According to multiple industry insiders, Sentry – real name Robert Reynolds – has secretly been installed as the movie's primary antagonist.
In the comics, Reynolds is a middle-aged, overweight man who, after suffering a bout of amnesia, remembers that he's actually an extremely powerful superhero named Sentry. When he realizes that his archenemy – The Void – is about to return to take over the world, Sentry tries to enlist the aid of his fellow Marvel superheroes. The likes of Spider-Man, Hulk, and Mister Fantastic, though, fail to recognize him.
Long story short, Sentry and The Void are two halves of the same person, i.e., they both exist in Reynolds' head. To stop The Void last time, Sentry erased his memory (and those of everyone else on Earth) to prevent its return. Think of what happened in the third act of Spider-Man: No Way Home, where everyone forgot that Peter Parker was the webslinger, and you'll get the idea.
Sentry's inclusion in Thunderbolts would make for fascinating viewing. Given that he's both a superhero and a supervillain, Sentry could start the movie working alongside the film's anti-heroes. He's an incredibly powerful individual, so he might be used by the US government as a way of keeping the rest of the team in check on whatever mission they're sent on.
However, in what would be a clever twist, Sentry could become the movie's main villain. If The Void takes over Reynolds' mind – thus pushing Sentry to the sidelines – it would be up to Bucky and company to try and stop him. Pitting a collection of complicated characters against a hugely formidable foe, thereby forcing them to learn to work together to save the world, would be a fun and somewhat novel heel-turn for an MCU project. And, given that Deadline claims Yeun's MCU character will appear in future productions, it means he should survive events depicted in Thunderbolts, making it a rare occurrence where Marvel doesn't kill off its villain after a single appearance.
Casting Yeun as Reynolds/Sentry/The Void would also give the talented actor plenty to sink his teeth into. Seeing Yeun play a complex, insecure superhero who's mentally pulled in multiple directions, allowing him to show off his impressive acting range? Sign us up, Marvel.
The launch of the PS6 is highly anticipated, despite it only being three years since the launch of the PS5, but just like most consoles, it's likely that Sony is looking ahead to the successor already.
Although we're unlikely to see another new, mainline PlayStation console for a few years yet, but that doesn't mean we can't fantasize about what we would like to see from the next PlayStation - or predict when we're likely to get our hands on it. After all, we know that Sony is already thinking about the future, having trademarked the PS6, PS7, PS8, PS9 and PS10 names.
In the meantime, it feels much more likely that we'll see Sony releasing a PS5 Slim or PS5 Pro, though when that'll be is currently anyone's guess. That is, assuming the last generation's anything to go by, where the PS4 saw a PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro variants releasing several years after the base console. Mid-generation hardware revisions are pretty common these days, after all.
PS6
So, while we're still enjoying the PS5 and the best PS5 games, we've gathered up everything we want to see from the PS6 and when we expect to get our hands on the next PlayStation.
PS6 release date: when do we expect it to launch?
(Image credit: Sony)
The PS6 is likely to be a long way off. The PS5 only released in November 2020, so it's unlikely Sony will consider releasing a brand new PlayStation for several years. Typically PlayStation consoles launch around six or seven years apart, with the PS4 arriving in 2013 and the PS5 following up in 2020.
In an interview with Game Informer, Sony's Executive VP of Hardware Engineering Masayasu Ito confirmed that the PS5 life cycle is expected to last about six or seven years, meaning we won't see the PS6 until at least 2026.
"Indeed, in the past, the cycle for a new platform was seven to 10 years, but in view of the very rapid development and evolution of technology, it's really a six to seven-year platform cycle," Masayasu said.
"Then we cannot fully catch up with the rapid development of the technology, therefore our thinking is that as far as a platform is concerned for the PS5, it’s a cycle of maybe six to seven years. But doing that, a platform lifecycle, we should be able to change the hardware itself and try to incorporate advancements in technology. That was the thinking behind it, and the test case of that thinking was the PS4 Pro that launched in the midway of the PS4 launch cycle."
It looks like Sony is following a similar roadmap to the PS4, meaning we're likely to see a PS5 Pro or PS5 Slim release sometime in the middle of this lifecycle: around 2023 or 2024.
PS6: what we want to see
(Image credit: Sony)
A smaller console
The PS5 is a mammoth console. In fact, it's the biggest console in modern history. But bigger doesn't always mean better, and the PS5's size makes it impractical for those who don't have the shelving unit to house it - and, let's be honest, not many of us do.
With the PS6 (and perhaps even with a PS5 Slim Edition), we're hoping that Sony can learn from its mistakes, making the next-gen console smaller and more streamlined, while allowing for adequate airflow.
More affordable expandable internal storage
It will be possible to expand the PS5's internal storage by popping off the side panel and installing an SSD, once Sony drops a software update to enable it - but it's not that simple. The PS5 only accepts compatible NVMe SSDs, which match or excel past the existing drive specifications, and they don't come cheap.
These types of SSDs are typically pretty pricey, meaning that players may opt for external storage instead - but unfortunately, these externals storage options don't harness the raw power of the PS5. With the PS6, we hope that Sony will make expanding internal storage easier - perhaps taking an approach similar to the Xbox Series X's expandable storage card.
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Built-in Bluetooth Audio Support - so we don't need a dongle for the official headset
It is baffling that, in the year 2020, a brand-new games console launched and it requires you to plug-in a USB dongle receiver to use its own-brand wireless headphones. Like, what the actual hell Sony. Talk about an aesthetic assault on our eyes and under-TV storage area. Just build the freaking support into the PS6 will you. Good grief.
Wireless charging for controllers/headset - can just be placed on top when off
Sure, the Sony charging dock for the PS5 DualSense controllers works pretty well and the controllers slide nicely against the charging pins - but we don't want yet another piece of hardware by our TV. Sony should take a leaf out of the smartphone industry's book and build in a wireless charging pad to the top of the PS6. That will allow you to place a controller on the top of the console, when you're not gaming, to charge - and you could even expand the wireless charging tech to headphones, a media remote and any other peripherals.
Wire-free (and zero-latency) connection to the TV
There are far too many wires behind our media stations - and the PlayStation 5 is a guilty party. We've got the power and HDMI, plus a completely separate plug block for the controller charging base. Add in the HD camera, and the additional cable for PSVR 2 when that launches and things are a mess. With the PS6, we want a single power lead and everything else to be wireless - obviously with zero lag and latency.
Improve the UI The updated PS5 UI definitely screams "next-gen", but it also has some flaws that we would like to see ironed out with the PS6. The PlayStation Store is a pain to navigate, especially when it comes to finding sales, trying to find your friends and organize a party isn't as straightforward as it was with the PS4 and - to top it all off - even trying to find the 'off' button takes longer than it should. While the PS4 UI absolutely needed an update, we found it more accessible to use. With the PS6, we hope to see Sony settle on a middle ground that is both futuristic and accessible.
Microsoft Outlook users, including those with a Hotmail email address, who use the Gmail mobile app experienced a brief outage when Google and Outlook’s servers stopped talking to each other.
Affected users stopped receiving new emails on February 22, either experiencing an error page or seeing old emails that weren’t up-to-date with their real-time inbox.
In the meantime, Outlook continued to work on other apps and its browser portal, however users without the error message may not have realized that their inbox had stopped syncing.
Outlook outage in Gmail app
While Outlook has its own app, Gmail remains a popular mobile client for Android users because it comes pre-installed and can support multiple accounts, including non-Google email providers. It’s also a firm favorite for many Gmail account holders on other mobile platforms, like iOS, for its versatility and intuitive design.
Google’s status page first announced that its team was investigating reports of “Gmail sync issue with Microsoft servers when using IMAP.”
A description of the issue reads: “Customers accessing Outlook or Hotmail email accounts on Gmail application across all device platforms are unable to sync new messages.”
Several updates later, the company announced that it had teamed up with Microsoft’s engineers to resolve the issue, which apparently delivered results, because fewer than 12 hours later the issue was reported fixed.
It’s unclear what caused the issue, but the patch was implemented in the background because as of today there have been no updates to the Gmail app on Android devices for two weeks. An update to the app on iOS was released yesterday, however it’s likely not connected to the outage that was largely a server mishap.
Stranger Things star David Harbour believes it's time for the wildly popular Netflix show to end – and I wholeheartedly agree.
Speaking to Discussing Film, Harbour said it was bittersweet that one of the best Netflix shows will end after ifs fifth and final season. However, the award-winning actor suggested it was for the best, and would allow the Duffer brothers – Stranger Things' creators – and the main cast to work on other projects.
As someone who's watched Stranger Things since its premiere, it'll be as bittersweet for me when the credits roll on Stranger Things season 5's final episode. That'll officially bring down the curtain on one of Netflix's biggest hits and I, like every other fan of the series, will wonder what we'll watch in a post-Stranger Things world.
Harbour is right, though, in his belief that Stranger Things should finish after five seasons; at least where the main show is concerned. The Duffer brothers and Netflix are already collaborating on new projects in the Stranger Things franchise, including a stage play and other spin-offs.
It'll be time to wave goodbye to Eleven and company soon(Image credit: Netflix)
But I digress. The finish line is in sight for Stranger Things' main TV series, and that's a good thing.
How so? Every show has its own lifecycle. Some work best with a three-season arc – a trilogy, if you will, which is an increasingly common production formula in the movie and TV industries. Others find success as a limited series, such as other Netflix hits like The Queen's Gambit and Unbelievable. Then there are TV series, such as Grace and Frankie or Better Call Saul, that require five-plus seasons to wrap up their stories, and do so in highly entertaining fashion.
There are some shows, though, that simply outstay their welcome. The Walking Dead (11 seasons), How I Met Your Mother (nine seasons), Scrubs (nine seasons), and – whisper it quietly – even The Simpsons (34 seasons and counting) should have ended far earlier. They and countless others ran out of narrative steam before they were put out of their misery (in The Simpsons' case, the end is yet to come), allowing hugely successful shows to become shadows of their former selves.
With Stranger Things 5 set to be the final installment in the main show, it won't fall into the same trap (unless season 5 absolutely sucks, that is). As long as the Duffer brothers wrap up the overarching story, and each character's arc, in satisfying ways, Stranger Things will end on a high note rather than a low one.
What does the future hold for Stranger Things' cast?(Image credit: Tina Rowden/Netflix)
As Harbour suggests, the end of Stranger Things will enable its cast and crew to fly the nest and showcase their obvious talents on other projects.
True, Stranger Things hasn't prevented the cast from pursuing other roles. Millie Bobby Brown has starred in two Enola Holmes films for Netflix, Sadie Sink recently wowed audiences alongside Brendan Fraser in The Whale, and Harbour himself has become a Marvel star (he appeared in Black Widow, and will reprise his role as Red Guardian in Thunderbolts in 2024) and has been the lead in other movies, such as Violent Night and 2018's failed Hellboy reboot.
However, it's clear that the cast's contractual obligations to Stranger Things are holding them back from branching out. As Harbour told Discussing Film, he was concerned that he might not be able to feature in Thunderbolts, as its rumored filming schedule clashes with that of Stranger Things 5. Shawn Levy, an executive producer-director on the Netflix show, almost missed the chance to direct a Marvel Phase 5 film – Deadpool 3 – for a similar reason.
Thankfully for the pair, Marvel and Netflix have come to an agreement that enables them to work on their forthcoming projects simultaneously. Levy and Harbour (and other cast and crew members), though, won't have to worry about such issues once Stranger Things season 5 has wrapped production.
But what of Netflix? The world's best streaming service will lose one of its most popular shows when Stranger Things' main series ends. Isn't it in its best interest to keep the franchise going?
Well, yes – and, as I mentioned earlier, there are plenty of spin-off projects in development. The conclusion of Stranger Things, though, will allow Netflix to focus on other breakout hits, such as Wednesday and Squid Game, and pump funds from Stranger Things' production into new series that it will hope can assume that show's mantle as the top dogs of its TV catalog.
It'll be a sad day when Stranger Things' main show finishes, but Harbour is right: it's time for the supernatural sci-fi series to draw to a close – and I know that its creators, cast, and crew will give it the best possible send-off.
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