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Marvel Rivals Mutants include some of the most iconic Heroes ever to grace the pages of the most illustrious comic book runs. It's fair to say that if you're a Marvel fan like me, you absolutely have a soft spot for the X-Men and regularly choose a Mutant Hero when loading into a match of Marvel Rivals.

If you're new to Marvel comics lore, you may not be able to identify the Mutant Heroes in the now nearly 40-strong roster available in Marvel Rivals. You'll need to do so for some of the latest challenges, including one that tasks you to "deal 10K damage as any Mutant". If you'd like to unlock one of the best free skins in Marvel Rivals Season 2, then look no further, as I've put together a list of every Mutant Hero in the game.

Even if you're not set on completing Mutant-related challenges, it's worth knowing which Heroes are labelled as such, as they're some of the best Heroes you can use in the game, like Emma Frost, a new Vanguard that's currently leading the Competitive Mode meta.

Here's the Marvel Rivals Mutant list, so that you can identify which heroes get their extraordinary abilities from the X-Gene, making it easier to complete new challenges and limited-time event modes.

Marvel Rivals Mutant list

There are currently seven Mutant Heroes available in Marvel Rivals, counting only the playable ones:

• Emma Frost (Vanguard)
• Magik (Duelist)
• Magneto (Vanguard)
• Namor (Duelist)
• Psylocke (Duelist)
• Storm (Duelist)
• Wolverine (Duelist)

Now, let's take a look at each Mutant in Marvel Rivals, so that you can understand which ones to use to suit certain play styles.

Emma Frost

(Image credit: NetEase)

Emma Frost is the newest Hero to be added to Marvel Rivals. She's a Vanguard that is able to dish out heaps of damage while tanking incoming fire with a diamond shield. The more damage you deal with primary fire, the higher its charge gets. At 100 charge, it's absolutely lethal, so make sure to keep that number as high as possible at all times.

In terms of how to play Emma Frost efficiently, focus on charging your primary and recalling your shield before it breaks. Diamond Form opens up the chokeslam, which can pull certain Heroes out of their Ults. Pair this with a sweeping kick (extra damage for knocking enemies against walls) for one heck of a combo.

Magneto

(Image credit: NetEase)

Magneto is one of the most powerful Mutants in Marvel Rivals and is a great pick to use alongside Emma Frost. He's able to apply shields to teammates, tank damage with his own, and even push enemies back with a blast of metallic energy. He's great for protecting Strategists who are getting dived, and for shielding teammates as they make an offensive push. His Ultimate absorbs projectiles, so it can be used to completely negate an Iron-Man Ult.

If you're going to run Magneto in Competitive Mode, get used to charging up his alternate fire and shielding teammates. Generally, I recommend using your shields on others unless you absolutely need to use them on yourself. If there's an Emma Frost on your team, use the Team Up to create a clone, and then shield a teammate. Your clone will then shield you, which is incredibly useful against high DPS compositions.

Magik

(Image credit: NetEase)

Magik is still one of the trickiest Duelists to master in Marvel Rivals, but well worth putting the time into. She's primarily used to dive backline enemies, using abilities to stack bonus health and dart around the field. Her Ultimate can take a bit of getting used to, but by spamming the whirlwind slash attack, you'll deal out massive damage across a wide area of effect.

Head to the practice range with Magik and get some time in trying out her abilities. They can be strung together in interesting ways, allowing you to move around while dealing out damage. This makes Magik very difficult to hit, and if you're good at playing her, you'll dominate lower-ranked lobbies.

Namor

(Image credit: NetEase)

Namor is our next Mutant, and he's gotten a big change as part of Season 2. His Luna Snow Team Up is no more, and he's instead paired with Hulk and Iron Man. This means his squids get a gamma boost rather than an ice one, and to be honest, it's not quite as good. Still, Namor is absolutely essential if the other team is running a heavy dive composition, and if there's a Spider-Man on the other team, Namor makes him completely useless.

If you're planning on playing as Namor, get used to placing his squids in hard-to-reach places, with good lines of sight. Enemies at higher ranks will know how to destroy them, so take other players by surprise by hiding them around corners, sticking them to the ceiling, and under the point. If there's a Groot on your team, consider coordinating their Ultimate with yours, as you'll take out multiple opponents with one blast if they're all crowded together.

Psylocke

(Image credit: NetEase)

Next up is Psylocke, who is currently one of the strongest Duelists in Marvel Rivals Season 2. Thanks to Emma Frost, she can now use a Team Up ability to create a clone of herself that mirrors attacks. This adds even more damage potential to Psylocke's combos, and is great for escaping after getting a kill.

Psylocke is considered an assassin-like character, so you'll want to be picking out individual targets, moving in for a kill, then using invisibility to escape. Health Packs are going to be essential, so make sure you know roughly where they are at all times. One tip for making the most out of Psylocke's Ultimate is to only target two enemies at a time, three if they're all low HP Heroes. Damage is spread between them, so aim to get full kills rather than merely damaging half the team.

Storm

(Image credit: NetEase)

Storm was one of the top Duelists in the early seasons of Marvel Rivals. She still packs a punch, but has been overtaken by Human Torch in the current meta. Regardless, she's a great addition to any team thanks to her ability to buff damage and movement speed in a set area around her. Pair this with characters like Black Widow and Hela, and you've got a recipe for serious damage.

One tip I have for Storm is to make sure you're familiar with her buff abilities. One is for movement speed, and is good to get teammates back to the fight quickly, while the other is a damage boost. Pair her Ult with Human Torch's to create huge fire tornadoes, melting even the most robust of tanks.

Wolverine

(Image credit: NetEase)

Finally, we have Wolverine, perhaps the most popular of the X-Men characters in the comics. In Marvel Rivals, he's a top pick for Competitive Mode, but is quite tricky to get right. His main job is as a Vanguard killer, as his damage output is based on a percentage of the target's overall health. His leap ability is great for kidnapping tanks, pulling them towards your team and away from the enemy healers.

The main tip for Wolverine is to crank up your sensitivity, especially on a controller. You'll need to be able to whip the camera round towards your team quickly, before launching your Feral Leap. Dashing into an enemy makes the leap easier to land, and activating Undying Animal before engaging means you'll take less damage.

Marvel Rivals Mutant FAQs

(Image credit: NetEase) Is Scarlet Witch a Mutant in Marvel Rivals?

Marvel Rivals does not consider Scarlet Witch to be a Mutant. This means she won't count for related challenges. In the comics, she's sometimes considered a Mutant, as a child of Magneto, while in the majority of stories, she is a kind of engineered creation that's not actually related to Magneto, and therefore doesn't carry the X-Gene. In Marvel Rivals, she's very much a Witch-first, hence her team-up with Doctor Strange.

Are there X-Men skins in Marvel Rivals?

In Marvel Rivals Season 2, there are two X-Men suits to earn in the Battle Pass. These are for Magik and Psylocke, and feature the classic yellow and blue stylings. Elsewhere, there's the classic yellow Wolverine skin from Deadpool and Wolverine, which you'll need to buy from the store.

A cheaper option is Magneto's Master of Magnetism, which, while not an X-Men skin, is his classic comic book look that most players will recognize as his most iconic look.

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• Real-time 8K 120fps gaming was shown from an AMD-powered gaming PC
• Horizon Forbidden West was the demo game
• The Samsung TV was a customized unit

Here's some exciting news that comes with an odd caveat that will maybe temper your excitement: a (seemingly) world-first demo was shown of 8K 120fps real-time gaming on a Samsung 8K TV over HDMI.

That's impressive, but there are some odd questions about it, because even though all the tech involved appears to be available imminently in consumer products, the 8K Association said that the TV was custom modified (via FlatpanelsHD).

The game itself was playing on a beefy AMD gaming PC – don't expect this performance on a PS5 Pro – and was rendered at 5K and upscaled to 8K.

HDMI 2.2 will double the available bandwidth for more demanding video such as 8K gaming, but this demo required DSC compression. (Image credit: HDMI Forum) What did Samsung just show off?

So, the real 'world-first' element here appears to be the demo of 8K 120fps gaming over HDMI. HDMI 2.1 can't actually handle the full bandwidth of 8K at 120Hz, so a tech called DSC is used to compress the video – in the future, HDMI 2.2 should overcome this.

In the meantime, however, it's necessary. And you might assume that this tech is what needed to be customized in the TV, since it hasn't generally been a feature of the best 8K TVs in the past – but actually the latest Samsung TVs, such as the Samsung QN900F, are rated to support DSC already. So it's unclear why the TV needed to be modified, leaving a bit of a question mark over the demo.

The Samsung TV was connected to a Maingear PC with an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU (the same as the one in our new 8K gaming PC) and an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU, with the 5K picture it generated turned into 8K using AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution 3.

So there were a few fudges needed to get to 8K 120fps gaming, but that might be fine. There's already lots of upscaling going on in gaming anyway, so we can forgive that. And it may be that the latest Samsung 8K TVs do have the correct HDMI support for compressed 8K 120Hz transmission, and there was another reason for it to be customized.

Perhaps this level of gaming clarity is coming to our front rooms soon… as long as you have the cash. That's $3,300 for the 65-inch 8K TV, $800 for the GPU, and $500 for the CPU – plus the rest of the PC. Although that's much cheaper than doing it with an Nvidia RTX 5090, at least.

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• Yale New Haven Health suffered a cyberattack in early March 2025
• A subsequent investigation showed the theft of sensitive data
• More than five million people could have been affected

A recent cyberattack on Yale New Haven Health (YNHHS) may have resulted in the theft of sensitive data of more than five million people.

The non-profit healthcare network confirmed the news in a legal notice published on its website, where it said it had identified “unusual activity” on its IT systems on March 8, 2025.

The subsequent investigation, conducted with the assistance of a third-party forensics expert, showed that “copies of certain data” were stolen.

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“At no point did this incident impact our ability to provide patient care,” YNHHS said.

The organization then detailed the information that was stolen: people’s names, birth dates, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, race and ethnicity, Social Security numbers, patient type information, and/or medical record numbers.

Electronic medical records and treatment information were not stolen, the organization stressed, and added that the crooks did not steal financial account or payment information.

While the notice did not discuss the number of affected individuals, BleepingComputer found a new entry on the US Department of Health and Human Services breach portal, where it says that 5,556,702 patients are affected.

The publication says that given the extent of the impact, class-action lawsuits are “already being prepared” by law firms representing impacted individuals who will seek reimbursement.

At press time, no threat actors assumed responsibility for the attack, and the data is yet to surface on the dark web.

Generally speaking, organizations in the healthcare industry are an attractive target for cybercriminals, due to the sensitivity of the files they generate, and the fact that many are still running outdated and neglected hardware and software.

In mid-March 2025, for example, both Sunflower Medical Group and Community Care Alliance confirmed suffering a cyberattack and losing data on some 300,000 people.

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• Moto Buds Loop have sound by Bose and spatial audio
• Available in sparkly and non-sparkly versions
• Reportedly will cost £129 (about $171) without crystals, £249 (about $330) with them

The new Motorola open earbuds in partnership with Bose we told you about a few days ago are official. They're called the Moto Buds Loop, they're an ear cuff design, and they come with sparkly bits embedded in the buds.

There's also a non-sparkly option, but that's much less fun.

As expected, these have Sound by Bose – and that means the audio experience should be pretty good. But it's the visual design that makes these buds stand out.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future) Motorola Buds Loop: key features

There are two color options here. Trekking Green is a very dark green color, while French Oak is more of a champagne.

French Oak looks a lot more luxurious than the green, and that's before you open the case and see that the buds have Swarovski crystals embedded in their arches.

It's smart of Motorola to offer a non-bling option too, because I think for every person that goes "Ooh! Sparkly!" like me, there'll be someone going "Eww! Sparkly!"

Both models have identical spec: 12mm drivers, two microphones with Motorola's CrystalTalk AI, spatial audio, and up to eight hours of playtime from the buds and a total 37 hours via the case. Charging time is 60 minutes.

We saw the buds at an event, though couldn't try their sound quality – but at this US event, Motorola didn't reveal the price. This is getting pretty common at US launches, as companies worry if they'll have to change prices due to tariffs between announcement and release – just look at the Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders for a prime example.

But there is a claimed UK price for these buds, reported by Notebookcheck, which gives us some guidance. They're said to be £129 (about $171 / AU$270) for the green Swarovski-free model, and £249 (about $330 / AU$520) for the Forest Oak shiny model.

The lower price puts them in line with a lot of the best open earbuds, so it'll come down to how good they sound – we were very impressed with Moto's last tie-up with Bose, the Moto Buds+, and particularly praised the sound quality.

Their biggest issue was locking key features to Motorola phones, and not making the control app available for iOS at all – hopefully Motorola will fix that error this time, because the Forest Oak could appeal to a lot of gold iPhone owners…

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• Adobe adds new AI tools to Express
• The push towards video continues
• Clip Maker is going to save creators so much time

Adobe has unveiled a stream of new additions for Adobe Express that, to my mind, are making it a clear go-to app in the marketer’s and creator’s arsenal.

There have been plenty of updates to Adobe stalwarts Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Illustrator, infused with more Firefly AI than you’ll know what to do with (check out our round-up of the 5 biggest new Photoshop, Firefly and Premiere Pro tools that were announced at Adobe Max London 2025)

But Adobe Express has also received some extra love this year - and a host of new AI tools. At this year’s Adobe Max London, I had the opportunity to check out a demo for some of these - and I’m starting to really see the growth here from its original role as a simple online designer, not a million miles away from Canva, to a new focus on both design and motion. It looks like we’re going to have to update our Adobe Express review after all this.

What’s new in Adobe Express?

On the new tools, Govind Balakrishnan, SVP and General Manager, Adobe Express, said: “We're excited to introduce new AI-powered video and animation capabilities to make it even easier for people to stand out and break through with their brands.”

Here are the stand-out additions coming to Express.

1. Turn long-form videos into short-form content

This is my favorite new addition in Express. You can now cut down long videos at pretty much the click of a button with Clip Maker. This update is going to be a serious time-saver if you create long-form content for platforms like YouTube or you’re running webinars and presentations, and want to splice it up for the likes of Reels, TikTok, or Shorts. During my demo, I sawn an hour-long video cut into approximately ten-minute chunks that can be further edited.

2. Create new AI images based on existing ones

Generate Similar lets you select existing images and, with a little prompting, create new images that maintain the same look and feel. It worked very well during my demo, where a heavily stylised image of a rose was used as a starting point, and using Firefly, a similar image of a tulip was generated. Color, style, and framing carried through, as if the work was by a single ‘artist’. Not a game-changer by any means, but it’ll help users stay on-brand and quickly create a library of images that sit well together.

3. Turn still images into eye-catching animations

Adobe Express’s bread and butter is simple graphic design, but this is a really nice addition. You can now animate sections of a static image - for example, adding glittering stars, having your text pop in, or letting objects jiggle on-screen. I didn't find it as high-powered as you’ll see in more advanced Adobe apps, but if you’re looking for more engaging content for your social platforms, this is a nice touch. For more image tools - although I didn’t get a chance to see them in action - you now have access to more than 30 new filters powered by Photoshop right inside Express.

4. More AI video generation

You can’t go ten seconds without AI inserting itself into the workflow, but I think these are going to be welcomed by most users. You can now generate commercially safe videos in Express. I was told all the backgrounds and b-roll seen in the demo were created this way - and they looked pretty good to me.

5. Improve audio with Enhance Speech

If you use other Creative Cloud apps, you may be familiar with Enhance Speech - it’s already a part of Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Podcast. Effectively, this tool uses AI (of course) to clean-up sounds. So, if you record in an echo-y room or there’s a little too much background chatter in the office, this tool will strip out unwanted audio and standardize noise levels.

6. Better, faster captioning

Another new tool is automatic captioning. Now, there’s nothing especially new about this tool - but it’s new to Express, and I found this one was pretty quick. On top of this, users now have more control over how those captions appear. Useful if you have brand colors and styles you want to apply.

7. Record yourself and add it to the canvas

I wasn’t expecting this, but you can now self-record videos and add them into Express. According to Adobe, this is built for “tutorials, video podcasts, reels and more.” In the demo, I liked how you can position the video anywhere on the canvas and resize it to suit your needs. You’ll find these types of webcam capture tools in the best screen recording software, but this seems like a seamless way to blend self-recorded videos to existing designs.

You can check out the new tools in Adobe Express right now. The app is free to use with plans for teams and business users. It's also included as part of an add-on alongside other Adobe apps like Photoshop.

Click here to find out more.

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• Microsoft was flagging some legitimate Adobe emails as spam
• The company blamed it on an error with its machine learning model
• The issue now appears to be fixed

Microsoft has fixed an annoying bug where a machine learning model in Exchange Online had been mistakenly flagging legitimate Adobe emails as spam.

The errneous spam flagging was relatively short-lived, spanning a two-day period between April 22 at 9:04 AM UTC and April 24 at 11:04 AM UTC.

It's believed the company's machine learning model wrongly flagged emails due to their similarity with spam emails, and particularly affected emails containing Adobe URLs.

Adobe emails are no longer being marked as spam

"We've determined our machine learning (ML) model, which safeguards Exchange Online against risky email messages, was incorrectly identifying legitimate email messages as spam due to their similarity to email messages used in spam attacks, which was resulting in impact," Microsoft explained.

The mishap was detailed in an advisory on the Microsoft 365 admin center under the EX1061430 tag (via Bleeping Computer).

Coinciding with Microsoft's erroneous flagging, malware analysis service ANY.RUN recorded a sharp rise in the number of Adobe Acrobat Cloud links for personal documents that were being submitted by Microsoft Defender XDR.

ANY.RUN shared on X: "After research, we've discovered that Microsoft Defender XDR mistakenly flagged acrobat[.]adobe[.]com/id/urn:aaid:sc: as malicious."

"To fix the issue we initiated Replay Time Travel (RTT) on the affected URLs to fully remediate impact. Impact was specific to some users who were served through the affected infrastructure," Microsoft added.

ANY.RUN noted the unintented consequences created by a combination of its services, Defender XDR and Microsoft's machine learning mistake. Because legitimate URLs linking to personal and work documents were being submitted to ANY.RUN, the service saw users "upload more than a thousand Adobe files with sensitive corprorate data of hundreds of companies."

"To stop leaks, we're making all these analyses private," ANY.RUN confirmed.

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• Google is offering repairs or payment for Pixel 7a users affected by a serious battery issue
• Some Pixel 7a users have reported battery swelling severe enough to warp the phone chassis
• Eligibility depends on region and warranty status

Google has stepped up to remedy a major battery swelling issue with some Pixel 7a smartphones, meaning affected users can now claim a free repair or partial refund.

Under the Extended Repair Program for Pixel 7a, users can seek repair or repayment from Google directly.

Recent reports have highlighted the battery expansion issue, which Google describes as including “visible swelling of the device”, the “phone cover bulging or separating from the device”, or the battery “draining significantly faster than usual”.

As we previously covered, swollen batteries present a danger to health and home, as they can be an unpredictable fire risk if left unattended – be sure to check out our guide on how to dispose of an inflated phone battery for more information.

As 9to5Google reports, Google is offering walk-in repairs at centres in the following countries:

• US
• UK
• India
• Germany
• Japan
• Singapore

Additionally, Google is providing a mail-in repair service in the US and India only.

Google is also offering partial refunds to affected Pixel 7a users, depending on territory and warranty coverage: none of the following options are available in the US or India.

In other territories, those still covered by their Pixel 7a’s warranty can claim $456 from Google – that’s cash, not store credit.

And users in said territories who are out of their Pixel 7a’s warranty period can claim either $300 towards another Pixel phone, or $200 in cash.

It’s worth noting that if your Pixel 7a handset exhibits other forms of damage, such as exposure to sharp objects, liquid damage, or damage caused by excessive force, Google may refuse to issue a battery replacement.

The official Extended Repair Program page also notes that Google may charge an additional fee if the phone exhibits out-of-warranty damage like a cracked screen – which we’d guess is because screens typically need to be removed to access the internal components of a smartphone.

The kind of repair program that Google is running isn’t unheard of – some may even call it expected with an issue as serious as battery inflation – but it’s still good to see Google doing the right thing here.

Head to Google’s official registration page to get your repair or refund claim started, and be sure to let us know how you get on in the comments below.

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• Aggreko study finds most data center managers agree sustainability is more important than three years ago
• Battery energy storage systems and future fuels are favorites across the UK&I
• Collaboration with energy suppliers could help tackle some hurdles

One-third of UK data centers managers and over 40% in Ireland cite reducing environmental impact as their top concern, but the reality is that there's still a long way to go.

According to new data from an Aggreko survey, reassuringly, 73% in the UK and 96% in Ireland say sustainability has become more important today than it was three years ago, suggesting data centers might be heading in the right direction.

However, even though attentions have shifted onto sustainability, data center managers are facing a number of barriers preventing them from becoming greener.

Data centers are far from being sustainable

High upfront costs to adopt greener tech were cited by 48% in the UK and 42% in Ireland – a trend that could possible continue to grow as the world's economies continue to battle it out.

Around a quarter of respondents also noted that biofuels are not easily accessible.

Looking ahead, we're likely to see regional differences on a much more local scale. Companies are already exploring exploiting the world's climates to improve sustainability, such as locating data centers in colder regions where cooling puts less stress on the environment, but even the UK and Ireland are preferring slightly different strategies.

In the UK, respondents showd a preference for battery energy storage systems (BESS), allowing them to store harness the power of green energy, but Irish respondents noted a higher preferences for future fuels like hydrogen or biomethanol.

Aggreko also revealed the influencing factors can vary wildly – legislation is the main driver for sustainable options in the UK, but Irish respondents noted a desire to lower carbon emissions.

Looking ahead, Aggreko calls for closer collaboration between data centers companies and energy suppliers.

"It is vital they work together with a trusted and reliable energy supplier that understands the industry’s challenges," Aggreko Global Sector Head for Data Centers Billy Durie said.

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Netflix have released a bounty of details for the upcoming fourth season – or Volume 4 as the streamer is calling it – of ambitious anthology Love Death + Robots, and the trailer looks just as wild as we’d expect from one of the best Netflix shows.

Show creator and Deadpool director Tim Miller teases more of what fans have come to love about the series, stating “I’ve given up on figuring out which season might be ‘the best’ because I love all my children, but I am really excited about all the episodes in Volume 4,” and we’re excited too, with the trailer, which you can watch below, promising everything from cute kitties to insane violence.

Perhaps most intriguing though is executive producer David Fincher returning not only to the Love, Death + Robots directors chair (following Vol. 3’s 'Bad Travelling' episode) but to the world of music videos.

While Fincher is best known today as the master of the slightly twisted, always gripping thriller, the Gone Girl filmmaker cut his teeth as part of the MTV generation, directing videos for the likes of Sting, Madonna, Aerosmith and Michael Jackson before making his feature debut with Alien 3.

While Fincher has gone back to the well in recent years, collaborating with artists such as Justin Timberlake and long time composing partner Trent Reznor, the upcoming Love Death + Robots episode 'Can’t Stop' may be his most ambitious short project yet, with Netflix billing it as: “A unique take on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ legendary 2003 performance at Slane Castle, Ireland, with band members [...] recreated as string-puppets.”

What can we expect from Love, Death + Robots season 4?

While Fincher and Red Hot Chilli Peppers may be hugely exciting, that’s far from all this season has in store, with one of the best streaming services teasing a whole host of new stories.

As always, fans can expect a huge variety of visual styles, genres and global influences, with Miller stating: “One of my biggest joys in making LDR [...] is when artists or directors make choices you would never make. Their ideas, shot choices, angles, sense of timing – whatever – is something foreign to your visual language but also awesome!”

'Close Encounters of the Mini Kind' looks set to deliver an adorable alien apocalypse as it pays tribute to classic 50s sci-fi, while 'Spider Rose', a sequel of sorts to Vol. 3’s cyberpunk horror 'Swarm', will deliver a dose of gory vengeance. Star Wars’ John Boyega lends his voice to '400 Boys', which sees warring post-apocalyptic gangs team up to battle a Kaiju-like threat and comes from Emmy-winning director Robert Valley and comedians Chris Parnell and John Oliver can be heard in 'The Other Large Thing', the tale of a cat with designs on world domination and his web-hacking robot butler sidekick.

Tim Miller directs 'Golgotha', a rare live-action installment in the series starring Rhys Darby as a vicar playing host to an alien emissary who believes a dolphin is the reincarnation of their messiah. Miller also helms 'The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur' which can be summed up as gladiators + dinosaurs, while 'How Zeke Got Religion' follows a WW2 bomber which finds itself up against biblical foes. 'Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners' features the voices of Kevin Hart and Brett Goldstein as overworked and underappreciated household goods, and “For He Can Creep” sees a Georgian Era poet protected by his cat when Satan (Dan Stevens) comes knocking.

We told you Netflix's new installment of Love, Death + Robots looks wild, and you can enjoy every insane moment for yourself when all ten episodes drop on Netflix on May 15.

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• Photos of PowerColor RX 9070 GRE models have been spotted
• This suggests these graphics cards could arrive soon
• It also seems to refute other recent rumors of a delay to Q4 of 2025 for the GRE versions

Recent buzzing from the GPU grapevine suggested that if AMD does have an RX 9070 GRE planned, this graphics card might be delayed for a long time – but it now appears this may not be the case.

Naturally, this is just a rumor – as is the purported delay of the RX 9070 GRE, and indeed the very existence of such a board – but in this case, we have photographic evidence.

Still, add seasoning as appropriate, but VideoCardz has presented us with some apparent pictures of the PowerColor RX 9070 GRE. There are two models shown – the Red Devil and Reaper – and we get to see the boxes and the graphics cards themselves.

The boards are dead ringers for the same RX 9070 XT models from PowerColor, which is no surprise. The most telling detail in the images, though, comes on the boxes, which have apparent confirmation that this GPU will be loaded with 12GB of video memory.

That’s a lesser amount of VRAM compared to the other RX 9070 models, which are equipped with 16GB. That marries with the previous gossip that this inbound GPU will have 4GB less in the way of VRAM.

VideoCardz furnishes us with further rumored specs for this GPU, which include it having 3,072 Stream Processors (graphics cores), versus 3,584 and 4,096 for the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT respectively. Clock speeds are likely to be pitched in between those two existing 9070 models, coming in at a 2.8GHz boost or thereabouts.

(Image credit: VideoCardz / PowerColor) Analysis: Q4 launch rumors apparently debunked

With what appears to be photos of finished products out there – assuming this leak is genuine – this seems to indicate that PowerColor is ready for an imminent launch of the RX 9070 GRE.

As mentioned at the outset, it also seemingly refutes another recent rumor that claimed AMD was planning to launch the RX 9070 GRE soon, but then thought better of that idea, and pushed the release timeframe of this graphics card all the way back to the end of 2025 (Q4).

To be fair, I found it difficult to believe that AMD would delay a potential RX 9070 GRE release until October 2025 (or maybe even later) – not unless there were some problems wrapped up in production (and supply quantity of RX 9070 models overall).

Still, we must remember that as VideoCardz points out, this GPU will likely only launch in Asia initially, as with other GRE models. In the past, GRE versions have come to regions outside of Asia given time, and there’s a seemingly good chance of this happening with the 9070 GRE – but we wouldn’t bank on it.

As well as a more affordable version of the RX 9070 in the form of the GRE, there may also be a faster variant too, an ‘Ultimate Navi 48’ GPU, if other rumors pan out. (Navi 48 is the chip that all these 9070 models use).

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Subtitles and the best streaming services are a match made in heaven: Netflix says that nearly half of its viewing hours in the US happen with subtitles and captions on, and I can confirm that where my kids are concerned, it's closer to 100%.

That's great, but Netflix has identified a way to make it more useful for many viewers when watching one of the best Netflix movies or best Netflix shows: subtitles that only show the spoken dialogue.

The existing and very useful subtitle features aren't going away. Rather, Netflix is just adding an extra option.

How Netflix's new subtitles will work

At the moment, the subtitles you get on Netflix are designed for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. And that means the subtitles are for everything – so they'll tell you if a phone is ringing, or if there are spooky sounds, or if there's an explosion.

Those subtitles are of course staying, because they're very important.

But subtitles can also be useful even if you don't have hearing issues: think of the completely incomprehensible Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.

Some characters are hard to hear, and some movies' and shows' sound mixes don't always make speech as loud as some of us would like.

Turning on the subtitles to avoid the "what did she say?" moments is handy for that, but it does mean we can get a lot of detail we don't need. Think "(dramatic music plays)" or "(telephone rings)".

From today, you'll see a new option in the subtitles menu. It'll only be available in You season 5 today, and it's only for the English language options. But it'll soon be much more widely available and will make its way to other languages too.

Now, when you go to Subtitles you'll see two options for English language subtitles: English, and English (CC). English is purely for the spoken dialogue, and English (CC) gives you the whole shebang.

[Audience applauds].

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The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 could be Samsung’s most high-end and expensive phone of 2025 – topping even the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the yet-to-be-released Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.

So, if you’re planning to buy it, we hope you’ve been saving – though you should still have a little time yet, with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 probably not launching until July.

If you’re wondering exactly how much you’ll need to save, though, we’re here to help. Below, we’ve detailed what we expect the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 to cost, based on a combination of leaks, past form, and educated guesses.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 price predictions

Before we get to our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 price predictions, it’s worth knowing how much the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 costs, since it’s unlikely – though not impossible – that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will be any cheaper than that.

The chart below details the full pricing for every Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 configuration, but the most important detail is the starting price, which comes in at $1,899.99 / £1,799 / AU$2,749.

So, that’s probably the least you’ll have to pay for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, but might you have to pay more?

Well, it’s entirely possible Samsung will raise the price, but so far, the one Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 price leak suggests it will cost the same in most markets. However, the source specifically says “same prices again in most markets”, so it sounds like some regions may still see a price increase.

We’d also take this leak with a pinch of salt, as the source doesn’t yet have much of a track record. So, until more sources weigh in, we can’t be overly confident of this claim.

There’s reason to think Samsung might raise the price, too, since with Trump’s tariffs in play, the production cost will probably have increased.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

On the other hand, the starting price of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is already higher than the $1,799.99 / £1,749 / AU$2,599 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, and the company might be reluctant to increase prices two years in a row.

So, for now, we’re guessing that prices will probably remain the same in a lot of places, since that’s what the one leak so far says – but we absolutely can’t rule out a price increase, and even if some regions stay the same, others may not.

The only thing we are fairly confident about is that the price of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 won’t be any lower than that of last year's model, since that would be a hard feat to achieve in the current economic climate.

The good news, though, is that you might get quite a lot for your money. For the last few generations, Samsung has been quite conservative with its Z Fold upgrades, but this trend could change with the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Leaks suggest, for example, that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 will have a new 200MP main camera, an upgraded under-display camera, bigger screens, a thinner body, a smaller crease, a powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, better dust resistance, and a larger vapor chamber. So, almost every aspect of the phone might be improved compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 6.

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• A lightweight Deep Research is rolling out to free-tier users
• It’s based on the ChatGPT 4o-mini model
• Plus users will also get access to it after they hit their usage limits

It’s the news that all ChatGPT free users have been waiting for: Deep Research is finally coming to the free tier of ChatGPT. However, the new version of the popular research tool is not quite the same as the one currently enjoyed by Pro, Plus, Teams and Enterprise users.

The new Deep Research, which is rolling out to all free-tier users starting from today, is described by OpenAI as ‘lightweight’. It's powered by a version of ChatGPT o4-mini in contrast to the existing Deep Research, which is powered by a version of ChatGPT-o3.

OpenAI describes the new lightweight Deep Research as “nearly as intelligent as the Deep Research people already know and love, while being significantly cheaper to serve.”

In a tweet on the subject OpenAI shared a graph showing accuracy rates for the new lightweight Deep Research compared to the original Deep Research and the o3 model.

The bad news is that free-tier users are going to be restricted to five uses per month, so don’t click the Deep Research button (when you get it) unless you really need to use it.

A graph showing the accuracy of the new lightweight 4o-mini model compared to the original Deep Research, which uses a version of the o3 model. (Image credit: OpenAI) Expanding usage limits for Plus users

At the same time OpenAI says it's expanding its usage limits for Deep Research for existing Plus and Teams users. However, it appears that after your 10 monthly uses have been used up the ‘expansion’ is achieved by giving you access to the lightweight version instead.

After usage limits on the original ChatGPT Deep Research have been reached people will automatically switch to the lightweight version of Deep Research and gain a further 15 uses a month, leading to some ChatGPT users on X accusing the company of being poor value compared to Google’s Gemini, which allows up to 20 uses per day for its Deep Research tool on its Advanced plan and 10 per month for free Gemini users.

ChatGPT Pro users get 125 Deep Research uses a month, with an additional 125 lightweight uses a month, while Enterprise users simply get 10 uses of the original Deep Research a month.

Using Deep Research

To use Deep Research you simply select the 'Deep research' button while using ChatGPT.

Deep Research has agentic qualities, meaning you can give it a task and it will continue researching for you, under its own steam, until it has completed the task, producing a full report complete with citations.

Reports can take several minutes to generate, and involve searching the web for sources, which makes Deep Research most suited to answering complex questions, rather than the usual back and forth chats that people have with AI chatbots.

I've found that Deep Research works best for subjects like literature reviews, market research, or for helping me make big life decisions like deciding where to live.

The news comes hot on the heels of the announcement that ChatGPT Plus, Teams and Enterprise users are getting expanded usage limits, with 100 minutes of ChatGPT-o3 usage per week and 300 minutes of ChatGPT o4-mini per day.

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• Apple has posted a new iPhone 16 ad spot online
• The clip shows off the toughened Ceramic Shield glass
• A case is probably still a good idea though

Apple's ad spots are always polished, thoughtfully made and worth checking out, and the latest clip to appear promotes the Ceramic Shield covering on the iPhone 16 – suggesting your phone will be protected from drops, even without a case.

The 35-second clip, which you can see on YouTube, is set at an amusement park. A dad hands over his iPhone 16 to a passer-by to take a photo of him and his family, but the would-be photo-taker fumbles the phone and drops it to the floor.

Panic not, viewers: the iPhone 16 in question is protected by Apple's latest Ceramic Shield glass. The youngster in the family goes over and picks up the iPhone, which doesn't have a scratch on it, and the family photo can be taken.

Apple has used this robust, Corning-made Ceramic Shield material since the iPhone 12, but the upgraded version introduced with the iPhone 16 is apparently 50% tougher. It's some welcome extra peace of mind if you use your iPhone without a case.

I'll stick with a case, thanks

While the Apple advert doesn't explicitly state this, the implication is that your iPhone 16 is going to be well-protected from drops, even if you don't put a case on it – but I'm not so sure I'm ready to fully accept that.

Toughened glass is still glass after all, and you don't have to look far on Reddit or social media to find broken iPhone 16 screen mishaps, even from small-ish drops. In my experience, iPhones remain as slippery as ever, and the ground can be very unforgiving.

We're talking about what could be one of the most important, valuable, and frequently used possessions you've got here: your iPhone connects you to the wider world, keeps you informed, stores all your photos and videos, and much more.

The Ceramic Shield is no guarantee against damage – and nor does Apple claim it to be, to be fair – and given how inexpensive and lightweight a lot of the best iPhone 16 cases are, it makes a lot of sense to add some extra protection on top.

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• Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack pricing has been officially revealed
• They seemingly cost either $9.99 / £7.99 or $19.99 / £16.99 depending on the content included
• "Selected" upgrade packs will also be available via Nintendo Switch Online at no extra cost

Pricing for some Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade packs have finally been revealed, putting an end to some of the confusion surrounding these paid enhancements.

Nintendo has now confirmed, via its US and UK online stores, that the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade packs for both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will cost $9.99 / £7.99 each.

Both of these upgrade packs will also be included in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription tier at no extra cost. Nintendo has also revealed that "selected upgrade packs" will be featured on the service, which implies it's not going to be all of them.

Elsewhere, Nintendo UK has confirmed upgrade packs for the Nintendo Switch 2 Editions of Super Mario Party Jamboree + Jamboree TV and Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star-Crossed World will cost £16.99 each. Nintendo hasn't officially revealed US pricing for these upgrades yet, but - as spotted by Nintendo Life - Best Buy has them listed at $19.99 each.

Chances are these two games have more expensive upgrades due to them both featuring sizeable content expansions. Whereas the Zelda games appear to be performance upgrades only, hence the reduced cost here.

It's likely, then, that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond's Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack could also fall in that $9.99 / £7.99 price bracket. Exclusive Switch 2 content hasn't been revealed for this upcoming game yet, but Nintendo has confirmed greater image quality and performance for it at the Nintendo Direct presentation for Switch 2.

I'm personally hoping that upgrade pack pricing doesn't fluctuate any more than this. The cost of the simpler upgrades isn't too bad, but I certainly won't be making a habit of dropping 17 quid on some of these others - even if the additional content is substantial.

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• Developer Remedy has shared details regarding FBC: Firebreak
• The game will launch on June 17, 2025
• There will be two editions available: standard and Deluxe

Developer Remedy Entertainment has revealed new information about the upcoming co-op first-person shooter FBC: Firebreak in a recent developer livestream.

The game, which is set in the same universe as Control, will launch on June 17, 2025 for PC, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PlayStation 5. It will be available on day one as part of Xbox Game Pass and the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog (for Extra and Premium members).

In addition to giving us the release date, the live stream also showed off a new job - Hot Fix. In Hot Fix, players go up against a supernatural furnace that has gone completely out of control. It features particularly hot environments, challenging players to rely on fans or each other's water cannons in order to cool down.

The stream went on to offer details on the game's pricing and editions. The standard version of FBC: Firebreak will cost $39.99 / £32.99, which seems like a pretty fair price for a multiplayer focused game.

Paired with the availability via Xbox Game Pass and the PS Plus Game Catalog, I don't think it will be a huge struggle to get my friends on board for a session.

There will also be the more premium FBC: Firebreak Deluxe Edition, which comes in at $49.99 / £39.99.

It includes the following in-game bonuses:

• “The Firestarter” Premium Voice Pack
• “The Pencil Pusher” Premium Voice Pack
• Firestarter Armor Set, Apex Revision (Helmet, Body Armor, Gloves)
• Scorched Remnant Double-Barrel Shotgun Skin
• Golden Firebreak Spray
• Classified Requisition: “Firestarter”: A collection of 36 unlockable cosmetic items including weapon skins, sprays, and armor sets

A Deluxe Edition upgrade will be offered to owners of the base game for $10 / £7.

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• M&S facing ongoing disruption after a cyberattack
• The attack has affected contactless payment and Click and Collect systems
• It's still not clear if any customer data is affected

British retail giant Marks and Spencer has had to take some systems and processes offline after suffering a cyberattack which disabled contactless and Click and Collect services in stores.

The disruption has now continued for several days, with many stores still unable to process contactless payments, and Click and Collect now paused in all stores.

The retailer confirmed in a statement that in order to protect colleagues, partners, suppliers, and the business, M&S has “made the proactive decision to move some [of our] processes offline”, which would be consistent with the response to a ransomware attack - although its not yet clear if this is the case.

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Retail at risk

Physical stores, the website, and the M&S App are still up and running, but this disruption could be seriously costly for a store as big as this - as operational losses and damage to reputation for stores can be costly.

The retail industry is a common target for cybercriminals, as even a few hours of downtime can cost millions of dollars, making firms more likely to pay a ransom, and therefore more vulnerable.

Earlier in 2025, Walmart membership programme ‘Sam’s Club’ was hit with a ransomware attack that reportedly affected thousands of staff - illustrating the sector’s vulnerability.

“The retail industry is operating on a very small profit margin, and therefore the amount of attention or budget they can give to addressing their cybersecurity posture is usually scarce,” explains Pierre Noel, Field CISO EMEA at Expel.

“To address this, retailers must implement a continuous cyber risk quantification programme. One of its outcomes is to generate and price credible incident scenarios, as well as to identify mitigating controls and their associated costs. This information is very meaningful for senior executives and the board, communicates effectively, and places the responsibility on them to determine which risks are acceptable and which are not.”

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• Fresh clues about the 25H2 update have been uncovered
• References in a file mention 25H2 and tie it to preview builds in the 26200 range that were recently kicked off by Microsoft
• As 26200 is a small increment from previous 26100 builds, it is likely the 25H2 update will be a minor affair in the form of an ‘enablement package’

More clues have been picked up suggesting that Microsoft is indeed working on Windows 11 25H2 – speculation which was first fired up last month – and that it’s likely to be a relatively minor update.

Windows Latest noticed that one of the more regular leakers of Microsoft-related info on X, XenoPanther, spotted what’s apparently a reference to the 25H2 update in a recent preview build of Windows 11.

GE25H2 is mentioned in appraiserres.dll26200=FT_ALL_CompatIndicatorHelper_WritingGE25H2April 23, 2025

The reference to ‘GE25H2’ is present in a DLL file, and that stands for ‘Greater than or Equal to 25H2’ and there’s another mention of 25H2 which specifically connects it to the series of builds numbered from 26200.

Windows Latest has verified this, and notes that the ‘appraiser’ DLL in question pertains to checking whether a PC qualifies for the upgrade. In other words, this is part of the code that verifies whether any given system is compatible and okay to have 25H2 installed.

(Image credit: Future / Jasmine Mannan) Analysis: Probably an enablement package for 25H2?

All of this is in theory, of course, as Microsoft hasn’t said that it’s working on Windows 11 25H2 officially, or even mentioned the name at all.

What Microsoft has told us, back in March if you recall, is that it is making “behind-the-scenes platform changes” in the new preview builds in the 26200 range. And as noted above, 26200 is mentioned and tied to 25H2 specifically in this DLL file.

Those changes being made in the background are theorized to be tweaks to the platform that underpins the desktop OS, which was refreshed to a new model called Germanium with Windows 11 24H2. As another leaker, Zac Bowden, informed us last month, it’s very likely that all this is wrapped up with laying the early groundwork for 25H2, which could be a much more minor update compared to 24H2, which was a huge undertaking (with that shift to Germanium).

The change from the previous 26100 builds to the 26200 range is a small increment, suggesting that 25H2 will be an equally scaled-down update. Indeed, as Windows Latest points out, it’ll probably be what’s called an ‘enablement package’ in the same way that 23H2 was built on 22H2. This simply means any new features (doubtless a small number of them) are already in place in Windows 11, and will simply be enabled by the update.

All of this is guesswork at this point, although with this new leak, it seems just a tad more likely that this is how things will unfold.

The potentially good news on 25H2 being a lesser update is that with fewer changes, there should be fewer bugs, too. The 24H2 update has proven seriously problematic with gremlins in the works partly because of all the tinkering going on deep in the guts of Windows 11 that was required to usher in the Germanium platform.

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• A new leak claims iPadOS 19 will get a Mac menu bar
• Stage Manager 2.0 will also come to iPad and iPhone, the report claims
• There are reasons to be doubtful of the rumors, however

For years, a small but vocal group of tech fans has been calling for Apple to essentially merge iPadOS and macOS into some sort of hybrid operating system that works on both platforms. Apple has persistently pushed back against this idea, but a new rumor suggests that the two systems could soon get even closer when iPadOS 19 launches later this year.

According to leaker Majin Bu, the main changes will take place when you connect a Magic Keyboard to an iPad running iPadOS 19. When that happens, Bu claims that a menu bar will appear at the top of the iPad’s display, giving you a more Mac-like experience.

As well as that, Bu argues that iPadOS 19 will come with Stage Manager 2.0, an update to the multitasking feature that “activates automatically when the keyboard is attached.” Bu states that the new version of Stage Manager will “make managing apps and windows smoother and more productive than ever,” but doesn’t go into any more detail.

As well as iPadOS 19, Bu touched on what might arrive in iOS 19. There, the leaker claimed that iPhones with a USB-C port – that is, those from the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 ranges – will be able to run Stage Manager when connected to an external monitor.

This would extend your iPhone display rather than simply mirroring it, as is currently the case. Bu noted that this feature might come with some limitations, “possibly in resolution or the number of apps displayed at once.”

Big questions remain

(Image credit: Daniel Romero / Unsplash)

Majin Bu has a somewhat spotty record when it comes to Apple leaks and rumors, so their latest claims should be treated with a degree of skepticism. But aside from their track record, there are other reasons to be doubtful.

For one thing, Apple has long said that merging elements of iPadOS and macOS will mean both systems miss out, with too many compromises being needed to make the hybrid platform work. With that in mind, directly porting a macOS element like the menu bar across to iPadOS feels a little too close to the kind of thing that Apple has long argued against.

As well as that, adding Stage Manager support to the iPhone feels incredibly niche, as the number of people who will want to use an iPhone for productivity in this way is likely to be very small.

However, might Stage Manager support on iOS be something that is built for the upcoming foldable iPhone? That device will likely have a display around the size of an iPad mini, where better productivity tools might make more sense.

We’ll have to hang tight on that one, as the foldable iPhone isn’t expected to arrive until 2026 or 2027. But while we wait, iPadOS 19 and iOS 19 are set to land at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. That could be when we finally see if Majin Bu’s claims are on the money.

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• Intel didn't lay off 20,000 workers after all, but layers of managers are at risk
• CEO Lip-Bu Tan has also asked teams to remove unnecessary meetings
• Workers will need to be in the office four days a week, up from three

Despite recent rumors that it was planning to lay off thousands of workers, cutting its headcount by around one-fifth, Intel did not announce such measures as part of its most recent quarterly results.

However, not all jobs are safe, with the company's new CEO Lip-Bu Tan criticizing existing and inefficient hierarchical structures, and alluding to future job cuts.

In an open letter to all company employees, Tan also confirmed Intel would be requiring workers to return to the office, adding that managers should remove unnecessary meetings to streamline processes and boost productivity.

Intel workers are in for a change

"We are seen as too slow, too complex and too set in our ways," Tan said, after hearing from customers. The new leader, who has been in post since March 18, 2025, revealed ongoing plans focused on "flattening the organization," including removing "organizational complexity."

Tan explained that many teams are eight or more layers deep, and the constant upstream reporting can slow teams down significantly. Intel's execs have been tasked with "tak[ing] a fresh look at their respective orgs," which is corporate speak for removing some of the unnecessary layers.

"There is no way around the fact that these critical changes will reduce the size of our workforce," Tan added. The Santa Clara chipmaker had already laid off 15,000 employees in August 2024.

In his memo to staff, Tan also drew attentnion to unproductive administrative work and meetings. "Too much valuable time is being wasted," he added.

Tan's final change – the big one – is that workers will have to spend more time in the office. He described workers' adherance to the existing three-day policy as "uneven," implying enforcement could be stricter for the upcoming four-day policy for in-office working, which will come into force on September 1, 2025.

The news came as the company posted flat quarterly revenue compared with the same period last year, at $12.7 billion.

"I am taking swift actions to drive better execution and operational efficiency while empowering our engineers to create great products," the CEO said in a statement.

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