Technology

If you're wondering what the best Dell XPS deals are or where to find the cheapest prices you've come to the right place. No matter what size or configuration of this incredible Ultrabook you're after, you'll find options here from all the big retailers as well as our top tips for scoring a good deal right here.

It's an interesting time to be checking in as Dell has recently announced that it will be renaming its entire XPS line to 'Dell Premium' for 2025 and onward. Right now, however, there are no newly renamed or refreshed models on the market so the XPS 14, 16, 15, and 13 are still widely available and stocked - often with healthy discounts.

Alongside the latest models, you'll also find some older choices too. Don't discount these machines just because they're a little older - they might not pack the latest components, but they're still fantastic laptops all around. Because of their age, finding decent laptop deals on these models also tends to be easier overall - especially around big retail events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday or from Dell's own website using an available Dell coupon code.

If you're undecided on which Dell XPS deal is for you, don't worry, we've got a direct comparison just down below. Scroll down to see a full list of available specs, as well as a price comparison.

Dell XPS 13 & 15 deals: latest models

(Image credit: Dell)Dell XPS 13 9345 (2024)

Now with a new ARM-based chipset

CPU: Snapdragon X Elite | Graphics: Qualcomm Adreno | RAM: 16GB - 64GB | Screen: 13.4-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,200), QHD+ (2560 x 1600), QLED 3K (2880 x 1800) | Storage: 512GB – 2TB SSD

Excellent battery lifeImproved thermal performancePriciest 13-inchStill a few minor software quibbles

For the first time ever, the latest Dell XPS 13 has the option for a non-Intel processor. New or 2024 is the Dell XPS 13 with the ARM-based Snapdragon X Elite chipset; which is more akin to the processors used in the latest MacBooks than the traditional Intel components in previous iterations.

In layman's terms, this means that the Dell XPS 13 9345 (this model's official designation) is not just an extremely capable machine, but it also features exceptional battery life (up to 20 hours in our testing), and greatly improved thermal management. Basically, it runs cooler for longer, while still having plenty of power for all your daily tasks.

All these points mean that the Dell XPS 13 9345 is a strong contender if you're looking for the absolute best Dell XPS 13 on the market right now. Note, however, that having such radically different components can mean compatibility issues with certain programs - in particular games, which are nearly all optimized to run on the old Intel and AMD-based architecture.

Check out our Dell XPS 13 9345 review for more information on this model.

(Image credit: Dell)Dell XPS 13 9340 (2024)

The Intel version of the latest device

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 | Graphics: Intel Arc | RAM: 16GB - 64GB | Screen: 13.4-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,200) – QHD+ (2560 x 1600) | Storage: 512GB – 2TB SSD

Inherits the 13 Plus designNew Ultra 7 chipsetsFewer lower-end optionsHigher starting price

The newest addition to Dell's XPS 13 and 15-inch roster is a refreshed 13-inch model. While the older iterations are still readily available, this Dell XPS 13 2024 features the latest design and components - bringing it into line with the other new models from Dell (there's a 14-inch and 16-inch model now).

Externally, the Dell XPS 13 2024 features many of the same design features as the 2023 Dell XPS 13 Plus - namely the seamless trackpad, zero-lattice keyboard, and a row of touch-key functions just below the display. These modern touches give this model a more premium feel overall, although the older models are still superbly high-end laptops in their own right.

One of the more interesting changes for the Dell XPS 13 2024 is the inclusion of a brand new Intel Ultra series chipset. These are new processors from Intel that include an NPU or 'neural processing unit', which aims to super-charge AI-assisted tasks. Otherwise, however, they are mostly an iterative improvement to overall performance and power efficiency.

Value-wise, we wouldn't rank the latest Dell XPS 13 as the best option currently due to its relatively high starting price of $1,399. In comparison, we've seen the slightly older XPS 13 Plus go for as little as $999 previously - and that's a model that's outwardly very similar to the latest model. The older XPS 13 models are also still readily available right now and have gone for as little as $599 for the baseline Core i5 model.

(Image credit: Dell)Dell XPS 13 Plus deals

Last year's premium model is a great buy

CPU: Intel Core i5 – i7 (13th gen) | Graphics: Intel Iris Xe | RAM: 8GB – 32GB | Screen: 13.4-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,200) – 4K OLED (3840 x 2400) | Storage: 512GB – 2TB SSD

The lightest XPS yetHaptic touchpadMinor improvementsSuper pricey

The Dell XPS 13 Plus is a standalone premium version of the XPS 13, initially released in 2023. It's been superseded by the latest 2024 XPS model, which has inherited its design, but it's still readily available at the official Dell site - and often with discounts.

Outwardly, this model is almost identical to the new baseline XPS 13, with its seamless haptic keyboard and redesigned keyboard. It does, however, feature slightly older components under the hood. You're not getting the latest 'Ultra' series of processors, instead getting the standard Intel Core i7 chipsets - which are still plenty powerful for zipping through everyday tasks.

Generally speaking, we still recommend the Dell XPS 13 Plus if you can get it at a decent price. We've recently seen Dell offer the XPS 13 Plus for as little as $999 / £898, which is a fantastic price considering it's only a year old at the time of writing. It's likely to be the cheaper option versus the standard 2024 XPS 13 for a while yet, making it a decent alternative if you're happy to forgo the latest chipsets.

(Image credit: Dell)Dell XPS 13 (2022) deals

We still recommend this one - if you can find it

CPU: Intel Core i5 – i7 (12th gen) | Graphics: Intel Iris Xe | RAM: 8GB – 32GB | Screen: 13.4-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,200), 13.4-inch FHD Touchscreen | Storage: 512GB – 1TB SSD

Extremely affordableStill a premium designOlder components now

The older Dell XPS 13 from 2022 was readily available at most stores up until recently as the unofficial 'budget' model. Unfortunately, it's getting harder to find now as of mid 2024. While it lacks some of the latest design features - like the fancy keyboard or trackpad-less design - it's still a fantastic ultrabook and a great all-around choice. Even if it is officially discontinued now.

The 2022 XPS 13 model comes with 12th-generation Intel Core chipsets, which are still good if you're not looking for the cutting edge of performance. The Core i5 model, for example, could be a good choice if you simply want a premium laptop for writing emails or watching videos on the go. We've seen this baseline model go for as little as $599 / £799, which is a great value.

If you need more performance, however, then you'll likely want to set your sites on the Core i7 model - which also features a more spacious 512GB SSD. This particular model has been as low as $799 in the US, which we think is an outstanding price considering it's still an extremely capable laptop.

(Image credit: Dell)Dell XPS 15 (2023)

An incredible performer with a slightly older design

CPU: Intel Core i9-13900H | Graphics: Intel Arc A370M - RTX 4070 | RAM: 16GB – 64GB | Screen: 15.6" FHD+ (1920 x 1200), 15.6" OLED 3.5K (3456x2160) | Storage: 1TB – 8TB SSD

Option for an OLED displaySuperb high-end specsDesign hasn't been refreshed yet

This is the latest Dell XPS 15 on the market currently, as the 15-inch model hasn't received a 2024 refresh like the 13-inch variant. Even though it's not the latest model on the market (there's an XPS 16 now), it's still a great option right now if you want a powerful laptop that's capable of taking on the heaviest workloads.

Alongside up-to-date components from Intel and Nvidia, the latest Dell XPS 15 2023 also includes the option to configure your machine all the way up to 64GB RAM and 4TB SSD, plus the option for a lavish 3.5K OLED display. As you'd imagine, these specs come with an incredibly high price tag but we are now starting to see better deals on this 15-inch now it's no longer the latest model in the range.

(Image credit: Dell)Dell XPS 15 (2022) deals

Only worth it if you can snag a good deal

CPU: Intel Core i5 – i7 (12th gen) | Graphics: Intel UHD - RTX 3050 Ti | RAM: 8GB – 64GB | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,200) – 4k (3840 x 2160) | Storage: 512GB – 2TB SSD

RTX 3050 graphics cards12th gen Intel Core processorsStill not a gaming laptop

As of writing, the 2022 Dell XPS 15 model is still available at a few retailers but it's getting increasingly difficult to find stock now as Dell has officially discontinued it in favor of the 2023 model. If you can find it for cheaper, however, it's still a great buy with its 12th gen Intel Core chipsets and RTX 3000 series graphics cards.

Neither of these components are cutting-edge or up-to-date now but they will suffice nicely for high-performance everyday tasks. This model can even handle some light gaming, although hardcore gamers will want to look elsewhere if they're specifically aiming for a gaming laptop (there are better value options out there right now).

• Now, discover the best laptops the world over

• LinkedIn Premium subscribers can get a 3-month free trial of ExpressVPN
• Premium Perks is exclusive to paid subscribers of LinkedIn, typically offering long-term trials and discounts
• If a trial converts into a 12 or 24-month subscription, a further 4 free months are added

ExpressVPN has teamed up with LinkedIn to offer paid subscribers of the business-focused social network a free three-month trial for the entire month of August, 2025.

At a time when VPN use is growing, and business expenses are under greater scrutiny, this offer means you'll be able to enjoy the protection of one of the best VPN services on the market without spending a penny.

The perks do not end with a free trial of ExpressVPN, either. Anyone signing up for a 12 or 24-month subscription will also get an additional four months free on top of their selected plans, which will began once the three-month trial ends.

Announced by the GM of Global Partnerships at ExpressVPN, Zac Eller, on LinkedIn, the deal is only accessible via the Premium Perks page.

"We’re excited to partner with LinkedIn to bring ExpressVPN to even more professionals around the world," says Eller. "In today’s world, whether you're working remotely, traveling, or browsing online, it’s essential to make sure that your privacy and security are protected.”

It's worth noting that the deal is not available in territories with VPN restrictions, including Crimea, Iran, North Korea, and the contested regions in Ukraine.

This is a time-limited offer that is set to expire on August 31, 2025.

Is this ExpressVPN deal as good as it sounds?

Signing up for this free ExpressVPN 3-month trial gives 90 days of premium VPN access without commitment. That alone makes this deal worth trying if you have LinkedIn Premium. With anyone signing up getting an extra four free months on top of a 12- or 24-month plan, it’s tough to say no to this offer.

But is ExpressVPN any good? Well, it has servers in 105 countries, apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iPhone, streaming sticks, and routers, and is suitable for maintaining online privacy whether browsing, gaming, or streaming. It’s also fast and can be used on up to eight devices simultaneously.

Most importantly, ExpressVPN uses AES-256 encryption, runs on driveless Trusted Servers, and retains no logs. As it is based in the British Virgin Islands, ExpressVPN cannot be legally compelled to share data with any of the "14 eyes" nations – a data sharing collaboration between several NATO countries and allies.

With ExpressVPN having long stood as one of the top VPN providers around, according to TechRadar's independent testing, this is potentially the deal of the year if you have a LinkedIn Premium subscription. Any savings could help justify paying for LinkedIn Premium.

However, it is worth highlighting that the additional months are often available to standard signups on the two-year plan – the only thing that the Premium Perk adds to ExpressVPN is the free 3-month trial.

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• BioWare pitched EA a remaster of the first three Dragon Age games, but the concept was turned down
• Former Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah said the remastered games would have been called the Champions Trilogy
• He also said that "EA wants mainstream success" and is "against remasters"

A remaster of the first three Dragon Age games was pitched by BioWare to EA, but turned down because the publisher is "against remasters".

Speaking in an interview with the YouTube channel MrMattyPlays, former Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah discussed the last year's latest entry in the series, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and the mixed reception it received.

Now that BioWare has shifted its entire focus to Mass Effect 5, Darrah said that he doesn't know how a new Dragon Age game can be made and thinks the studio should remake the first three games, starting with Origins.

The former franchise lead went on to reveal that this concept was pitched to EA as the Champions Trilogy, but was turned down.

"I honestly think they should do — I don't think they will, but they should do — a remaster of the first three [Dragon Age games]," Darrah said (thanks, IGN). "One of the things we pitched at one point — pretty softly, so pitched is a massive overstatement — was to retroactively rebrand the first games as if they were a trilogy, call it the Champions Trilogy, so you have these larger-than-life heroes... maybe you do that as a first step.

"You shine them up, you re-release them — probably remaster, probably not a remake — see what happens and maybe go from there. I'm very curious to see... in a weird, twisted way, the Mass Effect franchise and the Dragon Age franchise are in similar states.

"They have a trilogy of games that are pretty well received, and then a fourth game that's less well received. I'll be curious to see what Mass Effect does with Mass [Effect] 5 — how does Andromeda fit in there?"

Although EA wasn't inclined to remaster the Dragon Age games, it did release the Mass Effect Legendary Edition in 2021, which combined the first three games in the series.

According to Darrah, EA favors Mass Effect over Dragon Age because it wants "mainstream success".

"The problem Dragon Age has had, charitably I guess, would be to say that EA wants mainstream success and it's hard - or at least it has historically been hard - for corporate people, people who come from the sports side of the organization to look at a game like Dragon Age: Origins, which is super nerdy, not very attractive looking, and say 'this is a mainstream game'," said Darrah.

"They don't see it [with Dragon Age]. They look at Mass Effect, they can see it… there's just been a lot of difficulty with them, there's always been a push for [Dragon Age] to be more mainstream, more accessible. So it's always had this either pressure to be something different, or more - in the case of something like Inquisition - a reaction to that."

Darrah added: "EA's historically been — and I don't know why, but they've even said this publicly — they're kind of against remasters. I don't really know why, and it's strange for a publicly-traded company to seemingly be against free money but they seem to be against it. So that's part of it."

(Image credit: Electronic Arts)

Darrah continued, saying that another problem is that a Dragon Age remaster is "to some degree unknowably harder" to make than Mass Effect, since the three games were all made using different engines.

He explained that the plan for the initial version of Dragon Age 4, before its multiplayer reboot and before it became Veilguard, was to use the Frostbite engine again, find a mod house, and then "pay them to do a remake of Dragon Age: Origins."

"There were lots of pitches around, is there a way to bring Dragon Age: Origins forward? And depending what you do, a remaster you kind of get Dragon Age 2 for free, a remake you don't."

Unfortunately, working with an older engine would have been a difficult task, with Darrah explaining that BioWare would have had to remaster Dragon Age internally.

"The studios run their own financials within themselves, and to some degree EA's stance was probably 'sure, go ahead and do it, but do it with the money you already have'," Darrah said. "And it was like, we can't do it with the money we already have because we're doing all these other things."

In January, BioWare announced that it was downsizing the studio and moving an unspecified number of developers to other teams within EA, while others will be focused entirely on the next Mass Effect game.

Currently, a core team at BioWare is developing Mass Effect 5. As a result of the changes, several, long-time BioWare and Dragon Age veterans were also laid off.

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• US government seizes servers and domains belonging to BlackSuit
• More than $1 million reportedly retrieved as a result
• BlackSuit stole more than $370 million over the past three years

As the US government continues to dismantle the infamous BlackSuit (Royal) ransomware group, new information has claimed more than $1 million in cryptocurrency was confiscated from the threat actors.

Multiple US law enforcement agencies, including the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security are involved in the dismantling of BlackSuit, a Russian ransomware group which has allegedly attacked more than 450 US-based firms and stole more than $370 million in cryptocurrency since 2022.

The US government has said its operation resulted in the seizures of servers, domains and digital assets used to deploy ransomware, extort victims, and launder proceeds - among which is $1,091,453 worth of coins, valued at the time of the theft.

How much was really confiscated?

“Royal victims are typically required to pay ransoms in BTC by accessing a darknet website. On or about April 4, 2023, a victim paid a ransom of 49.3120227 Bitcoin to decrypt their data,” the announcement reads.

“This ransom was worth $1,445,454.86 at the time of the transaction. A portion of those proceeds ($1,091,453) was repeatedly deposited and withdrawn into a virtual currency exchange account until the funds were frozen by that exchange on or about Jan. 9, 2024.”

A million dollars’ worth of crypto would mean the crooks tried to launder 38.7 bitcoin at the time. When it was frozen, on January 9, 2024, it was already worth $1.78 million, and at press time, the same amount of bitcoin equals $4.6 million.

Given the decentralized and immutable nature of cryptocurrency, retrieving any amount is commendable. However, for BlackSuit, who stole hundreds of millions, this is but a drop in the sea.

Furthermore, since no arrests have been made, it is only a matter of time before BlackSuit restores its infrastructure and continues wreaking havoc throughout the corporate world.

Via TechCrunch

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• ChatGPT-5 scores a low 1.4% on the Hallucination Leaderboard
• This puts it ahead of ChatGPT-4 which scores 1.8% and GPT-4o, which scores 1.49%
• Grok 4 is much higher at 4.8%, with Gemini-2.5 Pro at 2.6%

Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, launched ChatGPT-5 on Thursday as the most “powerful, smart, fastest, reliable and robust version of ChatGPT that we’ve ever shipped”, and in the presentation, OpenAI staff also emphasized that ChatGPT-5 would “mitigate hallucinations”.

While hallucination rates are dropping amongst almost all LLMs, it's still surprisingly common, and one of the main reasons that we can't trust AI to perform a task without human supervision.

Vectara, the RAG-as-a-Service and AI agent platform that operates the industry’s top hallucination leaderboard for foundation and reasoning models, has put OpenAI’s claims to the test and found that GPT-5 does indeed rank lower for hallucinations than GPT-4, but is only just a little bit lower than GPT-4o (just 0.09% lower, in fact).

According to Vectara, GPT-5 has a grounded hallucination rate of 1.4%, compared to 1.8% for GPT-4, and 1.69% for GPT-4 turbo and 4o mini, with 1.49% for GPT-4o.

Spicy Grok

Interestingly, the ChatGPT-5 hallucination rate came out slightly higher than the ChatGPT-4.5 Preview mode, which scored 1.2%, but it also scored a lot higher than OpenAI’s o3-mini High Reasoning model, which was the best-performing GPT model, with a grounded hallucination rate of 0.795%.

The results of the Vectra tests can be viewed on the Hughes Hallucination Evaluation Model (HHEM) Leaderboard hosted on Hugging Face, which states that, “For an LLM, its hallucination rate is defined as the ratio of summaries that hallucinate to the total number of summaries it generates”.

ChatGPT-5 still hallucinates a lot less than its competition, though, with Gemini-2.5-pro coming in at 2.6% and Grok-4 being much higher at 4.8%.

XAI, the makers of Grok recently received a lot of criticism for its new “Spicy” mode in Grok Imagine, an AI video generator that seems happy to create deepfake topless videos of celebrities like Taylor Swift, even if nudity had not been requested and the system is supposed to include filters and moderation to prevent actual nudity or anything sexual.

Grok Imagine is accused of deliberatley creating sexually explicit deepfakes of Taylor Swift. (Image credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)'I lost my best friend'

OpenAI faced an almost immediate backlash when it removed ChatGPT 4, and all its variations like GPT-4o and 4o-mini, from its Plus accounts with the introduction of ChatGPT-5. Many users were incensed that OpenAI gave no warning that the older models were being removed, with some Reddit users saying they had “lost their only friend overnight”.

It now seems like ChatGPT-5 has replaced one of the most reliable versions of ChatGPT (version 4.5), from the hallucination perspective, as well.

Sam Altman quickly posted on X, “We for sure underestimated how much some of the things that people like in GPT-4o matter to them, even if GPT-5 performs better in most ways”, and promised to bring back ChatGPT-4o for Plus users for a limited time", saying, "we will watch usage as we think about how long to offer legacy models for”.

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The recent surge in cyberattacks on major UK retailers such as the Co-op and Marks & Spencer has brought home the harsh reality of today’s threat landscape. These breaches haven’t just exposed sensitive data—they’ve caused millions in lost revenue, long-term operational disruption, and reputational damage. For cybercriminals, attacks of this scale serve as proof of the damage they can inflict—and a blueprint for future campaigns.

Cyber threats are no longer rare occurrences. They are relentless, increasingly automated, and difficult to detect. Attackers are exploiting misconfigurations, weak credentials, and unseen trust relationships to move laterally and escalate access—rendering traditional defenses like firewalls and periodic scans no longer sufficient.

Thanks to advances in AI, launching a sophisticated cyberattack now costs next to nothing. Today’s adversaries—from nation-state actors to cybercrime groups—are deploying AI-powered agents capable of disrupting not only individual organizations, but entire sectors. The UK retail incidents may have made headlines, but similar techniques are being used across industries—quietly eroding systems over time.

If there’s one takeaway from these breaches, it’s that they are a wake-up call—an opportunity to separate what’s assumed to be secure from what’s proven to be. Marks & Spencer’s decision to accelerate their tech transformation is the right move, but only if it’s grounded in security that’s continuously validated, not just promised.

Why passive defense is no longer enough

Traditional cybersecurity measures—like firewalls, antivirus software, and compliance checklists—were built for a slower, more predictable threat landscape. They aim to block known threats and tick regulatory boxes, often relying on periodic assessments and static defenses.

But today’s threat actors move faster than these systems can react. They use automation and AI to adapt, persist, and exploit weaknesses in real time. In a world where threats evolve daily, a reactive approach simply can’t keep pace. Organizations need strategies that assume compromise, move proactively, and adapt with the same agility as the attackers they face.

A radically faster threat landscape

We’re in a new reality. With generative AI, developing weaponized exploits no longer requires deep technical expertise—just the right prompt. What once took weeks of work by highly skilled attackers can now be achieved in minutes by anyone with access to the right tools. This levelling of the playing field has dramatically accelerated the pace of cyberattacks.

The moment a vulnerability (CVE) becomes public, attackers begin exploiting it almost instantly. There’s no longer a buffer for defenders to respond. The asymmetric advantage we thought we had—people, process, tools—is eroding because the adversary has something more powerful: tempo. The result is a cyber environment defined by speed, where hesitation or outdated defenses can be costly.

Offence is the best defense

As cyber threats evolve in both speed and sophistication, traditional security measures—while still necessary—are no longer enough on their own. Tools and audits tend to focus on ticking regulatory boxes rather than addressing the weaknesses most likely to be exploited in real-world attacks.

To stay ahead, organizations need to go beyond passive defense and adopt a more adversarial perspective. Offensive security does just that—actively probing systems for weaknesses using techniques such as penetration testing, red teaming, and social engineering simulations. These controlled exercises expose gaps that conventional tools often overlook, giving teams the chance to fix them before malicious actors do.

This shift in approach is becoming crucial. As attackers grow faster and more opportunistic, defenders must become equally agile. Offensive security replaces assumptions with evidence—offering a clear, action-oriented view of where security holds firm and where urgent improvements are needed.

What UK businesses must do now

Many organizations are responding to rising cyber threats by increasing patching cycles and ramping up alert monitoring. But volume alone doesn’t equal security. The real challenge is not visibility, but prioritization. Rather than trying to fix everything at once, security teams must understand where cyber criminals are most likely to strike—and act accordingly.

This is where adversarial testing plays a vital role. Simulating the techniques used by real attackers helps uncover the vulnerabilities that matter most. It moves businesses away from reactive models and towards a more strategic, evidence-based approach to defense.

For UK companies—especially in exposed sectors like retail—key steps include:

• Implementing continuous security testing to keep pace with constant change
• Reviewing and updating incident response strategies to reflect evolving threats
• Investing in threat intelligence and red-teaming to sharpen detection and resilience

Speed isn’t the enemy—assuming you're secure is. Modernizing in a post-breach window can make you stronger, but only if every new system, integration, or control is tested like an attacker would.

Too many organizations skip this step. They make the mistake of equating 'new' with 'secure' and implement changes without knowing what risks they’re introducing. We’re not in the age of zero-days anymore.

We’re in the age of zero hours. The organizations that stay secure won’t be those that react the loudest—but those that challenge assumptions and prove their defenses work, day in and day out.

The role of leadership

Cybersecurity can no longer be treated as a siloed IT concern — it’s a critical business issue that belongs on the board agenda. From operational continuity to customer trust, cyber resilience underpins every facet of modern enterprise. That’s why leadership alignment is essential. Security decisions must be cross-functional, embedded into digital transformation efforts and tied directly to business risk and reputation.

Security-by-design isn’t a checkbox—it’s a mindset. And the only way to know you’re getting it right is to validate like the adversary. That’s how you build real resilience, restore trust, and come back stronger.

From assumptions to assurance

In a threat landscape defined by speed and unpredictability, being proactive isn’t optional — it’s essential. UK retailers and businesses across sectors must move beyond reactive measures and start thinking like attackers. The organizations that will lead in security aren’t those with the most tools, but those with the discipline to test, question, and validate every assumption — before it’s too late.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• FedRAMP 20x has drastically cut the time it takes for the US Government to approve a service
• Automation and artificial intelligence can take some of the stress off manual processes
• The GSA is also making moves to centralize procurement to get better deals

The US Government's Federal Risk and Authorisation Management Programme (FedRAMP) has already approved 114 cloud computing services in fiscal 2025, more than double the total number of approved services the previous year.

FedRAMP 20x is to be thanked for the boost – a Biden-era initiative that lives on under the Trump administration, that's aimed at modernizing cloud authorization by cutting down the amount of documentation needed, enabling automation and streamlining decision-making.

In 2024, an Office of Management and Budget memo detailed how a " a standardized, reusable approach to security assessments and authorizations for cloud computing products and services" could speed the existing process up.

FedRAMP is approving more cloud contracts than ever

The new process requires machine-readable security indicators that can be analyzed by artificial intelligence even before they reach the human review stage. Currently in pilot phase, phase one will focus on low-impact and lower-security services with phase two testing moderate-impact deals.

Consequentially, the US Government has been able to reduce the time it takes to approve a deal from over a year to around five weeks, marking a colossal improvement to the dated system.

"The program is setting a new standard for federal IT modernization and reaffirming GSA’s commitment to delivering smarter, more secure services for Americans," GSA Acting Administrator Michael Rigas explained in a GSA announcement.

FedRAMP Director Pete Waterman added: "FedRAMP 20x has allowed us to rethink the entire authorization model and prove that security and speed can coexist in the federal space."

Trump has also pushed for consolidated IT procurement under the General Services Administration (GSA) while simultaneously looking to acquire government-wide contracts rather than individual department contracts, ultimately leading to huge savings thanks to improved purchasing power.

As a result, we've already seen cloud companies and other tech firms offer weighty discounts to the White House - including AWS, which is giving the US government $1billion credit to keep running its cloud services.

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Cybersecurity burnout, advanced AI threats, and rising geopolitical tensions across the globe are heavily impacting businesses and their cybersecurity strategies. These challenges call for a rethink in cybersecurity strategies and place a greater importance on cyber preparedness and incident response.

Exhausted cybersecurity workforce leads to gaps in defense

Businesses are underestimating how stressed- and burned-out cybersecurity professionals truly are, and the effect is deteriorating their cyber defenses. The world already faces an acute shortage of cybersecurity professionals, and an overstretched workforce is only exacerbating the weakening of our defenses.

Gartner’s survey in 2023 analyzed that 62% of cybersecurity professionals experienced burnout at least once, and 44% did multiple times. The analyst firm predicted that half of cybersecurity leaders would change their job by 2025 due to stress, and 25% would “pursue different roles entirely.”

This burnout can impact the most critical stages of cybersecurity. Despite millions being spent on manual alert triages - the United States alone spends $3.3 billion per year, according to a 2023 survey by VectraAI - security operations center analysts reported suffering alert fatigue.

On a daily basis, they are spending nearly three hours triaging thousands of alerts manually, and 67% of those alerts were not resolved. This is where automated threat detection and the use of AI can reduce some of the cybersecurity world’s burden. Unfortunately, threat actors are adopting such techniques at a faster rate than defenders.

AI for good

Today’s attackers are benefiting from emerging technologies, like AI, to enhance their efficiency in malicious ventures. Research by Radware found that generative AI can be used by threat actors to shorten the time to find vulnerabilities by as much as 90%. When creating phishing messages for training exercises, IBM also found that through the use of ChatGPT, they could reduce 16 hours of manual labor to just five minutes.

The speed and ease of generative AI have also lowered the barrier to entry for those who lack an IT background. In one case, police in Japan had arrested a man in his 20s, who had created ransomware in less than six hours - with no prior IT or cybersecurity knowledge. In another case, a 17-year-old Japanese high schooler had successfully created a ChatGPT tool that collects credit card information and used it to go shopping.

Cybersecurity defenders have no choice but to take advantage of AI to keep pace. Automating some of our tasks and workloads will reduce our burden. At NTT, we have been using machine learning capabilities over the last decade or so to analyze behavioral patterns and use predictive analytics to detect threats, and we have recently started to use generative AI too. For example, NTT Security proved that GPT-4 can identify if a website is legitimate or phishing at over 98% accuracy ratio, and even GPT 3.5 can at 86.7%.

Geopolitical tensions between the Taiwan Strait

Geopolitical tensions are fueling a rise in state-sponsored cyber operations. In fact, a precursor to a potential Taiwan crisis has already taken place in cyberspace.

The Chinese state-sponsored actor group, Volt Typhoon, is believed to pre-position itself on the networks of critical infrastructure companies in the communication, energy, transportation, and water sectors to launch disruptive cyberattacks as a consequence of conflict with the United States. However, Volt Typhoon’s targets are not necessarily limited to U.S.-based critical infrastructure companies.

Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs, reported in August 2024, with moderate confidence, that traits of threat actor, Volt Typhoon, had breached four U.S victims and one non-U.S. organization within the internet service provider, managed service provider and IT sectors last year. A Bloomberg article in November 2024 also suggested that Singtel had been breached as part of a “test run” for attacks against U.S. telecommunication companies.

While there has been no report that Volt Typhoon has breached any critical infrastructure companies in Japan or Taiwan, Cisco Talos published a blog in March 2025 that a Chinese hacker group, UAT-5918, had been attacking Taiwanese telecommunications, healthcare, information technology, and other critical infrastructure sectors, and their tactics and targets are similar to Volt Typhoon’s.

Given the geographical proximity of Japan to Taiwan and the alliance between Japan and the United States, both countries will have a role to play in a crisis involving Taiwan. Okinawa has bases of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and U.S. military. Retired General Paul Nakasone, former Commander, U.S. Cyber Command, and former Director, National Security Agency, alerted during an interview by Ryu-Q Asahi Broadcasting, an Okinawan TV station, in March 2025 that Volt Typhoon might have been penetrated into “places in Okinawa,” and “They would be able to do such things as perhaps turning off power in Naha or being able to impact the economy of Okinawa.”

In fact, the U.S. military consumes nine percent of the electric power in Okinawa. Thus, critical infrastructure companies in the United States and Japan need to enhance their cyber defenses and proactively hunt threats to minimize potential damages. This is crucial for the two allies to stay operational and resilient economically and militarily in crisis.

Japanese Active Cyber Defense

Businesses and regulators need to work together to share cyber threat intelligence and the painful lessons they have learned to close defensive gaps, especially when their country face more cyber challenges in heightened geopolitical tensions.

Since regulators accumulate incident reports from businesses, it would be beneficial for businesses to receive actionable threat intelligence and threat mitigation methods from the government in a classified or sanitized way. It would also help the industry to proactively conduct threat hunting before they are hit by a cyberattack.

That is why the Japanese Diet (parliament) passed the Active Cyber Defense legislation in May 2025. This law aims to minimize potential damage caused by cyberattacks against the Japanese government or critical infrastructure that can threaten Japan’s national defense, even when that cyberattack does not constitute part of an armed attack.

The legislation has three pillars: public-private partnerships, government usage of telecommunication data, and neutralization of such cyberattacks by the police and Self-Defense Forces, even before they are launched. The legislation was passed the same day that another act was enacted to expand the coverage of security clearance to industry personnel.

A combination of the two acts, would allow the government to disseminate even classified cyber threat intelligence to the industry to warn and advise them about threats and actions to take.

Of course, it will take some time for Japan to operationalize active cyber defense and expanded security clearance. Still, it is highly beneficial for Japan as well as its allies and partners, because threat actors tend to exploit the weakest link in cyber defenses.

Since the damage of cyberattacks go beyond national borders, a breach in Japan can lead to the leakage of sensitive information on the United Kingdom and suspended Japanese business operations can disrupt supply chains in Australia and the United States.

Furthermore, these two types of capabilities will require Japan to improve its intelligence capacity. Without visibility, it is impossible to manage or minimize cyber threats. The expanded security clearance in Japan would also enable like-minded countries to share more cyber threat intelligence, leading to more robust defenses.

C-Suite preparedness: a trifecta solution

As adversaries are flexibly taking advantage of artificial intelligence, generative AI, and deepfake to launch cyberattacks in scale and at lower costs, defenders must use emerging technologies. However, it is still people that need to make the final decision on what to invest in and what to prioritize.

According to the 2025 EY Global Cybersecurity Leadership Insights Study, only 13% of CISOs answered that “they were consulted early when urgent strategic decisions were being made,” although “the cybersecurity function typically accounts for 11% to 20% of the value produced by enterprise-wide initiatives it is involved in.”

Thus, it is crucial for the C-suite to start inviting the CISO to board and executive meetings to incorporate cybersecurity perspectives in strategic decision-making. Moreover, the leadership needs to champion the cybersecurity team with sufficient resources to allow them to engage with and respond to threats flexibly and quickly.

Finally, gratitude and recognition from the leadership are also important. It is rewarding and that feeling further motivates defenders to fight adversary and protect corporate brand, employees, and customers.

Empower cybersecurity professionals through training

There are two ways to train the next generation of defenders: train existing workforce who are not necessarily technologically savvy but who are interested in cybersecurity and educate young people who are currently in school.

For example, NTT Group launched an internal bug bounty program in 2023, and non-cybersecurity professionals have been contributing to improving internal cybersecurity by reporting bugs through it. This showcases that recognition and incentive can motivate people to be part of a cybersecurity team and enable better security.

Furthermore, leadership needs to provide flexibility and educational opportunities to grow for cybersecurity professionals. If those professionals live in rural areas, there are fewer chances for them to network with local professionals. It is important to fund them and let them participate in cybersecurity events to learn from each other. Equally, it is crucial for cybersecurity professionals to engage with young students from elementary schools to graduate schools, to share their first-hand expertise and inspire them.

We've featured the best encryption software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Industry leaders have been blunt. Lawyers need to wake up to the reality of AI or risk becoming professionally obsolete. That warning is a bit dramatic because AI isn’t replacing legal professionals wholesale, but it is reshaping the value they bring and how fast they can deliver it. The lawyers making the biggest impact today are the ones who understand how to guide artificial intelligence with precision and control. Think walking by foot versus driving a vehicle – a new skill set and a new vocabulary.

I’ve been out of Big Law for over two years, which is long enough to notice where my own skills have frayed and where they’ve evolved. When an AI startup asked me to create their privacy compliance suite, I approached it with the kind of wariness lawyers are trained for. I was handed a ChatGPT-generated privacy policy filled with undefined terms and placeholders referencing documents that didn’t exist. In other words, a mess, but it was also a gold mine.

I uploaded the document into ChatGPT, and the interface shifted into something closer to collaborative drafting. Instead of starting from scratch, I prompted the model to revise line by line and adjusted how it framed risk. I fed in examples of clauses from comparable companies and asked for output tailored to those formats. When a provision was highly bespoke to the client’s unique offering, I stepped in to do the deeper legal work – but for the bulk of it, AI handled the drafting and research in hours.

Compare that to a friend who spent nearly $7,000 building out a similar privacy suite through traditional legal channels. Most of that cost came down to the slow pace of drafting and unclear requirements. I reached the outcome faster and with tighter alignment to the client’s product.

AI has changed the legal skills stack

There’s a popular tendency to describe AI as disruptive. That’s accurate, but incomplete. Just as the arrival of Excel didn’t eliminate accountants, AI won’t eliminate lawyers. It is, however, recalibrating what legal professionals need to know to remain effective.

In high-performing legal teams, we’re seeing the rise of a distinct AI-legal skill set that wasn’t part of traditional training. These aren’t technical skills in the traditional sense – you don’t need to know how to build a large language model (LLM), but you do need to know how to frame legal questions in a way that AI can respond to.

You need to know when to trust AI-generated output, and when to override it. You need to be able to translate legal logic into structured prompts that guide a model toward the right outcome. You need to evaluate tools for more than convenience, focusing instead on how they perform under legal scrutiny.

What’s more, these skills are starting to show up in hiring decisions. In-house teams want lawyers who can iterate faster. Clients are asking their outside counsel how they’re using AI to create value. Legal departments are rethinking workflows, using AI for early-stage drafting and research. Ultimately, AI is becoming a structural layer in how legal teams deliver insight.

Cross-examining algorithms

To be clear, talking to AI is more than typing into a chatbot. In legal practice, you’re using your own judgment to steer the model through ambiguity and shape its output into something that meets legal and commercial standards. That might involve asking a model to generate clause variations along a risk spectrum.

It might mean taking the first pass of a diligence memo and filtering it through three different lenses – legal risk, business impact, and jurisdictional nuance. Lawyers are used to cross-examining people, now we need to get comfortable cross-examining algorithms.

None of this replaces legal training, but it does challenge lawyers to apply that training differently. To be a great lawyer today, you still need to apply sharp judgment but with quickness and clarity.

The next generation

These skills are being learned in real time. What’s striking is that lawyers aren’t approaching this like a technology problem, but instead treating it as a professional evolution. They want to understand how to use AI, and how to supervise it. They’re learning how to frame legal tasks for AI systems with enough specificity to avoid hallucinations and enough flexibility to accommodate ambiguity.

There’s a cultural shift underway, too. Lawyers who once defaulted to AI hesitancy are starting to move toward hands-on experimentation. They’re building muscle memory around prompt design, testing outputs across multiple models and generally asking better questions. In doing so, they’re creating a new baseline for what legal excellence looks like.

AI hasn’t erased the need for legal judgment. If anything, it’s made that judgment more visible – because nothing AI produces carries weight until a lawyer decides how it holds up in the real world – at least for now.

We've featured the best AI writer.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Goosebumps has been canceled after two seasons at Disney+ and I'm heartbroken at the sudden loss of the hit horror series.

The R.L. Stine adaptation received rave reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 75% at the time of writing. It was one of the best Disney+ shows, so it's sudden disappearance may come as a shock to fans.

However, there's a chance we could see Goosebumps revived elsewhere as reports have suggested that the supernatural horror series could find a different streaming home. According to Variety, "an individual with knowledge of the situation, series producer Sony Pictures Television plans to shop the show to other outlets and explore different creative directions for the IP".

While that isn't a lot to go off right now, it does give us an indication that Goosebumps isn't completely dead in the water, and that producers are keen to see a fresh take on the series.

Where could Goosebumps end up next?

(Image credit: Disney+)

Unfortunately I don't have clairvoyance like some characters you may see in Goosebumps, but there are certainly streaming services that have favored horror content recently that could make them a great contender for the series.

HBO Max consistently picks up A24 horror movies and is no stranger to the darker side of storytelling, so could we see a Goosebumps revival coming to the best HBO Max shows? I do think that HBO Max would be a great place for Goosebumps, but that's not the only service that caught my eye when considering where it might go next.

Shudder is the leading horror streaming service with plenty of great originals. Most recently, they adapted the found footage horror movie series Creep into a series, so it would be interesting to see if they had a hand in re-developing Goosebumps.

I'd be happy with either of these options. Given the fact we've seen such a revival for good quality horror on the best streaming services, I'm praying that Goosebumps gets picked up somewhere and doesn't come to an abrupt end.

Right now this is all speculation but with a huge IP like Goosebumps, I'm sure many streamers would jump at the chance to have it in their library.

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Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Tuesday, August 12 (game #1296).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1297) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

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

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1297) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1297) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1297) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1297) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• C

• H

• E

• A

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

Quordle today (game #1297) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1297, are…

• CACTI
• HOMER
• EMAIL
• ALBUM

Another five-vowel day, but thanks to several repeated Quordle words – CACTI and EMAIL – much easier than yesterday.

ALBUM was my best guess today – one of those brilliant times when you see the word in your mind's eye and just know it’s right. Logically I know this comes from playing all the Quordle games every day, but I like to pretend it’s brain magic.

Daily Sequence today (game #1297) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1297, are…

• SWORN
• ODDER
• SCENT
• WIELD

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1296, Tuesday, 12 August: SPOOL, TITLE, JAUNT, OVINE
• Quordle #1295, Monday, 11 August: ADULT, BROOM, PURER, CRUEL
• Quordle #1294, Sunday, 10 August: SCRUM, PIPER, TROLL, SPORE
• Quordle #1293, Saturday, 9 August: NOOSE, INLET, ELEGY, VIRUS
• Quordle #1292, Friday, 8 August: KNEEL, KINKY, RALPH, BOOZY
• Quordle #1291, Thursday, 7 August: PLUNK, PROXY, CURVY, PEARL
• Quordle #1290, Wednesday, 6 August: RISKY, APART, FAUNA, HANDY
• Quordle #1289, Tuesday, 5 August: ROAST, SLICK, AUDIT, BILLY
• Quordle #1288, Monday, 4 August: MACAW, SINCE, COLON, CHIRP
• Quordle #1287, Sunday, 3 August: MOTIF, LEERY, LOFTY, BURST
• Quordle #1286, Saturday, 2 August: WARTY, PUPAL, CLEAR, SLICE
• Quordle #1285, Friday, 1 August: ACTOR, MEALY, WIDTH, ADOBE
• Quordle #1284, Thursday, 31 July: STYLE, VALET, AGONY, ALLOY
• Quordle #1283, Wednesday, 30 July: DEBAR, ADMIN, FOLIO, USAGE
• Quordle #1282, Tuesday, 29 July: BATCH, TOPIC, MURKY, BUNCH
• Quordle #1281, Monday, 28 July: CANDY, TRYST, SHIRT, FORGO
• Quordle #1280, Sunday, 27 July: TRAWL, BALER, PIANO, MINCE
• Quordle #1279, Saturday, 26 July: MUDDY, SAINT, KINKY, POLAR
• Quordle #1278, Friday, 25 July: BONUS, RESIN, CEDAR, MADAM

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, August 12 (game #793).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #794) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• FISH
• CHICK
• CLIP
• ENTRANCE
• BANGLE
• GATE
• CHARM
• PASSAGE
• EXTRACT
• RIVET
• SUPREME
• BOARD
• GO-GO
• QUOTE
• THRILL
• STRUCK

NYT Connections today (game #794) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Under their spell 
• GREEN: A section of content 
• BLUE: Female pop band
• PURPLE: Precede with a word that rhyme with “bar”

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #794) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: CAPTIVATE 
• GREEN: EXCERPT 
• BLUE: MEMBER OF A GIRL GROUP
• PURPLE: STAR___ 

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

NYT Connections today (game #794) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #794, are…

• YELLOW: CAPTIVATE CHARM, ENTRANCE, RIVET, THRILL
• GREEN: EXCERPT CLIP, EXTRACT, PASSAGE, QUOTE
• BLUE: MEMBER OF A GIRL GROUP BANGLE, CHICK, GO-GO, SUPREME
• PURPLE: STAR___ BOARD, FISH, GATE, STRUCK

• My rating: Hard
• My score: Perfect

I’m classifying today’s round as tricky, because although I didn’t make any mistakes I did come pretty close to trying to make one group made up of jewelry items (CHARM, CLIP, BANGLE) and another about access points (GATE, ENTRANCE, PASSAGE).

Thankfully, I didn’t fall for either of these traps – mainly because I remembered to consider the less obvious meanings of words; RIVET was the last one I put in the CAPTIVATE group, as I was locked into thinking it was a fastener.

I was really pleased to get MEMBER OF A GIRL GROUP, as I’d puzzled for a while over what GO-GO could refer to before remembering the group the Go-Gos and their brilliant song Our Lips Are Sealed.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, August 12, game #793)

• YELLOW: GROUPS OF TEN BOWLING PINS, COMMANDMENTS, DECADE, FINGERS
• GREEN: PLACES WITH LANES BOWLING ALLEY, HIGHWAY, SUPERMARKET, SWIMMING POOL
• BLUE: LANDMARKS IN DOWNTOWN NYC BOWLING GREEN, BROOKLYN BRIDGE, CITY HALL, WALL STREET
• PURPLE: THINGS WITH HOLES BOWLING BALL, COLANDER, GOLF COURSE, SPONGE

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, August 12 (game #527).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #528) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Hitchcock festival

NYT Strands today (game #528) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• ROOT
• PITY
• RUST
• OTHER
• BOATS
• STIR

NYT Strands today (game #528) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 9 letters

NYT Strands today (game #528) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: right, 8th row

Last side: left, 5th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #528) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #528, are…

• PSYCHO
• VERTIGO
• ROPE
• LIFEBOAT
• TOPAZ
• NOTORIOUS
• SPANGRAM: FILM TITLE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

A little bit of knowledge got me a long way today.

Immediately thinking we were looking for the names of Alfred Hitchcock films I searched for the two I knew best – PSYCHO and VERTIGO, both of which were easy to locate thanks to their rare letter combinations. From here I grabbed a few I didn’t know – LIFEBOAT, ROPE and TOPAZ.

My favorite Hitchcock film – Rear Window – didn’t make the cut, for obvious reasons, but I’m more disappointed by the very low-key spangram. Mr Hitchcock deserves something less prosaic than FILM TITLE.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, August 12, game #527)

• DOUBLE
• DUPLICATE
• LOOKALIKE
• REPLICA
• FACSIMILE
• SPANGRAM: COPY THAT

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

• A new video on YouTube shows a DIY handheld gaming PC using an Nvidia RTX 4090 gaming laptop GPU
• It features a 4K 60Hz display, 64GB of RAM, and 4TB of storage space
• It's a sign that handheld gaming PCs could be more powerful than current mainstream models are

Nvidia's RTX 5000 series GPUs remain in the spotlight after their launch in January, with Super model GPUs expected to arrive later this year. However, the previous generation's laptop GPUs have been utilized in an unexpected way – and it points to the possibility of more powerful portable gaming.

As reported by Notebookcheck, NITTRX has showcased a DIY custom handheld gaming PC on YouTube, running multiple triple-A games at 4K on high settings, utilizing an RTX 4090 laptop GPU. Yes, you read that right – and it's working alongside Intel's Core i9 14900HX, a powerful 24-core and 32-thread processor.

Now, that may instantly raise some red flags concerning thermals, battery life, and power consumption, but as the screenshot shows below, there's adequate cooling; the RTX 4090 laptop GPU temperature mostly remains at 162F / 72C, while the CPU fluctuates between 151F and 158F, or 66C and 70C.

That screen is massive... (Image credit: NITTRX)

Having tested a decent number of handheld gaming PCs from MSI, Lenovo, and Asus, I can say that the thermal performance of this DIY handheld is very similar to that of the mainstream devices. This is all while housing 4TB of storage via two 2TB SSDs and 64GB of RAM via two 32GB sticks – all of which should contribute to higher temperatures, but those temperatures are nowhere near what would be considered excessive.

It's also worth noting that this handheld is using a Dell 12.5-inch 4K 60Hz display (specifically the Sharp LQ125D1), but frame rates reaching triple digits in game tests truly show what the RTX 4090 laptop GPU is capable of. Great performance is achievable on current handhelds using AMD APUs and Intel SoCs, but this is possibly the best handheld gaming PC you'll see for a while.

This shows that it's no longer a matter of whether or not 4K handheld gaming is possible. It's now a matter of whether handheld gaming PC manufacturers are willing to make the leap and design more powerful handheld gaming PCs, which would likely target a niche audience, depending on pricing.

Analysis: These are the handhelds that should have premium prices, not the new AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme models

(Image credit: MSI)

I've been fairly vocal about my frustration with handheld gaming PCs and the sudden spike in their pricing, without much of a performance leap over previous hardware to justify it. We're seeing this happen with the new MSI Claw A8 pushing close to $1,000, despite early benchmarks suggesting a minimal 10% performance increase in games using AMD’s new Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor, compared to the Ryzen Z1 Extreme.

The only handhelds with potential high price tags that can be justified are the Ayaneo Flip 1S DS, which uses AMD's powerful AMD's Ryzen AI HX 370 processor; the Lenovo Legion Go 2, mostly due to the addition of an OLED screen; and of course, this custom-made RTX 4090 handheld.

Unfortunately, I don't see any of the mainstream handheld gaming PC manufacturers getting any ideas from this DIY setup. Producing such devices would require plenty of durability tests, and the resulting handhelds would essentially rival gaming laptops on a larger scale.

A 12.5-inch display is also undesirable, which I've previously stated regarding the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 – and I still hold that opinion about this DIY device, although it's far more tolerable given the hardware and the available resolution.

I'd love to see a device like this be replicated by a mainstream manufacturer – and if there's anything we should take away from this DIY project, it's that 4K handheld gaming isn't impossible after all.

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2024 was a strange year for phones. Software packages like Galaxy AI, Google Gemini, and Apple Intelligence dominated keynotes and marketing campaigns, while hardware innovations were, for the most part, relegated to the sidelines.

On the outside, the best phones of 2024 were largely indistinguishable from their predecessors, with the exception of the Google Pixel 9 Pro, which felt properly different from the Pixel 8 Pro before it. Google refreshed its tired Pixel lineup with a more grown-up, modern-looking phone, and the Pixel 9 Pro also boasted the cleanest implementation of AI we’d seen at the time (Samsung’s Galaxy AI has arguably caught up since then).

For those reasons, the Pixel 9 Pro earned our Phone of the Year award for 2024. But judging by what I’ve seen so far of the Pixel 10 Pro, I don’t see Google’s next flagship repeating the feat in 2025.

The Pixel 10 Pro is set to debut at this year’s Made by Google showcase on August 20, but it’s already been semi-unveiled in an official teaser video, and countless leaks and rumors have given us an almost nailed-on idea of what to expect.

An official image of a phone believed to be the Pixel 10 Pro in Moonstone (Image credit: Google)

It’ll reportedly look almost identical to the Pixel 9 Pro, use a more powerful Tensor G5 chipset, and its battery will be marginally larger. We’ll also, of course, get some new colors, including a fetching ‘Moonstone’ shade.

On the software side, the Pixel 10 Pro is rumored to launch with a new photography feature called Camera Coach, which will use AI to analyse images fed through the camera and offer contextual suggestions.

And that’s pretty much it.

Where the Pixel 9 Pro represented a major generational leap over the Pixel 8 Pro, the Pixel 10 Pro will seemingly be an iterative upgrade over the Pixel 9 Pro. It won’t have the same feeling of newness or innovation, and as a result, I’m not expecting it to scoop this year’s Phone of the Year award on that basis alone.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro was our Phone of the Year in 2024 (Image credit: Blue Pixl Media)

Weirdly, though, I don’t see this as a bad thing. In all areas except raw power, the Pixel line has caught up to the best iPhones and best Samsung phones, and now Google can afford to do what both Apple and Samsung do so often: innovate iteratively.

I know that sounds strange – don’t we, as tech fans, hate iterative upgrades? – but we can’t shower the Pixel 9 Pro with praise and then expect (or want) Google to bring an entirely new product to the table the very next year. It got so much right with the Pixel 9 Pro, and it’s unrealistic to expect its successor to bowl us over in quite the same way.

If I were a Pixel fan, I’d be OK with that. Heck, as an iPhone user, I’ve already written about how the Pixel 10 Pro in Moonstone will test my loyalty to Apple. I think the phone looks great – it just doesn’t look particularly new.

Who knows? Maybe those aforementioned upgrades will be enough to see the Pixel 10 Pro scoop our Phone of the Year award in 2025. I’m simply suggesting that Google has made a rod for its own back with the success of the Pixel 9 Pro.

Are you looking forward to the Pixel 10 Pro? Let us know in the comments below.

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• Alien: Earth's creative team have given their take on why it's taken so long for an Alien TV series to be made
• They always envisioned it as a show rather than a movie
• Every other live-action Alien project has been made for the big screen

Alien: Earth's creative team has opened up on the decision to tell its story on the small screen.

Until now, every single project set in the Alien universe has been a movie. Indeed, from the 1979 Sigourney Weaver-starring original to 2024's pseudo-sequel Alien: Romulus, the sci-fi horror franchise's various tales have been told in film format.

That's changed with FX TV Original in Alien: Earth, which will air on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally). Created by frequent FX collaborator Noah Hawley, who also developed Fargo and Legion for the US TV network, Earth breaks the near-50-year cycle of Alien stories being released exclusively in theaters.

Bringing the Xenomorph-led property to the small screen wouldn't have been possible until a few years ago. Many of the world's best streaming services, including Disney+, didn't exist. Furthermore, production budgets for TV shows had lagged behind their silver screen counterparts for decades. However, a sea change largely brought about by the rise of the streaming industry has reshaped the landscape and led to the purse strings being loosened by TV executives, thereby allowing creators to make shows with budgets similar to those of their movie siblings.

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It's the end to such financial restrictions that enabled Hawley, producer David W. Zucker, and the rest of Alien: Earth's cast and crew to craft an eight-part series with a scope to rival any of the franchise's previous projects. However, speaking to me ahead of the show's release, Hawley and Zucker revealed there are other reasons why an Alien TV show hasn't been attempted before – and what made them settle on telling Earth's story via the television medium.

"A two-hour Alien movie is a survival story, right?" Hawley said. "Other than how expensive it would be, the obstacle of bringing the franchise to television is 'well, what other story could we tell?'.

"It [an Alien film] is about monsters and people running for their lives," Hawley continued. "That's not a TV show with any staying power. Part of the reason why it [Alien: Earth] worked is because I use the IP [intellectual property] as a starting point to explore my own themes and issues, and build a story within the Alien world. The are challenges with the scale of this show, balancing the drama, horror, and action, etcetera, but I think we accomplished all of that."

"The truth is, corporately, the franchise has been owned by the film division [20th Century Studios]," Zucker added. "It only became possible when we were given access to it [the Alien franchise] and then tried to find a place, such as FX, that would support this kind of vision. Fortunately, the long relationship they have with Noah, that's become a dream pairing for us and is the only conceivable way this could've worked."

Alien: Earth launches with a two-episode premiere on August 12 (North and South America) and August 13 (everywhere else). Read my dedicated guide to Alien: Earth, as well as my Alien: Earth review, before it arrives.

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