Technology

The iPhone 16E and the iPhone 15 are both capable devices that cost less than a $799 iPhone 16, but each come with different compromises.

• Criminals are using the April 15 tax deadline to trick victims
• Phishing attacks used to deliver malware and infostealers
• This leaves victims at risk of fraud and identity theft, as well as monetary loss

With the April 15 deadline for tax filings in the US fast approaching, a new report from Microsoft has warned phishing campaigns are using it as a way to trick people into handing over their personal information.

The company says social engineering attacks have been observed using redirection methods like QR codes, URL shorteners, and other malicious attachments to deliver malware like Latrodectus, BruteRatel C4 (BRc4) and AHKBot as well as remote access trojans (RATs).

Tax day specifically represents a serious risk the many who are looking for help in filing taxes, and criminals can convince victims to enter their financial information - which leaves people at risk of identity theft or fraud, especially criminals taking out credit cards in the victim’s name.

Monitor your credit score with TransUnion starting at $29.95/month

TransUnion is a credit monitoring service that helps you stay on top of your financial health. With real-time alerts, credit score tracking, and identity theft protection, it ensures you never miss important changes. You'll benefit from a customizable online interface with clear insights into your credit profile. Businesses also benefit from TransUnion’s advanced risk assessment tools.

Preferred partner (What does this mean?)View Deal

Tax-centric threats

The themed phishing emails have been sent thousands of times, Microsoft notes, using email subjects like “Important Action Required: IRS Audit” and “Notice: IRS Has Flagged Issues with Your Tax Filing”.

These are designed to create a sense of urgency, which panics victims into acting without properly considering the risks.

Some campaigns even started with “a benign rapport-building email from a fake persona” to lure recipients in, followed by a second email containing a malicious PDF - a technique which increases the slick rates on the malicious payloads thanks to the established trust between the attacker and victim.

A popular malware delivered in these campaigns is GuLoader, a “highly evasive malware downloader” which leverages encrypted shellcode, process injection, and cloud-based hosting services in order to deliver payloads like infostealers and RATs.

Criminals often take advantage of events or services, with Microsoft warning about a new phishing campaign impersonating Booking.com, deploying powerful malware to steal credentials.

The most effective defence against phishing attacks is education - knowing what to look for and staying calm in order to avoid being convinced to click malicious links or to enter credentials.

We’ve listed everything you need to know about phishing to help keep you safe.

You might also like

• Take a look at our picks for the best malware removal software around
• Check out our choice for best antivirus software
• This new phishing campaign can tailor its messages to target you with your favorite businesses

Los Blancos look to make it four wins in a row as they host Los Ches.

If you were following our live blog ahead of Nintendo’s big Switch 2 event, you might have seen my contribution, where I said I was hoping Nintendo would blow me away with its new hardware, and finally convince me to buy one of its consoles for the first time since the GameCube.

Now that the dust has settled after the event, I can safely say that unfortunately, Nintendo failed. I was holding out for a killer gaming handheld, an affordable price and exclusive games that would make me fall in love with Nintendo again. We got none of that.

The hardware itself, from what Nintendo showed, was fine. I like the new, larger 7.9-inch screen in particular, as I think the larger the screen the better for gaming on, and I’m seeing an encouraging trend with PC gaming handhelds coming with larger screen options.

The 1080p resolution and 120Hz variable refresh rate support were also big ticks for me, though I was disappointed that the screen was LCD, not OLED. The optimist in me thought this might be a sacrifice for a more tempting overall price of the console. The pessimist in me, however, expects that this is more so Nintendo can flog an OLED version later on.

(Image credit: Nintendo)

I also like the look of the new Joy-Con controllers that attach via magnets (hopefully they’ll have the same satisfying pull that you get when you attach a MagSafe 3 charger to a MacBook), and being able to use them like mice means the Switch 2 could be a great platform for oft-neglected genres such as real time strategy games. Of course, you’ll need to be sitting near a flat surface to use them like a mouse, which seems to defeat the object a bit of the Switch 2.

Sorry, Nintendo. You lost me

After those few bright spots, my interest in the Switch 2 plummeted, however. The new C button means Nintendo has finally realized that online chat between friends is a thing, and the Switch Camera, which just looks like a Nest Camera, isn’t that exciting either. The demonstration video also seemed to show that video streams suffer from low frames per second, leading to rather janky and distracting footage.

(Image credit: Nintendo)

The game footage shown was also a disappointment to me, with some very underwhelming graphics that looked distinctly last-gen. Now I know a lot of people say ‘but it’s Nintendo, it’s never about pure power’ but while that’s been true of recent generations, that wasn’t always the case – both the SNES and N64, for example, were more powerful than the competition.

Anyway, graphical fidelity certainly isn’t the be-all and end-all (the game I’m still mostly obsessed with is Balatro, which isn’t exactly cutting-edge), as long as there’s a charming art style. But when third-party games look noticeably worse than on competing devices, you need to pull out all the stops in other departments to get people to pick your console.

(Image credit: Nintendo)

One of these is with first-party exclusive games that you can only play on the console. Traditionally, this is something Nintendo has excelled at, and with its refusal to port games to PC, if you want to play a Mario or Zelda game you have to buy a Nintendo console.

The problem with this week's announcement was that there was a real lack of first-party exclusives. Unless I missed something, the big announcements were a new Mario Kart (oh yey a franchise that has now had well over 10 instalments) and a Kirby racing game which… well, it’s Kirby. Consider me distinctly underwhelmed.

The price isn't right

Another way to win people over is with an extremely competitive price that undercuts the competition. Again, Nintendo has done this well in the past, and again with the Switch 2 it seems to have forgotten that.

With a launch price of $449.99 / £395.99 / AU$699.95, this is an expensive console. Sony’s rival PS5 now regularly sells for less than that, and the problem for Nintendo is that the Switch 2 isn’t just competing with the PS5 and Xbox Series X, but also PC gaming handhelds such as the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally X.

PC gaming handhelds are a rapidly growing product category, and because companies like Valve, Asus and Lenovo are all building their own devices, there’s already a lot of choice for people looking for a handheld gaming console.

This means there are handhelds out there that have more powerful hardware than the Switch 2, so offer better gaming experiences, and there are lower-powered models that are cheaper than the Switch 2.

I was also shocked at the price of Switch 2 games, with the new Mario Kart World apparently being sold for $79.99 / £74.99, and I’ve seen some people speculate that we could get Switch 2 games as expensive as $90.

This is horrendously expensive, and would mean if I were to get a Switch 2, my library of games would be pretty small, as I just couldn't justify spending that kind of money on games regularly.

Nintendo games also have a habit of stubbornly keeping their prices, even several years after their release, so I probably wouldn’t be able to pick up a Switch 2 later on in the generation and buy older games at lower prices.

This is another area where PC gaming handheld beat the Switch 2. PC games on the whole are cheaper than console versions, and because PC is an open platform, there’s a wide range of stores you can buy your games from (such as Steam, Epic Games Store or Amazon), which increases competition that leads to sales and special offers to tempt gamers.

On the Switch 2, if you want to buy a digital game there’s only one company you will be able to buy it from: Nintendo. So you’ll be relying on it cutting prices for its games, and that’s something Nintendo doesn’t like doing.

So, throughout the Switch 2 event, I was just thinking how glad I am that I have an Asus ROG Ally X, which offers a convenient handheld gaming experience with excellent performance and a huge library of affordable games. Best of all, the games I buy for the Ally X can also be played on my gaming PC and Steam Deck without having to rebuy them – another big tick when it comes to affordability compared to the Switch 2.

Of course, the one thing the ROG Ally X can’t do – nor any of the rival PC gaming handhelds – is officially play Nintendo games.

This is the Switch 2’s biggest advantage, and while I’ve not been excited about the first party games that have been shown so far, if Nintendo brings out some brilliant new Mario, Zelda or Pokemon games (or even, god forbid, make a new franchise) that I’ll be desperate to play but won’t be able to unless I buy the new console, then it could win me over. Until then, I’ll be sticking with my ROG Ally X, thank you very much.

You might also like...

• Here are the Nintendo Switch 2 launch games that you'll be able to pick up and play on June 5
• Furious fans hijack Nintendo Treehouse: Live stream with demands to 'drop the price'
• Nintendo confirms that certain Switch 2 game cards will just have a download key, but I don't think it's as bad as we first thought

Striking Spectrum workers started the cooperative in 2017 and it has been fighting for equitable internet access ever since.

• South Korean startup FuriosaAI rejected an $800 takeover from Meta
• Deal collapsed over post-acquisition plans despite above market valuation
• FuriosaAI chose to stay independent and will launch its RNGD chip this year

As demand for AI infrastructure continues to grow, hyperscalers like Meta, Microsoft, and Google are actively working to reduce their reliance on Nvidia’s pricey hardware by developing their own custom silicon. Meta has reportedly begun testing its first in-house AI training chip, as part of a broader push to gain more control over its AI stack.

In addition to its internal efforts, Meta has also been exploring acquisitions of promising AI chipmakers to bolster its hardware capabilities.

One such target was Korean startup FuriosaAI, which the tech giant saw as a strong candidate to help accelerate its AI infrastructure ambitions. Meta made a buyout offer worth $800 million (approximately 1.2 trillion won) for the company, but despite the offer coming in about 400 billion won (roughly $300 million) above FuriosaAI’s estimated market value, it was rebuffed.

A difference of opinion

According to Maeil Business Newspaper, negotiations broke down due to conflicting visions about the company’s future. FuriosaAI’s leadership chose to walk away from the deal and continue operating independently in the increasingly competitive AI semiconductor space.

“Since October of last year, Meta had been looking at several AI semiconductor companies in the U.S. and Israel, and finally chose FuriosaAI as a strong acquisition target and entered into negotiations at the beginning of the year,” an insider familiar with the company told Maeil Business Newspaper.

“I understand that the negotiations broke down because the two sides could not narrow their differences over the direction of the business and organizational structure after the acquisition, rather than the price.”

Founded in 2017 by CEO June Paik, FuriosaAI specializes in AI chip design and currently employs around 140 people - over 90 percent of whom are developers, including engineers from Google, Qualcomm, and Samsung.

The company’s flagship product, RNGD (pronounced 'Renegade'), unveiled at Hot Chips 2024, is a high-performance AI inference chip built on TSMC’s 5nm process and equipped with dual HBM3 memory.

According to FuriosaAI, it delivers twice the efficiency of traditional GPUs while consuming only a quarter of the power, so it’s easy to see the appeal to Meta.

Mass production of RNGD is expected to begin in the second half of 2025 and Maeil Business Newspaper reports that a number of major organizations, including LG AI Research and Saudi Aramco, have signed up to test the chip’s performance.

FuriosaAI has raised around 70 billion won (approximately $52 million) in funding to support its chip production and operational costs.

(Image credit: FuriosaAI ) You might also like

• Meta is taking a RISC-y route for AI training and inference acceleration
• Meta reveals hardware behind recommendations for Facebook and Instagram
• Meta purportedly trained its AI on more than 80TB of pirated content

The Gunners travel to Merseyside hoping to keep their faint title hopes alive.

The White Lotus season 4: key information

- Season 4 is already confirmed
- No official details about cast, dates or plot revealed
- No cold destination on the cards
- Rumors of a European destination

The White Lotus season 4 was confirmed before season 3 even aired. If that’s not a surefire sign of how wildly popular this darkly comic anthology has become – and just how much juicy, sun-soaked chaos it still has to give – then we don’t know what is.

Even though we’ve barely had time to rinse the salt water from our hair and check-out of The White Lotus season 3, fans are already asking: where will the hit anthology series take us next?

We’ll be real with you, nothing is official yet, apart from the fact it is happening. But that won’t stop us from diving headfirst into the rumor pool.

Between interesting reveals in interviews, online rumors, and some good old-fashioned speculation, there’s plenty to get excited about. From potential destinations to returning characters and Mike White’s increasingly unhinged genius, here’s everything we (think we) know about The White Lotus season 4 so far.

The White Lotus season 4: when it is landing?

The big question is, where will The White Lotus season 4 be set? (Image credit: HBO Max)

Right now, there’s no official release window. All we know for sure is that HBO renewed The White Lotus season 4 back in January before season 3 even aired.

But that won’t stop us from making some educated guesses. Season 1 of the hit show arrived in July 2021, followed by season 2 in October 2022. Season three then premiered on February 16, 2025 – there was a slightly longer wait than usual due to the Hollywood strikes that paused production across the industry in 2023.

As for season 4? Production is expected to begin in 2026, which means we likely won’t be checking into the next White Lotus location until late 2026, or possibly even early 2027. What can we say? Luxury chaos takes time.

When it does arrive, expect to see it on HBO and Max in the US, just like previous seasons. Elsewhere, availability will vary. For example, in the UK, season 3 landed exclusively on Sky, while past seasons are available to buy on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.

The White Lotus season 4: has a trailer been released?

Will Natasha Rothwell star in all four seasons of The White Lotus as spa manager Belinda Lindsey? (Image credit: HBO Max)

Sadly, no trailer for The White Lotus season 4 has landed yet. And honestly, we’re not expecting one for a while. With production not likely to begin until 2026, you’ll be waiting a bit longer for your next dose of suspicious stares and sweeping drone shots of paradise.

In the meantime, you could rewatch the season 2 trailer if you’re missing Tanya McQuoid’s unforgettable chaos. (Let’s be real, we all are.) And consider this your official excuse to rewatch the whole series from the beginning, too – purely for research purposes, of course.

The White Lotus season 4: confirmed cast

Will any character in The White Lotus season 4 be more iconic than Tanya McQuoid? Doubtful (Image credit: HBO)

Potential spoilers follow for The White Lotus below.

As The White Lotus fans know by now, each season brings a brand-new group of guests and resort staff to a different, picture-perfect location.

So far, casting for season 4 hasn’t been confirmed. But it’s expected to feature another fresh ensemble of tourists and locals. That said, don’t rule out a few familiar faces.

The White Lotus isn’t afraid to bring characters back when it makes sense – just look at Natasha Rothwell’s return as spa manager Belinda Lindsey in season 3, or the recurring role of Greg (Jon Gries), who’s somehow made it through all three seasons.

Of course, we can’t talk about The White Lotus without mentioning Jennifer Coolidge’s unforgettable Tanya McQuoid, who became the emotional (and slightly unhinged) heart of the first two seasons. While her storyline may be, erm, wrapped up, never say never in The White Lotus universe.

Casting is always a major moment for this show. It tends to be a buzzy blend of big names and breakout stars, so expect plenty of excitement once the lineup does drop.

In a May 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, creator Mike White teased that an “all-star season” might happen in the future, saying: “If the show goes on for a couple of seasons, it would be fun to have an all-star season [...] It would be easy to just be full-on anthology, but I think it's more fun to have little threads through the show.”

Translation? Keep your eyes peeled. The next guest list could be full of surprises.

The White Lotus season 4: story synopsis and rumors

The White Lotus season 4 is bound to be full of scandal and secrets – but where will it be set? (Image credit: HBO)

It’s still early days, but if The White Lotus season 4 sticks to what’s worked so well for the show before, we can probably expect the familiar setup, which includes a glossy, high-end resort, a cast of privileged and messy guests, and a dead body teased in the opening moments.

Traditionally, the show unfolds over 6 to 8 episodes, flashing back to the days leading up to the mysterious death while peeling back layers of wealth, power, desire, and delusion. But don’t get too comfortable, creator Mike White has made it clear the formula isn’t set in stone.

“I don’t think it needs to always be a body,” White told The Hollywood Reporter. “There are so many ways that we want to reinvent the show each year. Like, what is this show – other than people? A fresh mystery, people maybe expect that. But I don’t feel constrained by expectation. It’s fun.”

Whatever format The White Lotus season 4 takes, it’s safe to assume we’ll get another sharp, satirical look at human nature, filtered through the lives of both the resort’s wealthy guests and its often-overlooked employees. And just like past seasons, there’s likely to be a central theme that shapes the tone of the story.

In HBO’s Unpacking Season 2: Episode 7 video, White explained: “The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex. I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality.” So what will season 4 explore? Fame, politics, revenge, legacy? We can’t wait to find out.

But let’s be honest, half the thrill of a new season of The White Lotus is finding out where it’s set. Location doesn’t just provide the backdrop, it practically becomes a character in its own right.

According to Deadline, in a February 2025 interview, HBO executive Francesca Orsi teased a return to Europe, saying: “We’re going on some locations scouting in the next couple of weeks, so we’ll know soon [...] I can’t really say where we’re going to land but chances are somewhere in Europe.”

So far, each season has been filmed at a real-life Four Seasons resort, which doubles as the fictional White Lotus hotel. And there are plenty of glamorous European options still on the table – including a particularly dreamy one in the south of France.

That said, conflicting reports hint that the team may be eyeing an entirely new continent. According to Parade, a source revealed: “Right now, it’s looking like the next season of The White Lotus will be shot in Egypt or Mexico [...] They want to pick somewhere they haven't shot yet, so a new continent. They want to go somewhere completely new since this season is in Asia, which is why they're between the two. The decision should be made soon."

And don’t hold out for a snow-covered murder mystery anytime soon. As executive producer David Bernad said on The Bill Simmons Podcast: “Mike [White] doesn’t like the cold. That’s why we’ll never do it. So we’ll never do it….feel confident we’ll never do a season in the cold. He just, Mike is, Mike’s not built for, he’s a California guy. He’s not built for the cold. But never say never, but I would be surprised.”

So a ski resort is definitely off the table. But the options still feel endless. Wherever it is, you can bet two things. It’ll look stunning and someone will probably die there.

Will there be more seasons of The White Lotus?

Only The White Lotus season 4 has been confirmed, but we'd bet good money on future seasons, too... (Image credit: HBO Max)

Will The White Lotus extend beyond the confirmed fourth season? Oh, we'd put money on it. But nothing is confirmed.

Speaking to Deadline, Francesca Orsi said: “I imagine he is going to go beyond four [...] He [White] hasn’t confirmed it, but I think he has more to say than just one more season.”

So while nothing beyond The White Lotus season 4 has been confirmed yet, it’s clear the appetite – for both viewers and the creators – is there.

And honestly, why stop? The show's anthology format gives it endless flexibility. So as long as it continues to deliver its signature mix of satire, scandal, and sunscreen, we’re ready to check in for as many seasons as they'll give us.

For more news about the return of some of the best Max shows, check out our guides on The Last of Us season 2, Creature Commandos season 2 and Euphoria season 3.

This week was a momentous one as Microsoft turned 50. On top of that, we finally saw the Nintendo Switch 2 in all its glory, and Sony's new OLED tech floored us.

To catch up on all that and the other biggest stories of the week, we've rounded them up here. There's a quick recap of each story, and links to further reading if you're desperate to know more.

Once you're up to speed on the news, be sure to check out our picks for the 7 new movies and TV shows to stream this weekend (April 4).

7. Microsoft turned 50 – and celebrated with a big CoPilot upgrade

(Image credit: Future)

Not many tech companies have lived long enough to celebrate their golden anniversary, but grizzled tech giant Microsoft hit that impressive milestone this week. Rather than sit back with a well-earned Old Fashioned or embarrass its grandchildren with a chicken dance, it announced a big upgrade to its CoPilot AI assistant instead.

CoPilot is now morphing from a fairly standard, generative AI chatbot into a full-blown companion to rival ChatGPT and Google Gemini. Well, that's the theory anyway – the new CoPilot now has a memory to help it "learn who you are deeply", while the mobile apps can use your smartphone's camera to help it understand what you're seeing.

That all sounds both useful and creepy, but will CoPilot have the staying power of Windows, Word or even Clippy? Time will tell – we'll let you know in 2075.

• Read more: Microsoft 50th Anniversary Copilot Event live – we're on the ground with all the latest news

6. Nintendo spilled (almost) everything on the Switch 2

(Image credit: Nintendo)

This week, we went hands-on with Nintendo Switch 2, which is due to launch in just a couple of months on June 5, 2025. The new console boasts a number of significant improvements over its predecessor. These include support for 4K resolution on TV, and 1080p on the handheld. We can also expect variable refresh rate support, 256GB of storage space and frame rates of up to 120fps for supported games.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is priced at $429.99 / £395.99 / AU$699.95 for the console by itself. A bundle that includes a digital copy of Mario Kart World can also be bought for $499.99 / £429.99 / AU$769.95. Though prices could rise, at least in the US as Nintendo announced it's delaying Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders in response to the recent Trump tariffs.

Plenty of official peripherals and accessories have been announced. A camera for the new GameChat feature will be sold separately and can be connected to the Switch 2’s USB-C ports. We’re also getting a Pro Controller 2 and a wireless Nintendo GameCube controller that will be compatible with Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack’s upcoming Switch 2 GameCube game library.

• Read more: I spent four hours with Nintendo Switch 2

5. Nintendo showcased the Switch 2 software lineup too

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware reveal, we also got a preview of all the software coming to the new console later this year.

The headline was obviously the Switch 2’s biggest first-party launch title: Mario Kart World. This open-world rendition of the karting title is bigger and better in every way based on our preview, with some delightful new courses and an expansive map to race across.

Other hits from the showcase included Donkey Kong Bananza, new (albeit brief) Silksong details, a look at The Duskbloods – an exclusive FromSoftware title for the Switch 2 – and the arrival of GameCube Classics via the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service.

The only downside is the games are getting pricier with Mario Kart World starting at $79.99 / £75.99. Not to mention that Nintendo’s charging for Welcome Tour – an interactive instruction manual it has designed for the Switch 2.

• Read more: Nintendo Switch 2 live updates

4. ChatGPT had a rollercoaster week

(Image credit: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

It’s been a hell of a week for OpenAI. It kicked things off last week by launching native image generation inside ChatGPT. Previously it has relied on DALL-E for images, but now it could do them itself, and do them better. People quickly realized that it was great at imitating the style of the anime powerhouse Studio Ghibli and a craze for Studio Ghibli-style images of people hit the Internet, resulting in OpenAI’s servers going into meltdown as 1 million new users signed up in just one hour. ChatGPT went down at least three times this week.

Melting servers weren’t OpenAI’s only problem, with many people questioning the legality of producing art in the Studio Ghibli copyright style. Should an AI be allowed to reproduce Studio Ghibli’s founder Hayao Miyazaki’s painstaking frame-by-frame approach to animation with such faithful mimicry?

It’s also strongly rumoured that Deep Reasoning, the wildly popular agentic research capability found in ChatGPT Pro and ChatGPT Plus is coming to the free tier of ChatGPT very soon after a member of OpenAI’s Technical Staff revealed the information in an online discussion. Let’s hope the servers can handle it if and when this does happen.

• Read more: ChatGPT was down again – here's everything we know

3. CinemaCon 2025 gave us film previews galore

(Image credit: Getty Images)

CinemaCon 2025 gave us four days of showcase presentations from the biggest names in Hollywood including Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, DreamWorks, Focus Features, Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery, Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures.

There's so much we could talk about but a few highlights include the Spider-Man: Brand New Day title and date reveal, the John Wick 5 announcement, four The Beatles movies are coming in 2026, and we got the first footage from Wicked Part Two, Avatar: Fire & Ash, and Tron: Ares.

• Read more: CinemaCon 2025 – every big movie announcement

2. We saw Sony's new top-end OLED TV in action

(Image credit: Future)

Sony unveiled the new TVs it has coming in 2025, and probably the juiciest is the Sony Bravia 8 II – a follow-up to both the Sony Bravia 8 mid-range OLED and the high-end Sony A95L QD-OLED.

Sony didn't reveal prices, but said that it'll be cheaper than the A95L, despite being a QD-OLED TV, using the latest-gen panel (the same ones found in the Samsung S95F). With the new-gen panel it'll be brighter than any previous Sony OLED, and should have richer colors. It'll also be only way to get the highest-end QD-OLED screen with a glossy finish, rather than the matte Glare-Free 2.0 finish used by Samsung.

If the Bravia 8 II can hit the same kind of prices as the LG G5 and Samsung S95F – rather than coming in significantly more expensive, like the A95L did – then we could be onto something very special from Sony.

• Read more: I saw Sony's new top-end OLED TV in action

1. Garmin's new subscription caused chaos

(Image credit: Future)

Garmin has unveiled a new and extremely unpopular subscription platform, Garmin Connect+. The company says that its free experience isn't going anywhere, but that hasn't stopped furious users in their thousands protesting the new $7 subscription.

For the monthly fee, Garmin is promising users six paywalled features including Active Intelligence, an AI-powered agent that theoretically gives you more personalized insights into your training and performance.

Generally, fans of the brand are upset about the move because Garmins are often very expensive, making the added cost of a subscription harder to bear. There's also plenty of discourse about the fact that the subscription itself is very thin, and doesn't seem to offer a tremendous amount of value to users given the cost.

Whichever way you slice it, the Garmin Connect+ launch has been a disaster for the company, and with users already tense over a significant outage and premium devices being left out in the cold when it comes to software, the launch could not have been timed worse.

• Read more: Furious Garmin users revolt over new subscription service

• Indian government is expected to contribute a staggering 90% of the cost
• The announcement comes as fab demands is heating up on the back AI explosive growth
• Construction of these fabs is a very long process and always lags demand, sometimes by years

L&T Semiconductor Technologies (LTSCT), a fabless chip startup backed by Indian engineering firm Larsen & Toubro, is planning to build a $10 billion wafer fabrication facility in India.

A report by eeNews Analog claims the ambitious plan hinges on LTSCT achieving $1 billion in annual revenue by the 2026–2027 fiscal year.

Founded in 2023 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, LTSCT was created to design a range of semiconductor components, including MEMS sensors, analog and mixed-signal ICs, RF chips, and smart power devices. While the company hasn’t yet started shipping chips, its CEO, Sandeep Kumar, expects commercial production to begin in the second half of 2025.

Increasing ABF production by 50%

eeNews Analog says Kumar told Business Standard, “A fab plant will require an investment of over US$10 billion. Even with subsidies, it will mean an investment of US$1 billion.” He noted the company’s fab plans would be triggered only if it achieves $1 billion in annual revenue by the 2026–2027 fiscal year.

The company is banking on India’s semiconductor push, which includes a $10 billion incentive program launched in 2021.

The Indian government is expected to contribute up to 90% of the cost of the proposed fab - a level of support that Kumar acknowledges is unusually high by global standards. LTSCT isn’t expected to seek outside funding beyond that.

eeNews Analog noted that LTSCT’s long-term strategy would see it transition from a fabless designer to an integrated device manufacturer (IDM).

The company has already secured more than $300 million in funding from Larsen & Toubro to support its design efforts, with plans to develop 15 chip products by 2027.

You might also like

• TSMC and Broadcom could tear apart Intel's legendary business after 57 years
• India could be AI powerhouse as data center giant pledges $3.2 billion investment
• Build-your-own-chip startup wants everyone to design and fab own processor

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 5.

• Anthropic has launched an AI assistant for colleges called Claude for Education.
• The new AI aims to help students, faculty, and administrators with everything from tutoring to policy summaries.
• The new Learning Mode offers Socratic questioning rather than just answering questions.

Anthropic has a new version of its AI assistant Claude aimed at the world of higher education. The new Claude for Education model offers universities a way of embedding a less disruptive version of AI into classrooms and offices.

Claude for Education is designed to help students with their studies without just doing it for them, and to help faculty customize their curricula. Though Claude, like any other AI chatbot, could write a paper that a student might try to pass off as their own, Claude for Education does try to address that issue with the new Learning Mode. Claude will switch from just answering questions to responding with questions of its own in a nod to the Socratic method of teaching.

Ask for the answer, and Claude might instead ask for ways to think about the problem or what proof could support a thesis. Presumably, it would respond to a question about the airspeed of an unladen swallow by asking which subspecies the swallow belongs to. It can also make a study guide based on materials you upload. That's essentially a feature of Google's NotebookLM too, but has obvious utility in college. You can see how that works below.

Claude college

Anthropic wants students to consider AI less of a homework machine and more of a thoughtful TA. Since more than a quarter of teensuse ChatGPT alone for homework, it's an issue that needs to be addressed. Nobody wants to create a generation of students who just copy-paste AI output into their essays.

And some schools are responding. Northeastern University has signed on as Anthropic’s first official “design partner,” offering Claude access to 50,000 students, faculty, and staff across its 13 campuses. Champlain College and the London School of Economics and Political Science are also among the first adopters.

OpenAI has its own education-focused tools, and CEO Sam Altman even announced that ChatGPT Plus would be free to college students through May. Claude’s approach is more focused, like the deal OpenAI made with Arizona State University to incorporate its AI at the school.

Anthropic is looking to widen Claude's adoption at schools through its new Claude Campus Ambassadors program, which gets students to work with the company in rolling out educational initiatives. They’re also offering API credits to students who want to build cool projects using Claude.

Of course, the real test isn’t how many students use Claude, but how they use it. Because as much as I love the idea of AI making life easier for students and professors, there’s a line between using tech to learn and using it to dodge learning entirely. And that line is, well, blurry. It will be necessary to keep watching how these tools are used and whether they actually help students learn in meaningful, human ways.

You might also like

• ChatGPT is the homework helper for more than a quarter of teens – and the trend is accelerating
• AI educators are coming to this school – and it's part of a trend

Adding eyes to artificial intelligence is always a tricky thing. Do you want it to see everything you're doing all the time? Certainly not, but I think most of us agree that an AI visual assist when you need it could come in quite handy. Microsoft's new Copilot Vision may be one of the most promising applications of AI-based visual capabilities I've seen yet.

Microsoft unveiled the Copilot Vision update for its Windows App and mobile apps (you can point your camera at things, and Vision can identify them for you) during a splashy, combined Copilot and Microsoft 50th Anniversary event.

Copilot all but got a brain transplant, using both homegrown (Microsoft AI or MAI) and OpenAI GPT generative models to deliver updates across memory, search, personalization, and vision capabilities.

Now that I've seen Copilot Vision in action, I can tell you it's one of the most exciting and important updates of the bunch – even if it is coming in two stages.

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

In the version you can access for your supporting Windows Desktop app right now, Copilot Vision can see the apps you're running on the desktop. When you open Copilot – by selecting the icon or pressing your Copilot key on your keyboard – you can now select the new eyeglasses icon.

This lets you see a list of open apps; in our case, we had two running: Blender 3D and Clipchamp. This means that while Copilot is aware of the available apps running on Windows, it is not automatically watching.

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

We selected Blender 3D, and from that moment forward, something in my Windows existence shifted. I realized that Copilot can truly see which app you're running, and instead of guessing at your intent, it answers based on the app and even the project you're working on.

A 3D coffee table project was open, and using our voice, we asked about how to make the table design more traditional. Our prompt contained almost no details about the app or the project, but Copilot's answer, in a lovely baritone, was fully contextual.

We then switched and asked about how to make annotations in the app. Copilot started to answer but we interrupted and asked where to find the icon to add the annotations. Copilot quickly adjusted and promptly told us how to find it.

This could prove enormously useful because you're no longer breaking your flow to jump out to search or even to over-explain which app you're using or the project. Copilot Vision sees and knows.

Let me tell you, though, about what's to come.

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

We followed the same steps to open Copilot and access the Vision component, but this time, we pointed Copilot at our open Clipchamp project.

We asked Copilot how to make our video transitions more seamless. Instead of a text prompt explaining what to do, Copilot Vision showed us exactly where to find the necessary tool in the app.

A giant arrow (inside an animated circle) appeared on the screen, pointing at the transitions tool it recommended we use as it explained the necessary steps. We ran through this demo a couple of times, and owing to its still under-development nature, it didn't always work.

When it did, though, it pointed to a potentially exciting change in how we'll work with apps in Windows.

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

We've also seen a demo video that shows Copilot Vision digging even deeper into the Photoshop app to find the right tools. This, my friends, is Clippy on steroids.

Imagine the future where you use text prompts or your voice to figure out how to perform tasks in an open app, and Copilot Vision digitally takes your hand and guides you through. There's no sign that it will take app-level actions on your behalf, but this could be an incredible visual assistant.

The good news is that the Copilot Vision that at least knows what app and project you're working on is available now. The bad news is that the Copilot Vision I really want has no definite timeline. But I have to assume it won't be long. We did see it live, after all.

You might also like

• Microsoft 50th Anniversary Copilot Event live – we're on the ...
• Windows is about to get its biggest intelligent upgrade ...
• Microsoft Copilot is getting a huge update that'll make it ...

The news is a reversal from February announcements that said it would "no longer ship o3 as a standalone model."

The end of A Minecraft Movie plants the seed for a bigger, blocky, cinematic universe to take shape.

Fans aren't thrilled that the $450 console doesn't simply include a copy of the tutorial game.

This effort by Microsoft to get consumers to embrace AI across their digital lives is part of a larger trend.

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 194, for April 5.

From cars to cameras, CNET experts weigh in on what you should consider buying now before tariffs increase prices.

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 398 for April 5.