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Increased solar flare activity over the last few days will cause the northern horizon to light up for many states.

If you were hoping for yet another New York Times game to satisfy your word-puzzling itch, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Pips, the latest addition to The New York Times' growing games corral, is a word-free, domino-filled exercise in entertainment and occasional frustration.

Pips, which was launched on Monday (August 18) online and iOS and Android, is a departure from the global phenomenon Wordle and its cousin games, Connections and Strands (as well as competitors like Quordle). It has no letters, no word jumbles, or even topic-driven associations.

The only playing pieces on Pip's tiny game board are five dominoes. Yes, just like the dominoes you played with as a kid, or are still using in real life with games like Tiles (no, not the same as NYT's own "Tiles" game). Pips, by the way, are the dots on a domino.

What's the point of Pips?Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

The object of the game is to place all your dominoes on the board by fulfilling certain on-board requirements. These are set out via color-coding, which indicates which Tiles are included in a condition, and small tags that define the condition (often a value) of dominos you can drop in one or more squares.

As you may recall, dominoes have values on them that range from zero (blank) to six pips. Each domino can have mismatched numbers or matching figures. It's these numbers and combos you'll need to pay close attention to as you try to work out each Pips logic puzzle.

This is the first New York Times game we can recall in recent times that allows for three levels of play per day – Easy, Medium, and Hard – and that lets you play all of them on the same day. As soon as you start playing, a timer starts.

Playing Pips

(Image credit: Future)

On the game board, you'll see labels like ">3" ("greater than three"), "<13" for ("less than 13"), or "=" (indicating all squares feature the same number). In each case, the pips on the tiles have to meet those conditions, either individually or collectively.

Satisfying those conditions takes some non-linear thinking. Conditional colors across multiple tile squares do not necessarily mean that you'll be using both squares on one domino to meet those conditions.

(Image credit: Future)

Sometimes you have to look for a condition or pair of conditions that can only be satisfied by one of the five tiles you've been given.

I started with the easy game and solved it in 31 seconds. Feeling pretty good about myself, I switched to Hard and found myself struggling for almost 10 minutes. Medium took me almost six minutes. Now, at least, I think I understand how to play the game and hope that I'll do better tomorrow.

Sharing your Pips

(Image credit: Future)

As with all other New York Times games, you can share your score with friends. Shares show the Pips game number, game level, a color code that I assume reflects your performance, and time. For 31 seconds, I got a green dot. For 5:56, I got a yellow, and for 9:26, I got a red dot.

Pips certainly works a different mental muscle than Wordle, but overall, it feels less succinct and maybe a little less fun. There's a glorious combination of erudition and simplicity to Wordle that I cherish. As a writer, I love word games like it, including Connections and Strands. I also think the gamification, results, and competitions that result from games like Wordle are more universally relatable.

I'm not even sure how you would write the daily guide for Pips. The level of complexity and thought might make each daily read a slog or worse, highly frustrating.

We all use words every day to communicate. We have a sense that our aptitude for the English language is some measure of our intelligence, and whether or not that's true, we love to dunk on each other when we get Wordle in two or even one try.

There's no obvious Pips equivalent of "Got it in 2!" and for that reason, this is no Wordle, but that might just be OK.

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• iOS 26 public beta 3 improves app opening times
• This makes using apps feel much quicker and snappier
• The adjustment does make apps’ content load any faster, though

The third public beta of Apple’s iOS 26 has just landed, and it comes with a few minor tweaks and adjustments for your iPhone. But there’s one change that has really caught my eye, and it’s made my iPhone feel so much faster in the process.

Once you’ve downloaded iOS 26 public beta 3, you’ll likely notice the change almost immediately: now, opening and closing apps feels much snappier than before, with apps springing to life on your screen as soon as you tap them. Instead of waiting for them to fill your screen, they’re there almost instantly. The video further down this page shows the speed in action.

In objective terms, there’s probably only a minor difference in app opening and closing times between iOS 18 and the third beta of iOS 26 – maybe just a few milliseconds. Yet in practice, you absolutely notice the change. I love how quickly it feels like I can dive into my apps without waiting for the animation to finish in iOS 26.

In times when I need to get started rapidly – like opening my camera app to capture a one-off moment, for example – the new animation is a real blessing. But those times are comparatively rare, and I’ve found the main benefit is simply the feeling of increased snappiness I now get with my iPhone. It’s a small change, but a meaningful one.

The slight drawback

iOS 26 beta 6 brings new animations when opening and closing apps pic.twitter.com/u2BiXZDVTgAugust 11, 2025

That said, it’s worth noting that you might not feel the benefits at all times. That’s because the change impacts how quickly an app’s container loads and fills your screen, but it doesn’t actually make that app’s content load any faster.

So, if an app is poorly optimized or takes a long time to show any content on-screen, the latest iOS 26 public beta likely won’t make it feel any faster. That means the improvements could vary, depending on which apps you use the most.

Still, if your apps are well-made and load their internal workings quickly, you’ll really start to feel the improvement when iOS 26 lands properly next month.

Updates like this show that small tweaks can sometimes make more of a difference than new features or big, showy changes. That’s certainly the case here, and the rapid app-loading animations might be one of my favorite adjustments found in iOS 26 so far.

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• OpenAI has no plans to phase out GPT‑4o in October
• The company reinstated GPT‑4o after backlash
• OpenAI promised advance notice before any deprecation of models

Rumors of ChatGPT‑4o's demise have been exaggerated, according to OpenAI. Despite some loud rumors bouncing around Reddit and other social media platforms, ChatGPT's developer has no plans to phase out the popular GPT‑4o model in October.

A now-deleted Reddit post claimed GPT-4o was on a deprecation countdown for the AI chatbot. But the company confirmed to TechRadar that there is no such plan in October or at any other time. Should it happen, OpenAI promised there will be a heads-up with plenty of warning. The company even adjusted its documentation to reflect that fact.

The brief frenzy around the rumor isn't too surprising after what happened with GPT-5's debut earlier this month. Though OpenAI framed the upgrade as the choice any user would prefer, not everyone fell in love at first prompt. Some users described GPT‑5 as colder or too formal compared to GPT‑4o, and with only GPT-5 available, a lot of ChatGPT users were very upset.

OpenAI heard the outcry and reinstated GPT‑4o a day later for paying subscribers. Still, with GPT‑5 in the spotlight and improvements coming in to give it more of the kind of personality many claim to desire, it was not an absurd assumption to see GPT-4o’s days as numbered. They may not even fully trust OpenAI's assurances that there is no imminent sunset scheduled for GPT‑4o, but if it's still around in November, they might relax a little at least.

Model attachment

This might all seem dramatic, but in some ways, OpenAI must be pleased at the anthropomorphizing of its chatbot. Getting people invested in using AI is a major goal for the developers, and this shows that while the AI may be mechanical, a lot of people start to treat it as something else.

Someday, GPT-4o and its successors will likely get phased out. That’s just how AI development works. But clearly, the method of that phasing matters a lot to some people. And letting 4o stick around a little longer gives people space to decide when or even if they want to upgrade.

But for now, GPT‑4o still has a place in the ChatGPT lineup, and OpenAI is keen to assure you that you’ll know when it’s time to say goodbye, and it won't be in October.

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• Report finds developers overwhelmingly believe AI can handle marketing tasks once thought secure from automation
• Stroyblok finds 90% of developers use AI tools frequently or constantly in their coding
• Heavy AI adoption in coding shapes perceptions that marketing work could also be absorbed

A growing number of developers now believe artificial intelligence is poised to absorb much of what marketing teams currently do, new research has claimed.

A survey conducted by CMS firm Storyblok across 200 senior developers found nearly three-quarters of respondents think AI could manage either “most” or “all” of their company’s marketing responsibilities.

Specifically, nearly a third (28.5%) said they could handle the entire function with AI, while almost half (45.5%) felt confident they could manage most of it.

Confidence gap between developers and marketers

The study also found 20% believe at least some marketing roles could be shifted over to AI, but a minority, 5%, said AI should play no role in replacing marketing.

When marketers were asked the same question in reverse, fewer expressed such certainty about doing the work of developers.

Only 18.5% said they could cover all of a developer’s job, while 32% believed they could manage most, and over a third admitted they could only do some.

Developers, by contrast, appear to view their growing reliance on automation as a transferable strength that makes other roles more vulnerable to displacement.

That outlook is shaped by how deeply AI has already permeated engineering, as the survey reports nearly 90% of developers use AI tools either frequently or constantly in their coding work.

The most common reason cited is “increasing efficiency,” chosen by 30%, followed closely by automating routine tasks at 23% and improving skillsets at 22%.

These tools are no longer seen as occasional aids but as everyday instruments for writing and testing code, debugging, and accelerating learning.

This growing familiarity with automation has also changed habits of problem-solving.

When encountering obstacles, over a third (34%) of developers say they now turn first to an AI tool, compared with only 20% who would consult a colleague.

That shift reveals more than just a preference for speed, it shows how trust in machine guidance is beginning to outweigh reliance on peer exchange.

Such dependence shapes perceptions of what might be achievable beyond engineering.

If AI is already capable of generating functional code, identifying bugs, and streamlining tasks once thought too complex to automate, then managing the repetitive, process-driven side of marketing may appear within easy reach.

“Developers are among the most exposed to the impact of technological developments, so gaining a deeper understanding of their personal workplace preferences, stresses, and productivity more broadly can help businesses determine how best to manage change, improve happiness, and productivity,” said Dominik Angerer, CEO and co-founder of Storyblok.

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(Image credit: Zach Jaworski for NPR)

• Millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency has been seized by the DoJ
• The wallet belongs to a suspected ransomware operator
• The ransomware, Zeppelin, is functionally extinct

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced a cryptocurrency wallet containing over $2.8 million has been seized following charges of conspiring to commit computer fraud and abuse, computer fraud and abuse, and conspiracy to commit money laundering brought against the wallet's owner.

Ianis Aleksandrovich Antropenko is thought to have headed up the now defunct Zeppelin ransomware operation, which collapsed in 2022, to ‘ target and attack a wide range of individuals, businesses, and organizations worldwide, including in the United States,’ the statement confirmed.

Zeppelin was a ransomware-as-a-service tool which uses phishing as a point of contact, using double extortion methods to steal and encrypt data to then sell (or threaten to sell) on the dark web.

Luxury assets

Alongside the cryptocurrency, the DoJ also seized $70,000 in cash as well as a luxury vehicle, assets which are alleged to be involved in ransomware activity - mostly having been used to launder proceeds gained through ransom payments.

‘Those assets were laundered in various ways, including by using the cryptocurrency mixing service ChipMixer, which was taken down in a coordinated international operation in 2023. Antropenko also laundered cryptocurrency by exchanging cryptocurrency for cash and depositing the cash in structured cash deposits.’

Zeppelin has been used to victimize organisations in manufacturing, IT, healthcare, and finance industries - particularly those that rely on sensitive data.

The RaaS was introduced in 2019, and tactics evolved over the next few years, with actors using the tool to distribute malware. However, after sloppy updated versions were released in 2021, the tool became significantly less prominent.

By 2022, the service was essentially abandoned. Security researchers Unit221b developed a decryptor key after the tool was used to attack nonprofits, homeless shelters, and charity organisations.

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Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Aug. 19, No. 330.

The feature marks a milestone in how Anthropic approaches AI safety.

August is coming to an end and, therefore, so is the summer season. There's no denying that Hulu's summer schedules have been stacked with fresh movies and binge-worthy TV shows – and it's keeping the ball rolling with its first list of fall titles.

In September, you can catch the return of two of the best Hulu shows, the first being Only Murders in the Building season 5 where we'll see Renée Zellweger, Keegan-Michael Key, and Christoph Waltz join the show's star-studded line-up. Additionally, we're also excited for High Potential season 2, the crime comedy-drama starring Kaitlin Olson.

But these Hulu Originals are just the beginning of what we're expecting to be a busy month for one of the best streaming services, and its slew of new movies is just as thrilling. From dramas such as Dead Poet's Society (1989) and Call Me By Your Name (2017) to familiar favorites Mean Girls (2004) and School of Rock (2003), these are some highly-rated gems coming to Hulu in September 2025. Which ones will you be streaming first? Let me know in the comments below.

Everything new on Hulu in September 2025

Arriving on September 1

America's Next Top Model season 16 (TV show)
Amsterdam (movie)
The Bob's Burgers Movie (movie)
Breaking Up (movie)
Call Me By Your Name En Espanol (movie)
Call Me By Your Name (movie)
Clueless En Espanol (movie)
Clueless (movie)
Devil's Due (movie)
Donnie Darko (movie)
Evil Dead Rise En Espanol (movie)
Evil Dead Rise (movie)
Finding Forrester En Espanol (movie)
Finding Forrester (movie)
The 40 Year-Old Virgin (movie)
Gandhi En Espanol (movie)
Gandhi (movie)
How To Train Your Dragon (movie)
How To Train Your Dragon 2 (movie)
I Am Number Four (movie)
Invincible (movie)
Jennifer's Body (movie)
John Tucker Must Die (movie)
Juno (movie)
Just Married (movie)
Kingsman: The Secret Service (movie)
Mean Girls (movie)
The Meg En Espanol (movie)
The Meg (movie)
The Meg 2: The Trench En Espanol (movie)
The Meg 2: The Trench (movie)
Mrs. Doubtfire (movie)
Need For Speed (movie)
Never Let Me Go (movie)
Night At The Museum (movie)
Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian (movie)
Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb (movie)
The Nun II En Espanol (movie)
The Nun II (movie)
Nosso Lar 2: Os Mensageiros (movie)
Pearl Harbor (movie)
Roll Bounce (movie)
See How They Run (movie)
She's The Man (movie)
Space Jam En Espanol (movie)
Space Jam (movie)
The School Of Rock En Espanol (movie)
The School Of Rock (movie)
Trap En Espanol (movie)
Trap (movie)
World War Z En Espanol (movie)
World War Z (movie)

Arriving on September 2

Betrayal season 3 (TV show)
Hannah Montana: The Movie (movie)
The New Boy (movie)

Arriving on September 3

Reminder season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 4

Blood & Myth (documentary)
Abducted in the Everglades (TV show)
Digital Addiction season 1 (TV show)
Digital Addiction Special (TV show)
I Survived . . . season 4 (TV show)
The Chef's Garden season 1 (TV show)
Rachael Ray's Meals in Minutes season 2 (TV show)
The First 48 season 27 (TV show)

Arriving on September 5

Memphis to the Mountain (TV show)
Ballpark Blast! by MLB and pocket.watch season 1 (TV show)
I love You, Beth Cooper (movie)
LOL Live with Brandi Denise (comedy special)
LOL Live with Malik B (comedy special)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (movie)
Parental Guidance (movie)
Sacramento (movie)
There's Something About Mary (movie)

Arriving on August 9

Only Murders in the Building season 5 (TV show)
Jeopardy season 42 (TV show)
Jeopardy seasons 20, 21, 27, 34, & 35 (TV show)
Wheel of Fortune season 43 (TV show)
Wheel of Fortune seasons 16-18, 28, 37-39 (TV show)
Sister Midnight (movie)
Uncle Drew (movie)

Arriving on September 10

Tempest (TV show)
Court Cam season 6 (TV show)
I Survived . . . season 5 (TV show)
Oceanfront Property Hunt season 1 (TV show)
Alone: An Inside Look (TV show)
Disappearance at Clifton Hill (movie)
Color Out of Space (movie)
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot (movie)
Paradise Hills (movie)
Settlers (movie)
The Square (movie)
Swallow (movie)
Werewolves Within (movie)
Would You Rather? (movie)
The Rental (movie)

Arriving on September 11

The Shallows (movie)
The Shallows En Espanol (movie)

Arriving on September 12

Himouto! Umaru-chan season 1 (TV show)
Insomniacs After School season 1 (TV show)
Dead Poets Society (movie)
Drumline (movie)
I Don't Understand You (movie)

Arriving on September 13

Tracker season 2 (TV show)
Botched Bariatrics season 1 (TV show)
Death by Fame season 3 (TV show)
Murder Under the Friday Night Lights season 4 (TV show)
The OceanGate Disaster season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 15

Futurama season 13 (TV show)

Arriving on September 16

Celebrity Weakest Link (TV show)
Name That Tune season 5 (TV show)
Jackdaw (movie)

Arriving on September 17

Dancing with the Stars season 34 (TV show)
High Potential season 2 (TV show)

Arriving on September 18

Reasonable Doubt season 3 (TV show)
Food Wars! The Second Plate season 1 (TV show)
I Survived . . . season 9 (TV show)
Alone (movie)
Fugitive Hunters Mexico (movie)

Arriving on September 19

Swiped (movie)

Arriving on September 21

Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (documentary)

Arriving on September 22

Into the Void: Life, Death and Heavy Metal (TV show)

Arriving on September 23

Valiant One (movie)

Arriving on September 24

Doc season 2 (TV show)
FX's The Lowdown (TV show)
Murder in a Small Town season 2 (TV show)

Arriving on September 25

99 to Beat (TV show)
The Floor season 4 (TV show)
The Golden Bachelor season 2 (TV show)
Shark Tank season 17 (TV show)
A Seance With... season 1 (TV show)
Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy season 4 (TV show)
Bigfoot Captured season 1 (TV show)
Cryptid: The Swamp Beast season 1 (TV show)
Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive season 1 (TV show)
MonsterQuest Specials season 1 (TV show)
Ozark Law season 1 (TV show)
Zombie House Flipping season 7 (TV show)
I Survived . . . (TV show)
The Surfer (movie)

Arriving on September 26

Hell's Kitchen season 24 (TV show)
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 4 (TV show)
The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior season 1 (TV show)
The Man in My Basement (movie)
Ghostbusters: Answer the Call En Espanol (movie)
Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (movie)
Dragon Ball Z Battle of Gods (movie)

Arriving on September 27

Evil Lives Here: The Killer Speaks season 2 (TV show)
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune season 6 (TV show)

Arriving on September 29

Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg? (TV show)
America's Funniest Home Videos season 36 (TV show)
Bob’s Burgers season 16 (TV show)
Krapopolis season 3 (TV show)
The Simpsons season 37 (TV show)
Universal Basic Guys season 2 (TV show)
Vermeil in Gold season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 30

Bloody Axe Wound (movie)
Chad Powers (TV show)

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A long lasting drought and severe heat this summer, compounded with government mismanagement of the country’s dams have led to an impending water crisis in Iran. Officials are warning that Iran’s ten million residents might run out of water in a matter of weeks. We hear how this has happened and what it means for Iranians.

(Image credit: Fatemeh Bahrami)

Leaked audio recordings broadcast Friday reveal remarks by Israel's former chief of military intelligence about the price he believed Palestinians should pay for Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

(Image credit: Jehad Alshrafi)

• Biwin unveils Mini SSD offering 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB in a tiny footprint
• Mini SSD reads at 3,700MB/s and writes at 3,400MB/s using PCIe 4x2
• The device is smaller than a U.S. penny but rivals traditional M.2 drives in speed

Chinese storage company Biwin has unveiled a new storage format called the “Mini SSD,” designed for laptops, tablets, phones, and cameras.

At just 15 x 17mm and 1.4mm thick, it is smaller than a US penny, while offering storage options of 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB.

Biwin claims sequential read speeds of 3,700MB/s with writes of 3,400MB/s over a PCIe 4x2 connection, making the Mini SSD a contender against traditional M.2 drives.

Mini SSD slots resemble smartphone SIM trays

To contextualize its performance, a standard MicroSD Express card compatible with devices like the Nintendo Switch 2 tops out at a theoretical 985MB/s.

Full-size SD Express cards can reach 3,940MB/s, nearly matching the Mini SSD but at almost twice the physical size.

M.2 drives remain faster, with 2230 variants approaching 8,000MB/s and 2280 models reaching up to 14,000MB/s.

The Mini SSD also compares to nano-SIM cards, which are smaller but designed for communication rather than storage.

While Biwin’s creation is compact, it does not appear to be a universal standard, leaving questions about broader adoption.

The Mini SSD features a dedicated slot that functions like a smartphone SIM tray - users can remove the storage by inserting a pin, which could simplify swaps and upgrades for certain devices.

This device supports IP68 water and dust resistance, along with the ability to survive three-meter drops.

Two new Chinese gaming portables have already incorporated the Mini SSD - the GPD Win 5, known for its large battery and Strix Halo chip, and OneNetbook’s OneXPlayer Super X hybrid laptop/tablet both feature dedicated slots for the Mini SSD.

Although these devices have been announced, none of them has revealed pricing or other commercial product listings.

While traditional M.2 drives still outperform the Mini SSD in raw speed, the new format offers a balance of size and performance that may appeal to mobile users.

Its compact dimensions, combined with fast read and write speeds, position it as a contender for the largest SSD capacities in a minimal footprint.

For users seeking a practical portable solution, the Mini SSD could be considered among the best external SSD options in its category.

Its very small size also means users need to handle the device with care, since it can easily be misplaced.

Via The Verge

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At Gamescom 2025, the company unveiled some major upgrades to its cloud gaming service and more.

• Nvidia is bringing its GeForce RTX 5080 to GeForce Now, for its 'Ultimate' tier membership
• Prices will remain the same, with improved game performance
• Multi Frame Generation will also be available on GeForce Now

Gamescom 2025 is finally here, with plenty of new triple-A games to look forward to, and Nvidia has been hard at work behind the scenes to further strengthen its local and cloud gaming offering.

Nvidia has announced that the Blackwell RTX 5080 GPU along with Multi Frame Generation (MFG), will be coming to GeForce Now's (GFN) 'Ultimate' tier membership, set for launch in September. Team Green's driver-level Frame Generation tool, Smooth Motion, will also be available for RTX 4000 series GPU users, starting in beta this August.

While the RTX 5080 will enhance performance on the cloud gaming service, prices for GFN memberships won't increase, as some may have expected. It's worth noting that cloud-based RTX 5080 support will only be available for select games – and that seems set for more graphically demanding titles.

And that’s not all the cloud gaming fans can look forward to. The new Cinematic Quality Streaming (CQS) feature will arrive on GFN, with Nvidia claiming that this will deliver ”next-gen image quality that rivals local PC gaming”. Seeing it first hand in Black Myth Wukong screenshots, the enhancements in texture quality on foliage are clear to see.

Titles like Call of Duty Black Ops 7, Borderlands 4, Dying Light: The Beast, and Hell Is Us will be available once launched.

(Image credit: Nvidia)

As for Smooth Motion, GeForce RTX 4000 series users have been waiting a long while for this feature, and it's finally on its way.

This will essentially allow gamers to enable driver-level Frame Generation for games that don't have built-in Nvidia Frame Generation support. It acts in the same manner as AMD's Fluid Motion Frames, and is designed to improve performance with AI-generated frames.

It will be available initially during Gamescom 2025 via beta on the Nvidia app, and is due to roll out to all users by the end of August.

There's no word on whether Smooth Motion will be coming to older RTX generations just yet, and it's worth noting that Frame Generation is currently limited to RTX 5000 and RTX 4000 series GPUs.

Analysis: Cloud gaming just keeps getting better and better...

(Image credit: Nvidia)

If I didn't have a gaming setup already, GeForce Now would be right up my alley. This is because it's widely available on multiple devices, and is now using the second-most powerful GPU on the market for cloud gaming.

I’ve not been a particular fan of of cloud gaming, as it requires good internet connection, which isn't always a guarantee (depending on where you're located). However, with additions such as Low Latency Streaming (LLS), lag and stutter should be a lot less of an issue.

Handheld PC gamers are going to benefit from this significantly – particularly those using the likes of the Steam Deck or Lenovo Legion Go S (Z2 Go model), as they’ll be able to play games on the cloud at higher graphics settings.

I love to see updates like this from Team Green, and it’s good to know that if I ever need to use GFN one day, I’ll be able to enjoy the benefits of these new features.

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• Nvidia's DLSS 4 will feature in Capcom's Resident Evil Requiem with path tracing
• DLSS 4 will also be present in multiple upcoming games like Phantom Blade 0 and Borderlands 4
• More of Resident Evil Requiem will be showcased at Gamescom 2025

It's been a long time coming, but Capcom and Nvidia have finally collaborated on one of the Japanese developer's biggest franchises ever, in a move that's bound to be beneficial to in-game performance – and it's shaping up to be a game-changer.

For the first time, Nvidia's DLSS 4 technology will be officially available in Capcom's survival horror franchise, starting with Resident Evil Requiem with path tracing included when it launches on February 26, 2026. DLSS 4 will also be notably featured in Borderlands 4, Phantom Blade Zero, Pragmata, and Hell Is Us.

This is a huge leap for Capcom, since gamers have relied on community mods on PC for Nvidia's DLSS; AMD's FSR has been used through the franchise's recent titles, like Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4 remake. While FSR isn't bad, it pales in comparison to Team Green's DLSS, and players have been limited to FSR 2 instead of FSR 3 in Village and RE4.

With advanced upscaling via DLSS 4, players will be able to enjoy a new chapter in Capcom's beloved survival horror franchise. Not just DLSS 4 with standard ray tracing, but path tracing, which takes lighting in-game to a new level entirely.

It's what we've seen in Cyberpunk 2077, providing bright and immersive visuals, but it's important to note that Requiem's path tracing model will also likely be demanding on hardware, which is why DLSS 4's Frame Generation will come in handy.

Gamescom 2025 is already here, and fortunately, Resident Evil Requiem will be center stage with Capcom ready to showcase what's in store for fans.

Analysis: hopefully game performance isn't an issue

(Image credit: Nvidia)

I'm incredibly pumped for Resident Evil Requiem, especially considering rumors that suggest Leon S. Kennedy will be a second playable character.

The only fear that I have at this stage is regarding the game's performance on PC, because if Monster Hunter Wilds or Dragon's Dogma 2 are anything to go by PC players might be in for a rough time.

It seems Requiem will be Capcom's most ambitious title in the Resident Evil franchise, with the latest chatter pointing towards a potential semi-open world experience, unlike any previous entry. We heard similar discussions before Monster Hunter Wilds' launch, and it turned out to be legitimate.

Perhaps the presence of DLSS 4 gives me a little more confidence that Capcom has taken greater care to ensure PC performance isn't an issue; Gamescom attendees will have an opportunity to test Requiem – I just hope my newfound faith on the game's performance isn't in vain.

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Lai is accused of colluding with foreign forces under the controversial national security law, which Beijing imposed.

(Image credit: Vincent Yu/AP)

• Samsung could be adding a more vivid camera filter in OneUI 8
• According to IceUniverse, the feature will force a watermark on your image
• There's no release date yet

Samsung’s camera app is set to get a new vivid filter, according to leaks, which showcase it producing more striking and vibrant images. The catch? It’ll force you to watermark your photo.

Photo filters are nothing new, but one feature you might not be taking advantage of is that Samsung’s camera app can pre-apply filters to your snap – helping you to better visualize the final product in the moment.

It recently updated the tool to tweak the existing filters and allow you to create a custom filter based on another photo, thanks to AI assistance.

BREAKING！For Samsung users, here's a major discovery!Yesterday, I mentioned that the next version of One UI 8 would introduce two "Chinese-style" photo watermarks. But it turns out there's more to it—Samsung has tied its new "Vivid" style to the watermark. Look, all my… pic.twitter.com/zKx6jAgJc1August 18, 2025

Another change is apparently set to launch with a OneUI 8 update in the future, according to tipster IceUniverse. The update will usher in a new, vivid photo filter profile, but it will also put a border around your snap in a so-called “Chinese-style photo watermark.”

The border makes the snap look kinda like a Polaroid, with a thick bar at the bottom including info like the camera settings, date, and time when the picture was taken, as well as a note saying it was taken on a Samsung Galaxy phone.

This kind of watermark is common on phones from Chinese brands like Xiaomi and OnePlus.

(Image credit: Future)

Some people think the extra information is handy; unfortunately, for me, I’m not in that boat. I believe the watermark comes across as a blatant hijacking of my photos for marketing.

So, as a Samsung Z Fold 7 user, I’ll be steering clear of the vivid filter if this update rolls out as expected. I say that because, as with all leaks, we don’t know how the software update will materialize until it launches.

I’ll also hope the other filters aren’t ruined by a watermark, but we’ll have to wait and see what Samsung delivers.

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The Wedding Banquet in London, March 19, 2025.'/>

Growing up with immigrant parents, first in Canada and then in the U.S., Yang was "obsessed" with pop culture and Saturday Night Live. Now he's up for an Emmy for his performances on the venerated sketch series.

(Image credit: Scott A Garfitt)