Microsoft is reportedly the next tech giant seeking to cut jobs this year as global economic uncertainty continue.
Reports of layoffs come after Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella said in October 2022 that the company remained, “focused on helping [its] customers do more with less, while investing in secular growth areas and managing [its] cost structure in a disciplined way”.
To anybody reading between the lines, it was clear that Redmond had future cutbacks and layoffs in mind, though any details of these potential happenings had not yet been discussed in any detail.
Microsoft layoffs
Fast-forward a few months, and Sky News (opens in new tab) sources claim Microsoft plans to reduce headcount by about 5%, equating to the loss of around 11,000 jobs. The company currently employs around 220,000 worldwide, 6,000 of whom based in the UK.
While it’s unclear how the tech giant may split its redundancies, some alaysts have indicated that Wall Street may be expecting a figure that’s higher than the current 5% rumor.
Should a headcount reduction plan come into play, it is expected that Microsoft would announce details in the coming week before its January 24 financial performance investor update.
Elsewhere in the company, some workers who are able to remain at the company are set to get an unlimited holiday allowance, however for now at least, it’s limited to salaried, US workers only.
More broadly, Microsoft isn’t the only company facing the impacts of a tough economic climate. Already this year, Amazon has announced plans to lay off 18,000 of its staff, while Salesforce has announced a 10% reduction in headcount, with potentially more to follow.
This year, Apple is expected to launch its first cross-reality (XR) device in the form of a long-rumored VR headset, and in 2024 or 2025, it was believed the tech giant would follow up with a pair of AR glasses. Those plans appear to have been put on hold, however, with new reports indicating that Apple will instead focus its efforts on a more budget-friendly VR headset.
The Apple VR headset – which is rumored to support both mixed reality and virtual reality experiences – is one of the worst-kept secrets in tech, followed closely by the Apple Glasses (AR specs from the Cupertino tech giant). These devices were expected to be Apple’s first proper ventures into the XR space, but plans have apparently changed.
Apple’s XR headset is staying put, but its AR glasses are being put on hold, according to a new Bloomberg (opens in new tab) report, with sources familiar with the project telling the site that the glasses rollout has been delayed “indefinitely.” Instead, Apple is apparently going to release a scaled-back (and cheaper) headset that will focus on MR and VR applications.
Apple’s XR devices will need to outclass rivals like the Meta Quest Pro (Image credit: Future)
Mind you, when we say cheaper and more budget-friendly, you should note that we could still be talking about a headset that costs $1,500 / £1,500 / AU$2,500 – or the same as the Meta Quest Pro.
Apple’s full-powered XR headset is expected to cost in the region of $3,000 / £3,000 / AU$5,000 – a price that’s inflated by its premium specs. Not only will it likely boast a high-resolution micro OLED display, but it’s also believed the device will incorporate a suite of cameras and sensors to support face tracking and passthrough, as well as both an M2 chip (the same found in some of the best MacBooks and Macs) and another processor that’s dedicated to AR and VR tasks.
Basically, it’s a MacBook for your face. The paired-down headset is more likely to be an iPhone 15 for your face, with its M2 chip and some of its sensor array expected to be lost in the transition to a cheaper device.
AR we there yet?
Apple trademark filings have been teasing a dual-XR device strategy for some time, with documents referring to separate “Reality Pro” and “Reality One” models. The Pro has long been expected to be the high-end (and high-cost) MR headset, while the Reality One was thought to be the likely cheaper (and less capable) AR glasses. With the AR glasses now reportedly shelved, the name will most likely be assigned to the more consumer-friendly line of headsets that are coming to replace it.
And while we have to take all rumors and leaks with a pinch of salt, I hope this is true; the world isn’t ready for the AR glasses Apple wants to make. I don’t mean because no one would want to buy them – I can already see the lines around the block of Apple fans looking to snag a pair – I mean the parts needed to do the product justice aren’t ready yet.
I’ve tested a few recent AR glasses – like the VITURE XR One and Nreal Air specs – and my main takeaway is that the devices are inherently cool but not all that capable. That’s because these glasses aren’t quite what most of us might expect from AR glasses, based on what we’ve seen in science fiction. Instead, they’re basically just a private projector for your phone screen – lacking cameras and sensors that would be required to turn them into ‘actual’ AR glasses.
These are not the AR glasses Apple is looking for (Image credit: Nreal)
But introducing these components wouldn’t just add cost, they’d add weight too. And not just from the sensors themselves, you’d need a battery to power them if you want the gadget to last longer than an hour. Thanks to all this extra bulk, our slim sleek glasses have morphed into the somewhat cumbersome headset design we were trying to avoid – albeit with lenses instead of a traditional screen.
Apple had apparently developed a wearable battery pack to try and shift the weight away from the head, but the idea clearly wasn’t enough to turn the Apple Glasses into a product worthy of the tech company’s seal of approval. By delaying the Glasses again, Apple is giving itself (and the world) more time to develop the tech needed to pull them off, leading to a much better product than the one we’d have seen in 2024.
With Meta and Google developing their own AR glasses, we’ll almost certainly see Apple launch a competing product sometime in the future. But for now, we’ll have to make do with its headsets, assuming those aren’t delayed any further themselves.
Can’t wait for Apple to launch its headsets? Check out our picks for the best VR headsets you can buy today.
Google Pay– one of the leading payment services is a convenient and secure way to transfer money to friends and family, pay bills, and make purchases in stores or online. It’s fast, secure, and easy to use. Users can also earn rewards with every purchase. Now, Google is reportedly working on a ‘sound box’–rather a digital sound box of its own for the Indian market. Yes, you read it right, these are those very sound boxes that we see in our nearby shops which emit sound after every digital payment users make after every purchase. According to a report by TechCrunch, the search engine giant is working on a sound box of its own which will alert merchants with a confirmation for Unified Payment Interface (UPI).
The sound box which is currently in the works has been named ‘Soundpod by Google Pay‘. It is also being distributed as a pilot to some shopkeepers in North India, that also includes Delhi. The report further added, the Soundpods are being manufactured by ToneTag which is Amazon-backed. Soundpod by Google Pay: Features Technically, just like other sound boxes, the ‘Soundpod by Google Pay’ will also have a QR code of the respective merchant which will be linked with their Google for business account. The device also comes with an in-built speaker that emits payment confirmations in multiple languages. Google’s sound box also features a small LCD panel that reflects the payment amount, battery and network status and manual controls. On the front, the ‘Soundpod by Google Pay’ will be accompanied by a QR code of the respective merchant linked with their Google Pay for business account. “If the person doesn’t have a smartphone, and they’re running a small business, the chances [are] that they will actually pay for a speaker product,” a Google spokesperson told TechCrunch. “You can look up publicly available prices that Paytm has been using… I think the chances are low. So, that is not the way to solve it,” added the spokesperson. Also watch:
Google Discover: How to disable video autoplay feature on Android | Google Discover autoplay
Before Apple went down the path of its own silicon processors for Mac, Intel was the sole supplier. But in 2020 Apple launched its own M-series of processors and said that the transition to its own processors would be completed in two years or so. With the launch of the M2 Pro and M2 Pro Max-based Mac mini, it seems that the transition is all but done. Apple discontinued the Intel-based Mac mini as soon as the M2-powered Mac mini was launched. Now, there’s just one Intel-powered Mac device in Apple’s lineup of computers: Mac Pro. The Intel Mac Pro was launched in 2019 and remains the only non-M-series device in Apple’s lineup. Incidentally, Mac Pro is the only series of devices that haven’t seen a M-series of processors. The Mac Pro in question, in fact, will still be hard to find. If you try to order it from the Apple online store, you can’t order. But it still remains a part of the comparison page, which gives an indication that Apple hasn’t officially discontinued.
The march of the M-series continues
In the last two years, Apple has expanded its own processors for MacBook, iMac and Mac mini. In November 2020, Apple got the first MacBook Air with an M1 processor. Since then there have been upgrades in the form of M1 Pro and M1 Max processors. In June 2022, Apple unveiled the M2 processor. And now the most recent ones are the M2 Pro and M2 Max processors. Apple claims that M2 scales up the architecture of M2 to deliver up to 12-core CPU and up to 19-core GPU, together with up to 32GB of fast unified memory. M2 Max, on the other hand, further builds on the capabilities of M2 Pro, including an up to 38-core GPU, double the unified memory bandwidth, and up to 96GB of unified memory. Both chips also feature enhanced custom technologies, including a faster 16-core Neural Engine and Apple’s powerful media engine, said Apple in a press release.
Dell has announced no fewer than 13 new PowerEdge servers, built on 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, in a move that it hopes to “accelerate performance and reliability” while offering up some cost-effective solutions.
Jeff Boudreau, president and general manager for Infrastructure Solutions Group at Dell, said that customers value the company’s “easily managed yet sophisticated” solutions. His expectations for the next generation of PowerEdge servers is that it “raises the bar in power efficiency, performance and reliability”.
The latest Intel Xeon chips were made available earlier in 2023, citing improvements in performance and overall reductions in power usage, which Dell hopes will help its latest servers be more energy efficient in a time where data centers and under increasing pressure to deliver on key environmental statistics.
Dell PowerEdge update
The announcement unveils the PowerEdge HS5610 and HS5620 servers, which are available in both 1U and 2U form factors designed to facilitate adoption.
Among the key areas to receive significant improvements is artificial intelligence: the company says that AI inferencing on the also-new PowerEdge R760, equipped with the latest Xeon chip, is set to be up to 2.9 times better.
Improvements have been made to airflow by up to 52% compared with the previous generation. This, and the performance upgrades that come in hand, is designed to help companies reduce energy usage.
Beyond the hardware developments, Dell has also issued a series of improvements to the tools designed to help deployment and management, including Dell CloudIQ for monitoring, Dell ProDeploy services, and the Dell iDRAC9 (remote access controller).
Global availability for the R760 is set for February 2023, with the pair of HS-branded servers due two months later in April and additional units coming in the first half of the year.
Some phones leak more than others, and at this point it feels like the Samsung Galaxy S23 series has leaked more than almost any other, as now on top of all the other leaks to date, we’ve got a complete specs list for all three phones.
Starting with the standard Samsung Galaxy S23 – in a list shared by WinFuture (opens in new tab) – this phone apparently has a 6.1-inch 1080 x 2340 AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate (that can drop as low as 48Hz when a high refresh isn’t needed). The screen also apparently has 425 pixels per inch (suggesting the panel might be closer to 6.06-inches), support for HDR10+, and is said to be protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
Other listed specs include a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 2 chipset, 8GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of storage, and a 3,900mAh battery with 25W wired charging and 10W wireless charging.
The camera is apparently once again a triple-lens system with a 50MP f/1.8 main sensor, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, and a 10MP f/2.4 telephoto, with 3x optical zoom. There’s apparently also a 12MP selfie camera, and the phone is said to run Android 13 with Samsung’s One UI 5.1.
Finally, it apparently comes in at 146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6mm and 167g, has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, and comes in a choice of black, Cotton, green and violet shades.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus is listed as having the same cameras, software, water resistance, chipset and RAM amount, and looks set to come in the same shades, but other specs vary. For example, it apparently has a 6.6-inch screen with 393 pixels per inch – though otherwise identical screen specs.
It’s also listed as coming with a choice of 256GB or 512GB of storage, and having a 4,700mAh battery, with faster 45W wired charging, along with 10W wireless charging. Of course, having a bigger screen means it’s also a bigger phone, with dimensions reportedly of 157.8 x 76.2 x 7.6mm, and a weight of 195g.
Finally there’s the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and the specs leak for this came from @BillbilKun (opens in new tab) (via NotebookCheck (opens in new tab)), who shared what appears to be official imagery showing the specs.
(Image credit: @BillbilKun)
This lists a 6.8-inch 1440 x 3088 AMOLED screen with a variable refresh rate of between 1Hz and 120Hz. The display apparently has 500 pixels per inch, HDR10+ support, and Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
There’s also mention of a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a choice of 8GB or 12GB of RAM, along with 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage, and a 5,000mAh battery with 45W wired charging and 10W wireless.
The camera apparently includes a 200MP f/1.7 main snapper, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, a 10MP f/2.3 telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and a 10MP f/4.9 periscope with 10x optical zoom. There’s also mention of a 12MP camera on the front, Android 13, and One UI 5.1.
The dimensions are listed as 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9mm, the weight as 233g, there’s mention of an IP68 certification, and the colors are listed a green, black, cream and lavender – which probably means the same shades as the other two models.
As if this wasn’t enough, Samsung Galaxy S23 information for one day though, there’s additionally a pricing leak, with 9to5Google (opens in new tab) claiming to have seen Australian pricing information for the phones.
This information states that the Samsung Galaxy S23 will start at AU$1,350, the Galaxy S23 Plus at AU$1,650, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra at AU$1,950.
That’s AU$100 more in every case than the Galaxy S22 series costs, so we could see similar price rises in other regions. Direct conversions are unlikely to be accurate, but if these prices are right then we’d think a starting price rise of between roughly $50/£50 and $100/£100 seems likely.
That said, if the specs leaks above are right, then in the case of the Galaxy S23 Plus and S23 Ultra, you’ll also be getting more storage for that starting price, so it might only be the standard Samsung Galaxy S23 that ends up feeling excessively expensive.
Analysis: small differences that we’ve heard before
While this is the most complete specs picture we’ve yet had for these phones, most of these details have been leaked before in bits and pieces, and this latest leak lines up with the earlier ones, so there’s a high chance these specs are accurate.
If so, then the main differences between the S23 series and the Galaxy S22 series includes the chipset, and in the case of the Galaxy S23 Ultra the main camera.
The standard and Plus models also seemingly have slightly bigger batteries and better selfie cameras than their predecessors, and the Gorilla Glass might be upgraded on all three phones.
A lot of the key specs look identical to the Galaxy S22 series though, including the screens, most of the cameras, and the S23 Ultra’s battery. So if you already have one of the best Samsung phones out there, you might not feel the need to upgrade on 2023.
Our mission is simple: to be the source of professional-grade tech buying advice, offering everything you need to buy and maximize the tech you and your business rely on.
We take great satisfaction in our impartiality and meticulous review-testing procedure, examining the products we choose in great depth. We keep our reviews current and well maintained if the product in question is still available.
We have assembled an international team comprised of the best technology journalists on the planet, who approach their work not merely as industry experts, but also as individuals who use these technologies in their professional lives as gig operators, freelancers, side hustlers, and leaders in both large and small businesses. The professional is always kept in mind during our testing process.
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If a manufacturer makes a claim, we’ll make sure we put it to the test (Image credit: Flexispot)
This is our promise to you:
We do not take payment for product reviews. Ever.
We select products for review based on what we believe our readers would want to know.
We’ll tell you what we think, not what advertisers want you to hear.
We say it as we see it. Our expert reviewers love technology and want you to love it too. If it’s garbage, we’ll warn you.
If a product doesn’t meet our high standards, we’ll tell you why not.
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If you think we’re not living up to our promise, please email the editor in chief and we’ll endeavor to put it right.
If you want to know more about our testing philosophy, check out our overall “how we test” page on TechRadar.
How we test: office chairs
(Image credit: Branch Ergonomic Chair)
To begin our review process for office chairs, we first consider the key features that are most important for our readers. This includes comfort, adjustability, durability, lumbar support, and weight limit. We also consider additional features, stability, ease of assembly, and price.
Once we have identified the features we want to evaluate, we begin sourcing and testing the chairs. This involves reaching out to various manufacturers and retailers to request samples and then setting up the chairs in our office to try them out for ourselves.
During the testing phase, we use various methods to assess the chairs. This includes adjusting the chair to different heights and positions, evaluating its stability and ease of use, and examining its build quality and durability. We also consider additional features such as lumbar support, overall comfort, and adjustability.
In addition to these specific evaluation criteria, we also consider the type of office chair being tested. Some chairs have built-in lumbar support, some have highly adjustable arms, and others are a bit more rigid and less adjustable. We also consider each chair’s ergonomic height range, maximum weight capacity, and any available customization options.
Once we have completed our testing, we compile our notes and observations into comprehensive reviews. This review includes a detailed breakdown of the chair’s key features and our overall assessment of its performance. We also include a pros and cons list to help readers easily understand the strengths and weaknesses of the chair.
Overall, our goal is to provide our readers with the information they need to decide which office chair is right for them. We strive to be thorough, objective, and fair in our reviews, and we hope our efforts help our readers find the perfect office chair for their needs.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Weight (in %)
Comfort
40%
Adjustability
20%
Durability
15%
Weight Limit
10%
Stability
5%
Ease of Assembly
5%
Price
5%
Why should you trust us?
At TechRadar Pro, we are committed to providing our readers with accurate and unbiased reviews of the products we test. Our team of reviewers has extensive experience in evaluating a wide range of products, and we take pride in our thorough and objective approach to testing.
When it comes to office chairs, we understand that these pieces of office furniture can be a significant investment for many people. That’s why we go to great lengths to ensure that our reviews are as comprehensive and accurate as possible. We source and test various office chairs from manufacturers and retailers and use several methods to evaluate their key features and performance.
We strive to provide our readers with the information they need to make informed decisions about these important purchases. We hope that our readers find the perfect office chair for their needs.
What we look for
Comfort
For those looking at quality office chairs, it is because we spend a lot of time in those office chairs. Because of this, comfort is paramount. If a chair is uncomfortable, there is no real desire to use it, especially not for long working days. Comfort extends to adjustability and lumbar support. However, not all comfortable chairs have those features. There is no quantitative data we pull or test for a “comfortable” rating outside of daily use for an extended period before review.
Adjustability
Many office chairs can recline. However, usually, the best office chairs have many areas that can be adjusted to fit the ergonomic needs of individual users. This can include armrests, headrests, thigh rests, lumbar support, side supports, and adjustable seats. Each adjustment area can subsequently make the chair more comfortable for a user. We put any and all adjustable areas of a chair to the test by having several team members customize it to their liking. We also test the extremes to see how far each element can adjust.
Durability
We understand that a quality office chair is a big investment for individuals. Especially now, as so many people are working from home, the importance of a quality office chair has only increased. If something is going to cost a large sum of money, one factor we will test is durability. If the chair does not last, breaks easily, or has pronounced wear and tear, then we will consider that for our final scoring.
Weight Limit
Overall, the weight limit is not a large portion of our testing, however, it is worth noting. A lower weight limit, or one that is closer to our actual weight, can sometimes indicate that over time the chair will slowly break down. It is important to get a chair designed for your weight (or preferably a wide range including your weight and heavier) to allow for longevity in the chair’s durability.
Stability
Many of the chairs we test have adjustments that can be made to lean the chair back, adjust the base, adjust the arms, adjust the height, etc. One of the areas we test is how stable all of those elements in conjunction end up being. It’s great that these chairs can make a dozen adjustments. Still, if none of them are stable, if the chair is wobbly, or if we feel like we are falling out of the chair anytime we sit in it, those are usually not great findings for a chair with a large pricetag, designed as something we sit in for most of the working day.
Ease of Assembly
We have seen a handful of chairs delivered mostly, or even fully assembled. Though what we usually experience is a bit of assembly is required. We consider this for our scoring, though it’s relatively low due to the overall functionality of the chair. Even if the chair takes a bit to assemble, if it is the most comfortable chair, with great lumbar support and is very stable, that chair will probably rate rather high. However, there will be a disclaimer notating the troublesome setup.
Price
Price needs to be considered for our scoring. We have learned in our testing that most expensive does not always mean best, and, subsequently, cheapest does not mean worst. With that being said, while there are outliers, we have noticed that a good majority of the chairs align with their pricing brackets for the most part.
Apple has always pitched security and privacy as one of the biggest selling points of its products. Every year with its OS updates, there comes a feature that enhances and improves user security and privacy. With iOS 16, Apple got Safety Check feature for iPhones. Here we explain what is the feature and how it works: How to use Safety Check feature on iPhone? Safety Check is available only on iPhone and only if you have a personal Apple ID (not a Managed Apple ID) that uses two-factor authentication. You must also be signed in to Settings > [
Your Name
] on your iPhone. After you’re signed in, you can go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check. What does the Safety Check feature do? Simply put, it immediately stops access to a host of things that you might be sharing with people and apps on the iPhone. You can also use it to check whom you’re sharing information with, restrict Messages and FaceTime to your iPhone, reset system privacy permissions for apps, change your passcode, change your Apple ID password and more.
Furthermore, Safety Check can be used to modify information associated with your Apple ID. You can use Safety Check to review and remove devices signed in to your account, review and update trusted phone numbers, change your Apple ID password, update your emergency contacts, and even update your device passcode and your Face ID or Touch ID information. Can you restart sharing with apps/people again? Yes, If you want to restart sharing with someone after using Safety Check, just open the app or service you’d like to share information from and share that content again. The Emergency Reset on Safety Check Safety Check has an option called Emergency Reset. You use it to immediately stop all types of sharing. Emergency Reset also allows you to review and reset settings associated with your Apple ID as well.
Hiring levels in India were 23% slower in December 2022 as compared to December 2021, LinkedIn said in a report, which added that despite this decline, four of five, or 80% of professionals are considering changing jobs in 2023. The report also says that the job change sentiment is largely led by Gen Z. According to LinkedIn’s economic graph data, the Indian workforce appears resilient in the face of economic uncertainty. Gen Z leads in terms of people who are looking to change jobs in 2023, with 88% of professionals aged 18-24 considering a switch, compared to 64% of those aged 45-54. “Despite uncertain economic times ahead, professionals are taking a long term view of their career by investing in their skills and proactively seeking opportunities to progress. Over three quarters (78%) of workers surveyed said if they were to leave their job, they would feel confident finding other roles to apply for,” the professional network revealed the results of a research.
Reasons for job change LinkedIn research suggests that professionals have multiple reasons for changing jobs. One of the major factors (23%) is the rising cost of living pressures and need for financial security. The second factor is better work life balance (33%) and job seekers are looking for jobs that offer a balance in their professional and personal lives. About a third (32%) said that they feel more confident in their abilities and think they can find a better role. Professionals ready for economic storm According to LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence Index, 43% of professionals in India feel prepared for an economic downturn, however, they are also taking proactive measures to ‘career cushion’ themselves from the ongoing uncertainty.
“Despite tough economic conditions, the Indian workforce is relying on their own abilities to grow and push forward. Since the pandemic, it’s clear that professionals have built up a bank of resilience, and we’re seeing this in their response to tackle the year ahead. They are striving for the ideal role that offers the right wage, and allows for appreciable work-life balance and flexibility,” said Nirajita Banerjee, LinkedIn Career Expert and Head of Editorial for LinkedIn India. The index suggests that more than half (54%) of professionals in India are growing their network by staying in touch with the right people as well as attending more business events. Nearly half (47%) of the professional workforce is asking for feedback from their peers and managers, and 44% are learning new in-demand and transferable skills. LinkedIn also says that it is hosting live workshops in addition to offering free learning courses and expert advice on the platform from January 30 to February 3 to support professionals in the new year.
Amazon Republic Day sale is here: 5G smartphones under Rs 30,000 to consider
It’s now over a year since Wordle exploded onto our phones as the biggest puzzle phenomenon since, well, ever. In that time, it has garnered millions of daily players, inspired countless headlines, been bought by the New York Times, and endured multiple controversies.
So, what is Wordle as we enter 2023? Is it still a fun way to spend a few minutes, or something much bigger?
We’ll attempt to answer that below, as well as explaining what the Wordle rules are, what makes the best Wordle start words, what WordleBot is, and much more.
What is Wordle?: The basics
What is Wordle?
Wordle is a simple game in which you have to guess a new five-letter word each day. You get six guesses, learning a little more information with each guess, and eventually narrow your guesses down to find the answer. Or at least that’s the theory – because while it is a simple game at heart, it’s sometimes surprisingly tricky to find the solution. More on that below.
It’s played online via the Wordle website (opens in new tab) or the New York Times’ Crossword app (iOS (opens in new tab) / Android (opens in new tab)), and is entirely free – though you can pay to access the NYT’s WordleBot helper tool. There’s also been speculation that the game itself will eventually go behind a paywall, but so far the NYT has resisted the urge to scratch that potentially lucrative itch.
Crucially, the answer is the same for everyone each day, meaning that you’re competing against the rest of the world, rather than just against yourself or the game. The puzzle then resets each day at midnight in your local time, giving you a new challenge, and the chance to extend your streak.
Ah yes, streaks…
(Image credit: TechRadar / NY Times)
What are Wordle streaks?
Wordle tracks your games via the browser or app, and gives you a running score of your wins and losses. Each time you win, you’ll be extending your Wordle streak.
Lose a game and your streak resets to zero, of course. What’s more, if you miss a day, your streak also resets – so if you won 100 games straight, then missed a day, then won your next game, you’d have a streak of 1, not 101. Unfair? Maybe – but it certainly keeps you playing.
One potential issue here is if you’re traveling. Some people have lost their streak through playing in another time zone, so be careful out there.
Why is it important? Well, avid Wordlers get very protective of their streaks. It’s a badge of honor or a sign of commitment – and something to brag about if you’re that way inclined.
(Image credit: NYT)
What are the Wordle rules?
The rules of Wordle are pretty straightforward, but with a couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure.
1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.
2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow.
3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray.
4. Answers are never plural.
5. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.
6. Each guess must be a valid word in Wordle’s dictionary. You can’t guess ABCDE, for instance.
7. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses unless you play on Hard mode.
8. You have six guesses to solve the Wordle.
9. You must complete the daily Wordle before midnight in your timezone.
10. All answers are drawn from Wordle’s list of 2,309 solutions. However…
11. Wordle will accept a wider pool of words as guesses – some 10,000 of them. For instance, you can guess a plural such as WORDS. It definitely won’t be right (see point 4 above), but Wordle will accept it as a guess.
12. You must guard your streak like a dog guards a bone.
What are all those funny yellow and green squares on Twitter?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ll have come across grids of yellow and green squares on your social media platform of choice. These are Wordle results, and they’re really quite clever.
Because everyone plays the same game, you can’t simply share the answer on social media without spoiling everyone else’s fun. So instead, the Share button creates a spoiler-free overview of how your game went, without actually revealing the letters you used. The result: you can dazzle people with your linguistic brilliance without giving the answer away.
Of course if you know someone else’s start word, the Wordle grid may still give you some pretty hefty clues – so for the ultimate challenge you’ll still want to stay off Twitter and other platforms until you’ve completed the day’s puzzle.
Do you need an account to play Wordle?
Not really – but you might want one anyway. Wordle tracks your progress through your web browser, so it’ll retain your stats so long as you don’t clear your cache. If you do that, you might find your streak and wins percentages reset to zero.
That reliance on the cache also means that if you play Wordle in one browser on your laptop (Chrome, say) then use a different one on your phone (maybe Safari), your progress won’t be stored.
The solution is to create a free NYT account. This will store your stats across devices and browsers, theoretically keeping your streak safe wherever you play. Although the note above about different time zones still applies.
Is Wordle free?
Yes! Wordle the game itself is entirely free to play via the New York Times’ website. As described above, you can choose to create a free account so that your progress is saved across devices, but there’s no need to pay for an NYT subscription.
You can also play Wordle via the NYT Crossword app, and again it’s free to do so – though you do have to subscribe if you want to complete the daily Crossword too.
As it stands, the only payment required for Wordle is if you choose to take out an NYT subscription in order to access WordleBot.
What is Wordle Hard mode?
Wordle Hard mode doesn’t make the answer any more difficult, but it does make it harder to find. Here’s how it works.
In Wordle Hard mode, any letters that you uncover have to be used in all subsequent guesses. For instance, if you guess TODAY and the T turns yellow, you have to include a T in your next guess. And if a letter turns green, you have to include it in the correct position in your next guess.
This can be a major problem in some games. One famous example (among Wordlers at least) was game #265, where the answer was WATCH. On Hard mode, once you had the -ATCH part uncovered in green, you would be forced to keep them in place for your other guesses. But with PATCH, LATCH, BATCH, MATCH, CATCH, HATCH and WATCH all being potential answers, you would have to get lucky with a guess; there are simply too many possibilities.
On normal mode, you could instead guess a word such as CHAMP. You’d know it wasn’t right, but it would rule out (or in) four possible answers in one go: CATCH, HATCH, MATCH and PATCH.
Some people – myself included – think that Wordle Hard mode is a bit silly. My reasoning is that rather than making the game harder as such, it simply increases the role that luck plays. Then again, maybe I’m just a coward.
(Image credit: Future)
Who made Wordle?
Wordle was created by Josh Wardle, a British software engineer based in Brooklyn. He’s no stranger to developing internet sensations either, having previously come up with the brilliant Reddit projects The Button (opens in new tab) and Place (opens in new tab).
Wardle – who named the game after himself, obviously – created Wordle for his puzzle-loving partner. He’d created a prototype as long ago as 2013, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that he completed the game we now know and love, and shared it with his family and a few friends.
Unleashed onto the wider internet in October 2021, it exploded in popularity over the next couple of months, growing from a handful of users to several hundred thousand by early January, and to more than two million by the end of that month.
Impressed by its success, The New York Times bought Wordle for a “six-figure sum” in February 2022. Not bad for a lockdown project, eh?
What is WordleBot?
WordleBot is a digital tool built by the NYT to help players master Wordle. It analyses your most recent game, giving you pointers when you screw up and (occasionally) offering praise when you do something clever.
Think of it as a kind of Wordle coach and you won’t be far wrong. While it won’t give you the answer (you can only use it once you’ve finished your daily game) it will suggest start words to try, and will provide you with strategies that might help in the future.
As well as rating your game, WordleBot is packed with data that you might find interesting. For instance, it will tell you what the average score is per game across everyone who plays, and what the most popular start words are on a given day.
Unfortunately, it’s no longer free: the NYT put WordleBot behind a paywall last year, shortly after it launched. You can access it with a New York Times All Access subscription (opens in new tab), which currently costs $1.25/week for the first year, then $6.25/week thereafter.
(Image credit: Future)
Is Wordle still worth playing in 2023?
Undoubtedly! The New York Times purchase didn’t get off to the best start, with some people losing their streaks in the handover, and many players convinced that the NYT immediately made it harder. It didn’t, though: Wordle’s answers were hard-coded into the game when Josh Wardle created it, with a different one assigned to each date. Though the NYT removed a few controversial words, and changed the order of a couple, it’s essentially the exact same game that launched in 2021.
In fact, the NYT’s influence has mainly been positive. The addition of a free account option gives players a way to save their progress across devices and makes it far less likely that streaks will be lost. It remains free to play and mostly free of ads. Yes, you can pay for WordleBot and yes, you will be pushed towards trying other NYT games such as Spelling Bee, but overall Wordle seems to be in safe hands.
Beyond the NYT takeover, Wordle continues to provide millions of people with a fun five-minute breather from the hectic pace of daily life. The numbers playing it may have declined slightly, but as our US Editor in Chief, Lance Ulanoff, wrote late last year, Wordle is steadily becoming an institution, a daily ritual that many people enjoy simply for the connection it gives them to family and friends.
If you’ve been playing for a while you’ll know all that of course; and if not, there’s no reason why you can’t start today.
Wordle strategy
Wordle start words
(Image credit: New York Times)
Start words are a crucial part of the Wordle experience, and choosing the right one can be the difference between scoring an excellent 2/6 or a hair-raising 6/6.
A vast amount has been written on the subject of what the best start words are, with mathematicians, data scientists, and other smart people weighing in on the subject at great length.
WordleBot’s favored choice right now is SLATE, although it used to be CRANE. It awards both a 99 skill rating (its top mark), but SLANT, TRACE, CARTE and CRATE all earn the same score.
Other sources have suggested the likes of SOARE, ROATE and RAISE, while some people prefer to play a start word with lots of vowels such as ADIEU, AUDIO or OUIJA.
Whichever you pick, your start word is vital, pointing you in the direction of the answer, and ruling out hundreds or even thousands or potential solutions in one go. With that in mind, I suggest you check out our best Wordle start words guide as soon as you can.
Wordle tips and tricks
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Playing Wordle is easy, but mastering Wordle is hard. We’ve got a separate guide to how to win at Wordle, but here are a few things to bear in mind:
1. Play vowels early
Vowels help to define the sound and structure of a word, so you’ll want to identify them as early as possible. You should probably include at least two in your start word – probably A and E, as they are by far the most common. Depending on what happens on that first go, you’ll then want to rule out O and I soon after; U is less common. Don’t forget Y, either – it sometimes acts as a vowel, for instance in words such as GLYPH or NYMPH, which don’t contain any of the standard five vowels.
2. Play common consonants early
This is pretty obvious too, but there’s far more chance that the answer will contain a T, R or L than an X, Z or Q. Use the most common letters early and you’ll have a better chance of success.
3. Don’t repeat a letter until you need to
Repeat letters do crop up in Wordle pretty often – think the double-O in BLOOD or FLOOD, or the double L in SKILL or SHALL. They don’t always go together, either – PIXIE, which was the answer a few days ago (game #569) has two Is, and BELIE (#566) has two Es. That said, you probably want to hold off on including a repeat letter until you have a good idea that there is one. Wordle is all about information really, and guessing as many new letters as possible will generally give you more of it than repeating one of them.
4. Don’t rush!
Sometimes you’ll think you know what the answer is on the second guess and triumphantly play it… only to find that you’d forgotten another 10 possibilities, and are now staring down the barrel of a 4/6 score or worse. Take your time. Think through the options. Even use a notepad if it helps. (Or don’t bother with all that and just play as you wish, it’s your life!)
Can you cheat at Wordle?
Yes, you can cheat at Wordle. But really, you’ll be cheating yourself. Come on, it’s word game that takes about five minutes to play – is it really worth losing all your self-respect over that?
Assuming your answer to that is “yes,” then there are a few obvious ways to cheat at Wordle and ensure you keep your streak even if it’s teetering on the edge. Our Wordle cheats article goes into detail on the main methods, but in short:
Play in incognito mode. Your browser won’t update, so you can play and lose repeatedly until you get the answer right, then switch to your actual account and score a 1/6.
Use a crossword solver. These can give you options for the letters you have and help you narrow down the possibilities ahead of your guess. No more wracking your brains for a five-letter word that starts with C, ends with T and has an A in the middle.
Wordle alternatives
Squabble, one of the many games like Wordle (Image credit: Future)
The success of Wordle spawned literally hundreds of Wordle alternatives and clones, ranging from straight-up rip-offs to super-smart variations that brought something new to the party.
Most share the key Wordle characteristics such as
Single daily challenge
Limited number of guesses
Information revealed slowly as the game progresses
Spoiler-free social sharing
Free online play
Those basics aside, many of the games don’t have much in common at all, so which ones you play will depend on your own interests. Here are a few of our favorites:
3.Taylordle (like Wordle but for Taylor Swift fans)
4.Semantle (like Wordle but for meanings not spellings)
5.Scholardle (like Wordle but with really obscure words)
There are also geography-themed versions, math-themed versions, soccer-themed versions, Marvel-themed versions, movie-themed versions, and many more. We’re also big fans of the x-Wordles-at-once clones, such as Duordle, Quordle and Octordle, and the battle royale-style Squabble. We’ve rounded up some of our favorites in our games like Wordle feature.
