Apple has rolled out the third major software update for the Apple Watch. The company has released the watchOS 9.3 update. Introduced in September last year, WatchOS 9 received the WatchOS 9.2 update last month. How to download and install watchOS 9.3 update Apple Watch users can download the WatchOS 9.3 update for free via the Apple Watch app on iPhone. In order to download the update, users need to go to General> Software Update. Users must keep in mind that to install the new software update, they need at least 50% battery. The Apple Watch must be connected to the charger and should be kept within range of the iPhone. The latest watchOS 9.3 update brings some new features and fixes some bugs. The update is available for Apple Watch Series 4 and above. Along with the watchOS 9.3 update, the company has also rolled out an iOS 16.3 update for iPhones. The latest update brings new features to iPhones such as Security Keys for Apple ID, Support for HomePod (2nd-gen) and more. Recently, Apple expanded its smart speaker range with the launch of its 2nd generation HomePod speaker. The HomePod (2nd-gen) is priced at Rs 32,900 and is available in white and midnight colour options. The smart speaker is powered by the S7 chip and features a custom-engineered high-excursion woofer, built-in bass-EQ mic and five tweeters around the base. Apple also claims that it has a powerful motor that drives the diaphragm 20mm. The new HomePod also offers several smart features. There’s Sound Recognition, through which the HomePod can listen for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and send a notification directly to the user’s iPhone if a sound is identified.
Samsung is all set to launch its Galaxy S23 series of smartphones next week. The company has scheduled the Galaxy Unpacked event for February 1, where it will launch its flagship Galaxy S23 series of smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy S23 series consists of three smartphones — Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23 Ultra. Now, days ahead of the launch a new leak has surfaced online revealing the hero colours and some other details about the upcoming Samsung smartphone. Samsung Galaxy S23 series colour options Popular tipster Evan Blass has shared some images of the upcoming Samsung smartphones showing their hero colours. As per the leaked images, the most expensive Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will come in Botanic Green colour, while the Samsung Galaxy S23+ will come in Misty Lilac and Galaxy S23 will feature a Cotton Flower colour variant. The leak further suggests that all three smartphones will come in Phantom Black colour as well.
The tipster also revealed that all three Samsung Galaxy S23 series smartphones will offer up to 1750 nits of brightness. Same as earlier reports this leak also reveals that the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will sport a 200MP main camera. This means that this time the company is replacing the 108MP camera of the Galaxy S22 Ultra with the 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor. Samsung is also rumoured to swap the ultra-wide 12MP sensor on the smartphone. This time the company is said to include the Sony IMX654 sensor. Along with this, the company may also be replacing the 12MP sensor on the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+. Samsung Galaxy S23 series likely specs A recent online report revealed the likely details about the upcoming Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23 Ultra smartphones. As per a report by galaxyclub, the Samsung Galaxy S23+ could pack a 4,700mAh battery, which is about 100mAh bigger than the one in the Galaxy S22+. The top-of-the-line Galaxy S23 Ultra, however, is said to pack a 5000mAh battery, which is identical to what is found in the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The report further adds that the Galaxy S23 may get an improved 12MP front camera sensor but the telephoto camera is reported to carry the same 10MP sensor and 3x optical zoom capability. It is also claimed that the sensor in the ultra-wide angle camera won’t change much. The Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ are said to feature the same 12MP ultra-wide angle camera as it was in their predecessors. The report further notes there is no clarity on whether the Galaxy S23 Ultra will get the same 12MP sensor as its siblings or not.
Dr Sumbul Desai, VP of Health at Apple, will be visiting India next month. As part of her visit, Desai will be participating in a fireside chat with Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals at BioAsia, Hyderabad. The event is scheduled to take place on February 25. Desai serves as Vice President of Health at Apple, overseeing health initiatives including clinical product development, medical research, and innovative clinical partnerships. She also leads the regulatory and quality teams at Apple. The senior Apple executive recently served as Vice Chair of Strategy and Innovation in the Department of Medicine at Stanford Medicine, as well as Associate Chief Medical Officer at Stanford Healthcare. She also serves as Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Stanford School of Medicine. Apple’s focus on health Over the last few years — more so since the launch of the Apple Watch — Apple has been working extensively in the field of health. The company is working with Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, the American Heart Association, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Johns Hopkins University, to conduct health studies and advance discovery with the ResearchKit and CareKit platforms. With the Apple Watch, the company has been introducing new health and fitness features for users. Apple recently launched its temperature sensing capability with the retrospective ovulation estimates feature, adding to the many consumer health tools available on Apple Watch and iPhone including the ECG app, irregular rhythm notifications, cycle tracking and hearing health features. Apple has also made available a number of tools and core technologies to all developers to help them create apps, including more than 250,000 software development building blocks called APIs. With the HealthKit API, Apple makes it possible for third-party developers to develop health and fitness apps that take advantage of the sensors on the iPhone and Apple Watch and are compatible with the Health app.
– Launch window revealed – Official release date coming later in the year – First teaser released online – Story details teased – No word on which comics are being adapted – Season 3 being developed alongside season 2 – Season 4 hasn’t secretly been greenlit
It’s about time. Invincible season 2 is confirmed to be launching this year – but it’ll be a while before it airs on Prime Video.
One of the best Prime Video shows ever won’t be with us again until late 2023. But hey, considering how long we’ve waited for Invincible’s second season to arrive, we can wait a few (read: many) more months. In the meantime, there’s a first season 2 teaser to watch countless times – and there’s a few secrets in it that tease the plot of the hit animated series’ next instalment.
Once you’re done rewatching the self-aware trailer, there’s plenty of news to catch up on. Below, we’ve compiled everything worth knowing about Invincible season 2, including its cast, story details, the show’s future, and more.
Full spoilers follow for the Prime Video show’s first season and the comic series it’s based on. Proceed with caution if you’re avoiding spoilers pre-release.
Invincible season 2 release date: what we know
Calm down, Mark, Invincible season 2 is coming this year. (Image credit: Amazon Prime Video)
Invincible season 2 doesn’t have an official release date, but it’ll land on Prime Video in late 2023. The launch window reveal was announced as part of the second season’s first teaser, which you can view in our trailer section.
We here at InvincibleHQ might edge y’all a lot, but it’s only because we love this show just as much as you. The team is working hard on Season 2 (and 3!!!) as you saw in the teaser today. We’ll keep you informed and entertained as best we can this year!January 21, 2023
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Invincible seasons 2 and 3 were greenlit in April 2021 (opens in new tab). and, as showrunner Simon Racioppa exclusively told TechRadar last March: “We’ve been working on it [Invincible season 2] for a while. We’re working very hard on it. Basically, every day Robert [Kirkman, Invincible’s co-creator] is working on it, I’m working on it. We’re talking about it, and we are well in on the process. We’ve been working on it longer than I think people are aware, but it takes a while. It’s a big show.”
One month later, lead voice actor Steven Yeun was videoed recording lines for Invincible season 2:
With how many lines he has, his vocal cords really will need to be… pic.twitter.com/0Chd6KvxxQApril 15, 2022
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Speaking to ScreenRant (opens in new tab), Khary Payton, who plays Black Sansom, provided another update on where the cast was up to in relation to recording lines, saying: “We finished season 2. We’re onto season 3, but its so hard to say right now [when it is coming out].”
So, when will Invincible season 2 actually be released? If we had to pick a month, we’d say October 2023. That gives the whole development team nine months to complete work on it and would ensure Invincible’s next outing isn’t competing with multiple shows – in November and December – for viewers’ attention.
Invincible season 2 trailer
The first Invincible season 2 teaser was revealed on January 20, just two days before the comic series’ 20th anniversary.
The trailer shows Mark and Allen reuniting in a BM burger restaurant to – in the most meta terms possible – discuss what Mark’s been up to and why season 2 hasn’t been released yet. The show’s animation has clearly received a glow up from its predecessor, too, which is pleasing to see.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t reveal much from plot or character arc perspectives. However, there are a couple of blink and you’ll miss it moments that tease what’s to come.(Potential spoilers follow the tweet below!)
The most notable story clue concerns a script page, which teases a showdown between Invincible and The Immortal. Despite apparently dying at Omni-Man’s hands (again), the latter wasn’t killed at the end of season 1. So we could see Mark and The Immortal throw down in the next season. That’s if this isn’t a misdirect on the writing team’s part, which would tie into the humorous nature of the teaser.
Other notable Easter eggs include what appears to be a younger Eve sitting in the booth behind Mark (is she with the scientist who created her?), a possible first-look at season 2’s main villain (more on him later), and another mention of the planet Urath. You know, the world Allen was supposed to be keeping tabs on and eventually challenge its champion. Instead, he got mixed up and had been watching over Earth instead.
Invincible season 2 cast
Expect plenty of familiar faces to return in Invincible season 2. (Image credit: Amazon Studio)
Nothing’s been confirmed, but we’d expect this lot to return for Invincible season 2:
Steven Yeun as Mark Grayson/Invincible
J.K. Simmons as Nolan Grayson/Omni-Man
Sandra Oh as Debbie Grayson
Zazie Beetz as Amber Bennett
Gillian Jacobs as Samantha Eve Wilkins/Atom Eve
Andrew Rannells as William Clockwell
Walton Goggins as Cecil Stedman
Jason Mantzoukas as Rex Sloan/Rex Splode
Ross Marquand as Rudy Conners, Kursk and Bi-Plane
Mark Hamill as Art Rosenbaum
Khary Payton as Markus Grimshaw/Black Samson
Malese Jow as Kate Cha/Dupli-Kate
Grey Griffin as Shrinking Rae and Amanda (Monster Girl’s human form)
Kevin Michael Richardson as Monster Girl/the Mauler Twins
Seth Rogen as Allen the Alien
Mahershala Ali as Titan
Zachary Quinto voiced Robot in season 1, but it’s unclear if he’ll be back. In the first season, Robot was the artificial host body of Rudy Conners, an individual whose genetic defects initially meant he was unable to live outside of his saline tank.
With Rudy’s consciousness being transferred into his new clone body in episode 7, Ross Marquand took over vocal duties for Rudy, so we don’t know if Quinto will return. Robot has a big role to play in the comics, but we’re unsure if those events will be part of Invincible season 2, season 3, or beyond.
Others who might return include Chris Diamantopoulos (Doc Seismic), Fred Tatasciore (Kill Cannon), Clancy Brown (Damien Darkblood), Jeffrey Donovan (Machine Head), Ezra Miller (D.A. Sinclair), and Michael Dorn (Battle Beast and Thokk). Kirkman has hinted at some of their returns (more on this below) but we’re unsure who will do so.
Kirkman has also expressed interest in more of The Walking Dead’s TV cast appearing. Yeun, Marquand, Laurie Cohan, Michael Cudlitz, Sonequa Martin-Green, and Lennie James have lent their voices to the show already, but Kirkman wants more Walking Dead stars to sign on (per ComicBook.com).
Invincible season 2 plot
Which comic storylines will Invincible season 2 pull from? (Image credit: Amazon Prime Video)
Major spoilers follow for Invincible season 1 and the graphic novels.
There are many directions that Invincible season 2 could go in, but we already have an idea of what the next instalment might entail. That’s based on Invincible’s season 1 finale and the comics it’s based on.
First, let’s discuss season 1’s final episode. Omni-Man was supposed to conquer Earth for the Viltrumite Empire but, after realizing that he couldn’t kill Mark and enslave humanity for his people, he tearfully heads out into space for an unknown destination.
Season 2 should pick up this plot thread. Mark will be tasked with keeping Earth safe from the invading Viltrumites (he’s been forewarned by Allen), as well as help the Coalition of Planets stop the former from carrying out their universe-wide expansion.
Mark already knows that a fleet is on its way thanks to Allen and, with the latter having a more prominent role in the comics from this point on, we can expect the duo’s friendship and power levels to grow. Here’s hoping the teaser is just the tip of the iceberg, as far as their burgeoning bromance goes, too, especially with what plays out in the comics *hint hint*.
We should also find out where Omni-Man/Nolan has gone. In the comics, Nolan flies off to invade another planet, which he hopes will act as recompense – with the Viltrum Empire – for deserting his posting on Earth. There’s a lot more for the animated series to cover regarding Mark and Nolan’s relationship, which is explored extensively in the comics. We’ll be here forever if we dive too deep into this father-son bond but, for now, let’s say we’ll definitely see some of Simmons’ Nolan next season.
20 years of Invincible!!! We’re celebrating from Cecil’s White Room as @RobertKirkman, Cory Walker and @RyanOttley react to the Season 2 teaser, and spot absolutely zero Easter eggs. #Invincible20 pic.twitter.com/xZFg4kB8wTJanuary 22, 2023
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Season 1’s final episode also teased other potential subplots for its successor. We should see more of the Sequids storyline, which wasn’t officially concluded. We know that a Martian has infiltrated Earth after he traded places with one of the human astronauts. Additionally, the astronaut who was left behind on Mars is now controlled by the Sequids, which could spell bad news for Earth if this parasitic race charts a course for the blue planet.
We might see Titan and Battle Beast’s stories fleshed out in more detail, too. The last time we saw them, they’d taken over Machine Head’s criminal organization and teleported away from Earth respectively. Their tales continue in the comics, and Kirkman has already alluded to fan favorite Battle Beast getting more screen time (opens in new tab) in Invincible season 2. The Flaxans also look like they’ll return, despite Omni-Man’s rampage across their home planet in episode 2.
One interesting piece of news concerns story elements that didn’t even make it into Invincible’s comic run. Speaking to Beyond the Trailer (opens in new tab), Kirkman revealed he hoped to include storylines in the show that he couldn’t fit into the graphic novels. One example that Kirkman gives relates to Damien Darkblood, who was banished back to Hell by Cecil Stedman in episode 4. It’s unclear if this will form part of season 2, though.
Meanwhile, Kirkman has revealed more of where Invincible season 2’s plot could go and it could include arguably Mark’s biggest nemesis from the comics – Angstrom Levy.
Seasons 2 and 3 might give the show a whole new dimension…or a few hundred pic.twitter.com/zryVPksrngMay 4, 2021
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In the comics, Levy is one of Invincible’s most iconic nemeses. Little is revealed about his backstory in the source material, but Levy’s ability to – without detailing too much – traverse time and space makes him a formidable and recurring foe for Mark to deal with.
Speaking during a 2020 Skybound Xpo panel, Kirkman said: “He [Levy] really shakes things up. If you’re familiar with the comics and you’ve watched the TV show, you’ll get a sense of where we’re going with the second season, especially if you think really hard about how we adapted the story in the first season.”
Additionally, based on the impending arrivals of Levy and the Viltrumite fleet, Invincible’s next instalment will enter more cosmic territory. Expect stranger worlds, weirder characters, and a multiverse-spanning plot to feature more heavily next time around.
Elsewhere, Kirkman has teased there would be some “crazy stuff coming”, while Jason Mantzoukas revealed that he can’t wait for season 2 to “introduce more villains… like Thragg” and more of the comic series’ intergalactic elements.
Speaking to Collider (opens in new tab) in November 2022, Mantzoukas provided a brief but enticing update about Invincible season 2’s story, saying: “I can tease nothing except that it will be incredible, full stop.” How witty of you, Jason.
How many seasons will Invincible’s TV show get?
Think, Mark! Why wouldn’t Invincible return after season 3? (Image credit: Amazon Studios)
In total, there are 144 Invincible comics, spanning 20 years of Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley’s careers. The TV adaptation altered the order of certain plot points in season 1, but the first eight episodes only covered the first 23 issues. If a similar trajectory is maintained for future seasons, Invincible may end around the season 7 or 8 mark.
According to Kirkman, there could be more or less than that, telling ScreenRant (opens in new tab) there’s a “rough roadmap for where things from the comics will fall”. Additionally, Kirkman told Inverse (opens in new tab) that he “could see it going for five… seven… even 10 years. Maybe we run out of comic books and… we do 100 seasons.”
Of course, that last number is Kirkman exaggerating, but we could certainly see Invincible running for five seasons. If audiences want more, Amazon would be silly to end it after three seasons.
Much of that’ll depend on whether Invincible continues to draw in audiences in its next two seasons – or will it? Speaking to Collider (opens in new tab), Seth Rogen seemed to suggest Invincible will continue after season 3. However, responding to a request for comment from TechRadar, Amazon confirmed that “nothing official has been announced”, so we’re still in the dark over the show’s future post-season 3.
Amazon has had major success with its live-action series based around another R-rated comic book in Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys. So there’s no reason why Invincible season 2 can’t build on its predecessor’s foundations and stick around for many more years to come.
Over the next few months, Meta will gradually expand end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to all Messenger users to ensure a high level of security across the board.
“Gradually” is the keyword here as Meta states it will randomly choose (opens in new tab) which chats get E2EE and which ones don’t. When chosen, everyone in a selected chat will be notified if their app now has that extra layer of protection. The reasoning behind the random selection process is to ease both users and the company’s own infrastructure so as to not overwhelm either of them. Ideally, the rollout will go more smoothly when done little by little instead of all at once. Plus, Meta will be testing whether or not E2EE will be a default setting for Messenger during this period. So if you are one of the lucky few who gets picked first, be sure to install the update as soon as you can to have optimal security.
It’s worth noting that back in 2021 (opens in new tab), Meta said it had plans to release a full version of E2EE to both Messenger and Instagram in 2023. The latter’s end-to-end encryption is available in certain regions with an official launch presumably still in the works. Instagram’s E2EE feature has been in a testing phase as of August 2022 (opens in new tab). Not much else is known, but Meta does mention in this latest announcement that it will provide updates “over the course of 2023.”
What’s old is now new
In addition to the expansion, E2EE-enabled Messenger chats will be getting six new features that boost security and customization; although it’s nothing that we haven’t seen before.
You have things like link previews so you know where you’re going when selecting a hyperlink and the ability to adjust your Active Status for added privacy. Going further down the list, chat themes are now available so you can ditch the plain white background plus custom emoji reactions, profile photos for Groups, and Bubble notifications to appear when using other apps (although only on Android).
It looks like Meta is bridging the gap between the non-encrypted version of Messenger and this new E2EE-enabled version. Perhaps the company is setting things up to eventually ditch the non-encrypted app as part of a long-term plan, but it’s still too early to tell if that will be the case.
We asked Meta if the six features will launch today to all users with E2EE Messenger or if will they coincide with the gradual rollout mentioned earlier. We also asked for an update regarding Instagram encryption since there’s hardly been any news regarding the E2EE on the app in the past several months. This story will be updated if we hear back.
If you’re interested in other messaging apps with E2EE and don’t want to wait for Messenger, be sure to check TechRadar’s updated list of the best. Of course, you have Meta’s own WhatsApp, which has had encryption for years. You also have Telegram and Threema.
Researchers have uncovered a huge network of fake apps running fake ads, mainly on iOS devices.
The operation was named ‘Vastflux’ in reference to its use of the Video Ad Serving Template specification, as well as the fast-flux technique to change masses of IP addresses and DNS records to hide the malicious code within the fake apps.
Cybersecurity Team HUMAN discovered Vastflux during an investigation of another ad-fraud network, finding that it generated over 12 billion ad bid requests a day and affected over 11 million devices, most of which were iOS.
Hidden videos
The researchers were tipped off to the campaign when they stumbled across an app that was using multiple app IDs to generate an unhealthy amount of requests.
After reverse engineering the obfuscated JavaScript code, they found the main server the app was in communication with and which sent the app the ad-generating commands.
From here, the researchers uncovered the whole network, which involved nearly 2,000 fake apps. As they explained, the malvertising in these bad apps had “stacked a whole bunch of video players on top of one another, getting paid for all of the ads when none of them were visible to the person using the device.”
When it won the bids it made for displaying ad banners, Vastflux would inject the hidden JavaScript code into it. This would the C2 server to get the data needed to make the fake ad. Up to 25 videos would be running simultaneously, but remain invisible to the user as they would be displayed behind the active window.
The scheme also didn’t use ad verification tags, needed to view performance metrics, in order to avoid detection from ad-performance trackers.
HUMAN, with the help of customers and the brands who were spoofed, launched a series of targeted attacks on Vastflux between June and July 2022. The C2 servers then went offline after a while as their operations wound down, until all ad bids reached zero in December 2022.
Although the campaign did not appear to have had a major security impact on the infected devices, it did cause performance issues, battery drain and overheating in some cases.
These are typical signs of an infection, so pay heed if your notice hits like this to your device. Although you cannot monitor the usage of performance-related hardware such as CPU and RAM on an iPhone natively, there are third party apps that can. Also, you can view the battery usage on iOS under the device settings, which may give some indication to the presence of suspect apps.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be “massive”, according to the voice actor who plays the web-slinging Peter Parker in Insomniac’s critically-acclaimed superhero series.
In an interview with ComicBookMovie.com (opens in new tab), voice actor Yuri Lowenthal revealed some tantalizing titbits about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 ahead of its release on PS5 later this year, including what we can expect from the scale of the highly-anticipated sequel.
“I’ve still got a little bit [more work] to do”, said Lowenthal. “It’s a massive game, so I’m still doing a little bit of work.”
Lowenthal’s emphasis on the size of the sequel is certainly interesting. The original 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man’s open world was nothing to sniff at. In a sterling piece of investigative journalism, one writer calculated that the game’s virtual Manhattan was roughly a quarter of the size of the real thing (via Twinfinite (opens in new tab)). That places the original Marvel’s Spider-Man open world at approximately 14.8 square kilometers – an immense size for any one person to explore on their own.
Lowenthal lamented that he “[couldn’t] really talk about the game much”, but described Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s scale as “astonishing”. Though light on specific details, Lowenthal’s comments suggest we could see an even bigger open world this time around, though Insomniac Games hasn’t confirmed this.
There goes the neighbourhood
(Image credit: Sony)
In addition, Lowenthal seemed to confirm that the sequel is on track to meet its late 2023 (between September and November) release window. “I know [Insomniac are] confident about their release date, and [they’ve] always been good about that,” Lowenthal told the publication.
Thanks in part to the pandemic, the games industry has been no stranger to delays in recent years. Starfield, Darktide, STALKER 2: Hearts of Chornobyl, and Forspoken all suffered pushbacks in 2022. In this context, Lowenthal’s confidence in Insomniac’s Q4 2023 release window for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is refreshing and bodes well for the title’s launch.
Both Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales offered thrilling open-world adventures which offered fresh takes on the web-slinger, bringing the iconic hero out from under the shadow of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The upcoming entry looks to bring the two eponymous Spider-Men together while offering a “darker” experience than the first game.
As a longtime Spider-Man fan, I can’t wait to see where Insomniac takes the next entry in the series. The previous titles did a great job of authentically capturing the Spider-Man fantasy, whilst delivering fluid, action-oriented gameplay, so I’m hoping for more of the same this time around.
AMD’s RX 6000 graphics cards are looking like compelling purchases right now, with prices falling steadily as seen in a new report for this month, while Nvidia GPUs are stubbornly refusing to drop.
This is going by TechSpot’s (opens in new tab) GPU price update for January 2023 (the site produces these reports monthly), which shows a whole load of data for graphics card sales, including retail pricing (in the US), and extra nuances such as the best value boards (in terms of raw ‘cost per frame’, meaning price/performance ratio).
The good news is that for last-gen products on shelves, some of AMD’s GPUs have seen some sizeable drops in price. Indeed, the top five RDNA 2 models have dropped in price, with the Radeon RX 6800 XT and 6950 XT leading the charge with 14% and 13% falls in price compared to last month.
The 6900 XT is also down a solid amount with a 7% reduction compared to December, and slightly more modest falls – but still worthwhile given that this is month-to-month – were witnessed with the RX 6800 and 6750 XT, dropping 4% and 3% respectively.
Mid-range offerings like the RX 6650 XT and 6600 XT also fell by 4% and 3% respectively, and the 6500 XT was down by 6%, but elsewhere, prices mainly stuck at the same levels. There was an outlier in the RX 6600 going up by 12%, mind.
The story was very different with Nvidia’s last-gen RTX 3000 GPUs, where the only card to actually fall in price was the GeForce RTX 3060 which was down a healthy 6% – and to be fair, that’s a pretty useful product to see a decent drop.
While the RTX 3070 stayed the same price, the other Ampere GPUs still available at US retailers rose – by a slight 2% for the RTX 3070 Ti, but slightly bigger increases of 4% and 5% were in evidence with the RTX 3050 and RTX 3060 Ti.
What about RTX 3080 and 3090 variants? Well, there’s no stock of these boards left, aside from scattered RTX 3080 10GB models (but TechSpot didn’t have any price to compare with in this case, as these cards were out of stock in the past few months).
As for new products, the RTX 4070 Ti came to market this month, and as TechSpot noted, the latest Lovelace graphics card remained in stock and sold for its MSRP (recommended price), an unusual situation – and one that might indicate a somewhat weak demand. TechSpot does clarify that the RTX 4070 Ti is supposedly selling better than the RTX 4080 – something we’ve seen clear evidence of elsewhere – while also pointing out that this isn’t a particularly major achievement, as that wasn’t (and still isn’t) a particularly popular GPU.
Still, in TechSpot’s price/performance (cost per frame) table based on MSRP pricing, the 4070 Ti sits in second place overall, hot on the heels of the leader: AMD’s RX 7900 XTX. Those are the top performers ahead of the RTX 3070 in third place, and the RX 6800 XT and RX 6800 following that in fourth and fifth positions.
Behind those cards lies the RX 7900 XT in sixth place, but you have to go further down the table to find the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 in ninth and tenth spots respectively. (Remember, this is based on recommended pricing, not actual current price tags).
Analysis: Some seriously tempting options from Team Red
Both RX 6900 XT and 6950 XT graphics cards look like great buys right now, having come down a large amount over the past nine months or so. Particularly the latter which hit a lowest price of $700 (around £570 / AU$1,000) in January, which represents over a third knocked off the MSRP.
The RX 6800 XT also came down heavily, although due to a price spike in December, it has been a bit cheaper previously. All of these are compelling options for those looking for a powerful graphics card, but not wanting to pay more for the new generation of RDNA 3 or Lovelace.
In the mid-range area for AMD’s RX 6000 series, declines are more modest as noted, but there are still some really tempting options – like the RX 6650 XT at an asking price of $275 (around £220 / AU$395).
It’s disappointing that Nvidia graphics cards aren’t seeing the same kind of falls, but not exactly surprising. When GPU prices first started dropping (back from truly inflated levels of double the MSRP, or even more than that), it’s been a theme that Nvidia’s products have been more stubbornly resistant to reductions. Although in fairness, that’s partly a reflection of their relative popularity, of course.
The brighter spot of news with Team Green is that at least the RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti – key mid-range models – are now almost at MSRP in the US (they’re just $10 over in both cases). Maybe they’ll fall further, but we’re not banking on it, as Nvidia’s Lovelace mid-range does not appear to be anywhere near on the horizon. Indeed, the RTX 4060 isn’t rumored to be turning up until the middle of 2023.
That said, the high-end RTX 3000 stock has all sold out now, so perhaps it won’t be too long before excess RTX 3060 inventory is cleared, too; and if so, maybe the Lovelace successor will turn up a bit sooner than is widely expected.
Plenty of us have shrunk the space taken up by our music collection with the advent of digital and streaming services, but scientists at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) have taken that to the limit.
In a feat of miniaturization, the research team at DTU has managed to create what it claims to be the world’s smallest music record.
Measuring just 15 x 15 micrometres in size – that’s 40 μm/micrometres or microns in diameter, which is almost half the diameter of an average human hair – the tiny disc can barely be seen without the use of a magnifying glass.
Able to hold just 25 seconds of the opening bars of the festive classic Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, the record is unsurprisingly unplayable on a standard record player.
The disc was created using a process which saw the audio inscribed into polymer film using DTU’s new Nanofrazor Scholar 3D lithography technology, which is a series of words we definitely understand.
Emphasizing just how tiny the record is, Postdoc Nolan Lassaline explained “It’s so small that the entire thing we’re patterning can fit within one single groove of a regular vinyl record”.
DTU Physics researcher Peter Bøggild added: “The Nanofrazor was put to work as a record-cutting lathe – converting an audio signal into a spiralled groove on the surface of the medium. In this case, the medium is a different polymer than vinyl.”
“I have done lithography for 30 years, and although we’ve had this machine for a while, it still feels like science fiction,” he added.
Unsurprisingly, DTU doesn’t envisage the technique being developed further as a music format, but instead sees the technology being used to help provide breakthroughs in scientific research.
“While we make these kinds of grooves here with nanometre precision, we can transfer these to a number of other materials, where that will fundamentally allow us to manipulate material properties on a nanoscale,” Professor Bøggild explained.
“We are doing something that we have never really been able to do in physics and material science before now.
“Another thing that also we would use this for is to make tiny magnetic field sensors that allows us to measure the currents in the brain, and for that we are hoping in the long term to create some affordable technology that would allow us to answer questions pertaining to Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s.”
So it looks like the best portable music players portable music players will remain larger than a human hair, and able to play more than 25 seconds per song.
A newly discovered exploit in GTA Online’s code is allowing unscrupulous modders on PC to remove other players’ money, reduce their reputation levels and even lock them out of the game entirely.
Twitter user Tez2 (opens in new tab) recently highlighted the issue – which he claims was discovered by fellow Twitter user HarryGotTaken (opens in new tab) – explaining that this exploit allows cheaters “to remotely add/remove/modify your stats and permanently corrupt your account aka ban/delete”. Tez2 warned GTA Online players not to play right now while the exploit can still be taken advantage of by cheaters, or to “avoid playing without a firewall rule”.
News of the exploit has spread to the GTA Online community proper too. Thousands have responded to a post by Reddit user PapaXan (opens in new tab) which highlights Tez2’s tweet and encourages GTA Online players to mass report the issue to developer Rockstar,
Though the exploit only affects those playing the game on PC, it’s daunting to see cheaters have the power to outright corrupt other players’ accounts. To make matters worse, there are accounts of players receiving unsolicited “gifts” from hackers and then being banned by Rockstar on the grounds that they are benefitting from the exploit (via Hacker News (opens in new tab)).
#GTAOnline PC High Alert⚠️New extreme exploits have appeared allowing cheaters to remotely add/remove/modify your stats and permanently corrupt your account aka ban/delete.Avoid playing without a firewall rule or playing at all!🚨Thanks to @HarryGotTaken for notifying. pic.twitter.com/tyh4tCInMLJanuary 20, 2023
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Hacked off
(Image credit: Rockstar)
Though this exploit is particularly nasty, cheating has long been a problem in GTA Online. I’ve seen a number of Reddit threads (opens in new tab) highlighting Grand Theft Auto Online’s numerous cheating issues over the years.
Similarly, Rockstar’s Red Dead Online also suffered at the hands of hackers. This led some (opens in new tab) to claim that Rockstar simply wasn’t combating cheaters at all – which the developer denied in an interview with PCGamesN (opens in new tab).
Griefing and cheating are as old as online games themselves, however, developers have often crafted proactive responses in order to safeguard their communities. Call of Duty: Vanguard famously trolled cheaters to death by making enemy players invisible to any detected hackers, while third-person sci-fi shooter Outriders from People Can Fly permanently branded cheaters by adding an immovable watermark to their screen and forcing them to matchmake solely with other cheaters.
It is my hope that Rockstar will follow in the footsteps of other developers and seek to address these new exploits quickly. However, given their track record with previous cheating-related problems, I’m not holding my breath.
