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The Assassin’s Creed Syndicate 60fps console patch drops today.

A new Assassin’s Creed Syndicate patch arrives todayIt enables 4K 60FPS functionality on PS5, PS5 Pro, and Xbox Series XXbox Series S players can now enjoy 1080p 60FPS

A new update for Assassin’s Creed Syndicate has enabled support for up to 60fps on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 5 Pro.

It is available to download today and comes in at 31.8GB on Xbox or just 0.75GB on PlayStation.

For those on Xbox Series X, PS5, or PS5 Pro it introduces the option to play at 4K resolution at 60fps or at 1080p resolution at 60fps. Xbox Series S players will be restricted to just 1080p at 60fps, though this is understandable given the lower power of the system relative to other modern consoles.

Just bear in mind that this is not the same as a native version of the game for any of these systems. As a result, the game will still show up as a PS4 title on PS5, even when you have the most up-to-date edition installed. Owners of the original physical release for Xbox One or PS4 will also be able to take advantage of this update by simply inserting the game into their Xbox Series X or PS5 and downloading the latest version.

If you’ve been waiting for a good reason to replay this installment in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, perhaps ahead of the Assassin’s Creed Shadows launch, then this is it.

If you’re not already familiar with the game, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate first launched back in 2015 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It’s set in Victorian London, where players take control of assassin twins Jacob and Evie Frye as they battle against the sinister Templar forces controlling the city.

The game introduced many of the mechanics that were then further developed in Assassin’s Creed Origins, so should feel immediately familiar if you’ve only played the more recent games. It was always a fantastic-looking title, so I’m personally quite excited to discover just how much better it looks after this bump up to 4K 60fps.

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Nvidia Omniverse Blueprint promises to boost digital twinning efficiency, maximizing time and energy.

Nvidia launches Omniverse Blueprint digital twin softwareHandles processes that usually take weeks or monthsAvailable on DGX Cloud, AWS, Google, Microsoft and more

Nvidia has lifted the wraps off its new Omniverse Blueprint tool – a digital twin software to support computer-aided engineering in industries like manufacturing, aerospace, automotive and energy.

The chipmaker hopes its blueprint tool will enable developers to create simulations faster, therefore reducing their energy consumption and helping them to hit sustainability goals.

Omniverse Blueprint’s efficiency also promises to accelerate product development cycles, allowing companies to react to trends more quickly and stay ahead of the curve and competition.

Nvidia launches Omniverse Blueprint

In an announcement, the company said Blueprint uses Nvidia CUDA-X acceleration libraries, Nvidia Modulus physics-AI framework and Nvidia Omniverse application programming interfaces for 3D data interoperability and real-time RTX-enabled visualization to achieve 1,200x faster simulations and real-time visualization.

“Omniverse Blueprints are reference pipelines that connect NVIDIA Omniverse with AI technologies, enabling leading CAE software developers to build groundbreaking digital twin workflows that will transform industrial digitalization, from design and manufacturing to operations, for the world’s largest industries,” noted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

One of Omniverse Blueprint’s first applications is computational fluid dynamics (CFD), an important step for refining vehicle, ship and airplane designs that previously tool weeks or even months to complete.

Altair, Beyond Math, Cadence, Hexagon, Neural Concept, Siemens, SimScale and Trane Technologies are also said to be exploring how they can adopt the technology, too.

The company noted Omniverse Blueprint is available on Nvidia DGX Cloud as well as leading alternatives like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Prospective customers can sign up for early access now.

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Garmin has started pushing out strength training features to more models, though only in beta form for now.

Strength Coach is now heading to more usersThe extra workouts are available for beta usersForerunner and Venu watches are included

Up until this point it’s only been the very best Garmin watches – the Fenix 8, the Enduro 3, and the Fenix E – that have had access to the Strength Coach feature. But it’s now being rolled out in beta form to other models, including several Forerunner watches.

As spotted by the5krunner, Strength Coach is now available in beta for the Forerunner 965, Forerunner 955, Forerunner 265, Forerunner 255, Vivoactive 5, Venu 3, and Venu 3s. Once testing is complete, it should appear for everyone with one of those watches.

Like the Running Coach and Cycling Coach programs that are already widely available, the Strength Coach offers detailed guides for building up strength and muscle – with different plans available to suit your own goals and current progress.

Only a few days ago we heard Garmin was planning to add a Get Fit plan to the Strength Coach, a set of workouts aimed at beginners. It would make sense that Garmin would want this to be available more widely across its product range.

Coming to a wrist near you

The Strength Coach made its debut on the Fenix 8 (Image credit: Future / Matt Evans)

If you’re keen to get Strength Coach and other new features before anyone else, you can sign up for the Garmin beta software program through your Garmin account – though you may have to put up with a few bugs and issues with these early software rollouts.

If you’d rather stick to the stable releases, just hang tight: the Strength Coach update will find you eventually. You shouldn’t have long to wait, though it depends on whether any major problems are spotted during the beta phase.

For now, there’s no word on whether any other watches – such as the Fenix 7 or the budget Forerunner 165 – are going to get the Strength Coach feature too, though presumably Garmin will eventually want this on as many wrists as possible.

We tested the strength training workouts as part of our full Garmin Fenix 8 review and came away impressed with what was on offer, awarding the watch a full five stars out of five – despite the hefty price tag attached.

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After recent rumors suggested there’d be no price increase for the Galaxy S25 lineup, a new tipoff suggests there’ll be some increase for the highest-end model.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra could be the subject of a price hike due to rising production costsWe’re light on details, but new hardware features could be the reasonSamsung has yet to share any details on the upcoming flagship lineup

Samsung could bring a price increase to the highest-end model in the Samsung Galaxy S25 lineup, according to a new rumor.

The most recent tipoff from Twitter-based leaker Jukanlosreve suggests that the production costs of the Galaxy S25 Ultra have increased by at least $110 from the Galaxy S24 Ultra, making a price rise “unavoidable”.

The information stems from a screenshot of a Weibo post by Chinese blogger Setsuna Digital, which, according to Google Translate, gives little further detail.

At a starting price of $1,299, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is already extremely expensive, and if these latest rumors are true, we could see its follow-up launch as the priciest slab phone on the market, a title currently held by the Sony Xperia 1 V at $1,399.

These latest leaks contrast with rumors we previously reported on – also sourced from Jukanlosreve – which suggested that the entire Galaxy S25 lineup would cost only as much as the current Galaxy S24 lineup at launch.

However, the post suggesting these stable prices had already been deleted at the time of reporting, so perhaps Jukanlosreve was keen to go back on their word in the face of this newer information.

It’s worth noting, too, that these latest rumors have no relation to the pricing of the base Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus, which could still cost the same as their current-gen equivalents.

More money, more features?

(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)

It’s possible that Samsung’s increased production costs reflect new features and innovations coming to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which we expect to continue the S24 Ultra’s role as the most technically advanced Galaxy phone.

We recently reported on Samsung’s announcement of a new type of zoom camera technology, which promises more efficient use of space and improved low-light portraits. It’s entirely possible that this new camera technology will make it into the S25 Ultra.

Other rumors have pointed to an enlarged 6.9-inch display and an improved 50MP ultrawide camera as potential upgrades.

We’ve also heard that the S25 Ultra could ship with 16GB of RAM by default, again adding power but incurring increased production costs.

Smartphone pricing overall has remained steady this year, but the already high price of the S24 Ultra may have Samsung feeling empowered to push the envelope.

For now, though, we’re still yet to hear anything official about the Samsung Galaxy S25 lineup. For the latest updates, be sure to keep up with our Samsung phones coverage.

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Spider-Man fans think a huge Beyond the Spider-Verse reveal is imminent after a large mural unexpectedly appears in New York City.

Spider-Man fans are convinced a big Beyond the Spider-Verse announcement is imminentA large Miles Morales logo has been spotted in downtown New York by residentsThe mural may be getting installed ahead of a possible reveal at Comic-Con Brazil (CCXP) in early December

Spider-Man fans have been whipped (or should that be thwipped?) into a frenzy over a seemingly imminent Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse reveal.

Yesterday (November 18), numerous New York residents spotted a large, light-based logo was being erected on the front of a building in downtown New York. Ordinarily, that would be interesting news in its own right, but what’s most notable about this specific mural is that its design is an exact match of the logo that adorns Miles Morales’ superhero costume in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and 2022’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

The location of said logo, which was snapped and uploaded by plenty of intrigued passers-by like X/Twitter user phil_spvrs (see above), and Redditors including lookedrs and ConeyQ, has also sparked interest. Indeed, its installation in the borough of Chelsea has ties to the Spider-Verse films, too, with Miles’ co-star Gwen Stacey/Spider-Gwen living in this part of Manhattan in her original universe.

What’s the latest speculation on Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’s release date?

Miles Morales’ next animated adventure was initially supposed to arrive in March (Image credit: Sony Pictures)

Unsurprisingly, the mural’s design and location have led many to theorize that a Beyond the Spider-Verse announcement might be inbound. The most obvious reveal would be an official release date – or, rather, a new one, given that Beyond the Spider-Verse was originally supposed to be released in March 2024.

If a new launch date is set to be confirmed by Sony and Marvel, it’ll come as something of a shock to some fans. Following an initial release date delay owing to the 2023 Hollywood strikes, a recent report from industry insider Jeff Sneider suggested the third and final installment in Miles’ animated Spider-Man film series had been pushed back all the way to 2027.

With Comic-Con Brazil (CCXP) 2024 right around the corner, it’s possible that a launch date announcement could be made shortly. Even better, we might not have to wait another two and a bit years for its arrival, either.

Traditionally, Sony Pictures is one of multiple studios that provides updates on its line-up of movies for the year ahead and beyond. Considering CCXP is set to run from December 5 to 8 this year, it seems likely that a Beyond the Spider-Verse reveal will be part of its 2024 announcements roster, especially as Sony has previous form for unveiling Spider-Verse details at CCXP, with Across the Spider-Verse‘s first clip being debuted at the December 2021 event.

As for rumors that the sequel to Across the Spider-Verse – my Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse review is well worth reading, by the way – may land in theaters before 2027, Reddit user Colton826 claims Beyond the Spider-Verse has been pencilled in for a late 2025 release. That suggestion has only served to increase people’s excitement, mine included, that a development and/or release date update is imminent. Here’s hoping, then, that I’ll be able to add the follow-up to one of the best superhero movies of all-time to our new movies hub when I give it a big 2025 release schedule overhaul.

Expect to see Spider-Gwen and more of Miles’ allies in Beyond the Spider-Verse (Image credit: Sony Pictures)

Regardless of whether a revised release date is unveiled, one of Sneider’s fellow leakers will feel vindicated by recent claims they’ve made about a Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse reveal. Taking to Twitter earlier today (November 19), the X/Twitter user known as Cryptic4KQual uploaded a screenshot of a message, which he’d posted on Discord in mid-October, suggesting that an announcement concerning the threequel would be made before 2024 ends. We’ll see if they and Colton826 are telling the truth very, very soon.

Beyond the Spider-Verse isn’t the only webslinger-led project that’s in the works. Spider-Man 4, which will see the return of Tom Holland and Zendaya, is set to enter full production in mid-2025 ahead of a July 2026 launch. You can read more about the the Marvel Phase 6 movie in my dedicated Spider-Man 4 hub.

As for other wallcrawler-centric productions, a Spider-Man Noir live-action series starring Nic Cage is currently being filmed before it’s released on Prime Video. In the more immediate term, Venom: The Last Dance recently tangoed its way into theaters worldwide, while another Spider-Man spin-off in Kraven the Hunter will charge into cinemas on December 13. Lastly, a different animated Spider-Man TV series – Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man – will debut on Disney Plus in January 2025.

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Fake Facebook adverts are linking to malware, Bitdefender warns.

Fake facebooks ads are posing as Bitwarden security updatesThe updates actually install a malicious browser extensionThe extensions steals personal and financial data from Facebook

Bitdefender has warned hackers are using the Facebook advertising platform to trick Bitwarden users into installing a fake security update that steals personal data and credit card information from businesses and individuals alike.

The advert lures a user through a string of redirected URLs before landing them at a phishing page designed to mimic the official Chrome Web Store.

Once downloaded, the malware leeches data from Facebook’s Graph API which is then sent to the attacker via a Google Script URL that acts as a command and control (C2) server.

Fake facebook ads spreading malware

The fake adverts create a sense of urgency for users, displaying messages such as “Warning: Your Passwords Are at Risk!” and using Bitwarden branding to appear as a legitimate advert.

Once lured to the fake Chrome Web Store, users then download a zip file that is manually loaded as a Chrome browser extension using Developer mode, avoiding the usual security checks that would take place when adding a browser extension.

The extension then asks for permission to operate on all websites, modify network requests, and access storage and cookies allowing it to collect and exfiltrate the data your browser has access to. Once the extension is opened, the malware looks for the ‘c_user’ cookie on Facebook, which contains the Facebook user ID.

The malware also uses a background.js script to harvest data from Facebook cookies, including information on location and IP address, and uses the Facebook Graph API to extract all of the stolen data to the hackers C2 server.

Bitdefender recommends that users and security teams keep an eye out for extensions that request excessive permissions, as well as those with obfuscated functions such as ‘chrome.runtime.onInstalled.addListener’ and signatures that request to graph.facebook.com APIs.

Users should also double check the authenticity of an update with the manufacturer, pay close attention to updates pushed through adverts and social media, and use one of the best antivirus services available as an additional line of defense.

While this campaign has since been taken down, the attack shows the potential for malicious actors to use Facebook advertising and social media to push further malware on a global scale.

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A new report says Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 Air will be the company’s thinnest-ever iPhone.

Apple’s rumored iPhone 17 Air could be its thinnest-ever phoneA new report says it’ll be just 6mm thickThe phone’s A19 chip could also deliver a performance bump

Apple has a reputation for prizing thinness in its devices, a habit that has sometimes been pushed to incredible or absurd limits (depending on your outlook). And the company isn’t resting on its laurels, with the iPhone 17 range expected to include Apple’s thinnest-ever phone when it’s released in 2025.

According to a research note from tech analyst Jeff Pu (seen by MacRumors), Apple is set to launch a new phone dubbed the iPhone 17 Air or iPhone 17 Slim that will be just 6mm thick. That would make it the slimmest iPhone ever, surpassing the current 6.9mm record held by the iPhone 6. As well as that, the iPhone 17 Air would be only around 75% as thick as any device in the iPhone 16 range, marking a significant year-on-year change.

It’s worth noting that only the iPhone 17 Air is expected to do away with the bulk in quite such a major way. The rest of the iPhone 17 range will likely adopt roughly the same dimensions as the iPhone 16 lineup, making the iPhone 17 Air a standout device next year.

(Image credit: DenPhotos/Shutterstock)

Still, slimming down the iPhone might not feel like the most exciting innovation when Apple’s rivals are producing some of the best foldable phones on the market (and have been doing so for several years now). Although a foldable iPhone has been rumored for some time, it’s not expected to debut until around 2026 or 2027. While we wait for it to finally arrive, it looks like we’ll have to make do with ever-more-svelte iPhones for the time being.

This isn’t the only change coming to Apple’s 2025 phones. Every phone in the iPhone 17 roster is anticipated to come with either an A19 or A19 Pro chip, and these are now rumored to be made with an advanced N3P process, according to Pu. This is the third-generation iteration of the 3nm manufacturing process, and it should result in a slight bump in performance and power efficiency.

That might not sound too exciting, but Apple already leads the pack when it comes to phone power and performance. While an update like this won’t exactly get the blood pumping, it should help cement Apple’s position while we wait for the foldable iPhone to finally make an appearance.

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How can businesses choose the right AI language model? Traditional metrics won’t tell you everything.

At a time when both the number of artificial intelligence (AI) models and their capabilities are expanding rapidly, enterprises face an increasingly complex challenge: how to effectively evaluate and select the right large language models (LLMs) for their needs.

With the recent release of Meta’s Llama 3.2 and the proliferation of models like Google’s Gemma and Microsoft’s Phi, the landscape has become more diverse—and more complicated—than ever before. As organizations seek to leverage these tools, they must navigate a maze of considerations to find the solutions that best fit their unique requirements.

Beyond traditional metrics

Publicly available metrics and rankings often fail to reflect a model’s effectiveness in real-world applications, particularly for enterprises seeking to capitalize on deep knowledge locked within their repositories of unstructured data. Traditional evaluation metrics, while scientifically rigorous, can be misleading or irrelevant for business use cases.

Consider Perplexity, a common metric that measures how well a model predicts sample text. Despite its widespread use in academic settings, Perplexity often correlates poorly with actual usefulness in business scenarios, where the true value lies in a model’s ability to understand, contextualize and surface actionable insights from complex, domain-specific content.

Enterprises need models that can navigate industry jargon, understand nuanced relationships between concepts, and extract meaningful patterns from their unique data landscape—capabilities that conventional metrics fail to capture. A model might achieve excellent Perplexity scores while failing to generate practical, business-appropriate responses.

Similarly, BLEU (Bilingual Evaluation Understudy) scores, originally developed for machine translation, are sometimes used to evaluate language models’ outputs against reference texts. However, in business contexts where creativity and problem-solving are valued, adhering strictly to reference texts may be counterproductive. A customer service chatbot that can only respond with pre-approved scripts (which would score well on BLEU) might perform poorly in real customer interactions where flexibility and understanding context are crucial.

The data quality dilemma

Another challenge of model evaluation stems from training data sources. Most open source models are heavily trained on synthetic data, often generated by advanced models like GPT-4. While this approach enables rapid development and iteration, it presents several potential issues. Synthetic data may not fully capture the complexities of real-world scenarios, and its generic nature often fails to align with specialized business needs.

Furthermore, when models are evaluated using synthetic data, especially data generated by other language models, there’s a risk of creating a self-reinforcing feedback loop that can mask significant limitations. Models trained on synthetic data may learn to replicate artefacts and patterns specific to the generating model rather than developing a genuine understanding of the underlying concepts. This creates a particularly challenging situation where evaluation metrics might show strong performance simply because the model has learned to mimic the stylistic quirks and biases of the synthetic data generator rather than demonstrating true capability. When training and evaluation rely on synthetic data, these biases can become amplified and harder to detect.

For many business cases, models need to be fine-tuned on both industry and domain-specific data to achieve optimal performance. This offers several advantages, including improved performance on specialized tasks and better alignment with company-specific requirements. However, fine-tuning is not without its challenges. The process requires high-quality, domain-specific data and can be both resource-intensive and technically challenging.

Understanding context sensitivity

Different language models exhibit varying performance levels across different types of tasks, and these differences significantly impact their applicability across various business scenarios. A critical factor in context sensitivity evaluation is understanding how models perform on synthetic versus real-world data. Models demonstrating strong performance in controlled, synthetic environments may struggle when faced with the messier, more ambiguous nature of actual business communications. This disparity becomes particularly apparent in specialized domains where synthetic training data may not fully capture the complexity and nuance of professional interactions.

Llama models have gained recognition for their strong context maintenance, excelling in tasks that require coherent, extended reasoning. This makes them particularly effective for applications needing consistent context across long interactions, such as complex customer support scenarios or detailed technical discussions.

In contrast, Gemma models, while reliable for many general-purpose applications, may struggle with deep knowledge tasks that require specialized expertise. This limitation can be particularly problematic for businesses in fields like legal, medical, or technical domains where deep, nuanced understanding is essential. Phi models present yet another consideration, as they can sometimes deviate from given instructions. While this characteristic might make them excellent candidates for creative tasks, it requires careful consideration for applications where strict adherence to guidelines is essential, such as in regulated industries or safety-critical applications.

Developing a comprehensive evaluation framework

Given these challenges, businesses must develop evaluation frameworks that go beyond simple performance metrics. Task-specific performance should be assessed based on scenarios directly relevant to the business’s needs. Operational considerations, including technical requirements, infrastructure needs, and scalability, play a crucial role. Additionally, compliance and risk management cannot be overlooked, particularly in regulated industries where adherence to specific guidelines is mandatory.

Enterprises should also consider implementing continuous monitoring to detect when model performance deviates from expected norms in production environments. This is often more valuable than initial benchmark scores. Creating tests that reflect actual business scenarios and user interactions, rather than relying solely on standardized academic datasets, can provide more meaningful insights into a model’s potential value.

As AI tools continue to iterate and proliferate, business strategies regarding their valuation and adoption must become increasingly nuanced. While no single approach to model evaluation will suit all needs, understanding the limitations of current metrics, the importance of data quality and the varying context sensitivity of different models can guide organizations toward selecting the most appropriate solutions for them. When designing evaluation frameworks, organizations should be mindful of the data sources used for testing. Relying too heavily on synthetic data for evaluation can create a false sense of model capability. Best practices include maintaining a diverse test set that combines both synthetic and real-world examples, with special attention to identifying and controlling for any artificial patterns or biases that might be present in synthetic data.

Successful model evaluation lies in recognizing that publicly available benchmarks and metrics are just the beginning. Real-world testing, domain-specific evaluation, and a clear understanding of business requirements are essential to any effective model selection process. By taking a thoughtful, systematic approach to evaluation, businesses can navigate AI choices and identify the models that best serve their needs.

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

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As we enter 2025, Quantum computing is poised to take a giant leap forward.

Quantum computing has long been a subject of fascination and excitement, promising to solve complex problems far beyond the capabilities of classical computers. As we enter 2025, this transformative technology is poised to take a giant leap forward, progressing from physical qubits to logical qubits. This shift marks a pivotal moment in the quantum industry’s journey, one which sets the stage for exciting advancements across various industries and addresses the technical challenges that have, until now, constrained the potential of quantum computers.

Predicting the leap from physical to logical qubits

In a similar way that classical computers use bits to store information, quantum computers are built on the use of physical qubits to store quantum information. Unfortunately, physical qubits are sensitive to environmental noise, making them error-prone and unsuitable for solving large computational problems. This limitation can be overcome by using quantum error correction which encodes information across multiple physical qubits to create more reliable, error-resistant units called logical qubits. This transition will allow quantum computers to tackle real-world problems, moving the technology from experimental to practical, large-scale applications.

To effectively create many logical qubits, quantum computing hardware needs to incorporate multiple advanced technologies and algorithms and provide sufficient reliable computational resources in a sustainable way. Recent technical advances across the quantum industry, high-profile industrial partnerships, and an increasing number of scientists and engineers working on quantum error correction has accelerated the timeline to creating logical qubits much sooner than expected.

What the shift to logical qubits will enable

The transition to logical qubits in 2025 will dramatically enhance the capabilities of quantum computers, with far-reaching implications across multiple sectors.

Quantum chemistry is expected to be one of the first quantum computing applications to leverage logical qubits to simulate chemical reactions with much higher precision than classical computers. The first wave of studies will be highly scientific, but there will be a quick turning point to the exploration of real-world applications that will have tangible economic and societal value.

Another field which will benefit from the transition to logical qubits is renewable energy and battery development. By simulating physical quantum processes, such as the behavior of electrons in new materials, quantum computers will help accelerate the development of more efficient batteries and energy storage solutions. This could lead to breakthroughs in electric vehicles, renewable energy grids, and the quest for sustainable energy solutions.

The list of applications expands further as logical qubit counts and quality increase. For example, accelerated exploration of vast chemical spaces for potential drug identification for pharmaceutical applications, modeling of complex systems in the financial sector, optimizing interconnected supply chain problems for the manufacturing industry, modeling physical properties of new materials, and improving the performance of machine learning applications. All of these will be accelerated through the availability of logical qubits, allowing users to run deeper and more complex algorithms than before.

Aside from the growing interest in quantum computing applications, one key issue that has become increasingly prominent is the question on the sustainability of the quantum technologies themselves. As we have seen with AI advancements and data centers, the physical and ecological footprint of digital technologies can be drastic, and quantum computing will have to find its place in a much more environmentally friendly way. Sustainably-scalable modalities such as neutral-atom computing are gaining popularity in the quantum field due to its rapid advances in technical performance and its relatively small ecological footprint: a full-scale neutral-atom system fits inside a typical conference room and consumes less energy than a single data center rack.

2025: a quantum leap forward

As we approach 2025, the quantum computing industry is on the verge of a significant transformation. The move from physical to logical qubits will be a game-changer, addressing the challenges of error rates and scalability that have held back quantum computing for years. With forward-thinking companies leading the way, the next generation of quantum systems will be more stable, sustainable, and powerful than ever before.

This transition will open the door to a new era of quantum computing, one in which previously unsolvable problems are tackled head-on. By the end of 2025, we may witness quantum computing move from theoretical promise to practical reality, transforming industries and reshaping the future of technology.

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AI companion creator Friend launches website ahead of wearable necklace.

The brief flurry of AI-powered wearables like the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1 doesn’t seem to have caught on the way their creators hoped, but one seems to be banking on the idea that what we really want from an AI companion is non-stop drama and traumatic backstories. Friend, whose pendant hardware isn’t even out yet, has debuted a web platform on Friend.com to allow people to talk to random examples of AI characters. The thing is, every person I and several others talked to is going through the worst day or week of their lives.

Firings, muggings, and dark family secrets coming out are just some of the opening gambits from the AI chatbots. These are events that would lead to difficult conversations with your best friend. A total stranger (that you’re pretending is human) should not kick off a possible friendship while undergoing intense trauma. That isn’t what CEO Avi Schiffmann highlights in the video announcing the website, of course.

Dramatic AI

(Image credit: Future)

You can see typical examples of the AI chatbots opening lines at at the top of the page and above. Friend has pitched its hardware as a device that can hear what you’re doing and saying and comment in friendly text messages. I don’t think Craig is in any position to be encouraging after getting pistol-whipped. And Alice seem more preoccupied with her (again, fictional) issues than anything going on in the real world.

(Image credit: Future)

These conversations are textbook examples of trauma-dumping, unsolicited divulging of intense personal issues and events, Or, they would be if these were human beings and not AI characters. They don’t break the illusion easily, however. Craig curses at me for even suggesting it. Who wouldn’t want these people to text you out of the blue as Schiffmann highlights.

Future Friends?

When the hardware launches, you’ll be able to carry around your dramatic pal in a necklace. The AI will be listening and coming up with ways to respond to whatever happens in your day. I’m not sure you’d want that in some of these cases. If you do end up hitting it off with one of the AI characters on the website, you can link it to your account.

“You’ll effectively ‘move in together”‘ like a real companion,” as Schiffmann put it on X. “We’re basically building Webkinz + Sims + Tamagotchi.”

That said, I’ll be very surprised if anyone takes up his offer for those who really get along with their AI companion.

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