The Samsung Galaxy S23 line may have only come to market in February 2023, but that hasn't stopped us looking ahead to what the Samsung Galaxy S24 might bring to the mobile table next year. 

Samsung’s latest flagships are three of the best phones money can buy right now (read our Samsung Galaxy S23 review, Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus review and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review to find out why), and early signs suggest that the next few entries in the brand’s popular S series will continue to push boundaries for mobile performance, photography, and battery life.

Naturally, we’re still a while away from the release of the Samsung Galaxy S24 and its siblings, but we’ve nonetheless put together this one-stop-shop guide to all the latest news and rumors about Samsung’s next Galaxy S phones. 

Samsung Galaxy S24: Release date

Given that Samsung only just lifted the lid on its Galaxy S23 line, we’re not expecting to see the brand’s Galaxy S24 smartphones released until 2024. That said, we can make an educated guess as to when these devices might appear.

Samsung debuted its Galaxy S23 phones at Galaxy Unpacked in February, with the Galaxy S23, S23 Plus and S23 Ultra all going on sale from February 17. The Samsung Galaxy S22 range was revealed around the same time a year prior, so we’d expect next year’s Galaxy Unpacked event – which will likely fall in either January or February – to play host to the launch of the Galaxy S24 line. 

It’s worth noting that we don’t yet know whether Samsung will again release three Galaxy models in the S24 line – a vanilla S24, an S24 Plus and an S24 Ultra. The company has stuck with a three-pronged release strategy every year since 2020, but The Elec reports that Samsung may be preparing to ditch the Plus variant due to “polarization in the flagship product market” and the “stagnation of the entire smartphone market”. 

Samsung Galaxy S24: Price

It goes without saying, but since we don’t even know which phones will definitely be arriving in the Samsung Galaxy S24 line, there’s been no word yet on Galaxy S24 pricing. 

Using this year’s Galaxy S23 phones as a marker, though, we can safely assume that the vanilla S24, S24 Plus (which may not be arriving at all) and S24 Ultra will cost at least $799.99 / £849 / AU$1,349, $999.99/ £1,049 / AU$1,649, and $1,199.99 / £1,249 / AU$1,949, respectively. 

Samsung Galaxy S24: News and specs

If The Elec’s aforementioned claims about the lack of a Galaxy S24 Plus are to be believed, then you’ll likely have to decide between the Galaxy S24’s 6.1-inch display and the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s 6.8-inch screen (that’s assuming these phones adopt the same display sizes as their respective predecessors). 

Unless Samsung rocks the boat, we’d expect the vanilla model to stick with the S23’s 120Hz AMOLED display (2340 x 1080 pixels), with the S24 Ultra sporting the S23 Ultra’s glorious dynamic AMOLED 2X panel (1440 x 3088 pixels), as well as its dynamic refresh rate that can scale between 1Hz and 120Hz. That might top out at 144Hz this time around though.

Intriguingly, the actual look of both phones may be very different to what we’re used to. Samsung recently hired Hubert H. Lee, a former design executive at Mercedes-Benz, to lead its smartphone and smartwatch design department from 2023 and beyond, so the S24 and S24 Ultra may veer away from recent Galaxy S models in terms of aesthetics. 

Under the hood, both phones will almost certainly be running Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon chipset, which looks set to be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 come 2024. Every model in the Galaxy S23 line runs on a bespoke version of Qualcomm’s already impressive Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, so the Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra are likely to be even more powerful handsets than their predecessors. 

Indeed, a recent leak suggests that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will be significantly faster than the 8 Gen 2, with the Galaxy-specific version of the chipset set to beat Apple’s upcoming A17 Bionic “on paper.” In other words, the Samsung Galaxy S24 and its larger siblings could be faster than the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro and much-rumored iPhone 15 Ultra (although these speed gains are likely to be negligible).

To get more granular, leaker RGcloudS claims that the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will boast a high-performance Cortex-X4 core clocked at 3.7GHz, four low-frequency performance cores and three efficiency-focused cores. For comparison, the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 boasts a 3.2GHz clock speed, meaning its successor looks set to be 15% more powerful.

It's currently unclear whether the Galaxy-specific version of Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will be even faster, but 3.7GHz nonetheless marks a sizable increase over the S23's 3.36GHz clock speed.

As for the phone’s cameras, tipster Ice Universe claims that Samsung will replace the S23 Ultra’s telephoto sensor with a “new solution” on the S24 Ultra, while the phone’s main camera “will remain the same.”

More recently, another tweet from RGcloudS suggests the S24 Ultra will adopt a “Gen4 optics” zoom camera design to “significantly improve” the phone’s zoom capabilities. 

In practice, that could mean a wider 2.5-2.9 aperture and the possibility of 150x digital zoom on the S24 Ultra, which would offer better low-light performance than its predecessor and trump the latter’s already impressive 100x Space Zoom capabilities. 

There’s been no word yet on the camera setup for the standard Samsung Galaxy S24, but the headline-grabbing photography tech is almost always reserved for the top-end handsets in Samsung’s Galaxy series. 

We didn't get a Samsung Galaxy S22 FE last year, suggesting that Samsung had given up for good on the mid-range line – but there's a growing body of evidence hinting that the Fan Edition series will make a return with the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE.

The latest twist in the story comes courtesy of SamMobile. Its sources are saying that the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is indeed going to appear, and that it'll be powered exclusively by the Exynos 2200 processor.

That distinguishes it from the main Samsung Galaxy S23 line: all of those phones use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. The Exynos 2200 CPU was previously used for the Galaxy S22 phones from 2021 in certain parts of the world.

More specs

According to SamMobile, the Galaxy S23 FE is also going to come with a 50MP main camera lens on the back (matching the standard S23 model), and it's set to be offered with either 128GB or 256GB of internal storage.

Rounding out the rumored specs, we've got 6GB or 8GB of RAM, as well as a 4,500mAh capacity battery. That's the same battery size as the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE that launched right at the start of 2022, the most recent Fan Edition handset.

As for the release window, it's said to be the fourth quarter of 2023 – October, November, or December. That would be close to two years after the last FE phone from Samsung, and it's success (or lack of it) will likely determine whether or not we get any more.

Analysis: Samsung needs to tweak its FE formula

It's easy to see the appeal of the FE series, in theory: you get some of the best bits of the flagship phones, at a cheaper price. The best mid-range phones should always get you asking if you can really justify spending any more to get a top-end handset.

Of course there are compromises, but they can be carefully made. For example, as long as a camera module takes decent pictures and videos, most users aren't going to care if it uses the very latest lenses and sensors on the market.

It's an approach that works for phones such as the Google Pixel 6a: lots to like, a select number of trade-offs most people are going to be happy to make, and a price point that's substantially less than what you'd pay for a flagship.

Samsung needs to make sure the Galaxy S23 FE hits the sweet spot between premium and budget, rather than falling between two stools. That's going to mean a smarter set of decisions around specs than we saw with the Galaxy S21 FE.

• The best affordable phones you can buy right now

Are you after a premium VR headset that doesn’t need to be tethered to a PC? Then, you’ve probably considered options like the Meta Quest Pro and the new HTC Vive XR Elite, but which is better?

I’ve had the chance to try out the HTC Vive XR Elite and, so far, my first impressions are mixed. There are a couple of ways it beats the Meta Quest Pro, but many aspects of it are worse – leaving HTC’s headset feeling identity-less.

Here’s a rundown of my initial impression of how the headsets stack up. For a more in-depth look at the devices, check out our Meta Quest Pro review, and keep an eye out for the upcoming HTC Vive XR Elite review.

HTC Vive XR Elite wins: comfort

If you value comfort above all else, then it's near impossible to beat the HTC Vive XR Elite in the VR space. 

For a start, the headset is pretty light, weighing in at 625g – landing it midway between the Quest Pro at 722g and the Oculus Quest 2 at 503g. However, thanks to its well-balanced design (the headset's weight is evenly distributed between the front face and the battery pack at the back of your head on the strap) you’d be forgiven for thinking the device is actually lighter than the front-heavy Quest 2.

If 625g is still too heavy for you, and you don’t mind being tethered to a power source, you can unclip the Vive XR Elite’s battery pack and wear it as a pair of glasses.

I wouldn't recommend the glasses mode for gaming, but if you’re at your desk and using VR to be productive, then the battery-less setup is the way to go. The only downside is that the Vive XR Elite glasses feel somewhat precarious like this, so be prepared for the odd “wbmcevjh” to punctuate your documents if it falls from your face onto the keyboard. That said, it hasn’t slipped from my face yet, so maybe I shouldn’t be so afraid that it'll fall.

HTC Vive XR Elite wins: mixed reality

Another win for the Vive XR Elite is the quality of its mixed reality. The cameras are so good you might forget you’re looking at the real world through a camera; the only clues being a slight distortion caused by its fish-eye lens and some difficulty reading screens. 

The Meta Quest Pro’s mixed-reality quality is very grainy, so I’ve not seen much reason to use any app’s optional MR mode on it. On the Vive XR Elite, I’ve used its app's MR modes frequently. 

That said, the HTC Vive XR Elite still suffers from the same general lack of unique MR use cases that Meta’s hardware struggles with. Most of the apps that use MR also offer perfectly good VR modes, so as cool as this feature is, it’s still more of a novelty than a fully fleshed-out tool.

HTC Vive XR Elite fails: specs

In terms of specs, the HTC Vive XR Elite is on par with or falls behind the Meta Quest Pro in almost every regard.

The visuals are the one area where HTC has the edge. The XR Elite boasts a 90Hz refresh rate LCD screen that affords a 1920 x 1920 pixel-per-eye resolution with a max 110-degree field of view. Meta’s Quest Pro LCD also has a 90Hz refresh rate but only offers 1800 x 1920 pixels per eye and a max 106-degree field of view.

In terms of power, the Vive XR Elite lags behind, using a regular Snapdragon XR2 rather than the upgraded XR2 Plus found in the Quest Pro. It also only provides 128GB of storage versus the Pro’s 256GB – though both devices have 12GB of RAM at their disposal.

HTC’s hardware also lacks some of the Quest Pro’s bells and whistles when it comes to face and eye tracking. HTC’s headset will only provide these features via an optional add-on that’ll launch sometime in the future (and no firm release date has been provided yet).

HTC Vive XR Elite fails: controllers

A VR headset allows you to peer into the metaverse and is undoubtedly the most important part of any virtual reality setup, but the second most vital aspect is the controllers that let you manipulate the virtual world. Without them, VR games and apps would simply be videos, rather than immersive interactive experiences.

Unfortunately, the Vive XR Elite doesn’t seem to appreciate the importance of its handsets, with the packed-in controllers being exceptionally lackluster. The plasticky finish is in stark contrast to the 'Elite' headset’s premium identity, and they don’t feel as ergonomic as alternatives offered by even Meta’s budget-friendly Quest 2. They also don’t seem to feature haptics – or the VR experiences I’ve tried so far don’t use them at all. Without this physical feedback, the immersive feeling of virtual worlds is easily broken.

In contrast, the Quest Pro’s controllers are superb. They’re weighty and premium feeling, and the realistic haptic feedback they provide helps convince you that your virtual interactions are real. The Quest Pro’s handsets also forgo the chunky tracking ring for cameras, which offers a more accurate tracking method and means you’re less likely to bump the handsets together – something I’ve done quite a bit with the Vive XR Elite.

HTC Vive XR Elite fails: Software

Another letdown is the XR Elite’s software. The Viveport selection doesn’t stack up against what’s available on Meta’s Quest store. Every great Viveport experience is also available on Quest (or Meta offers something similar that’s at least as good), while many of the best Quest games are missing from the Vive. 

You can expand the Vive XR Elite’s library if you tether it to a PC – which unlocks games like Beat Saber through Steam or Walkabout Mini Golf through Viveport – but it’s annoying that these experiences are restricted to PC when Meta’s hardware offers these and other apps using just the headset.

HTC Vive XR Elite fails: price

When HTC announced the XR Elite and its cost, the pricing felt right. Yes, the headset was less technically capable than the Quest Pro in some regards, but it was cheaper, with HTC’s hardware coming in at $1,099 / £1,298.99 / AU$2,099.95.

However, Meta then played a rather cruel trick on HTC, slashing the Quest Pro’s price by roughly a third of its original down to $999.99 / £999.99 / AU$1,729.99.

This lower price point undercutting the Vive XR Elite leaves HTC’s device without an identity. When it was the cheaper headset the XR Elite seemed like a viable alternative to the Quest Pro, but now that it’s the higher-priced gadget, the XR Elite is clearly less value for money than Meta’s premium headset.

Are these premium headsets still too pricey for you? Check out our roundup of the best Meta Quest 2 deals and the best Meta Quest promo codes we can find right now.

We're expecting Apple to launch a MacBook Air with an OLED display in the next year or two, and the latest unconfirmed leak around the laptop suggests that it's going to arrive with a slightly smaller 13.4-inch display.

That's according to well-respected industry analyst Ross Young (via MacRumors), who has previously said that this OLED MacBook Air is going to show up in 2024. Young adds that OLED-equipped MacBook Pros won't show up until 2024.

Just a couple of days ago we covered a report that also pointed to 2024 as the year when this new product would arrive. Both Samsung and LG are apparently supplying the necessary OLED screens to Apple's manufacturing partners.

Size matters

There is a little bit of confusion here, because that previous report mentioned a 13.3-inch display. The most recent, M2-powered MacBook Air launched in 2022 has thinner bezels and a 13.6-inch screen, though the M1-powered edition from 2020 with a 13.3-inch screen is still sold by Apple.

According to Young, the OLED MacBook Air will go between these two sizes and come in at 13.4 inches. It remains to be seen what changes there will be in terms of bezel size, the aspect ratio of the display, or the dimensions of the laptop as a whole.

One more tidbit from the same source: there is apparently a 15-inch MacBook Air coming this year, though with an LCD screen rather than an OLED one. That matches up with predictions from other reliable tipsters in the industry.

Analysis: the future is OLED

While LCD screens are certainly fine – and can be great, in some cases – it's clear that OLED is the superior technology. The brightness and contrast should be superior on these screens, and they're also more power efficient for better battery life.

That's why high-end flagship phones all have OLED screens. With OLED, each pixel provides its own backlight for an improved picture, whereas LCD panels have larger backlight areas that each cover groups of pixels.

Cost can be an issue, especially as screen size goes up (as you'll see if you compare prices on OLED and LCD TVs). We're hoping that Apple's move to OLED on its MacBook computers won't mean substantially higher prices at the same time.

All things considered though, this should be a good move for consumers. There's talk that the iPad Pros are going to make the switch to OLED too, so it seems clear that Apple is committed to making a full switch to the display tech in the long term.

• Everything we know so far about the next MacBook Air

Microsoft  has shared more details about an important security update to OneNote, through which it hopes address the growing issue of its program increasingly being used to push ransomware and other types of malware.

In a new Microsoft 365 support document, the company listed a total of 120 file extensions that will soon be blocked in OneNote. Among the file types .XLL, .ISO, .BAT, and .JS stand out. 

These extensions will also be blocked in other Office 365 programs such as Outlook, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. 

Blocking files 

While previously, trying to open a OneNote file with a suspicious attachment would bring up a warning notification, the new update will prevent the file from being opened - at all. Instead, the user will be met with a warning dialog saying “Your administrator has blocked your ability to open this file type in OneNote”.

The changes will roll out in Version 2304 in Current Channel (Preview) to OneNote for Microsoft 365, on Windows-powered devices, either in April, or May, this year, it was said. Retail versions of Office 2021, Office 2019, and Office 2016 (Current Channel) will also be updated to reflect these changes, however, volume-licensed versions of Office (Office Standard 2019, or OFfice LTSC Professional Plus 2021) will not get the update.

OneNote on the web, OneNote for Windows 10, OneNote for Mac, or OneNote for Android/iOS will not be updated, as well. 

Ever since Microsoft blocked its productivity apps from running macros, hackers have been looking for a viable alternative to deliver malware. Among the different methods one stood out - OneNote files with malicious attachments. The practice has gotten so tremendously popular, so quickly, that it forced Microsoft’s hand and triggered the upcoming update. 

Another popular method of malware delivery is phishing emails with .ISO files attached which, by sideloading malicious .DLL files, successfully download stage-two payloads to unsuspecting victims’ endpoints.

• We've also rounded up the best free office software around

Via: BleepingComputer

It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints. And you might need them - because this popular online game takes the Wordle format and quadruples the difficulty. So if you already find yourself searching for Wordle hints, you'll probably need some for Quordle too. 

I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #433 and bookmark this page so you can easily return. 

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers. 

Quordle today (game #433) - hint #1 - Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). 

Quordle today (game #433) - hint #2 - total vowels

Quordle today (game #433) - hint #3 - repeated letters

Quordle today (game #433) - hint #4 - total letters

Quordle today (game #433) - hint #5 - uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #433) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #433) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #433) - the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #433, are…

• WHOSE
• SUPER
• SHARK
• FABLE

Today's Quordle is one of the easier ones we've had recently. Or at least that was how it played out for me - your game may have gone differently, depending on your strategy. Mine involves beginning with three words - STARE, DOILY and PUNCH - and today these words gave me a very good start. SHARK, for instance, was a very simple solve, because I effectively already had SHAR-, and had already ruled out the likes of SHARP and SHARE.

None of the others were any harder for me and I solved today's Quordle with two guesses remaining.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #432, Saturday 1 April: GODLY, MOTOR, EPOXY, HEART
• Quordle #431, Friday 31 March: CHOIR, TUBAL, SCOUR, PARRY
• Quordle #430, Thursday 30 March: ALIBI, REACH, ACRID, QUARK
• Quordle #429, Wednesday 29 March: MOIST, BRAND, FAITH, ADMIN
• Quordle #428, Tuesday 28 March: SUGAR, FIBRE, DITTY, TRIAD
• Quordle #427, Monday 27 March: READY, REVUE, BELOW, HASTE
• Quordle #426, Sunday 26 March: AWAIT, DROVE, MORAL, REEDY
• Quordle #425, Saturday 25 March: AWOKE, THESE, LEASE, DITTO
• Quordle #424, Friday 24 March: COUCH, APRON, BROTH, TITHE
• Quordle #423, Thursday 23 March: CROSS, SAUCE, DOING, USUAL
• Quordle #422, Wednesday 22 March: FAULT, ADAGE, SOOTH, HABIT
• Quordle #421, Tuesday 21 March: WRING, SCRAP, THIRD, NOBLE
• Quordle #420, Monday 20 March: BISON, BOTCH, ABHOR, GLINT
• Quordle #419, Sunday 19 March: KNEEL, COBRA, LINER, DEBUG
• Quordle #418, Saturday 18 March: CLUED, STAVE, CRANE, EMPTY
• Quordle #417, Friday 17 March: STUFF, DEBUT, FORCE, RUPEE
• Quordle #416, Thursday 16 March: GRUNT, ODDLY, UNWED, AVOID
• Quordle #415, Wednesday 15 March: SINCE, USURP, RADIO, SWORN
• Quordle #414, Tuesday 14 March: SATIN, SCOFF, CRASH, SMIRK
• Quordle #413, Monday 13 March: CHOCK, MAXIM, LOOPY, ERODE

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

Up to this point we haven't heard too much about the Samsung Galaxy S24, but a new leak points to a significant display upgrade coming next year: the Ultra model will apparently be fitted with displays that have a 144Hz refresh rate.

This comes from SamLover (via SamMobile), which isn't a source we've heard a lot of tips from in the past, so adjust your anticipation levels accordingly. This might not come to pass, but it is also an upgrade that makes sense for Samsung and its top-tier phone.

Right now all three Samsung Galaxy S23 handsets boast screens with a 120Hz refresh rate, so this would be a significant step up in terms of the numbers – albeit not one that would be massively noticeable when you're using the devices.

Let's talk about specs

The refresh rate of a smartphone display quite simply affects how quickly it refreshes: the higher the number, the smoother all of your animations, videos, page scrolling and games are going to look. It's a spec that distinguishes high-end handsets from budget phones.

We've got some other predicted specs from the same source as well, some of which we've heard before: the Galaxy S24 phones will apparently be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, which matches up with a previous rumor.

The S24 Ultra will apparently stick with the same 200MP main camera sensor as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, though with "some improvements" added, while satellite connectivity (as on the iPhone 14) is also rumored to be on the cards.

Analysis: how Ultra will the Ultra be?

The Ultra model of the Samsung Galaxy S phones is always the most expensive and feature-packed one – and especially so since the Note line ended and Samsung handed the stylus over to the Galaxy S Ultra smartphone instead.

Taking a look at the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra launched in February, it has a bigger screen than the other two phones, it can be fitted with more RAM and more internal storage, and it has a superior rear camera setup.

We'll have to wait and see just how Ultra the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is, but it sounds as though this 144Hz refresh rate is going to be exclusive to the most expensive phone in the line up. It'll most likely be the biggest phone in the series again as well.

This strategy of offering a high-end, high price phone is one that Apple is following as well of course: indeed, it might actually be doubling down on it, if we can believe the rumors around the introduction of an iPhone 15 Ultra later this year.

• These are the best phones you can buy right now

Netflix has done it again. The world's best streaming service has delivered another top-tier TV show – The Night Agent – that's taken the globe by storm.

Based on Matthew Quirk's book of the same name, the politically-charged spy thriller has rocketed to the top of Netflix's TV chart since its March 23 release, with The Night Agent's 168.7 million hours viewed making it the second most-streamed Netflix series of 2023 so far. In short: The Night Agent is Netflix's new TV show darling. Unsurprisingly, The Night Agent season 2 is on the way, too. And yes, you can expect it to make its way onto our best Netflix shows list soon.

If you've completed the 10-episode series, you're sure to be on the lookout for similar genre fare to fill the void in your streaming calendar. Luckily for you, TechRadar's entertainment experts are on hand to help. Below, you'll find seven espionage-based action shows to watch on Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV Plus, and more. You can thank us later for putting in the hard yards.

Here, then, are seven similar TV shows to Netflix's The Night Agent.

Treason

Where to watch: Netflix

This espionage thriller miniseries, which stars Marvel actors Charlie Cox (Daredevil: Born Again) and Olga Kurylenko (Black Widow), is a criminally underrated Netflix series that'll leave you guessing until its final episode.

Treason tells the tale of MI6 Deputy Chief Adam Lawrence (Cox), who's installed as the agency's new leader when the previous MI6 head, Sir Martin Angelis (Ciaran Hinds), is near-fatally poisoned by Russian spy Kara Yusova (Kurylenko). Soon secrets about Lawrence's past – including his ties to Yusova – come to light, forcing Lawrence to go on the run with his family. Cue a tension-fuelled game of cat and mouse as shocking revelations and betrayals aplenty put the lives of Lawrence, his wife Maddy (Oona Chaplin), his children, and Yusova in grave danger.

Matt Charman's latest TV offering takes itself a bit too seriously, and its ending is a tad anti-climactic. Even so, delightful performances from Treason's cast, its frenetic and suspense-filled plot, and absorbing twists and turns deliver enough style and substance to make it worth watching. Before you check it out, read our exclusive chat with Charman and Cox about how Netflix's Treason asks: what if 007 put his family before country?

Available to stream on Netflix worldwide.

Archer

Where to watch: Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and Hulu

Looking for a bit more comedy from your spy thriller series? Try Archer, the hit adult animated spy-sitcom that's one of the most consistently brilliant shows around.

The series follows Sterling Archer (Jon H. Benjamin), a narcissistic and womanizing secret agent who works for the dysfunctional International Secret Intelligence Service. Joining Archer in the espionage game are his snarky mom and former head of the agency Malory (Jessica Archer), openly gay bomb specialist Ray Gillette (Adam Reed), and professional field agent Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler), among others.

With its brilliant parodying of the spy genre, anachronistic Cold War-like setting, delightfully distinctive characters, and amusingly crude sensibilities, it's little wonder Archer is viewed as one of the top animated series of recent years. With 13 seasons comprising 8 to 13 episodes apiece – all of which run around the 20-minute mark – you can binge Archer in a single weekend. Don't blame us if that's what you end up doing, mind you.

All 13 seasons are available to stream on Disney Plus and Hulu in the US and on Netflix in the UK. The first 10 seasons are streamable on Prime Video on British shores too. Lastly, the first 12 seasons can be watched on Netflix in Australia.

Homeland

Where to watch: Netflix, Hulu, and Disney Plus

Few espionage-based shows were as popular as Homeland was in the 2010s – and with good reason. The political thriller starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis was a titan of the spy genre upon initial release, with captivating leads, a thrilling, topsy-turvy narrative that immediately hooked viewers, and a thematic exploration of the War on Terror. It really was a series that tapped into the political landscape and the public consciousness like no other.

So, what's it about? Carrie Mathison (Danes), a bipolar CIA operations officer, is reassigned to the CIA's Counterterrorism Center after she conducts an unauthorized mission in Iraq. In her new post, Mathison's world collides with that of Nicholas Brody (Lewis), a US Marine Sergeant who, eight years after going missing, is rescued from an al-Qaeda compound and hailed as a war hero on his return to the US. It's not long, though, before Mathison starts to believe Brody poses a serious threat to the US – an assumption that sets Homeland's eight-season-long story in motion. Stick it on your watch list ASAP.

Available on Hulu and Disney Plus in the US, Netflix in the UK, and Disney Plus and 9Now in Australia.

The Night Manager

Where to watch: Prime Video

Is there an author who's had a greater influence on the spy genre than John le Carré? James Bond creator Ian Fleming, yes, but there aren't many others who can claim to have had as big an impact on this storytelling class as the British-Irish novelist.

Given the popularity of le Carré's extensive works, it's unsurprising that many of his books have been adapted on the big and small screens. One of the more recent live-action TV adaptations of his back catalog is The Night Manager, a six-part series based on le Carré's book of the same name, which garnered critical acclaim upon release (initially on BBC One in the UK and AMC in the US).

The Night Manager tells the story of Jonathan Pine (Loki actor Tom Hiddleston), an ex-British soldier and the titular night manager who's pulled back into the world he left behind. Tasked by Foreign Office task force leader Angela Burr (Olivia Colman) to infiltrate the inner circle of illegal arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie), Pine soon finds himself in over his head in an international political chess match where nobody is who they seem.

A tightly paced, thrill-a-minute miniseries complete with towering performances from Hiddleston, Laurie, Colman, Tom Hollander (Major Lance Corcoran), and Elizabeth Debicki (Jemima Marshall)? Yes, please. One that'll make it onto our best Prime Video shows list soon.

The Night Manager can be seen on Prime Video worldwide.

Slow Horses

Where to watch: Apple TV Plus

Apple's streaming service has been steadily pushing to make itself relevant with numerous high-quality TV offerings. And, with a veritable bounty of prestige shows (read our best Apple TV Plus shows to find out more) being met with critical acclaim, it's succeeding.

One of its best-performing and fan-favorite TV series is Slow Horses, a London-based spy thriller packed with witty and sarcastic humor, riveting characters, and espionage-based action. Iconic actor Gary Oldman is easily the best part of the show, but there's plenty more to enjoy from this somewhat underrated spy series.

For the uninitiated: Slow Horses stars Oldman as Jackson Lamb, the slovenly and rude head of Slough House – aka the purgatory-style MI5 division where rejected personnel (known as Slow Horses, hence the show's title) are sent. Much to the chagrin of MI5's Director Deputy General Diana Taverner (Kirstin Scott Thomas), though, Lamb and the rest of the supposedly bumbling Slow Horses team regularly (and inadvertently) become involved in putting a stop to plots that threaten the UK.

Slow Horses seasons 1 and 2 are viewable on Apple TV Plus globally.

Rabbit Hole

Where to watch: Paramount Plus

Like The Night Agent, Rabbit Hole is a relative newcomer to the spy thriller genre. A Paramount Plus exclusive – one that could make it onto our best Paramount Plus shows – it stars 24 alumnus Keifer Sutherland as John Weir, a corporate spy who's framed for murder by a mysterious group of individuals. Somewhat expectedly, Weir goes on the run as he attempts to clear his name.

Rabbit Hole's first two episodes only debuted on Paramount's streaming service on March 26, so it's hard to say if it'll run out of steam before season 1's finale arrives. Critics have suggested that could be the case, with Rabbit Hole already turning itself inside out with its elaborately intricate story. Others, though, believe Sutherland's welcome return to the espionage world will give the series enough traction and keep audiences enthralled throughout its initial 10-episode run. This is one to check out if you're an avid Sutherland fan, a diehard 24 lover, or even just a regular viewer looking for something new to watch.

Rabbit Hole is available on Paramount Plus in the UK, Australia, and the US.

Andor

Where to watch: Disney Plus

In our Andor review, we called it the best Star Wars show to debut on Disney Plus, and there's a very good reason for that. Yes, The Mandalorian is up there, but Andor is unlike anything else we've seen from Lucasfilm's legendary sci-fi franchise – not least because it's an espionage thriller set in the confines of the Star Wars universe.

The Tony Gilroy-created series is set five years before Star Wars: Rogue One. It charts the rise of the Rebel Alliance through the eyes of thief-turned-spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), who finds purpose in aiding the burgeoning Rebellion's fight against the Galactic Empire. Events in the show's first season took place in the first of the aforementioned five years. The in-development second season is set to occur between years two and five, in a 12-episode installment that'll lead directly into Rogue One's Shakespearean tragedy-inspired plot.

Given its placement in the Star Wars universe, Andor will wow all kinds of Star Wars fans. However, the series' span of multiple genres – sci-fi, action-adventure, spy thriller, and political drama – makes it a compelling and highly entertaining watch for any viewer. Star Wars and thriller fans alike will revel in its absorbing story, morally complex characters, and grand set pieces.

Andor season 1 is streamable on Disney Plus worldwide.

It feels as though Google is playing catch up at the moment when it comes to the ChatGPT-powered AI that Microsoft has introduced to Bing – but Google CEO Sundar Pichai says that his company's own Bard bot is going to quickly get more capable.

In an interview with the NYT's Hard Fork podcast (via The Verge), Pichai said that Bard was currently like a "souped-up Civic" taking on "more powerful cars" – but also that Google has "more capable models" that are going to get deployed in the coming days.

"We knew when we were putting Bard out we wanted to be careful," Pichai said. "Since this was the first time we were putting out, we wanted to see what type of queries we would get. We obviously positioned it carefully."

According to the Google CEO, more capable PaLM (Pathways Language Model) versions of the Bard chatbot will be rolled out "over the course of next week". That will mean Bard gets noticeably better at reasoning, and coding, and in other areas.

Slow and steady

Pichai's overall tone was a mixture of caution in terms of experimenting with what Bard could do, and excitement about where it could eventually end up. These "very, very powerful technologies" can be personalized to companies and people, Pichai said.

The Google executive also addressed data privacy concerns and worries about the pace at which AI engines like Bard and ChatGPT are progressing. Some of the most prominent voices in tech have called for a six-month pause on artificial intelligence development.

Pichai welcomes these sorts of discussions and wants to see governments setting rules: "AI is too important an area not to regulate," he told the podcast. "It's also too important an area not to regulate well. So I'm glad these conversations are underway."

The interview also touched on a variety of other areas, including how AI might impact jobs ("we all may need to course-correct in certain areas") and the content put out on the web ("we'll be committed to getting it right with the publisher ecosystem").

Analysis: lots of big questions

This latest podcast interview highlights just how many big questions there are over AI right now: how it will affect data privacy, the sorts of jobs it might make redundant, the impact it will have on publishers if Google and Bing are one-stop shops, and so on.

To be fair to Pichai, he dealt with those questions very sensibly – but that's not necessarily a guarantee that some of the worries we have over AI are going to go away. We're facing a gigantic shift in the way we live our lives and get our information over the web.

Pichai admitted that the tech is "going to be incredibly beneficial" but also "has the potential to cause harm in a deep way". It's good to acknowledge that, but companies such as Google are driven by profit and money making over any sense of moral obligation.

At least there's a conversation happening. "This is going to need a lot of debate," Pichai said. "No one knows all the answers. No one company can get it right. Am I concerned? Yes. Am I optimistic and excited about all the potential of this technology? Incredibly."

• Google Bard can't really help you play Wordle yet