Titan Forge Games has confirmed that its beloved free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) Smite will continue to be playable for as long as fans want to play it, even after the upcoming release of Smite 2.
Smite 2 was announced today (January 12) and promises vast improvements to its visuals, overhauls to its playable characters, and much more. It’s currently planned to begin alpha playtesting this spring, so players will presumably be able to dive in within a few months.
In a press briefing attended by TechRadar Gaming (TRG), it was clarified that there’s still a dedicated (albeit smaller) team working on Smite while other developers focus on the sequel. With that said, no new gods (playable characters) will be added to the original after the upcoming 130th one.
Furthermore, speaking to TRG, Titan Forge Games asserts that “they are different games, and we intend to keep treating them as different games.” Smite’s executive producer, Alex Cantatore, explains that while the existing Smite player base enjoys “very hardcore features,” Smite 2 offers an opportunity for the team to “reset that complexity level.” With the sequel, the developers can focus on making a “few core things in the map as interesting as possible, without just layering more and more on top of it.” He adds: “It's slightly a different design philosophy between the two games.”
In addition, Cantatore tells us that a large part of the decision to keep Smite running was to ensure that the team was “really respecting our players and the time and the money and the attachment that they have” to the original. Also, ultimately, the developers “want to make sure players are happy.”
“If you want to keep playing Smite 1, it's awesome that you should be able to keep doing that for as long as you want to keep doing it,” he explains. “Especially if you have a PS4 and you can't afford a PS5, or you have an older PC, you know, we want to make sure that there's still a Smite for you that you can go out and play. And some people are gonna prefer that.”
Smite 2 is slated to release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Looking for more games like Smite?You can find some excellent games to play with friends on our list of the best multiplayer PC games, as well as some fantastic budget-friendly options in our roundup of the best free games.
Smite 2 is real and planned to enter alpha testing this spring, but Titan Forge Games has no plans for a Nintendo Switch release due to concerns that the handheld games console won’t be able to run it well.
Announced today (January 12), Smite 2 is a sequel to the eternally popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) Smite, which, beyond its PC release, was also ported to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Luna. The sequel has been built from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5.2 (a massive upgrade from the original game, which uses Unreal Engine 3). It is set to release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, thus notably missing out on Nintendo's hybrid console.
TechRadar Gaming (TRG) asked Titan Forge Games if there are any future plans to bring the upcoming sequel to Switch, and Smite’s executive producer, Alex Cantatore, tells us that the team is uncertain that the console has the required power to handle it.
“We're concerned that currently, with the power level of Switch and the minimum specs that we're targeting, we just aren't sure that we'd be able to develop or deliver a really good experience to people playing on Switch currently,” he says in our interview.
However, he adds that the team is “willing to keep an open mind” and re-examine any future platforms that might become available, such as if a more powerful version of the Switch, like the rumored Switch 2, is released (something which he asserts he has no knowledge of).
“Smite’s been everywhere we can possibly get it to run well, and I would expect that to continue with Smite 2,” he continues. “We're just not sure we'd be able to get it running well on Switch 1, unfortunately.”
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail is the next expansion coming to the incredibly popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Since its official announcement back in July 2023, details have been drip-fed from developer Creative Business Unit 3 and the game’s in-person Fan Festival events in Las Vegas, London, and, most recently, Tokyo.
There’s plenty we now know about Dawntrail, including its tentative release window as well as its new jobs (classes), main story, and raid content. But there are still plenty of unknowns as to what we can expect as Dawntrail ushers Warriors of Light into a brand new era for Final Fantasy 14 after the previous expansion, Endwalker (2021), concluded a storyline that was over a decade in the making. Here’s everything we know so far about Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail.
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail - cut to the chase
What is it? The next major expansion for Final Fantasy 14 Online
When does it come out? A tentative ‘Summer 2024’ release window
What can I play it on? PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Who’s making it? Square Enix’s in-house Creative Business Unit 3 development team
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail trailer
The full cinematic trailer for Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail was revealed at the beginning of the Tokyo Fan Festival’s keynote speech in January 2024. Before that, the initial teaser trailer debuted in July 2023 during the Las Vegas Fan Festival, and an extended trailer was shown at October’s London Fan Festival.
The full cinematic trailer for Dawntrail clocks in at just shy of six minutes long, and is the complete version of the teases we’d received prior. The full trailer showcases the new hub city of Tuliyollal, situated on the continent of Tural, which players previously knew only as the ‘New World.’
The full trailer also showcases Dawntrail’s two new jobs. The first, Viper, is the poster job for the expansion. Here, we see it taken up by Meteor (the promotional stand-in for the player character). Additionally, the cinematic trailer debuted the Pictomancer job, which the popular character Krile will be assuming the role of in the expansion.
Lastly, the trailer reveals a ‘Summer 2024’ release window, meaning the expansion is likely to arrive between June and September. Director and producer Naoki Yoshida has confirmed that the team does have a date set internally, but he doesn’t want to reveal it until he’s confident the team can meet that deadline and avoid disappointing fans who were let down by Endwalker’s two-week delay back in 2021.
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail jobs
(Image credit: Square Enix)
Two new jobs (the game’s terminology for classes) will be added to the game when Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail releases. The first to be announced was Viper, a melee DPS (damage-per-second) class that, alongside Ninja, will find itself in the Scouting subcategory.
Vipers fight with dual swords that can be combined into a single twinblade. We don’t really know how the job will play fully at present, but its teaser trailer shows the player entering combat with the two swords separated, and engaging the Morbol enemy with the simple melee combos we’ve come to expect from other jobs in the role. Later, the swords combine, and the player looks to enter some sort of buffed state that seems to increase skill speed (which reduces the time between weapon skills on the global cooldown).
The second Dawntrail job that‘s coming with the expansion is the Pictomancer. This job is a ranged caster DPS, sharing the role with Black Mage, Red Mage, and Summoner. However, Pictomancer differs in that it uses a brush and palette to effectively paint spells, support buffs, and even creatures like a Moogle into existence. During the Tokyo Fan Fest keynote, director and producer Naoki Yoshida hinted that Pictomancer isn’t a full support class, but also won’t be as damage-focused as the heavy-hitting Black Mage.
While the job identities have been revealed, we still don’t know the full extent of their abilities. However, if Dawntrail’s marketing follows that of prior expansions, then there will be a full video showcase of every job in the game - and their new abilities - in the months between now and release.
Also teased was a brand new ‘limited’ job coming in Dawntrail: the Beastmaster. Following in the footsteps of Blue Mage, Beastmaster will likely differ in that it has its own set of unique mechanics and separate progression. We don’t know anything about Beastmaster beyond its name, but fans are speculating that they’ll be able to tame monsters and command them as their own.
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail story and locations
(Image credit: Square Enix)
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail takes the Warrior of Light and their comrades to the continent of Tural. Previously referred to as the New World and situated in the far west of the planet, Tural looks to be a world apart from the existing continents of Eorzea, Othard, and Ilsabard.
Official story details are thin on the ground at present. However, we know that we’re being summoned to Tural to help resolve a rite of succession that will determine the next ruler of the continent. However, it seems that there’s going to be much more at stake, as Square Enix has teased that the rite of succession will sow division among our comrades. This may have something to do with the fabled ‘City of Gold,’ which, apparently, the contest is said to shed some light on.
We’ll likely begin the expansion in Tural’s capital city of Tuliyollal, which we’ll reach by sea from the port of Old Sharlayan, Endwalker’s hub city. Surrounding areas include Kozama’uka, a tropical region to the south of the city, and Shaaloani, an arid region situated in central Tural.
The Tokyo keynote also teased a hyper-futuristic city named Solution Nine. Sharing its name with a Trance ability from Final Fantasy 9, this cyberpunk-style locale really is unlike anything we’ve seen in Final Fantasy 14 so far.
Again, not much is known about Solution Nine beyond its science-fiction aesthetic. However, going off its official description of “a city of towering facades constructed by an entirely different civilization,” fans are theorizing that Solution Nine is a virtual space. Perhaps created to digitally safeguard something from the threat of The Final Days, which we dealt with during the events of Endwalker.
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail raids and content
(Image credit: Square Enix)
As with every other Final Fantasy 14 expansion, Dawntrail will feature challenging raid content for players to engage in with others. This expansion’s 24-player raid is known as Echoes of Vana’diel and acts as a collaboration with sister MMORPG Final Fantasy 11.
During the Tokyo Fan Fest keynote, the expansion’s eight-man raid series was revealed to be The Arcadion. Yoshida described the Arcadion as a wholly original story, not pulling from prior Final Fantasy games like we’re used to with older eight-man raid content. All we know about The Arcadion is its futuristic aesthetic, which has led fans to believe it’s tied to the city of Solution Nine, as described above.
Lastly, Dawntrail will still receive Ultimate raids as semi-frequent content. During the Tokyo keynote, Yoshida confirmed the first Dawntrail Ultimate raid to be ‘Futures Rewritten.’ This uses Shadowbringers’ Eden raids as inspiration. As a result, players brave enough to take on this hellishly difficult encounter can likely expect to cross blades (or books) with iconic bosses like Shiva, Fatebreaker, Eden’s Promise, and The Oracle of Darkness all within the same fight.
As for non-raid content, it appears that players will be eating well across Dawntrail’s patch cycle. We’ll be getting an all-new lifestyle content mode: Cosmic Exploration. Yoshida described it as an effort to restore civilizations across distant planets. Again, possibly in response to the galactic devastation that was The Final Days. Yoshida also confirmed new Field Operations content, which will be similar to the open-ended combat zones of Eureka from Stormblood and The Bozjan Southern Front from Shadowbringers.
Further updates include new Variant and Criterion dungeons, updates to Deep Dungeon content, new Unreal trials, and more that are listed on Dawntrail’s official landing page. We should also expect the usual additions of more dungeons and trials as the patch cycle continues over the next few years, assuming CBU 3 is keeping the formula of one of each per major patch.
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail news
Major graphical update incoming The launch of Dawntrail will bring with it a graphical overhaul that updates much of Final Fantasy 14 Online’s textures and lighting. The new look isn’t dramatically different from what we have now, but the improvements to lighting especially appear to be quite transformative, including more reflective surfaces and more realistic details on characters and objects.
Female Hrothgar Dawntrail will see the female variant of the Hrothgar race finally added to the game. Hrothgar were initially brought to Final Fantasy 14 Online in the Shadowbringers expansion, but only as a male character. Now, the addition of female Hrothgar rounds off the game’s selection of races. During the Tokyo keynote, Yoshida stated that female Hrothgar “will be the last one,” though he cheekily hinted that perhaps he can’t say that definitely, as it’ll depend on demand from the player base.
Final Fantasy 14 is coming to Xbox Series consoles After years of promises and waiting, it has been confirmed that Final Fantasy 14 is finally coming to Xbox Series X|S consoles. An open beta will arrive sometime in late February (Square Enix has earmarked February 21, but has stressed this is subject to change), and the full game will likely be ready for Dawntrail’s release.
Taking a break from Final Fantasy 14 until Dawntrail releases? Consider browsing our guide to the best RPGs for top recommendations within the fan-favorite genre.
Titan Forge Games has officially unveiled Smite 2 - the highly anticipated sequel to the free-to-play third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), Smite. This follow-up is set to enter alpha testing this spring.
Smite 2 has been a long time coming - its predecessor first became available to play in closed beta back in 2012, before releasing in full in 2014. In the original, players are able to step into the shoes of more, than 100 gods and mythological beings with a plethora of abilities and take on others across a variety of modes.
Announced during the Smite World Championships today (January 12), Smite 2 has been built from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5.2. The first game was made in Unreal Engine 3, and when footage of the two is compared, it’s clear that enormous graphical upgrades have been made.
Beyond its improved visuals, players can look forward to new animations and abilities for existing gods, as well as totally new gods to play as, including the much-requested Hecate, who’ll be the first newbie on the roster. There’ll be greater strategic depth, too, as gods will be able to utilize any and all items and use both intelligence and strength as different sources of power. There’ll be a new, dedicated button to interact with the environment and pick up buffs, and a new custom matchmaking system will be deployed, too, while a whole new system for Ranked is incoming.
(Image credit: Hi-Rez Studios)
During the reveal, Titan Forge also went into detail on its ‘Legacy Gems’ and ‘Divine Legacy’ systems. Smite players will not be able to directly transfer their content (such as skins) over to Smite 2. Instead, they’ll automatically receive ‘Legacy Gems’ equivalent to however many gems they’ve spent (paid or earned for free) in the original game, which can then be used for 50% off most in-game purchases in the sequel. Players will receive double the amount of Legacy Gems if they buy a Founder’s Pack for Smite 2.
Meanwhile, ‘Divine Legacy’ is a new feature coming to Smite 1 as of the first update of Year 11. It will reward players for the time they’ve spent playing Smite over the years, with points for progress in each year tallied together to earn bonuses. A special skin is available for each year of the game which will unlock in Smite 2, and there are badges to earn based on previous progress, too. Divine Legacy can also be used to unlock any Tier 4 and Tier 5 skin in Smite 1 for free.
It’s also worth noting that despite most content not transferring to the new game, every new gem-purchasable skin introduced in Year 11 of Smite will be a “cross-gen skin,” which will also be available in Smite 2 when it releases (and when the god in question is available to play, as they won’t all be there from the start).
Notably, it’s also been confirmed that despite the sequel’s existence, Titan Forge doesn’t plan on leaving the original Smite behind any time soon. In a press briefing attended by TechRadar Gaming, it was stated that the two will continue to exist alongside each other for as long as people want to keep playing, with updates coming to both. However, new gods will stop coming to Smite after the release of the 130th one, Nut, in February.
Smite 2 is set to launch on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S at some point in the future, and it’ll have full crossplay. Players will be able to try out the alpha with monthly weekend playtests by either getting a key in a free key drop or by buying the Founder’s Pack for guaranteed access - details are set to be announced at a later date.
Hackers have leaked sensitive information on almost a million people claimed to be customers of Hong Kong-based activewear firm Halara.
A hacker under the alias Sanggiero posted a new thread on a dark net forum, and in a Telegram channel, with the details of the hack.
"In January 2024, over 1M rows of data from the store company Halara was posted to a popular hacking forum. The data contained 1M unique addressId, first name, last name, phone numbers, country, home address, zip, province, city, iso," the post allegedly reads.
Vulnerable API
Analysis of the database posted there appeared to confirm that at least some of the information posted there is accurate. For example, while the hacker claims to have information on a million people, the database contains 941,910 records. Furthermore, the hacker used an incorrect logo for Halara, posting one that belongs to an unrelated cannabis company.
BleepingComputer did reach out to some of the people whose information was posted in the database, and confirmed that the data is correct. The publication also confirmed that the people were indeed customers of Halara.
This means that whoever takes the information could use it to craft credible-looking phishing emails, or engage in identity theft.
The company was said to be investigating the matter now.
BleepingComputer also managed to contact Sanggiero, who claim to have stolen the data via a vulnerability in an API on the Halara website. The database isn’t of much value to them, which is why they decided to share it online for free. No contact with the victim was made, apparently.
Halara is a sports apparel company, selling what’s known as “athleisure” clothes. It was founded in 2020, and gained huge popularity via short videos shared on TikTok.
Apple has quietly confirmed that it has doubled the number of devices that you can track in its Find My app. While no official announcement was made by Apple itself, the change was first reported by Nicolas Alveraz (@nicolas09F9) and shared in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Apple just updated their support articles about AirTags and it says you can now pair up to 32 items. However, the Find My configuration file from the server still says "maxPairEligibleDevices": 16. This is strange.https://t.co/O5yV9bPlFQJanuary 11, 2024
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In a support document published on January 11, Apple revealed that you can now add up to 32 items in Find My instead of the previous limit of 16 items. This includes AirTags, first-party headphones, selected Beats headphones, newer MagSafe wallets, and third-party accessories and gear such as e-bikes.
It was confirmed by MacRumors that Apple increased the Find My item limit when iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 was launched in September 2022, but Apple never mentioned the change publicly until now.
In the Apple document, it details that some AirPods will count as more than one item when paired to Find My. With the exception of the AirPods Max, regular AirPods and AirPods Pro (1st gen) count as two items, and the AirPods Pro (2nd gen) count as three items. With AirPods and the 1st gen AirPods Pros, users can track each AirPod individually, thus marking it as two items. When tracking 2nd gen AirPods Pros, you can use Find My to track the charging case, making it the third item.
Apple introduced AirTags in 2021, making it easier for you to track your personal belongings as well as other Find My-compatible devices. However, avid Apple users voiced their concerns as they found themselves reaching the original 16-item limit quickly. This meant users would have to strategically decide which items to pair, which became increasingly difficult when Apple opened Find My pairing to third-party products shortly after.
How to add an AirTag to your Find My network
(Image credit: Apple)
This now-official increase to the Find My device limit means that Apple super-users can track more devices and products without the fear of quickly reaching the limit.
Not sure how to pair more products to your Find My network? Adding AirTags, for example, to the network is pretty easy.
Hold your AirTag near your iPhone, and from there a pop up will appear on your screen for you to tap ‘Connect’. You’ll then have to name your AirTag from the options that appear in the scrolling list and tap ‘Continue’.
Once you’ve tapped ‘Continue’ again, register your AirTag with your Apple ID by tapping ‘Done’.
Klipsch is at CES 2024 showing a pair of soundbars aimed at budget-conscious movie fans. The Flexus Core 100 and 200 are priced at $449 (around £350 / AU$670) and $199 (around £156 / AU$300) , respectively, and both can be combined with a matching wireless subwoofer ($299, around £235 / AU$450) and surround sound speakers ($249, around £195 / AU$372) for an easy system upgrade path. I’ll get into the details of those in a bit, but the upshot here is that with the new Klipsch Flexus sound system, you can get a full 5.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos rig for just under $1,000 (around £780 / AU$1,490)
Flexus is a joint design and manufacturing effort with Japan’s Onkyo, a brand best known for its A/V receivers that is responsible for all internal electronics and amplification on the soundbars.
The best Dolby Atmos soundbars have come to include budget friendly options such as the Bose Smart Soundbar 600, a model that features upfiring speakers to deliver height effects in Atmos soundtracks. Like the Bose, Klipsch's Core 200 is a 3.1.2-channel model with upfiring speakers, while the Core 100 is a 2.1-channel model that uses virtual processing to deliver height effects in Atmos soundtracks.
The SUB 100 subwoofer (Image credit: Future)
In time-honored Klipsch fashion, a horn-loaded tweeter is used on the Core 200 to enhance dialogue clarity and is flanked by a quartet of 2.5-inch midrange drivers and dual 4-inch woofers for bass. The Core 100 uses dual 2.5-inch drivers and 4-inch woofers, but omits the horn-loaded tweeter. Both soundbars feature an HDMI input and HDMI eARC port for a TV connection.
For budget soundbars, both the Core 100 and 200 have a notably elegant design. A woodgrain cabinet finish blends seamlessly with metal mesh and black fabric speaker grille elements, and a large alphanumeric LED display – a rare feature on budget soundbars – helps visibility when making volume level and settings adjustments.
The Flexus sound system’s compact wireless subwoofer and surround speakers share the same cosmetic design as the Core 100 and 200. Same as with Sonos soundbars, two wireless subwoofers can be paired with the system, allowing for a 5.2.2 Dolby Atmos configuration.
An SURR 100 surround (Image credit: Future)
Flexus is flexible – and affordable
When it arrives in April, Klipsch’s Flexus sound system could provide a strong alternative to modular soundbar systems from Sonos and Bose. The modular approach to system building is perfect for home theater fans on a budget who want to start off as inexpensively as possible by buying a main soundbar, and then expanding the system out with a wireless subwoofer and surround speakers as their budget allows.
Klipsch’s Flexus sound system also appears to provide a simpler approach to system building than those used by Sonos and Bose, both of which use advanced control apps for setup. And at under $1,000 for a full 5.1.2-channel system, it’s a more affordable option.
The Flexus sound system demo I heard at CES wasn’t the sort of full-bore experience that would reveal the true capabilities of the soundbars due to a business meeting being held in the same room – CES is an international tradeshow, after all. For that reason, I’ll have to reserve judgement until a later date, though movie dialogue in the demo was notably clear. Keep an eye out for a future review, since Klipsch’s new soundbars, the Core 200 in particular, could very well join the ranks of the best soundbars at the budget end of the price spectrum.
Check out our CES 2024 hub for all the latest news from the show as it happens. We'll be covering everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI, so stick with us for the big stories.
And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok for the latest from the CES show floor!
2023 surely was an eventful year in tech. To cite just a few key moments, generative AI became mainstream thanks to software like ChatGPT; we had to say goodbye to the iconic blue bird while welcoming Twitter's new name (I know very well the pain of writing 'X, formerly known as Twitter' over the past six months); and big tech companies got fined the most under GDPR's data abuses for a total of more than $3 billion.
Well, on the latter point, data protection regulators' efforts turned out to be not as effective as it was hoped they'd be.
Swiss privacy firm behind popular email and VPN service, Proton reported that only after a week into 2024 the likes of Meta, Google, Apple and Microsoft earned enough to pay off all last year's fines. Let's take a look at what needs to change and, most importantly, what you can do in the meantime to truly protect your privacy.
Ineffective data protection fines
"What’s clear is that these fines, though they appear to be a huge amount of money, in reality are just a drop in the ocean when it comes to the revenues that the tech giants are making. In other words, they aren’t a deterrent at all," Jurgita Miseviciute, Head of Public Policy & Government Affairs at Proton, told me.
Researchers at Proton have calculated that Alphabet (Google's parent company) needs only a bit more than a day to pay off its $941 million fines. Amazon and Apple's earnings of just a few hours are then enough to repay their data protection's sanctions of $111.7 and $186.4 million respectively.
While biggest data abuse perpetrator Meta, which got a record $1.3bn fine for its (mis)handling of EU user data in May last year, managed to accumulate all the necessary money in just about five working days.
If you think big fines work on #BigTech, think again.@Google, @Apple, @Meta, @Amazon, and @Microsoft generated enough revenue in the past 7 days to pay off their fines for 2023.Taking advantage of your privacy is so lucrative, that these fines are nothing more than the cost… pic.twitter.com/cGprAwS0hoJanuary 8, 2024
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These findings make it clear that data regulators' fines, as founder and CEO of Proton Andy Yen put it, are "little more than pocket change for these companies" instead of a mean to stop them abusing users' data. Not only that, he said, as "these minuscule fines essentially give the green light to tech giants to run riot in a marketplace skewed in their favor."
It's also quite common that big tech firms might appeal to these sanctions or simply refuse to pay, delaying the repayment for years. Take how Google contested India's fine, for instance, about the Android-related inquiry for abusing its dominant position in the market which started in 2019.
On this point, Yen said: "It’s the average consumer that's losing out—facing higher prices, less choice, and no privacy. It has to stop and we need real, tangible change that puts people first, not profits."
According to Miseviciute, there are two main things that must happen for things to really change.
Did you know?
Fully enforced in May 2023, the EU Digital Market Act(DMA) brought new obligations for tech companies to ensure fair competition and protect people's digital rights. A similar bill, so-called Digital Markets, Consumer and Competition Bill (DMCC) is currently passing through the UK Parliament, too.
For starters, she believes that governments have to issue fines with a real financial effect in order to fight back against big monopolies.
"That’s why fines up to even 20% of global revenues for breaches of laws such as the EU’s DMA [Digital Market Act] and up to 10% in case of the proposed DMCC [Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers] Bill in the UK are a step in the right direction," she told me.
If heavier sanctions are important, they are not everything. Miseviciute explained that regulators need to combine these with practical measures such as enforced behavioral and structural changes, for example.
Again, she sees the EU quite well-placed to do so due to the new powers gained with the DMA. However, elsewhere there are also some small steps in this direction.
"We hope Google’s antitrust trial in the US serves as a catalyst for comprehensive antitrust regulation on the other side of the Atlantic. We also see promising potential regulatory developments in South Korea, Japan, Australia and other major jurisdictions," she told me.
"If you open up the marketplace, and you give innovators like Proton a chance to succeed, you’ll get solutions that are more private and more secure for consumers."
How to protect your online privacy
As we have seen, 2023 was yet another hard year for our online privacy.
The US, for instance, still lacks a federal data protection law with the proposed ADPPA being stalled at the time of writing. Enforced in August last year, India's new privacy law was strongly criticized for favoring government and big tech instead of citizens. Well, where allegedly strong legislations are in place like in the EU, these seem to have not enough teeth just yet.
Commenting on this point, Miseviciute told me: "Until laws like the DMA in the EU and the proposed DMCC in the UK are effectively put into practice we are living in a world where big tech rules the internet—and all our privacy is at the mercy of their surveillance capitalism business model."
Did you know?
Two thirds of people in the UK would rather lose their passport than access to their email account. Yet, despite these concerns, most of them lack the necessary knowledge and tools to protect their digital privacy. Big Tech knows that, researchers revealed.
The glimpse of light in this gloomy scenario is that it's ultimately our choice if we want to keep using data-hungry products. Luckily, there are some smaller companies offering privacy-first alternatives you can switch to.
On its part, Proton appear to have been working hard to cut Google out of our digital life. Likewise the popular service, the Swiss-based provider offers an encrypted email service Proton Mail (which even beat the big tech giant by landing with a standalone desktop app in December), secure calendar and its own cloud storage Proton Drive, too.
Proton's product offering also includes one of the best virtual private network apps on the market (Proton VPN) to help you boosting your anonymity while browsing among other things, as well as a password manager tool (Proton Pass) to secure all your login details. Even better as all the provider's services come both with free and paid plans.
However, Proton is just one of the many companies developing privacy-first alternatives to big tech software. Worth a mention there are also encrypted messaging app Signal if you wish to replace WhatsApp with a more secure application and Mullvad browser to make the switch from Safari and Chrome.
In this photo illustration, the big tech companies Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft logos seen displayed on a mobile phone screen.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 leaks and rumors just keep coming, with the latest touting AI features that may be integrated into the Samsung Keyboard and Samsung Notes app.
Alvin claims the Samsung Keyboard will be powered by AI, and will offer options such as web page summarization, tone detection for sentences and the ability to switch the tone of a sentence, and automatically converting scribbles in the Samsung Notes into other formats, like an email or a text invitation.
Galaxy AI is also integrated into Samsung Keyboard and Samsung Notes on the Galaxy S24 series. 👀This one person who tried the S24 has always used GBoard, but they're willing to switch to Samsung Keyboard just because of those features.Some of the new features on Samsung… pic.twitter.com/xl57wljONcJanuary 11, 2024
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The tech tipster, who has a reasonable track record, said other AI features will also be present in the Galaxy S24 phones, but didn’t go on to detail about them. We suspect such features could be photography focused, perhaps in the form of AI-powered tools akin to the Magic Editor found on the Google Pixel 8 phones.
As the rise of generative AI – whereby AI can be used to create new content, not just smartly assist with tasks and image recognition – continues to gather pace, it’s no surprise that the likes of Samsung and Google are exploring its use in their smartphones.
We expect the Galaxy S24 family will spearhead onboard AI in Android phones for 2024, with features that allow for the smart generation of everything from dynamic photos to plans for holidays, or responses to messages that reflect a person’s tone or personality.
To some this may be eyebrow-raising, especially when considering how easily images can be manipulated with AI, opening image fakery to people with no photo-editing skills. But it’s worth remembering that AI has been used in phones for some years, and many photos have a lot of image processing applied to them – this is needed to compensate for the shortcomings of the small sensors and the lenses in even the best camera phones, in comparison with DSLRs and mirrorless cameras – so they're arguably not exactly realistic to begin with.
Regardless of your opinions on AI, we’re now only a few days away from the Galaxy S24 reveal, so we’ll soon get an idea of just how smart these smartphones could be.
Info-Direkt 
