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ZDNET Perplexity AI is going mobile with a new digital assistant for your Android phone.  The company announced the feature this week, explaining that it lets you use Perplexity as usual, but takes things a step further by integrating with other apps on your phone and chaining commands — meaning you can play media, set reminders, send texts and emails, book rides, learn about things using your camera, and more.  Also: Operator isn’t worth its $200-per-month ChatGPT…

ZDNET As TikTok went dark briefly for the app’s 170 million US users last Saturday, tech giants began rolling out various incentives to attract TikTok creators to their platforms. Snapchat launched a new public marketing campaign featuring trendy influencers known for posting on TikTok. Substack, meanwhile, used a 25,000 cash prize and expanded live-streaming capabilities to TikTok users on its platform.  However, one of TikTok’s biggest social media rivals, Meta, is further capitalizing off the legal…

The spike in electricity needs is unprecedented, McKinsey wrote, and will be difficult to meet. In another report released this week, Goldman Sachs also predicts a surge in data center power demand, and expects an increase of 160% by 2030, compared to 2023 levels. Data center builds typically have timelines of 18 to 24 months, gas and renewable power plans have timelines of three to five years, and new transmission development can take seven to…

Businesses face mounting pressure to secure their networks, infrastructure, and data. Cyberattackers often target employees through phishing and social engineering to defraud them or to obtain sensitive data, and this may include credentials. Alternatively, it’s possible to purchase initial access through the Dark Web or to take advantage of leaked username and password combinations to enter a target system quietly.  Also: The best password managers: Expert tested Security measures to stop unauthorized access vary from company…

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET Arguably Samsung’s biggest event of the year is here, with the company announcing new smartphones in the Galaxy S25 series: the Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25+, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Most notably, these smartphones got a new Snapdragon Elite 8 chipset and better Galaxy AI integrated into the One UI 7 OS, with intuitive interactions and personalized experiences. Also: Samsung Unpacked 2025: Five biggest announcements, including S25 Edge and AR glasses Preorders…

Like past January Unpacked events, Samsung released three new Galaxy S models, with the base models getting some subtle but meaningful upgrades, including a thinner and lighter design.  Other changes include the introduction of new colors, including Icyblue, Navy, Mint, Silver Shadow, as well as online-only exclusive colors like Blueblack, Coralred, and Pinkgold. The vibrance of the Coralred colorway stands out amongst the rest of the lineup’s more muted finishes, and made a splash among…

ZDNET Imagine an AI bot that can fill out online forms, book airline flights, order groceries, and more. That’s the intent of OpenAI’s new Operator, an AI that acts as an independent agent to carry out your commands all on its own. Also: Operator isn’t worth its $200-per-month ChatGPT Pro subscription yet – here’s why Released as a research preview on Thursday, Operator is able to interact directly with a web browser. That means it can…

ZDNET This week, OpenAI is introducing a research preview called Operator. I initially wanted to do a hands-on, but once I found out that you need a Pro account (which costs $200 per month), I decided to watch the various OpenAI demos, share them with you, and then share my thoughts. Altman did say that users of the $20-per-month Plus plan would eventually be able to use Operator. Operator is an AI agent. Fundamentally, it…

While the data was apparently collected just over two years ago, it is unknown why it’s being released now. In a post last week analyzing the dump, researchers at Censys noted that the Belsen Group is new. It’s possible that this threat actor recently bought or assembled the data now for sale from the original hacker(s). Censys also believes that, while action may have been taken by FortiGate admins two years ago, after the vulnerability…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Insta360 Connect is available now starting at $1,999, but the touch panel and other mounts can increase the price by up to $700. It’s an advanced speaker bar that sports 14 microphones, dual 4K cameras, simple connectivity, and AI enhancements for small room conferencing. A desktop stand is supplied, but you have to pay extra for the wall mount or TV mount. With remote and hybrid work the new normal, video…