The fediverse answer to TikTok is on its way. Signups opened this week for Loops, a short-form looping video app from the creator of Instagram alternative Pixelfed, reports TechCrunch.

Users who’ve signed up can post up to 60 seconds of video, according to details shared by developer Daniel Supernault on Mastodon. He added that using sounds and remixing others’ videos is coming, as are pinned profile videos, and that users will be able to “curate” their comment sections. Videos can be categorized, but hashtags and mentions aren’t yet supported.

Creating an account isn’t instantaneous as you’ll have to wait for a confirmation email, which could take time, according to Supernault. Its iOS app will be available initially in TestFlight, Apple’s program for testing unreleased apps that requires a free developer account. Loops will also have a “side-loadable” Android app, Supernault posted.

Loops will rely on human moderators, which Supernault put out a call for on Mastodon. Videos posted to the site will be moderated based on a trust score that every local user has, Supernault posted. Videos uploaded by people with low scores will be held for moderation before they go live, while those from “trusted users” will be posted right away.

Loops’ fediverse integration is in-progress but not live, and the platform hasn’t been open-sourced yet, according to a FAQ on the site. Users own their content, and Loops doesn’t sell or provide videos to third-party advertisers or train AI on them, the FAQ says. The site is instead relying on grants, sponsorships, and donations for funding. You can review the privacy policy here.

Strands is the NYT’s latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it’s great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

HP is strongly vouching for AI PCs and has unveiled two new laptops targeted at large enterprises, startups, and retail consumers. The newly launched laptops include the HP EliteBook Ultra and HP OmniBook X, being HP’s first Copilot plus PCs. 

Both laptops are designed and engineered around the Snapdragon X Elite processor and its Neural Processing Unit (NPU)6, which have the capability of 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS) that can run language models and generative AI locally on the device. 

Representatives at HP say that the innovations in their new offerings are designed to enhance work efficiency, boost security, and offer personalized experiences for hybrid work styles. 

“We are unveling our AI PCs in India with the HP EliteBook Ultra and HP OmniBook X. These AI PCs are designed to create more personalized and meaningful user experiences. By integrating advanced AI capabilities, we are making technology smarter, more intuitive, and more responsive to individual needs,” remarked Vineet Gehani, Senior Director Personal Systems, HP India. 

HP OmniBook X

The EliteBook Ultra has AI capabilities and has one of the thinnest designs in its class. This model also has enterprise-grade endpoint security to safeguard data, in order to safeguard against sophsiticated cyberattacks.  On the other hand, the HP OmniBook X is designed specifically for retail customers including creators and freelancers and has advanced AI features, which has the capability to improve video quality and collaboration experiences. It is very well suited for tasks such as video editing, graphic design, and remote meetings. 

Interestingly, the new HP AI laptops come with built in HP AI Companion, a personal AI-assistant for enhancing productivity and creativity. With this, the users will be able to experience a personalized approach using generative AI to analyze and assess personal files to get more refined, focus responses or outputs. These models also have Copilot+ which will help in creating a more personalised and powerful computing experience. 

Besides these the Poly Camera Pro in these laptops will enhance virtual interactions across all collaboration and streaming apps across multiple cameras. Poly Camera Pro uses the NPU to power AI enhancements like Spotlight, Background Blur and Replace, Auto Framing, and more, allowing the CPU to maintain performance more efficiently while preserving battery life. 

Both the HP EliteBook Ultra and HP OmniBook X weigh 1.3 kgs and offer up to 26 hours of battery life. The HP Elitebook Ultra is available in HP World Stores and HP Online stores at a starting price of Rs 1,69,934 in Atmospheric blue colour and the HP OmniBook X is available in HP World Stores and HP Online stores at a starting price of Rs. 1,39,999 in Meteor Silver colour. 

The New York Times has plenty of word games on its roster today — with Wordle, Connections, Strands, and the Mini Crossword, there’s something for everyone — but the newspaper’s standard crossword puzzle still reigns supreme. The daily crossword is full of interesting trivia, helps improve mental flexibility and, of course, gives you some bragging rights if you manage to finish it every day.

While the NYT puzzle might feel like an impossible task some days, solving a crossword is a skill and it takes practice — don’t get discouraged if you can’t get every single word in a puzzle.

If you’re having trouble completing today’s NYT Crossword, we’re here to help. We’ve got all the answers for today’s clues down below.

NYT Crossword answers today

Across

1 Hotel room staple : TVSET

6 “Hound Dog” singer Big ___ Thornton : MAMA

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10 Freshly pressed grapes before fermentation : MUST

14 Way : ROUTE

15 Reality show winner since 2002 : IDOL

16 Bridge piece : IBAR

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17 Spotted, in a way : ACNED

18 Meaning of a finger wag : NOPE

19 Zip : NONE

20 People to hang out with : PALS

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21 Mood : VIBE

22 Fish whose egg casings are called “mermaid’s purses” : SKATE

23 Oslo Accords signatory, for short : PLO

24 Fail to tail : LOSE

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25 Not spent anymore : RESTED

26 Two-time Oscar nominee Joan : CUSACK

28 Go no further : HALT

29 “We’ll let ourselves in” : DONTWAITUPFORUS

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34 Medical breakthrough of 1954 that yielded a Nobel Prize : ORGANTRANSPLANT

35 Masters of bad impersonations? : IDENTITYTHIEVES

36 Pub fixtures : LOOS

37 Takes root : SETSIN

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38 Incite : URGEON

41 Tony winner Judith : IVEY

42 Letters on a Busch Stadium hat : STL

44 She played Julia in 2009’s “Julie & Julia” : MERYL

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45 Cut and polish, maybe : EDIT

46 Big bird : RHEA

47 Two shakes : ASEC

48 Spin out on the ice? : AXEL

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49 Reasons for some street closures : FAIRS

50 In ___ (unmoved) : SITU

51 Birthstone that begins with the same letter as its month : OPAL

52 “ER” actress Laura : INNES

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53 Go berserk : SNAP

54 Slim winning margin : NOSE

55 Quite the party : BIGDO

Down

1 Name on the playbill for the 1936 Salzburg Festival : TRAPP

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2 One of a singing duo? : VOCALCORD

3 Solarium : SUNLOUNGE

4 Périodes chaudes de l’année : ETES

5 With 43-Down, fictional coach of AFC Richmond : TED

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6 Skimpy garments : MINISKIRTS

7 Building block : ADOBE

8 Brood : MOPE

9 Drink mentioned four times in the prologue of “The Canterbury Tales” : ALE

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10 Deluxe wraps? : MINKSTOLES

11 Menace in “Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania” : UBOAT

12 “À votre ___!” : SANTE

13 Out on a limb, say : TREED

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21 Calling : VOCATION

22 Something to wallow in : SELFPITY

24 Spade, for one : LAWNTOOL

25 Naughty list? : RAPSHEET

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27 Vessel that hasn’t crossed the Canadian border since 1993 : STANLEYCUP

28 The so-called “Rocket City” of the South : HUNTSVILLE

29 Emphatic agreement : DOI

30 When doubled, a pop nickname : TAY

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31 Gorgeous : RAVISHING

32 Not yet explored, as a tomb : UNENTERED

33 Map abbrs. : STS

38 Where Dr. J played college hoops, for short : UMASS

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39 Amber, e.g. : RESIN

40 Van Susteren of TV news : GRETA

41 They might be bright : IDEAS

43 See 5-Down : LASSO

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45 National, formerly : EXPO

46 Asian royal : RANI

48 Chicago’s ___ Center, formerly known as the Amoco Building : AON

49 Small invention : FIB

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After a few years of resting on its laurels, Samsung might be shaking things up a bit for its 2025 Galaxy smartphones. Recent reports suggest that the Galaxy S25 series could bring major changes to some key components. For instance, the Galaxy S25 Ultra would boast several display improvements over its predecessors.

Samsung is a giant conglomerate whose divisions are involved in multiple segments of the tech industry. The company has a wealth of experience in the panel segment thanks to the work of Samsung Display. Many big Android brands, and even Apple, turn to Samsung panels for their flagship and premium devices. This results in the displays on Galaxy S models consistently offering impressive image quality.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra may adopt M14 display material with multiple improvements

Now, reliable tipster Ice Universe said on X that the Galaxy S25 Ultra will have multiple display improvements. According to the source, the South Korean giant would adopt a new-gen M14 OLED material. The change to a new-generation base material usually means better image quality and less power consumption. For the Galaxy S25 Ultra, it would translate into improvements in “brightness, viewing angle, screen color accuracy, and many other aspects,” the post states.

For reference, Samsung’s M14 OLED display boasts 30% more brightness and 20% lifespan gain compared to the M13 generation. The first devices to use the M14 material were the iPhone 16 and Pixel 9 series. Unfortunately, there are no more specific details on those “many other aspects” that will receive improvements. However, it seems that the company is determined to take the image quality of its next premium smartphone to a new level.

No more grainy effect issue reported by Galaxy S24 Ultra users

Since the tipster explicitly mentions the Ultra model, it’s possible that the vanilla and Plus Galaxy S25 models will feature displays similar to the current models. Earlier this month, the same source revealed another improvement to the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s display. Several users of the current Galaxy S24 Ultra complained about a noticeable grainy effect under certain usage conditions. Well, Ice Universe said that this problem won’t be present on the 2025 Galaxy Ultra phone.

Black Friday/Cyber Monday is more than a month away (Thanksgiving falls on November 28 this year — I looked it up so you don’t have to). So while we wait for all of the best-of-the-year discounts the shopping event usually entails, there are still a few worthy sales out there on the tech we’ve reviewed and recommend. For example, the space gray M2 MacBook Air (our pick for the best budget Apple laptop) is down to $700 with an on-page coupon. For those ready to make (very tasty) ice cream at home, the Ninja Creami has a coupon code for $40 off. There are plenty of Anker batteries and accessories on sale too, plus we found discounts on a few choice video games to round out the savings. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

• Ninja Creami ice cream maker for $160 at Ninja ($40 off): Use the code CREAMI40 to save $40 off the list price directly from Ninja. The 7-in-1 ice cream maker isn’t your average appliance, as we make clear in our Ninja Creami review. It’s based on machines found in restaurants, and creates uniquely high-end frozen treats.

• Anker Prime Power Bank 27,650mAh for $130 at Amazon ($50 off): This beefy battery earned a mention in our guide to laptop batteries. It carries a lot of extra charge for laptops, tablets and phones and can even be paired with an optional dock to conveniently recharge the unit itself. This sale price is about $5 more than the all-time low.

• Anker 633 Magnetic Battery, 10,000mAh for $40 at Amazon ($40 off): Other Anker batteries are also on sale at Amazon right now, including this MagSafe compatible option for half price.

• Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 trackers at Amazon (4-pack) for $64 ($36 off): While this isn’t a record low price — it dropped to $60 over Labor Day — it’s a solid discount on our pick for the best Bluetooth tracker for use with Samsung devices. We like the shape of the fob itself as well as the rather large finding network that calls on other Samsung devices out in the wild to locate your lost things.

• Apple Watch Series 10 for $370 at Amazon ($30 off): Apple released its Series 10 Watch only a month ago and it’s down to its lowest price yet. The wearable earned a 90 in our review thanks to its thinner frame and bigger screens and it’s our favorite smartwatch overall. The 42mm model is down to $370 from $399 in Jet Black and the 46mm model is down to $399 from $429 in Jet Black and Silver Aluminum.

• Apple Watch Ultra 2 (small band) for $700 at Amazon ($99 off) : If you’ve got a smaller wrist (or plan to swap out the watch band anyway) you can snag the AW Ultra 2 with a titanium case for nearly $100 off. The sale only applies to the small size of the Alpine Loop in indigo or olive. This is still the current model of Apple’s largest smartwatch, as a new one didn’t materialize during Apple’s iPhone 16 event in September.

• Anker Charging Station (100W) for $40 at Amazon ($20 off): On any given day, I’m testing (and thus needing to recharge) between one and four electronic devices — ereaders, smartwatches, portable batteries and more — plus I have my own phones and gadgets. This compact box is the only thing I’ve found with enough ports to handle everything at once. I just wish I’d bought mine on sale.

• Apple MacBook Air (2022, M2) for $700 at Amazon ($299 off): The M2 MacBook Air is currently $700, which is close to the the lowest price yet. The space gray model requires applying a $149 coupon to the $849 discounted price for the full deal and other colors have been periodically dropping to that low without the coupon over the past couple days. This is the 2022 model which earned high praise from us in our review. It’s also Engadget’s pick for the best budget MacBook.

• Samsung S90C OLED TV (65″) for $1,300 at Best Buy ($300 off MSRP): This 2023 model received high marks across the web, and the differences between it and the newer S90D aren’t massive and the newer one is $300 more. This deal is about $20 more than the lowest price we’ve tracked for the 65-inch model.

• Roborock Q5 DuoRoller+ for $300 at Amazon ($150 off): This model made our list of the best budget robot vacuums thanks to its strong suction power, the precision LiDAR mapping and the robust app and voice controls. The 33 percent discount is a record low.

• Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) for $300 at Amazon ($49 off): If you sprang for the 13-inch iPad Pro and want the matching keyboard, to make a true computer replacer (in terms of both utility and cost), you can at least take advantage of this sale. The keyboard is well-made, pairs nicely like Apple accessories do. This deal is another new low.

• Anker Prime 67W USB C Charger for $40 at Amazon ($60 off): This is about $2 more than the all-time low from last Black Friday. Anker products often find themselves at the top our lists for chargers, batteries and more. So if you need quick charges for a few of your smaller devices, this should serve you well.

• JLab Go Air Sport for $14 at Amazon ($16 off): The Go Air Sport is the budget pick in our guide to the best running headphones. The hook design stays in place and the water-resistance holds up to sweat and light rain. This is close to the lowest price. Just be sure to click the $6 on-page coupon, and note that it only applies to the teal colorway.

• Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max + Xbox Core Wireless Controller (Sky Cipher) + 1-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $80 at Amazon ($67 off): This bundle is likely here to promote the fact that you can play Xbox games over the cloud using the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. This comes with the streaming stick, the “Sky Cipher” version of the Series X/S pad, which usually costs between $60 and $70, and a month of Game Pass Ultimate. The 4K Max also happens to be a surprisingly decent retro gaming machine.

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