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Sitting at the top of Samsung’s 2026 TV lineup, the Samsung S99H is a flagship OLED TV that delivers excellent performance, particularly when it comes to picture, and a full set of features both for smart TV and for gaming. This could easily be one of 2026’s best TVs.

The S99H has a full list of features. Its NQ4 AI Gen 3 Processor comes with a stack of AI tools for picture, such as AI Motion Enhancer Pro and AI 4K Upscaling Pro, AI tools for sound such as Adaptive Sound Pro, and other AI tools for content recommendation. All of these fall under the Samsung Vision AI banner.

Picture quality on the S99H is superb. It delivers the highest brightness to date from a flagship OLED TV, along with vibrant, accurate colors, crisp textures and powerful contrast. Its anti-reflection screen is effective at eliminating reflections and while its Filmmaker Mode is a little dim in bright conditions, its Movie mode is a great brighter alternative.

Motion handling is mostly smooth and natural for both movies and sport, and while there are some hints of black crush in certain movies I tested, the S99H’s picture is still up there with the best OLED TVs.

The Samsung S99H delivers solid overall built-in sound. Its accuracy and precision are its strengths, with an excellent connection between the action on screen and the sound. The bass is punchy, there’s some nice impact and the soundstage can be wide. Still, this level of picture quality deserves a fuller sound, so I’d recommend one of the best soundbars or speakers.

Design is arguably the S99H’s most controversial topic this year. A new silver frame around the TV, called the FloatLayer Design, has been added and I personally found the frame to be distracting. While meant for wall-mounting, the extra width may cause space issues for some people and the handsome central pedestal stand of its predecessor has been replaced by two plastic feet. The One Connect Box has been removed, with ports returning to the TV itself — but you can connect Samsung Wireless One Connect Box to add more HDMI ports.

The S99H is a phenomenal gaming TV. Carrying four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 165Hz, full VRR, HDR10+ gaming and ALLM, and boasting an ultra-low 9.5ms input lag at 60Hz, performance is smooth and the picture always looks great. Easily one of 2026’s best gaming TVs.

One UI Tizen is the S99H’s smart TV platform. It supports all major streaming apps, delivers pretty smooth performance and is easy to navigate. While there are some quirks that I found frustrating (namely auto-playing Samsung TV Plus), it’s still a good smart TV platform. Its Vision AI companion can be useful for those who enjoy AI, and while it doesn’t quite measure up to LG’s webOS, it’s still solid.

The 65-inch S99H I tested costs £3,199, which is a premium price for most people. It does justify its price with the level of performance and features that it offers and while the rival LG G6 is currently cheaper (up to £500 cheaper depending on sales), I expect the S99H’s prices will start to drop soon enough. In the meantime, last year’s Samsung S95F is available at a fraction of the cost, and is a great-value buy while it lasts.

• Release date: June 2026
• 55-inch price: £2,399
• 65-inch price: £3,199
• 77-inch price: £4,299
• 83-inch price: £5,899

The Samsung S99H is the flagship OLED in Samsung’s 2026 TV lineup. It sits above the mid-range Samsung S90H and budget Samsung S85H. The 65-inch model I tested launched in June 2026 at £3,199

In the few weeks since its release, prices have remained the same. The S99H’s launch prices are cheaper than both its predecessor, the S95F, and the rival G6. However, the G6 has been out for longer, so its prices have dropped.

Screen type

QD-OLED

Refresh rate

Up to 165Hz

HDR support

HDR10+, HDR10, HLG

Audio support

Dolby Atmos

Smart TV

Tizen

HDMI ports

4 x HDMI 2.1

Taken using a colorimeter and test pattern generator. Click the test name for measurements and select the chosen test from the dropdown menu.

Closer to 100% is better. Taken using a colorimeter and test pattern generator.

A lower score is better. Taken using a colorimeter and test pattern generator.

Lower is better. Taken using a Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI Video Signal Lag Tester.

• NQ4 AI Gen 3 processor
• OLED Glare Free screen
• AI enhancements including AI Football Pro mode

The flagship Samsung OLED has typically used a QD-OLED panel in its 55-77-inch sizes in the past. Based on my testing measurements, I am certain that the 65-inch model I tested does use a QD-OLED panel, though Samsung doesn't confirm this either way. The 83-inch model will use an LG W-OLED panel, because QD-OLED panels don't come in that size.

The S99H features an anti-reflection, matte screen, called OLED Glare Free by Samsung, that is designed to reduce mirror-like reflections, and keep reflections from a light to minimum.

The S95H uses Samsung’s own NQ4 AI Gen 3 processor, which provides visual AI-based enhancements such as AI Motion Enhancer Pro, 4K AI Upscaling Pro and Auto HDR Remastering Pro, as well as the introduction of AI Soccer Mode Pro, designed to provide the best picture and sound for Soccer. AI audio enhancements include AI Sound and AI Sound Controller Pro.

For HDR support, HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG are once again supported, but there is still no support for Dolby Vision. For enhanced audio formats, Dolby Atmos is supported, but not DTS.

The big design change with the S99H, compared to last year’s S95F, is the addition of a wider, silver frame, which Samsung calls a FloatLayer Design, which adds a couple of extra inches all around the TV. As a result, the One Connect Box is gone and ports have returned to the rear panel of the TV itself.

It’s worth noting that, as well as the four HDMI 2.1 ports on the rear panel, Samsung says that its Wireless One Connect Box can be added in addition to the other ports, giving you a total of eight HDMI 2.1 ports (four built-in, four on the optional box).

For sound, the S95H features a built-in 4.2.2-channel, 70W speaker system that supports Dolby Atmos: the same core specs as last year’s S95F. Sound features include Object Tracking Sound+ (OTS+), Adaptive Sound Pro and Active Voice Amplifier Pro.

Gaming is well covered, with four HDMI 2.1 ports built-in that support 4K at up to 165Hz, full variable refresh rate options including AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync, HGiG, HDR10+ gaming and auto low latency mode. There’s also a Game Hub where cloud-based applications such as Xbox and Luna can be accessed.

Samsung uses its own Tizen smart TV platform on the S99H, which features the aforementioned picture and audio AI tools as well as Generative Wallpaper and Art Mode, the latter of which is the same found on the brand’s The Frame art TVs.

Tizen supports a vast array of apps including Netflix and Prime Video, as well as UK based apps including BBC iPlayer and ITVX. For antenna/satellite based programming, Samsung uses its own Samsung TV Plus platform, rather than Freely or Freeview.

• Features score: 5 / 5

• Spectacular colour display
• Effective anti-glare matte screen
• Strong contrast and inky black tones

The S99H boasts some strong brightness results, clocking in at 2,739 nits in Filmmaker Mode and 2,831 nits in Standard for peak HDR brightness. I used Movie mode for some of my testing, and this registered at 2,751 nits peak HDR. This is a big jump over 2,132 nits and 2,135 nits the S99H’s predecessor, the S95F, registered in the same HDR Filmmaker and Standard modes respectively.

Even fullscreen HDR brightness has had a nice boost, registering 449 nits in Filmmaker, 460 nits in Standard and 450 nits in Movie. This is a jump over the 380 nits and 390 nits the S95F achieved in Filmmaker and Standard mode.

The S99H’s has an anti-reflection, matte screen. If you’re viewing in a bright room, with unavoidable light, the S99H should be near the top of your shopping list. While I preferred the LG G6 over the S99H for actual content in bright rooms, the S95H is still the better TV for eliminating reflections outright.

The S99H demonstrates effective upscaling of SDR sources. Watching a mix of reality shows and Wimbledon via Samsung TV Plus, the S99H did a good job sharpening textures and giving colours a richer look. With HD sources, detail upscaling looked realistic and definitely had a 4K-like level of detail.

I tried out the Auto HDR Remastering Pro tool, and while it did boost brightness and sharpen textures, it all looked too artificial for my liking.

Moving to HDR sources, I first tested the S99H’s colour reproduction. Watching Speed Racer, a recent addition to my 4K Blu-ray testing rotation, the S99H delivered bright, bold colours that accurately captured the cartoon-style colours of the movie. Close-up shots of Speed Racer show vibrant reds in the interior of his cockpit and his ‘M’ logo, while later scenes show gorgeous, bright blues of clear skies and neon-like greens of a field in a schoolyard.

Comparing the S99H to the G6, I did find that the S99H made some reds a little pale and orange in appearance at times, but viewed in isolation, the S99H’s colors still looked superb. Moving to La La Land, Mia’s yellow dress was punchy, but accurate on the S99H and the gradient of pinks and purples in the sunsets looked realistic, but still lively.

It’s no real surprise that colors looked bold on the S99H, as I measured its HDR colour gamut coverage at 89.2% of the BT.2020 colour space and 99.97% of the DCI-P3 colour space: both outstanding results.

For darker movies, it was important to get the right picture mode for the situation. I found The Batman was too dim to watch in the default Filmmaker Mode with the lights on in our testing lab, but Movie mode worked fine. In a darker room however, Filmmaker Mode worked.

Throughout The Batman, the S99H’s strong contrast shone through, aided by its punchy highlights from its newfound brightness and rich black tones. Whether Batman stood in a dark subway or the camera cut to a ceiling-high, wide-angle shot of the Batcave, there was an excellent balance between light and dark tones.

I found during my testing that in Filmmaker Mode, the S99H was prone to black crush during the darker parts of the movie, resulting in detail loss. Batman’s armour in the aforementioned subway scene is obscured, as the S99H prioritises deeper blacks. This wasn’t as true in a ‘brighter’ dark movie, such as Alien: Romulus, where detail is more preserved, but there were still hints of black crush.

The S99H’s textures are crisp and 3D-like, no matter the content. Skin, clothing and objects all look lifelike, especially in HDR. I actually found I preferred the look of the S99H’s skin tones better than the G6 in my comparison of the two.

Finally, motion. The S99H demonstrated good motion throughout my testing, but I found it was best to set motion to 3 blur and 3 judder. Any higher, and motion looked artificial and unnatural. Going back to Speed Racer, the S99H did a good job handling the fast racing sequences as cars swerved from side-to-side. I did find there was some judder as commentators panned across the screen, but I found this on every TV I’ve tested with the disc so far.

I tried out the S99H’s AI Football Mode Pro and it was somewhat effective. The commentary was clearer and louder, the picture was more detailed and motion was smoother. If you don’t want to use any AI tools, then Standard picture mode with judder and blur set to 3 worked well.

• Picture quality score: 5 / 5

• 4.2.2 channel, Dolby Atmos
• Great accuracy and clarity
• No DTS support

The S99H features a 4.2.2 channel, 70W speaker array and supports Dolby Atmos. There is however no DTS support. Along with its two sound modes, Standard and Amplify, there are AI Sound tools such as Adaptive Sound Pro and Active Voice Amplifier that can be used to adjust sound.

Watching Speed Racer with the S99H set to the Amplify sound mode, the S95H demonstrates solid bass and power, accurately delivering the rumble and revving of engines. Collisions as cars battle during races also have good impact, along with clear speech, even during the most hectic of races.

The S99H’s Object Tracking Sound+ (OTS+) is superb for delivering precise sound placement. When Speed Racer grinds a rail in the opening race, the sound was clean and audible, despite other loud effects.

Trying out the S99H’s AI Sound mode, it adds some width to the soundstage, giving more volume to more subtle effects. However, I personally found that the AI Sound was a little more compressed and some power was compromised, so I preferred the default Amplify setting.

While overall the S99H’s built-in speakers did a good job, I still felt the sound was contained to the screen's width, and while there was some good delivery of Atmos effects, they again were lost in the mix. For a TV with this picture quality, I’d still recommend a soundbar at least for the full cinematic experience.

• Sound quality score: 4 / 5

• Extended silver frame will be divisive
• Stand replaced with feet
• No One Connect Box included

Arguably the biggest talking point for the S99H this year is the physical design changes compared to last year’s S95F. The most notable is the FloatLayer Design, a silver frame that surrounds the TV, giving it a floating, 3D look. This is going to be a controversial addition and for some, it will mean a re-think on where to put the TV, since it adds width and height.

Personally, I’m not a fan, as I find the silver to be a bit distracting and when viewed off-centre, the frame looks odd.

The black, metal, pedestal stand from the S95F has been replaced by two plastic grey feet. While these feet are sturdy and easy to install, I still feel it’s a downgrade for a premium TV. The TV’s bezel is still sleek and ultra-thin, however, and gives it a high-quality feel (but is slightly spoiled by the frame behind it).

The other big change is the removal of the One Connect Box, an external box that housed the TV’s connections and processing. Now, the ports have returned to the rear panel on the TV itself.

For some, this will be welcome news. The S99H is compatible with the Wireless One Connect Box too, so if you liked the external connections, this is still an option you can add on — and not only that, the box can work in tandem with the TV’s built-in connections, meaning a potential eight HDMI 2.1 ports. Who needs an AVR?

The SolarCell remote returns once again, and while there’s been no real changes or additions to it, it’s still a light, sleek, USB-C and solar rechargeable remote that’s probably one of the better remotes on the market.

• Design score: 4 / 5

• One UI Tizen smart TV platform
• Vision AI features
• Home, Gaming, Art Hubs

The S99H uses Samsung’s own One UI Tizen smart TV platform, with the headline this year being the Samsung Vision AI Companion, which can be used to find related content to what you're watching, and answer general questions you may ask AI. Microsoft Copilot is supported.

Along with supporting major streaming apps such as Netflix and Prime Video, it also supports major UK streaming apps such as BBC iPlayer and ITVX. Samsung does not include Freely or Freeview, instead opting to use its own Samsung TV+ system for live streaming channels.

Tizen uses a number of different hubs as a way to organise relevant apps and content. Home houses streaming apps and content recommendations based on your viewing. Game houses all things gaming, including cloud based apps from the likes of Xbox. Daily hosts apps for office and health use, while Art hosts the Art Store, where artworks can be downloaded to be used as screensavers.

Art mode is a new addition, and basically means you can turn this into an artwork display, just like Samsung's The Frame TV. This may explain the new frame-like design. The Art mode costs a monthly subscription for access to all artworks.

Tizen is intuitive enough and easy to use. There is a space at the top of the home screen for banner ads, but this is common on most smart TV platforms nowadays. One thing I did find frustrating was that whenever I lingered on the home screen, Samsung TV+ would autoplay and overwrite whatever I was doing. There seemed to be no way to turn this off, short of deleting the app.

There are a good number of picture settings present, as well as AI-based tools for picture and sound settings.

• Smart TV & menus score: 4.5 / 5

• Four HDMI 2.1 ports
• FreeSync and G-Sync supported
• 9.5ms input lag time

The S99H is an excellent TV for gaming. Across its four HDMI 2.1 ports, it supports 4K 165Hz, full VRR including AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, HDR10+ gaming and ALLM. It also features a Game Hub, where gaming related content and cloud based gaming apps such as Xbox and Luna are supported.

The S95H’s gaming performance is smooth and responsive, thanks to its ultra-low, measured 9.5ms input lag time. As I dashed around a desert battlefield in Battlefield V playing at 4K 120Hz, snapping between targets and diving for cover, there was never any sign of judder from the S99H, which expertly handled the chaos.

With its strong colours, high brightness and powerful contrast, the S99H looks great while gaming too. During the same desert mission in Battlefield V, it did a superb job capturing the relentless heat of the African sun. Detail in weapons and textures of environments were crisp and refined throughout gaming as well.

• Gaming score: 5 / 5

• Premium OLED price
• Rivals are currently notably cheaper
• Great features and performance for the money

As a flagship OLED TV, the S99H carries a premium price tag. The 65-inch model I tested costs £3,199. This is £200 less than the launch price of last year’s S95F, which is some welcome news. However, the S99H’s main rival, the LG G6, costs £2,999 at the time of writing and has dropped to £2,699 at times. For £500 cheaper, the G6 is better value, but it does have the advantage of an earlier release date (April 2026). I am sure the S99H’s prices will drop in a similar fashion over time.

While the S99H is a premium price, it delivers the features and performance to justify it. It’s worth noting there is a slightly cheaper Samsung S95H model available (£3,299 for 65 inches) which looks similar to last year’s S95F. Do not confuse this model with the Samsung S95H model available in the US and Australia — that's actually the same TV as this S99H model.

Samsung told me the major differences between the UK S95H and the S99H models are no frame, lower brightness from the panel, and Wi-Fi 5 on the S95F vs the S99H’s Wi-Fi 6. However, those definitely aren't the only differences, because the S95H uses the One Connect Box too. We have asked Samsung if there are differences in the type of OLED panel used, and it refused to say. In any case, while the frame will be controversial, the higher brightness and better Wi-Fi are the extra £100, in my opinion.

At the time of writing, if you want a flagship Samsung OLED, a 65-inch S95F is still available for roughly £1,899, and while the S99H is an upgrade, the S95F is easily the best value option right now. Once the S95F goes out of stock, the S99H’s prices should lower and it’ll be a more-than-worthy successor.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

The Samsung S99H has a full suite of features for movies, gaming and smart TV. Dolby Vision HDR is still not supported however.

5/5

Picture quality

The S99H's picture is bright, bold, rich and detailed and it's excellent for bright rooms. Some signs of black crush, but an excellent picture overall

5/5

Sound quality

Clear, accurate sound quality with solid bass and impact, but can feel contained to screen. Soundbar recommended to match the picture

4/5

Design

A new extended silver frame that will prove divisive, plus the central stand is replaced by cheaper plastic feet. Aside from this, the TV does look modern and feels very sturdy.

4/5

Smart TV and menus

A good smart TV platform wit plenty of settings and AI tools. There are some annoying quirks here and there though.

4.5/5

Gaming

A full list of gaming features with top-tier performance to match. An excellent elite OLED for gaming

5/5

Value

The S99H comes at a premium price, but has the features and performance to justify it.

4/5

You want a bold, colourful picture
The S99H's picture is brighter than ever, with gorgeous colours and 3D-like textures that look great regardless of what's on screen.

You want an elite OLED for gaming
With four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 165Hz and all VRR options, and razor-sharp performance, the S99H is a superb TV for gaming.

You want to watch in a bright room
The S99H's anti-reflection screen is effective at eliminating reflections, even in the brightest rooms.

You want a straight-forward design
The S99H's new silver frame will prove divisive, as it does mean some will have to re-think on their TV's placement.

You want Dolby Vision HDR
Like all Samsung TVs, the S99H doesn't support Dolby Vision HDR, instead featuring support for HDR10+.

You're on a budget
A flagship OLED TV comes at a price and while it does mostly justify its price, other, cheaper mid-range OLEDs with similar features are available.

Samsung S99H

LG G6

Samsung S95F

Sony Bravia 8 II

Price (65-inch)

£3,199

£2,999

£1,899

£2,299

Screen type

QD-OLED

OLED

QD-OLED

QD-OLED

Refresh rate

165Hz

165Hz

165Hz

120Hz

HDR support

HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision

HDR10+/HDR10/HLG

HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision

Smart TV

One UI Tizen

webOS 26

Tizen 9.0

Google TV

HDMI ports

4x HDMI 2.1

4x HDMI 2.1

4x HDMI 2.1

4 (2x HDMI 2.1)

LG G6
The S99H's main rival, the LG G6 is brighter and has better black levels in bright room viewing. It also supports Dolby Vision HDR. The S99H does have crisper textures and the anti-reflection screen for extreme bright rooms, however. This choice may come down to price.

Read our full LG G6 review

Samsung S95F
The S99H's predecessor, the Samsung S95F is available for nearly half the price and has the same features and delivers similar performance in a more standard design. The S99H however does have higher brightness and improved black levels.

Read our full Samsung S95F review

Sony Bravia 8 II
Sony's flagship OLED TV, the Sony Bravia 8 II also uses a QD-OLED panel for outstanding colours and it also delivers a fuller built-in sound. The S99H is brighter and has more gaming features though.

Read our full Sony Bravia 8 II review

• Reviewed in our TV testing room in varying lighting conditions
• Tested using both SDR and HDR sources
• Measurements taken using Portrait Displays' Calman color calibration software

The first step in testing the S99H was to determine its best picture modes. I settled on three: Filmmaker Mode for dark-room movie viewing; Movie for bright-room movie viewing and Standard for sports and daytime TV.

After this, I began by testing the S99H's picture quality using both SDR (broadcast TV) and HDR (4K Blu-ray and streaming), focusing on colour, contrast, detail, upscaling and motion.

I also tested the S99H's sound quality using reference scenes from Speed Racer among other movies, and I tested its gaming performance using Battlefield V on Xbox Series X.

Once subjective testing was completed, I moved onto taking objective measurements. I did this using a Klein K-10A colorimeter (profile with a Jeti Spectral 15VA Spectroradiometer), a Murideo Six G 8K Metal test pattern generator and recorded measurements using Portrait Displays' Calman colour calibration software.

I started with brightness measurements, using white window patterns in sizes 1-100% in both SDR and HDR. The two primary results I focus on are peak (10%) and fullscreen (100%) brightness.

Next, I measured the S99H's colour and greyscale accuracy in SDR, and then measured its HDR colour gamut coverage, using the DCI-P3 and BT.2020 colour spaces, hoping for a result of over 95% in the DCI-P3 space.

We recently introduced two new tests into our measurements. The first is the HDR EOTF, which shows the accuracy a TV in both light and dark areas, suing 1,000, 4,000 and 10,000 nits targets. Then, there is the Spectral Power Distribution test, which measures how a TV handles colour recreation.

My final test was to measure the S99H's input lag using a Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI Input Lag Tester. I measured both 4K 60Hz and 1080p 120Hz results in milliseconds (ms).

• First reviewed: July 2026
• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

• Nvidia's RTX 5000 Super models are being readied, and board makers have the chips, a new rumor reckons
• However, these graphics cards are 'on hold' due to the high price of VRAM
• The Super refreshes pack a lot of VRAM, and so that cost could have an unfortunate impact on MSRPs – and none of this sounds particularly comforting for would-be buyers

Nvidia's RTX 5000 Super refreshes are apparently being readied, but they're on hold for now – and the reason why makes me even more nervous about the pricing of these GPUs when (well, if) they finally emerge.

Of course, these RTX Super models are still rumors – albeit so persistent at this point, there must be at least some validity to them – and the latest assertion comes from VideoCardz.

The tech site has apparently spoken to a source at one of Nvidia's board-making partners who claims that their company has already received 'graphics cards', which presumably refers to GPU chips (which is what Nvidia supplies, along with VRAM, to partners that make the boards).

At any rate, while this board maker supposedly has at least some of the necessary chips, it has been told by Nvidia that the RTX 5000 Super refreshes are now 'on hold'.

Why? Apparently, the delay is down to the price of the video RAM, specifically the new 3GB GDDR7 modules that are required (as per previous rumors) for the refreshed graphics cards.

Compared to the 2GB GDDR7 modules currently in use with Nvidia RTX 5000 models, the 3GB memory chips are around three times more expensive right now. Ouch.

This presents an obvious stumbling block because, due to these Super variants being packed with VRAM, the total cost of materials gets expensive quite quickly.

Remember that the grapevine believes that the RTX 5080 Super and RTX 5070 Ti Super will bristle with 24GB of VRAM, and even the RTX 5070 Super will have a weighty 18GB on board. Gamers are going to love the latter as an upgrade to the lean 12GB of the vanilla version – but not if it pushes the price of the GPU through the roof.

Going by what VideoCardz tells us about pricing in US dollars as the market currently stands, in the case of the RTX 5070 Super, the greater quantity of RAM, and more expensive modules, would mean 18GB costs in the order of $360 (maybe a bit more), versus $120 for the current RTX 5070's 12GB loadout, whacking an extra $240 on the price (or the regional equivalent elsewhere).

These graphics cards were already expected to be pricey, but that kind of additional premium lumped on top, this could make them real wallet-worriers.

The good news for those hoping for new GPUs from Nvidia is that at least these RTX 5000 Super models do seem to be happening. It's just that we may have to wait some time for them yet – although another recent rumor did suggest they were due this year. The latter speculation also theorized that an RTX 5060 Super 12GB model was incoming, but that didn't make a lot of sense, and I note that it isn't mentioned in this latest rumor. As ever, don't go lightly with the seasoning on all this.

• JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warns controls may be needed for Claude Mythos
• The AI model from Anthropic is highly advanced, and has been proven to detect zero-day vulnerabilities and even develop working exploits
• The US government has previously instructed Anthropic to block access to foreign nationals, citing security concerns

Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly powerful, a fact highlighted with the US government’s recent instruction to limit access to Anthropic’s Claude Mythos model.

Now, the CEO of JPMorgan has described the risks the technology poses as a “real issue,” and likened wide access to the AI as “giving ballistic ⁠missiles to individuals.”

Speaking at the Pennsylvania Defense ​and Innovation Summit, JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon underscored the risks posed by the AI, which has already been shown to both identify and exploit cybersecurity challenges.

Currently, Claude Mythos is limited to a small selection of organizations, companies, and federal and military departments. Public access to the AI has been blocked, and worldwide access has been blocked due to the potential security issues of this powerful AI.

Claude Mythos is not the type of threat that can become self-aware and take over military appliances like the fictional Skynet of the Terminator movie series. However, it does have the capacity to cause immense damage in the wrong hands.

The AI is capable of detecting cybersecurity vulnerabilities and reporting on them; it is also able to generate automatic exploits. So, for white hat cybersecurity analysts, it is a powerful defensive tool, but in the wrong hands, it is a destructive power. In addition, its automated capabilities make it easy for black hats to scale their cybercrime operation and make ransomware, phishing, and other data-based scams more profitable.

It isn’t just cybersecurity where Anthropic’s Claude Mythos AI has demonstrated such incredible capacities. Scientific research, specifically biology, can be targeted by attackers using AI to turn complex concepts into terms, potentially to misuse the information.

There is also the challenge of a strategic imbalance between single nations or bodies having exclusive access to the technology.

Given the security considerations, it seems unlikely that Claude Mythos will be publicy available anytime soon. However, Anthropic has already stated that it intends Mythos-level features and capabilities to become more widely available.

For this to happen, however, it needs to develop and apply various safeguards.

The most likely scenario is that public access to Mythos is eventually unblocked, with restrictions to specific features that relate to cybersecurity and biological/medical tasks and research.

Project Glasswing is already in operation with a handful of key partners (including Amazon Web Services, Anthropic, Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, CrowdStrike, and others), and will probably be expanded until the safeguards are demonstrated to be fit for purpose, and public use.

Via Reuters

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, July 17 (game #866).

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 NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… A healthy breakfast

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• COUNT
• STAY
• WOOLY
• LUNCH
• LONG
• LARGE

• Spangram has 13 letters

• First side: left, 4th row

• Last side: right, 4th row

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

The answers to today's Strands, game #867, are…

• SWEET
• OATY
• NUTTY
• CRUNCHY
• SALTY
• WHOLESOME
• SPANGRAM: BOWLOFGRANOLA

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I go through phases with breakfasts of having the same thing for ages before getting bored and switching to something new.

In recent months I’ve been through porridge, overnight oats, fruit and yoghurt, and recently a BOWLOFGRANOLA all in pursuit of “a healthy breakfast" when in truth I would love to eat bacon and eggs every day.

I digress. After finding SWEET and OATY the search became a hunt for the obvious — although I was unaware granola could also be SALTY.

• ENTERTAINMENT
• NATURE
• SPORTS
• GEOGRAPHY
• SPANGRAM: TRIVIALPURSUIT

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, July 17 (game #1132).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

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

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• TRAVEL
• FLY
• QUIZ
• SCORE
• OPINION
• CARRY
• HEALTH
• TART
• CULTURE
• MIND
• TIME
• GOALTEND
• VIEW
• LIVES
• DOUBLE DRIBBLE
• ATTITUDE

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: NBA fouls
• GREEN: Your convictions
• BLUE: Arcade scoring systems
• PURPLE: Begin with a musical sound

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: COMMIT A BASKETBALL VIOLATION
• GREEN: BELIEF
• BLUE: THINGS TRACKED IN VIDEO GAMES
• PURPLE: WORDS AFTER "POP"

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

The answers to today's Connections, game #1133, are…

• YELLOW: COMMIT A BASKETBALL VIOLATION: CARRY, DOUBLE DRIBBLE, GOALTEND, TRAVEL
• GREEN: BELIEF: ATTITUDE, MIND, OPINION, VIEW
• BLUE: THINGS TRACKED IN VIDEO GAMES: HEALTH, LIVES, SCORE, TIME
• PURPLE: WORDS AFTER "POP": CULTURE, FLY, QUIZ, TART

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

I made my mistake after successfully threading ATTITUDE, MIND, OPINION and VIEW, although I was thinking about components of a debate rather than a BELIEF.

My error was, of course, confusion over basketball terminology. DOUBLE DRIBBLE and GOALTEND I knew, but instead of TRAVEL I selected SCORE. Which, on reflection, makes no sense.

Meanwhile my confidence over WORDS AFTER “POP” was fragile, but I successfully guessed FLY instead of SCORE. Before googling I thought it was an alternative to a zip fly. I now know it’s a baseball term.

• YELLOW: GRAND FINALE: EPILOGUE, FAREWELL, LAST DANCE, SWAN SONG
• GREEN: SEEN IN AN ARCADE: CRANE GAME, PINBALL, TICKETS, TOKENS
• BLUE: FOUR GROUPS OF FOUR: CARDINAL DIRECTIONS, CLASSICAL ELEMENTS, SEASONS, SUITS
• PURPLE: ENDING IN PARTS OF A CAR: PLOT SPOILER, ROBIN HOOD, SATIRES, TREE TRUNK

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

You could hardly say Netflix is a business in trouble, but it does have a problem: for a lot of its shows, viewing figures are declining sharply after the first season. According to Bloomberg, Beef lost more than 70% of its viewers going into its second season, while The Night Agent lost 50% of its audience in season two.

This seems to be a pattern repeated over many Netflix shows, including some that rack up impressive viewing figures in their first season. The streaming platform relies on subscribers sticking around, and these stats are apparently "a major source of concern" for the executives at Netflix.

So what's going on? While I'm not privy to the internal discussions at Netflix or the statistics that its executives are available to them, I am a Netflix subscriber of many years standing — and I have a few ideas about what's going on.

There's a lot to get through these days, isn't there? Tens of millions of songs on music streaming platforms, more movies than you'll ever have time to watch in ten lifetimes, and of course the entire history of TV — with new shows appearing weekly. It's perhaps no surprise that we're all finding it hard to stick with successive series when there's so much more out there to watch and listen to.

The way that Netflix's stats work, is that a drop-off in viewing numbers for a second season also includes those who abandoned the show somewhere along the way during the first run of episodes. And if you're not getting grabbed episode after episode by the plot and the characters, it's all too tempting to click away.

That's a shame for slow burn shows and those that need time to get going, and perhaps we all need to learn to be a bit more patient. However, it goes some way to explaining why Netflix shows can shed a lot of viewers after the initial pull of the first few episodes — there's an awful lot competing for our attention.

For the most part, Netflix continues to drop its shows all at once, so as soon as they're live you can binge watch an entire season. Sometimes it's great to be able to burn through a bunch of episodes, but it also means you can be done with an entire season very quickly.

This exacerbates the problem of gaps between series (of which more in a moment), but it also means shows can be quickly forgotten in the rush of everything else that's going on. Some of my favorite TV shows are those that come out week by week: I watch the episode, then I catch up on the recap podcasts.

It means shows last longer — not in terms of the actual running time, but in terms of how many days and weeks it takes to get through a season. I actually quite like being able to binge shows sometimes, but it does mean they can be quickly forgotten.

This isn't something that only affects Netflix, but we're still seeing huge gaps between seasons of shows — and unless the viewing experience is very special, that's likely to lead to waning enthusiasm from audiences as the months and years drag on.

Silo isn't a Netflix show, but the point is the same: as I was settling down to watch the third season a few days ago, even the initial recap montage had me confused (there was a mere 18 months between the end of season two and the start of season three). There were parts I didn't remember, and I had to head over to Wikipedia to get caught up.

Stranger Things is a Netflix show, and while I did manage to drag myself through it in its entirety, it was a struggle towards the end. The show lasted for just shy of a decade, and there are huge swathes of it that are no longer in my memory banks. It's not easy to produce television shows quickly, but the slow rollouts aren't helping their chances.

I've seen Netflix's regular cancellation of shows floated as a reason for second-series-syndrome, and I think this is an issue for program makers as well as audiences. If you don't know whether or not you're getting a second or third season, then you have to throw everything into the first one, and think more about wrapping it up neatly than extending it.

The Night Agent is one of the Netflix shows I've found it hard to stay with: the original rookie-on-the-run premise worked well and the first season was propulsive entertainment, but as it's continued, it's become more of a by-the-numbers action thriller. It's almost like they're making it up as they go.

Compare that with something like Bridgerton, which is a Netflix show I have managed to keep up with. It is of course based on a series of books (as is Apple TV's Slow Horses by the way), and that helps to ensure variety from season-to-season, with the focus switching between different characters and plotlines.

I'm not sure exactly how Netflix can fix the problem of viewing numbers declining in season two — I'm not a highly paid TV executive after all — but those are a few thoughts about why it's happening.