News
- YouTube Music has brought out a new feature that allows you to resume music playback across different devices
- It's similar to Spotify Connect, which gives you more controls in addition to cross-device playback
- The 'Speed dial' carousel in the YouTube Music app also shows playback progress bars, which is another new addition
YouTube Music isn’t just a handy way to go ads-free in its standard video player platform, it’s one of the most popular music streaming services out there – and its new playback feature marks a long-awaited addition to its interface. Unfortunately, it's one that Spotify has had for years.
In the latest version of the YouTube Music app (version 8.26.51), you can now resume music playback on different devices, allowing you to smoothly move between your mobile device, tablet, and computer to pick up where you left off. This means that you can start streaming from YouTube Music on your phone, stop mid-listen, and resume on another device.
As well as YouTube Music’s latest feature, those over at Android Authority spotted another small addition to the YouTube Music interface. In your ‘Speed dial’ carousel, (a section where you can pin songs, albums, and playlists you want to listen to frequently) you’ll see that there are new progress bars that represent your listening activity on other devices.
When you tap on one a new ‘Resume’ option will appear, allowing you to pick up playback where you left off.
(Image credit: Android Authority )A helpful feature, but it’s still early daysWhile you’ve always been able to keep track of your listening habits as you move between devices, the ability to pick up from where you left off isn't as smooth as the likes of Spotify Connect, which is YouTube Music’s biggest rival. The new feature has definitely been a long time coming for YouTube Music, but it still has a long way to go.
In the case of Spotify, not only can you resume playback between devices, but it gives you even more power by allowing you to control music playback on one device using another. For example, Spotify could be streaming music out of your smartphone, but you can still navigate its desktop version to control what comes out of your phone by tapping the ‘Connect’ icon in the playback bar, which will show all of the available devices.
This feature applies to devices such as the best smart speakers, which you can also control from your smartphone or computer. I find this particularly helpful and use it constantly, and Spotify Connect makes it a lot easier to switch from my smart speaker back to my smartphone when I need to leave the house but still want to listen to music on the way.
There’s no denying that the new Resume feature is a big upgrade to YouTube Music’s ecosystem, which will hopefully evolve over time to allow you to have more power over your playback. Right now, it’s still very fresh, so we’ll have to see what loyal YouTube Music users think of the change.
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- Last week, Fitbit users experienced an outage that prevented app logins and watch syncing
- The issue was resolved quickly, but problems have persisted for a seemingly small percentage of users
- We've been getting more emails over the weekend, both about this persistent issue and other problems Fitbit users are having
Last week, starting on July 17, Fitbit users reported problems in droves, as the app was preventing users from syncing up their watches and fitness trackers – and when users followed Fitbit's recommended troubleshooting steps and logged out of the app, it wouldn't allow them to log in again.
The issues cropped up regardless of whether users were rocking one of the best Fitbits, an older model, or a Google Pixel Watch, and I covered the outage extensively with a live blog. Google reached out to confirm that the issue was resolved later that same day, and Downdetector reports returned to normal.
However, even after the blog ended, we've been getting emails from readers who say their devices that still won't sync with the Fitbit app.
Wendy emailed on July 19, two days after the outage was reported to have ended, to say "I’ve been trying to sync all day. I have Covid so have been tracking my blood oxygen level... I don’t know what my number was last night as it won’t sync."
Lloyd emailed to let us know his Fitbit wouldn't sync with the app on his iPhone 11, Ann was unable to set the correct time on her watch (also likely the result of a syncing issue, as this is done by pairing with your phone), and other users chimed in to say their best fitness trackers wouldn't sync properly either.
In a thread on Reddit titled Anyone else still having sync issues? another eight people chimed in with their comments, all affirming that they're still having problems after the fix was rolled out. In another thread titled How are Fitbits now? the most-upvoted comment was this one:
"The last few weeks have been horrible. Nonstop sync issues with the app and they had a major outage yesterday which they say is fixed but I'm still having issues... I'd honestly go Garmin at this point."
Unrelated issues(Image credit: Future)It's important to put these issues in perspective: while it's very unfortunate that all the users mentioned above have devices they're temporarily unable to use (some of them likely with Fitbit Premium subscriptions they're paying for) it seems they're a relatively small minority of users, with Google appearing to have fixed the broader issue.
However, that doesn't help you if your device can't sync, or is bricked. Quite a lot of people reached out to us in the end, many with ongoing issues that seem to be separate from the outage.
Phil in Hong Kong wrote in to tell us: "My Fitbit has not been working for a week. It does strange things like after I wake up it says I’ve hit 10,000 steps or doesn’t read my sleep.
"It’s actually really annoying and this is the third time I’ve had issues with Fitbit and I keep thinking should I switch to an Apple Watch."
Phil's response is echoed by Linda, stating: "I have tried every troubleshooting method with the same results. About two weeks ago, I ordered an Apple Watch SE 2nd generation."
The reason people are so disappointed when their devices don't work is that people love using their Fitbits. It creates an engaged community of like-minded users looking to keep fit, track their sleep and health, and enjoy exercise.
It's a great tool, and for most people it works very well. There are many reasons why, even in the face of some persistent issues, Fitbit remains synonymous with activity tracking.
For those who are experiencing ongoing difficulties that can't be solved by the usual troubleshooting, the best thing to do is reach out via the Fitbit Help Center.
You might also like...- Two stars in The Fantastic Four: First Steps had very little time to build chemistry before filming began
- The actors behind Galactus and The Silver Surfer didn't film scenes together, either
- They only had a 24-hour period to gel as a pair and met just once on the movie's set
The actors behind The Fantastic Four: First Steps' antagonists have revealed they had very little time to build rapport between their characters.
Ralph Ineson and Julia Garner told TechRadar that they only had 24 hours to craft the complex relationship that exists between Galactus and The Silver Surfer, who they respectively portray in the Marvel Phase 6 film.
Considering how important it is for actors to build chemistry before and during filming, I was pretty shocked to learn Ineson and Garner weren't given more opportunities to do that.
My surprise was elevated by the fact that the duo were present on set for large parts of the Marvel movie's shooting schedule, too. Garner, who, unlike Ineson, got to act opposite those playing The Fantastic Four, wore a motion capture (mocap) suit to portray Galactus' Herald in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film.
Marvel is holding back Galactus' full reveal for the film itself (Image credit: Marvel Studios)Meanwhile, Ineson was fully kitted out in a practical suit so he could appear on set – albeit not in the same scene as other actors – as the immortal planet-devouring space entity. That way, the film's crew could capture Ineson's movements in real time and incorporate them into specific scenes in post-production. He could also be scaled up or down in said sequences, depending on how big the size-altering Galactus needed to be.
Given the complicated dynamic at play between Galactus and his surfboard-riding lieutenant in the comics, many fans might have expected Ineson and Garner to spent time discussing how to bring that to life in a live-action capacity. As I said earlier, though, the opportunity to do so hardly presented itself to them.
"Because of the way you shoot a character like Galactus, who can be 50 foot tall or even larger, you have to shoot under bright lights [to fully capture his likeness]," Ineson said. "So, everything you do as an actor is a solo thing. We [Ineson and Garner] did so little work together, we hardly ever crossed paths –"
"So, there was no collaboration at all?", I interjected.
"Not really, no," Ineson replied, before Garner chimed in to say: "We had a tent day! We had one day to check in to see what each other was doing and read some offlines [parts of an actor's script that don't need a live acting partner] together."
Garner spent some time on set starring opposite Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, and the rest of Marvel's First Family (Image credit: Marvel Studios)"From my point of view, there was something quite nice about playing Galactus," Ineson mused. "I'd come in once a month for costume fittings and they [the rest of the cast] would be going to set and having this really incredible bonding session as a family, and I'd have this lonely acting experience that actually helped me to tap into Galactus' mindset as this one-of-a-kind space god."
"I was also coming in and out [of scenes with the Fantastic Four]," Garner added, "So I didn't have much time to bond with them, either. I'd swoop in and be like 'Hey guys, this is what's going on' or 'Hey, my boss said this, okay, bye!'"
First Steps, one of 2025's most anticipated new movies, arrives in theaters on Friday, July 25. Before it does, check out my ultimate guide to The Fantastic Four: First Steps or read the section below for more coverage of the final MCU film of the year.
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- Chinese engineers have apparently worked on sensitive DoD systems
- Microsoft has since stopped this practice
- Many in the department are unfamiliar with the system
Some of the most sensitive data the United States has to offer is currently being maintained by engineers from China, often considered, especially in the tech field, its biggest adversary.
A report from ProPublica has claimed Microsoft is using these engineers to maintain the Department of Defense’s computer systems, with ‘minimal supervision by US personnel’.
This arrangement has changed as of now, Microsoft says, as the firm has revised its practices to ensure Chinese engineers no longer provide technical support for services in an effort to mitigate the risk to national security.
Digital escorts“In response to concerns raised earlier this week about US-supervised foreign engineers, Microsoft has made changes to our support for US Government customers to assure that no China-based engineering teams are providing technical assistance for DoD Government cloud and related services,” said the Microsoft’s Chief Communications Officer, Frank Shaw, in an X post.
The workers were supervised by ‘digital escorts’, barely-over-minimum wage workers who are often less skilled than the engineers they oversee - many are former military personnel with very little coding experience.
One of these escorts told ProPublica; ‘we’re trusting that what they’re doing isn’t malicious, but we really can’t tell.’
Whilst this system has been in place for almost ten years, many former government officials told the publication that they were unfamiliar with the practice.
'Literally no one seems to know anything about this, so I don’t know where to go from here,” said Deven King, spokesperson for the Defense Information Systems Agency.
The ongoing tech and trade war has seen the two states introduce strict regulations and national security policies, restricting access to markets and opportunities on both sides. Chinese hackers have even targeted local US governments in malware campaigns, highlighting the security risk posed by state-sponsored actors.
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It’s only Monday and we’ve already started the week with disappointing news – there’s no episode of One Piece coming out this week. Why? To make space for coverage of the Japan elections, which has a knock-on effect for what international fans can see too.
Don’t panic just yet, though. It’s the perfect time to catch up with any previous episodes you’ve not yet seen on Crunchyroll, or switch over to Netflix for the live-action version before further One Piece season 2 announcements start to roll out.
But what if you’re not in the mood for more of the Straw Hats’ shenanigans? Even though One Piece is undoubtedly one of the best anime shows of all time, it isn’t the be all and end all. New anime shows are also paving the way for unmissable TV this year, and I think there’s three you absolutely cannot miss this week.
The Apothecary DiariesHaving just wrapped up its explosive second season, The Apothecary Diaries is a must-see anime you might not have heard of. First airing back in 2023, the show follows Maomao, a young pharmacist kidnapped and forced into servitude in the emperor's palace. That sounds pretty bleak, but even though the story is inspired by ancient China, what we see on screen is all about unravelling conspiracies.
Maomao uses her medical knowledge to solve the mysteries haunting the palace, where a dangerous political landscape begins to be revealed. By the end of season 2, the suspicion turns on Maomao herself, embroiled in a kidnapping case she had nothing to do with. No spoilers here, but there’s also a huge identity reveal you need to keep your eye out for, and it’s directly related to Maomao’s romantic relationship with Jinshi.
The Beginning After the EndIf you’re looking to start a series that’s brand-new in the 2025 release slate, look no further than The Beginning After the End. Our leading man King Grey dies and is reincarnated as Arthur Leywin, essentially beginning a second life again as a baby. It’s this kind of off-the-wall narrative thinking that I really love in an anime series, and this one strikes the perfect balance between unique intrigue and taking things too far.
Season 1 is only made up of 12 episodes, so you can easily binge it within a week while One Piece is AWOL. There’s a great balance between plot action and anticipation. It also scratches a little deeper under the surface than other new anime shows have tended to. If you’re looking for endless epic fight sequences, though, you won’t find them here, but that is far from a bad thing.
Dr. Stone Science Future is the ideal choice for anime fans who want to jump into the same level of pre-existing lore that One Piece has built up over the years. Rather than functioning as a spinoff from the main series, Science Future is just another title for the main show’s fourth and final season. We’ve already seen half of it and the second cour premiered on July 10.
This time around, our gang of misfits is focused on establishing a new nation with a million inhabitants, called Corn City. The Perseus crew and the Americans, led by Brody, are working together to build it, with Senku and Stanley playing their ideologies off against each other. It’s likely that future episodes will show the pair working harmoniously together, but it’s going to be a messy and chaotic ride in order to get there.
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- 200 million Amazon Prime subscribers got a warning email about scams
- Most attacks centered around fake price hikes
- Social engineering is an attacker's best friend
With Amazon Prime Day now behind us, Malwarebytes has revealed new research showing old trends repeat themselves – every year, we see a surge in scams and attacks on unsuspecting victims, and 2025 was no different.
This year, around 200 million Prime customers received warnings from the company about ongoing attacks, with some handy pointers on what to look out for.
"Scammers are sending fake emails claiming your Amazon Prime subscription will automatically renew at an unexpected price," the company said.
Amazon Prime Day scamsBy making genuine subscribers believe that costs are rising, attackers are able to instil a sense of urgency as many seek to prevent price hikes or cancel altogether. Customized and personal information in emails, such as a user's name, may also aid in mimicking authenticity.
In many cases, attackers include a link to a page for victims to cancel their subscription or change account settings, leading them to a lookalike site where they enter their credentials. Some cases also saw attackers direct victims to sites that deliver malicious payloads, including malware that could put far more than just their Amazon accounts at risk.
"The fake site might also request payment information and other personal details which, when entered, will go straight to the scammer who will be quick to use or sell them on," Malwarebytes continued.
Fake messages about Prime membership renewals, bogus refund offers and calls claiming Amazon accounts have been hacked were among the most popular scenarios Amazon workers were forced to deal with during this month's Prime Day sales.
Thankfully, the same advice still applies when it comes to protecting accounts, because social engineering remains the most effective attack vector.
Some common steps include checking the sender's email address against a verified list, enabling two-step verification on accounts, not repeating passwords on multiple accounts and not following links unless it is absolutely necessary.
Amazon also repeats its messages in the Message Center, so if a message is received by email only, this could be a sign of an attack.
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- UK NCSC details use of a piece of Authentic Antics malware
- It is attributed to APT28 and allegedly used against Western companies helping Ukraine
- The UK sanctioned 20 individuals suspected of being involved
Russian cybercriminals are targeting Microsoft 365 accounts with specialized malware, the UK government's cybersecurity arm has warned.
The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published a new technical deep dive, detailing a “sophisticated piece of malware” called Authentic Antics, first spotted in 2023, but only now attributed to APT28 - a known, state-sponsored threat actor from Russia, working for the country’s General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU).
APT28 is also known as Fancy Bear or Forest Blizzard and has been attributed to many high-profile cyber-espionage campaigns throughout the West.
Faking Microsoft loginWhile the NCSC doesn’t detail how the malware gets deployed, it speculates that it’s most likely through phishing emails or malicious Outlook add-ins.
Once running on the target machine, it targets Microsoft Outlook, looking to steal login credentials and OAuth 2.0 tokens for Microsoft services such as Exchange Online, SharePoint, or OneDrive.
It works by sporadically showing fake login prompts that mimic Microsoft’s authentication windows. It uses environmental keying to make sure it only activates on specific machines, and once the victims try to log in - the information is relayed to the attackers.
For exfiltration, Authentic Antics uses the victim’s email inbox, sending the information in an email that later gets deleted from the “Sent” folder.
Authentic Antics is part of a broader cyber-espionage campaign, targeting western organizations - especially those who support Ukraine in their war effort against Russia.
While names weren’t mentioned, the NCSC did say APT28 targeted logistics and transport organizations, tech firms with access to Microsoft’s cloud services, government entities in NATO countries, and broader infrastructure such as internet-connected cameras at border crossings, used to track shipments to Ukraine.
As a result of the findings, the UK has sanctioned GRU operatives, which included three units and 18 officers, Reuters reported.
Via The Register
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Whether you’re asking ChatGPT for a morning update, a topical question, or really want to give the new Agent mode a try, it appears that OpenAI’s main product is having some issues this morning.
As evident from over 1,500 reports in the US and nearing 1,000 reports in the UK on Down Detector – a site that tracks issues with platforms – and an update on OpenAI’s own status page, ChatGPT is having some issues this morning.
Interestingly, according to the bulletin posted, this interruption appears not to be impacting free ChatGPT users. OpenAI writes, “Elevated errors on ChatGPT for all paid users,” but the teams are working on a fix.
This is one of the more recent ChatGPT outages and doesn’t yet seem as widespread as previous ones, which have taken down the whole AI chatbot for several hours. Either way, stick with TechRadar as we’re now live blogging the issues impacting ChatGPT.
OpenAI confirms there's an issueOpenAI has been quick to confirm issues, providing an update that it has identified the issue as of 8:38AM ET. Here's the full message on the status page.
Elevated errors on ChatGPT for all paid users
We have identified that users are experiencing elevated errors for the impacted services.
We are working on implementing a mitigation.
It's listed as a partial outage that's still ongoing and is mostly impacting paid users. I have my own ChatGPT Plus account and haven't encountered any issues as of yet, although reports on Down Detector are still in the low thousands – 1,500 in the US and approximately 700 in the UK.
It's possible that this has a shorter-lasting impact on ChatGPT's services this morning.
(Image credit: Future)OpenAI's status page indicates that this partial outage has been ongoing for 37 minutes and that most of the issues are related to conversations with ChatGPT. Meaning that the AI might be erroring out when responding to a query from you or just not responding at all.
Reports on Down Detector indicate that the issue is starting to resolve, which may mean that OpenAI's efforts to fix it are progressing smoothly. As of 9:10AM ET, Down Detector in the US shows 164 reports, and in the UK at 9:12AM shows 81 reports.
Both of those fall within the normal range for reports that don't necessarily indicate a larger issue. Considering OpenAI has confirmed an ongoing issue, it likely means we're closer to a full resolution.
OpenAI states that it's still working on resolving this partial outage, but it appears that for most individuals who reported the issue, ChatGPT is now functioning normally.
The latest status update, posted at 9:41 AM ET, reads, "We're continuing to work on mitigation."
I did ask ChatGPT about the issues this morning, and it recommends retrying to send a message if it fails or refreshing the page after a minute or two.
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 Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, July 21 (game #505).
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.
NYT Strands today (game #506) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Pet store purchase
NYT Strands today (game #506) - hint #2 - clue wordsPlay any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- TIRE
- QUOTA
- PURE
- SLAP
- TUSK
- TRIP
• Spangram has 8 letters
NYT Strands today (game #506) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?First side: top, 4th column
Last side: bottom, 4th column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #506) - the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Strands, game #506, are…
- FISH
- PUMP
- ROCKS
- TANK
- FILTER
- PLANTS
- THERMOMETER
- SPANGRAM: AQUARIUM
- My rating: Hard
- My score: Perfect
It always amazes me how well words are hidden within Strands. THERMOMETER, for example, is a pretty long word – but I was totally oblivious to its existence, hanging around in the bottom right-hand corner, until the very end of my game.
When I first started looking I thought that we were searching for animals you might buy at a pet shop, so after getting FISH I was searching in vain for dogs, cats, hamsters… Then after getting PUMP I joined the dots and found a home for the letter Q.
An AQUARIUM must surely rank as one of the most neglected items in western homes – second perhaps to exercise bikes, purchased with grand plans of creating an exotic world filled with beautiful fish but then abandoned as they all eat each other and you realize fish aren’t as beautiful as you first thought.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, July 21, game #505)- KITE
- FROG
- FISH
- CRANE
- BUTTERFLY
- SPANGRAM: ORIGAMI
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 Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, July 21 (game #771).
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.
NYT Connections today (game #772) - today's words(Image credit: New York Times)Today's NYT Connections words are…
- CHESS
- CHEEK
- WHOOPIE
- CUSHION
- TEMPER
- CHECKERS
- HUMBLE
- ATTITUDE
- LIP
- SOFTEN
- HONEYCOMB
- CUTIE
- DAMPEN
- CAMO
- MOUTH
- STRIPES
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Talking back
- GREEN: Calm things down
- BLUE: Repeating shapes
- PURPLE: With pastry mainly
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…
NYT Connections today (game #772) - hint #2 - group answersWhat are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: SASSINESS
- GREEN: MITIGATE
- BLUE: PATTERNS
- PURPLE: ___PIE
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #772) - the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Connections, game #772, are…
- YELLOW: SASSINESS ATTITUDE, CHEEK, LIP, MOUTH
- GREEN: MITIGATE CUSHION, DAMPEN, SOFTEN, TEMPER
- BLUE: PATTERNS CAMO, CHECKERS, HONEYCOMB, STRIPES
- PURPLE: ___PIE CHESS, CUTIE, HUMBLE, WHOOPIE
- My rating: Easy
- My score: Perfect
I had never heard of a CHESS pie or a WHOOPIE pie before today – both look highly calorific and delicious – so I think I can be excused for not seeing the purple group. Congratulations if you did.
The other three quartets I found quite straightforward after sidestepping putting together CHECKERS and chess.
SASSINESS was my last collection, in part due to me harbouring the mistaken belief that there was a group about faces. Getting no further than LIP, MOUTH and CHEEK I turned my attention elsewhere.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, July 21, game #771)- YELLOW: ADDITIONAL PERK BONUS, EXTRA, GRAVY, ICING
- GREEN: PHASE TRANSITIONS FOR LIQUIDS CONDENSATION, FREEZING, MELTING, VAPORIZATION
- BLUE: CONCEPTS FROM "SEINFELD" FESTIVUS, REGIFTING, SHRINKAGE, YADA YADA
- PURPLE: WHAT ' CAN INDICATE CONTRACTION, FOOT, POSSESSIVE, QUOTE
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.
A new Quordle 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 Monday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Monday, July 21 (game #1274).
Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.
Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Quordle today (game #1275) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Quordle today (game #1275) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.
Quordle today (game #1275) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.
Quordle today (game #1275) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.
If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:
Quordle today (game #1275) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?• O
• G
• V
• A
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #1275) - the answers(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)The answers to today's Quordle, game #1275, are…
- OPTIC
- GIDDY
- VOCAL
- ADULT
It’s a wonderful feeling when you enter a word into Quordle and you don’t even have to wait for it to turn green as you know it’s right. That was the case for three of my words today, but the last one was a pure guess.
With O locked in as the second letter and L-A-C all in incorrect positions, I thought a word ending O-C-A-L was the most likely, but I had three options with focal, local, and the one I picked, VOCAL – purely because I know how much Quordle loves the oft-overlooked letter V.
Daily Sequence today (game #1275) - the answers(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1275, are…
- PLAIN
- RISKY
- MONEY
- LITHE
- Quordle #1274, Monday, 21 July: KNEED, SNAIL, PINTO, FEAST
- Quordle #1273, Sunday, 20 July: GRACE, COUNT, EGRET, GIANT
- Quordle #1272, Saturday, 19 July: EARLY, CLICK, TRITE, SPREE
- Quordle #1271, Friday, 18 July: CINCH, FOYER, FUDGE, TAFFY
- Quordle #1270, Thursday, 17 July: CRESS, TABOO, POWER, HATER
- Quordle #1269, Wednesday, 16 July: UNCLE, NADIR, REMIT, BROOM
- Quordle #1268, Tuesday, 15 July: VILLA, FLECK, TIGER, CRANE
- Quordle #1267, Monday, 14 July: SURGE, PIZZA, PAPER, POPPY
- Quordle #1266, Sunday, 13 July: KAYAK, DECRY, RUDDY, HATER
- Quordle #1265, Saturday, 12 July: WREAK, NANNY, CLASP, STAIN
- Quordle #1264, Friday, 11 July: LAPEL, DRAIN, FROND, GROSS
- Quordle #1263, Thursday, 10 July: CROSS, WHEEL, UNDID, PENCE
- Quordle #1262, Wednesday, 9 July: SHIRE, SIXTH, SINGE, IMAGE
- Quordle #1261, Tuesday, 8 July: PLIED, PRANK, GAWKY, OXIDE
- Quordle #1260, Monday, 7 July: DROLL, TRUCE, TWIRL, SINCE
- Quordle #1259, Sunday, 6 July: AMPLY, SPAWN, EXTOL, RIDGE
- Quordle #1258, Saturday, 5 July: HAVEN, SNAKE, DREAM, TORUS
- Quordle #1257, Friday, 4 July: FAVOR, SKUNK, GAWKY, FLUFF
- Quordle #1256, Thursday, 3 July: DANCE, EYING, GLAZE, EGRET
- Peacock's biggest ever price increase takes effect on Wednesday, July 23
- Both the 'Premium' and 'Premium Plus' plans will increase by $3 a month
- This is the third price hike NBCU's streaming service has announced since launching
Peacock plans to raise the price of its two main subscription tiers late this week (July 23), and it's sending subscribers packing.
Following reports that NBCUniversal's streaming service was about to rollout its biggest price increase ever since it launched in July 2020, users have taken to social media to voice their frustrations, with some declaring that they've already closed their accounts.
Comment from r/televisionIt's understandable when the price hike marks the third increase since Peacock's arrival. Indeed, the service raised its prices twice in the space of 12 months amid the Paris Olympics in 2024.
This time around, Peacock's 'Premium' (with ads) plan is increasing from $7.99 to $10.99 per month, or $109.99 annually. Meanwhile, its 'Premium Plus' (limited ads) plan will grow from $13.99 to $16.99 per month, or $169.99 annually.
The new pricing takes effect this Wednesday for new and returning customers. However, if you're an existing subscriber – and haven't already canceled – you'll be charged the new higher prices from August 23, depending on your next billing date.
Peacock pricingWas
Now
Premium
$7.99 per month / $79.99 annually
$10.99 per month / $109.99 annually
Premium Plus
$13.99 per month / $139.99
$16.99 per month / $169.99 annually
Peacock's latest price rise means it's officially more expensive than the equivalent ad-supported and ad-free tiers from the likes of Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and Paramount+. But, it’s worth noting that Peacock has been spending more on content of late, especially for the broadcasting rights of expensive sporting events, which cost a lot more than a TV and Movie Originals.
Instead, NBCUniversal has been acquiring the rights to lots of sports content recently – it has an 11-year rights deal for the NBA and WNBA – following the successful live stream of the Kansas City Chiefs' National Football League (NFL) playoff last year and its ongoing hold of the Premier League.
"Sports has been a very key driver of Peacock," Comcast's (the parent company of NBCUniversal) president Mike Cavanagh said during an earnings call in April. However, it seems the trade-off has been to raise Peacock's price to balance the rising costs from the broadcasting rights for sports – after all, these aren't cheap.
How to avoid the Peacock price hikeGiven that sports has become such a big focus among all the best streaming services – Apple TV+ is a frontrunner for F1's rights, Prime Video is the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football, and Netflix has its WWE deal and boxing livestreams, just to name a few – Peacock's push into the same space is only going to grow as it looks to capitalize on people's interest in various sports.
Peacock has one of the smallest on-demand content libraries compared to its rivals, so live sports has played a key part in helping to boost interest outside of NBC programming like Law & Order: SVU and Chicago Fire, plus Peacock Originals such as Poker Face and Twisted Metal.
If you don't want to pay full price for a streamer that mostly specializes in reality TV and sports, the best way to avoid this is to look out for the best streaming deals. Peacock tends to offer discounts on a more regular basis than its competitors, too, which makes it more likely that you'll be able to find a saving.
The best time to find a reduced Peacock subscription is to wait until the Black Friday and Cyber Monday streaming deals start to appear in mid- to late November. Last year, it offered 75% off an annual plan and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw something similar again this year.
If you need a Peacock subscription in the next three months, the cheapest way to get one is to sign up for one of its annual plans, which offers a roughly 17% saving as opposed to paying in monthly installments. Alternatively, there is still a way to get a Peacock free trial to try out the service.
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