Author: Eternity Lab

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Why Keir Starmer’s plan to rewire Whitehall needs an IT-rethink

In my personal experience, there are certain institutional barriers to productive and successful delivery of major projects in government. Indeed it may be that the mechanisms that are put in place to reduce the risk of delivery failure and wasted money may in many cases be the very things that are significantly increasing the risk of that failure.

At the heart of many of the challenges facing major government IT programmes is the fundamental disconnect between the bottom-up Agile approaches encouraged by the Government Digital Service (GDS) and followed by most IT programmes and the top-down nature of the project approval, funding and oversight mechanisms. 

This approach frequently demands an agreed up-front design, a fully defined set of outputs and benefits at the start of the project and a business case setting out in great detail the budget required for delivery. These are all fundamentally based on Waterfall-type project planning. 

As an ex-Treasury official myself I fully understand the need to ration spending and to allocate it to where it is most useful, however the way this is currently configured does not align with Agile project delivery. 

At best these are simply slightly spurious formalities that projects must go through before they can start the Agile approach to delivery. At worst they undermine the delivery approach needed and distract the project team from the iterative, fast-paced and flexible approach that is needed for successful delivery. This needs to change in the current government’s vision to emulate a start up’s test and learn mantra. 

Disconnected by IT and business staff

But this approach will also falter if another tendency of government IT is allowed to prevail. Many departments focus on delivering all, or certainly most, projects almost exclusively in-house using bespoke code to build the necessary solutions. This is often done because of the complexity, or at least the perceived complexity, of government processes and how much they differ from those in private sector organisations.

However, this focus on building systems using bespoke code is time-consuming, expensive and hard to manage, and still all too often fails to deliver. It also often ends up with a disconnect between the frequently huge IT team and the business staff who are ultimately going to own and use the system, and with massive amounts of design documentation being passed back and forth between them. 

Small and agile projects are key

To deliver Keir Starmer’s vision of re-wiring Whitehall, there does need to be an approach that looks to how government can apply low-code software development intelligently and in the right areas. This can revolutionise the way the government designs and builds IT by significantly reducing the amount of custom code creation needed and by transforming the way business people are involved in the process. 

The new government is right in how it’s choosing small discrete projects. A more iterative, less ‘big bang’ approach to government transformation should be adopted. Starting small  and picking one or two key processes in any given area, to begin with, and adopting an approach such as Agile low-code development that reduces reliance on scarce and expensive technical skills while compelling business and IT teams to work together in an integrated way. 

This lets you get to the stage where the outcomes can be assessed much sooner, providing the basis on which to move onto the next mini-project. Ulitimately you end up ticking off a lot of stages and achieve sweeping but sustainable transformation but with the problems of more traditional approaches minimised.

Alex Case, is a former senior civil servant at Downing Street and a now government industry principal at Pegasystems, which has developed a low-code platform for building applications

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Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti could turn up before RTX 5070 – and new rumor suggests it might be the powerhouse GPU I’ve been waiting for

  • RTX 5070 Ti could have 16GB of VRAM and use 350W of power
  • It may run with the same GPU as the RTX 5080, as previously rumored
  • Also it might be released before the vanilla RTX 5070, very early next year

Nvidia’s RTX 5070 Ti is the subject of a new leak sharing a bunch of juicy details about the GPU – including the fact that this graphics card is supposedly set to arrive before the vanilla edition of the RTX 5070.

Wccftech has spoken to sources who’ve outlined some fresh specs for the purported RTX 5070 Ti, as well as confirming some of the info divulged by previous leaks (as ever, keep shovelfuls of skepticism on hand).

We’re told that past rumors of the RTX 5070 Ti are correct in asserting that it’ll use the GB203 chip, the same GPU as in the RTX 5080, but obviously it will be a cut-down version. (In theory, GB203-300, with 8,960 CUDA cores, as opposed to the full loadout on GB203-400 with the RTX 5080).

We didn’t hear anything about the VRAM configuration in the last rumor dump, but Wccftech’s sources believe the RTX 5070 Ti will sport 16GB of GDDR7 with a 256-bit memory bus. The video RAM will be 28Gbps giving a total memory bandwidth of 896GB/s, closing in on that 1TB/s mark, which is pretty impressive.

Apparently, power usage will run at 350W, which is 50W more than previously believed. There’s a twist here, though, as leaker Kopite7kimi has chipped in on X to note that the “latest data shows 285W” – while admitting that 350W is one of the possible configurations. In other words, this isn’t yet decided, which is certainly plausible.

Finally, Nvidia is theoretically going to launch this RTX 5070 Ti as the third Blackwell GeForce graphics card, after the RTX 5090 and 5080 – meaning it’ll actually arrive ahead of the RTX 5070 itself.

A man's hand holding an Asus Tug Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti against a white spotlit background

(Image credit: Future)

Analysis: A chip off big brother’s block

It’s a bit odd for a Ti version (or a Super, if that’s what it turns out to be) to arrive before the vanilla flavor of a graphics card, although it has happened before occasionally.

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Sometimes this might be related to manufacturing nuances and chip yields, and with the RTX 5070 supposedly using that same GB203 GPU as the RTX 5080, that tracks in this respect. (The RTX 5070 is theoretically a different chip entirely, GB205). At any rate, at this point, Nvidia wouldn’t surprise me if it delivered a Ti Super off the bat…

Speculation about current launch plans has the RTX 5090 and 5080 turning up at CES 2025, and the RTX 5070 – or this 5070 Ti, as is the argument here – arriving perhaps at CES as well, or a bit later in January.

Wccftech also claims that Nvidia is going to launch all its next-gen Blackwell graphics cards in the first half of 2025, and most of them in Q1. So that’d suggest a quick follow-up for the 5070 (or Ti, whichever doesn’t come out in January), and the RTX 5060 debuting perhaps a lot sooner than expected (seeing as the rumors around that have been much scarcer – suggesting it’s still a fair way down the line).

It’s possible that Nvidia fears what AMD might bring out in the way of lower-mid-range GPUs with RDNA 4, and could’ve made a decision to push the RTX 5060 through faster in anticipation of competing better in that space.

Release timings aside, the specs of the RTX 5070 Ti are making me wonder if this might be the new GPU for me. That memory bandwidth of almost 900GB/s is a third faster than the current top dog of the RTX 4070 spins, the RTX 4070 Ti Super.

On the other hand, power usage creeping up isn’t so great, of course – the RTX 4070 Ti Super chugs 285W, so 350W is a fair old step up from that. If it happens, of course, because as noted above, Nvidia could still be sticking with 285W. Team Green is likely still working out the efficiency to performance balancing act – and pricing will be key here, too, as ever.

I really hope that Nvidia can keep some semblance of a lid on that price tag, as if so, there’s a strong possibility that this will be my big GPU upgrade in the New Year. (Something I’ll be writing a feature about very soon, as I’ve got a very specific reason for this graphics card upgrade – so stay tuned).

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The Nintendo Switch 2 launch event might be just a few weeks away

With 2024 winding down, there’s no question that the Nintendo Switch 2 console is one of the most talked about gadgets set to debut next year. We’ve witnessed an increasing number of leaks in recent weeks, including a dummy Switch 2 unit that gave us a good look at the console’s purported design.

We know Nintendo won’t launch the console this year. The company has been rather tight-lipped about the Switch 2 in the past, but it has at least confirmed that the next-gen device will be unveiled by March 2025. The company didn’t give us a better estimate than that, leaving fans guessing.

However, things took an unusual turn in recent weeks, as more purported Switch 2 accessories were leaked. It all culminated in an entire Switch 2 dummy unit appearing in a detailed hands-on video (photo above). I said at the time that the dummy device seemed convincing based on what typically happens in the tech universe. Usually, when accessory makers share dummy devices, it means they have accurate design information.

It turns out the leaks might have had an effect on Nintendo, at least according to one insider. Apparently, Nintendo wants to reschedule the launch event and host it sooner than planned to prevent further leaks from revealing the Switch 2 secrets. A different person also hinted at an earlier-than-expected launch date. If either source is correct, the Switch 2 launch event might happen very soon.

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First, Redditors spotted this post on X from Nintendo leaker Samus Hunter a few days ago.

The insider says Nintendo might unveil the Switch 2 before “DK,” which can only be the next Donkey Kong game for the Switch, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. The Redditors point out the game might be released on January 16th, 2025. Therefore, the Switch 2 could be announced on or before that date.

More recently, the same Redditors on the Switch 2 subreddit pointed out the Weibo posts of a person who apparently leaked the entire June 2024 Nintendo Direct event. The Redditors say this person “has been counting down using Fibonacci sequence numbers since December 21st.” That countdown expires on January 8th. The same leaker apparently said in the past that the Switch 2 could be unveiled in January.

I know it all sounds crazy, but it fits with Samus Hunter’s claim above. The Nintendo Switch 2 launch event could happen at some point in the first two weeks of January, if this information is accurate. Or we could simply be looking at speculation and wishful thinking.

Whatever the case, the fact remains that Switch 2 accessories will continue to leak the closer we get to the launch event. Plenty of companies are looking to make the most of the Switch 2 launch, so they’re developing plenty of products for the console.

Finally, I’ll point out that a different Switch 2 leaker, who revealed plenty of details about the console teased a full design reveal for Christmas Day. If that happens, it might further convince Nintendo to get it over it, and unveil the console in all its glory sooner than planned. The same leaker also teased a January launch for the next-gen Switch.

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We just learned a key detail about Apple’s foldable iPhone

A Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) report a few days ago claimed that Apple will enter the foldable smartphone market in 2026. The move is expected to turbocharge the foldables market, which will face stagnation next year. Dominated by Samsung and Huawei, the current foldable phone landscape has grown all it can without Apple. According to the report, the foldable iPhone is the holy grail event the market needs.

The claims make some sense, especially as rumors about foldable iPhones and iPads are heating up. Add to that the approaching 20th anniversary of Apple’s first-generation iPhone, and a foldable iPhone might be just the kind of design change Apple needs.

However, the DSCC report didn’t mention what type of design Apple chose. The only viable choices right now are the fold and flip form factors — either a smartphone that becomes a tablet, like the Galaxy Z Fold 6, or a clamshell foldable, like the Galaxy Z Flip 6. Apple could very well embrace both designs, just like Samsung did. Yes, we have double-fold foldables in the wild, but Apple would probably not consider them in the near future, especially if it wants to launch a foldable Mac/iPad in 2028.

Ross Young, the CEO of DSCC and a steady source of iPhone leaks, has answered questions about the type of foldable iPhone design Apple will choose, claiming that Apple is going with an iPhone Fold rather than an iPhone Flip.

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The comments are buried in an X thread that followed the DSCC report last week. When a user asked whether Apple’s foldable iPhone would be a Flip, Fold, or both, Young answered with one word, “Fold.”

The display analyst then expanded on the comment, saying that Apple is going for a Fold-style “at the moment.”

The same user X user mentioned that most people expect Apple to make a Flip-type of foldable iPhone, asking Ross whether he was sure about Apple’s choice.

That’s when Young said that Apple reportedly canceled the Flip-type design. The foldable iPhone is a “7.x-inch Fold,” he said, adding that he doesn’t want to go into too many details about screen sizes on X.

Samsung also entered the foldable market with a Fold-type device, the ill-fated Galaxy Fold whose original design came with a few critical failures that Samsung had to push back the launch by several months. Samsung perfected the Fold design in subsequent iterations. The first-gen Galaxy Z Flip arrived on the scene a year later.

While I favored the Fold design over the Flip, I changed my mind in recent years. I don’t think I need a tablet in my pocket. It’s clamshell phones like the Motorola Razr and the Galaxy Z Flip that made me dream of a foldable iPhone Flip device.

Take the 6.7-inch iPhone 16 Plus, which I struggled to carry in my pocket for nearly two months. Flip that phone, and it’s a different ball game.

On the other hand, given Apple’s rumored roadmap, an iPhone Fold makes sense. I explained why an iPhone 17 Air design is a key piece of the foldable iPhone puzzle. Also, I told you that Apple’s rumored 6-inch smart display device will pave the way for software interfaces and displays that could very well benefit a foldable iPhone in the future.

If Apple has settled on the Fold design for the first-gen foldable iPhone, we should see more leaks confirming Ross’s claims in the coming year.

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Nvidia RTX 5090 rumor suggests flagship GPU might not guzzle as much power as previously claimed – but don’t get too excited

  • Nvidia RTX 5090 has been rumored to guzzle 600W in the past
  • A leaker on X has suggested it might use ‘slightly’ less power
  • This comes alongside assurances that RTX 5070 Ti won’t be a power hog

Nvidia’s RTX 5090 might not be quite as much of a power hog as some PC gamers fear based on the latest nugget from the GPU grapevine.

As you may recall, the rumor mill has previously insisted that the Blackwell flagship graphics card might tip the scales at a weighty 600W of power use.

According to some fresh info from regular leaker on X, Kopite7kimi, we can at least be somewhat hopeful that the RTX 5090 may not make quite so heavy a demand on your PC’s power supply.

This info popped up in a thread on X which was discussing the purported RTX 5070 Ti – a GPU that could be launched third by Nvidia, after the RTX 5090 and 5080 – and specifically that graphics card’s power requirements of 350W.

Kopite7kimi noted that while 350W is a possible configuration Nvidia is exploring, the latest the leaker has heard is that it’ll be 285W, so considerably less – which prompted an X user to question whether the RTX 5090 might’ve had its power use revised downwards (from 600W), too.

The leaker replied to indicate that yes, this “may” be the case, although it might only be a “slight decrease” in the power chugged by the next-gen flagship.

A mockup of the Gigabyte RTX 4090 Windforce graphics card

(Image credit: Gigabyte)

Analysis: You’ll still need a mighty power supply

Clearly, take all this with plenty of seasoning, but doubtless PC enthusiasts looking at this mighty next-gen flagship will take anything that sounds like remotely good news for the power consumption of the RTX 5090.

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The catch is that the leaker sounds uncertain, and if there’s some downward movement, it’s not likely to be a great deal. So, are we looking at 570W or 580W maybe? Or something more towards 550W if we’re lucky, perhaps? Obviously it’s guesswork at this point, and Nvidia may not have finalized the exact spec itself (or more likely has just done so, maybe – and the rumor mill is yet to catch up).

With the RTX 5090 about to launch, in theory, inside a few weeks at CES 2025, everything about the board is likely nailed down right about now, and we could hear some more definitive sounding leaks in the next week or so. While the flagship is expected to be a seriously powerful graphics card, aside from the power usage worries, the other main concern is pricing – and how far Nvidia might push that.

We can believe a 550W power usage a lot more readily than Nvidia sticking with the same MSRP as the RTX 4090, and not hiking it at all, put it this way.

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How to take an AirPods Pro 2 hearing test

With iOS 18.2 now available, Apple expanded the AirPods Pro 2 hearing test feature to more countries and regions, including Cyprus, Czechia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

With this feature, you can identify if you have hearing loss by testing your hearing at different frequencies of sound, which are measured in decibels hearing level (dBHL). In addition, some regions already have the ability to use AirPods Pro 2 as a hearing aid device. I recently did Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 hearing test, and I wasn’t happy with what I discovered.

Here’s everything you need to know about Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 hearing test feature and how to take the most out of it.

What do you need to take the AirPods Pro 2 hearing test?

There are a few requirements to take the hearing test:

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  • AirPods Pro 2
  • Update them to the latest firmware
  • Have an iPhone or iPad running iOS 18.1/iPadOS 18.1 or later

Preparing for the test

AirPods Pro 2 Adaptative Audio on iPhone 14 Pro Max running iOS 17AirPods Pro 2 next to an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Image source: José Adorno for BGR

If you match the requirements above, you need to prepare for your test. To make sure your AirPods have the proper fit, you can take the Ear Tip Fit Test (iPhone or iPad only). The Hearing Test also tests the fit of your AirPods.

Your test results might be affected if any of these apply to you:

  • If you’ve had a cold, a sinus infection, or an ear infection within the last 24 hours.
  • If you’re currently suffering from allergies.
  • If you’ve been in a loud environment, like a concert, within the last 24 hours.

Once you found a quiet place to take the hearing test, here’s what you need to do

It’s time to take the hearing test

The hearing test feature is intended for people 18 years and older and takes approximately five minutes.

  1. Make sure that your AirPods are sufficiently charged and that you are in a quiet room.
  2. With your AirPods in your ears and connected to your paired iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > your AirPods. You can also start the Hearing Test from the Health app.
  3. Tap Take a Hearing Test, then follow the instructions:
    • If the app asks to run a check, put your AirPods back in their case, close the lid, then tap OK. Tap Take Hearing Test when the check is finished.
    • If prompted to find a quieter space, turn off air conditioning or fans that might be creating noise in your environment, or wait until night when there’s less ambient noise, like traffic noise. The test monitors ambient noise and will let you know when it’s quiet enough for the test.
    • If the test recommends that you adjust the fit of your AirPods, try a different size of ear tips.
    • If the test recommends that your AirPods Pro needs cleaning, follow AirPods Pro cleaning instructions.
  4. When the Hearing Test starts, tap the screen when you hear a tone. During the test, tones are pulsed three times to give you time to respond to the tone played. You only need to tap one time when you hear a tone. It’s OK if you miss a tone.
  5. If you remove or adjust your AirPods (or if the environmental noise around you becomes loud), the Hearing Test may pause. The test resumes when you put the AirPods back in your ear or when the environmental noise is quiet again.

How to see your results

When the test is complete, you can see the results on your device. The results show your overall hearing loss in decibels of hearing level (dBHL), your hearing loss classification, and recommended next steps.

To see a detailed audiogram, tap Show Details. Your audiogram is securely stored in the Health app on your device, so you can access the data at any time. Here’s what you need to know about the results:

  • Up to 25 dBHL indicates little to no hearing loss.
  • 26-40 dBHL indicates mild hearing loss, where you can hear words spoken in a normal voice from three feet away.
  • 41-60 dBHL indicates moderate hearing loss, where you can hear words spoken in a raised voice from three feet away.
  • 61-80 dBHL indicates severe hearing loss, where you can hear some words when they’re shouted into your ear.

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How to take an AirPods Pro 2 hearing test

With iOS 18.2 now available, Apple expanded the AirPods Pro 2 hearing test feature to more countries and regions, including Cyprus, Czechia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

With this feature, you can identify if you have hearing loss by testing your hearing at different frequencies of sound, which are measured in decibels hearing level (dBHL). In addition, some regions already have the ability to use AirPods Pro 2 as a hearing aid device. I recently did Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 hearing test, and I wasn’t happy with what I discovered.

Here’s everything you need to know about Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 hearing test feature and how to take the most out of it.

What do you need to take the AirPods Pro 2 hearing test?

There are a few requirements to take the hearing test:

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  • AirPods Pro 2
  • Update them to the latest firmware
  • Have an iPhone or iPad running iOS 18.1/iPadOS 18.1 or later

Preparing for the test

AirPods Pro 2 Adaptative Audio on iPhone 14 Pro Max running iOS 17AirPods Pro 2 next to an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Image source: José Adorno for BGR

If you match the requirements above, you need to prepare for your test. To make sure your AirPods have the proper fit, you can take the Ear Tip Fit Test (iPhone or iPad only). The Hearing Test also tests the fit of your AirPods.

Your test results might be affected if any of these apply to you:

  • If you’ve had a cold, a sinus infection, or an ear infection within the last 24 hours.
  • If you’re currently suffering from allergies.
  • If you’ve been in a loud environment, like a concert, within the last 24 hours.

Once you found a quiet place to take the hearing test, here’s what you need to do

It’s time to take the hearing test

The hearing test feature is intended for people 18 years and older and takes approximately five minutes.

  1. Make sure that your AirPods are sufficiently charged and that you are in a quiet room.
  2. With your AirPods in your ears and connected to your paired iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > your AirPods. You can also start the Hearing Test from the Health app.
  3. Tap Take a Hearing Test, then follow the instructions:
    • If the app asks to run a check, put your AirPods back in their case, close the lid, then tap OK. Tap Take Hearing Test when the check is finished.
    • If prompted to find a quieter space, turn off air conditioning or fans that might be creating noise in your environment, or wait until night when there’s less ambient noise, like traffic noise. The test monitors ambient noise and will let you know when it’s quiet enough for the test.
    • If the test recommends that you adjust the fit of your AirPods, try a different size of ear tips.
    • If the test recommends that your AirPods Pro needs cleaning, follow AirPods Pro cleaning instructions.
  4. When the Hearing Test starts, tap the screen when you hear a tone. During the test, tones are pulsed three times to give you time to respond to the tone played. You only need to tap one time when you hear a tone. It’s OK if you miss a tone.
  5. If you remove or adjust your AirPods (or if the environmental noise around you becomes loud), the Hearing Test may pause. The test resumes when you put the AirPods back in your ear or when the environmental noise is quiet again.

How to see your results

When the test is complete, you can see the results on your device. The results show your overall hearing loss in decibels of hearing level (dBHL), your hearing loss classification, and recommended next steps.

To see a detailed audiogram, tap Show Details. Your audiogram is securely stored in the Health app on your device, so you can access the data at any time. Here’s what you need to know about the results:

  • Up to 25 dBHL indicates little to no hearing loss.
  • 26-40 dBHL indicates mild hearing loss, where you can hear words spoken in a normal voice from three feet away.
  • 41-60 dBHL indicates moderate hearing loss, where you can hear words spoken in a raised voice from three feet away.
  • 61-80 dBHL indicates severe hearing loss, where you can hear some words when they’re shouted into your ear.

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iPhone 17 Air is real, and Foxconn is already making it

The iPhone 17 Air is another step toward becoming a reality. This time, DigiTimes (via MacRumors) says Foxconn entered the new product introduction phase. Supply chain sources tell the publication that the NPI phase is responsible for bringing this iPhone’s concept to life with design validation and prototype testing.

With that, this device is on schedule to be released in late 2025 alongside the other iPhone 17 lineup, as Foxconn doesn’t seem to be having issues making this product.

A few months ago, the same publication said the Taiwanese company Novatek planned to begin mass production of a new OLED display technology for the iPhone 17 Air. At the time, the claim seemed a bit speculative as Novatek wanted to create a thinner screen tech. However, it seems everything is aligning for this device’s release in the second half of 2025.

Latest iPhone 17 Air rumors

The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be released after years of Apple failing to conquer a more significant market with a variation of the regular iPhone. The company has seen low sales of the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone 15 Plus. While we need to know how the iPhone 16 Plus will perform, Cupertino seems to be planning a different approach for the iPhone 17.

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Besides that, rumors so far have hinted at a premium version of the non-Pro iPhone 17. While all models are expected to maintain the same price point, this iPhone 17 Air would cost around $1,299—the most expensive iPhone to date. Despite its ultra-thin form factor, it would have the A19 chip, 8 GB of RAM, and two main cameras.

It is still unknown how Apple will maintain a good battery life with an ultra-thin form factor. However, the company might learn from Huawei’s latest triple-fold phone. It’s important to say that Samsung will likely make competition hard for this rumored Apple phone.

Interestingly, the iPhone 17 Pro models could have 12GB of RAM, the A19 Pro chip with TSMC’s new N3P manufacturing process, and three 48MP primary cameras.

Below, you can learn more about the future iPhone 17.

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RTX 5060 rumor suggests it’ll have 8GB VRAM and I’m starting to wonder if Nvidia has lost the plot with next-gen GPUs

Nvidia’s next-gen desktop graphics cards have been the subject of a flood of leaks lately, but this time we’re hearing about the RTX 5060 models that’ll sit at the bottom of the Blackwell GeForce stack (assuming there’s no RTX 5050, as there wasn’t a desktop 4050 of course).

Wccftech has word from the usual anonymous sources – be cautious around this rumor, naturally, as with anything from the grapevine – providing some specs of the RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060.

The most interesting contention is that regarding the on-board video memory, Nvidia’s RTX 5060 Ti is going to run with 16GB of VRAM, the same as the higher-end flavor of the 4060 Ti – but the bad news is the RTX 5060 is also going to stick on 8GB.

Apparently both graphics cards will use the same board (PG152) and the GB206 Blackwell chip (as previously rumored), with a 128-bit memory bus. With GDDR7 video RAM running at 28Gbps, both of these graphics cards are looking at a memory bandwidth of 448GB/s in theory.

We’re told to expect these GPUs to launch in late February to March of 2025, which backs up another recent rumor on the release timeframe.

An Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 on a table with its retail packaging

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

Analysis: Video RAM confusion

The idea that the RTX 5060 could stay on an 8GB loadout for VRAM has not gone down well with the followers of GPU rumors, as you might imagine. The RTX 4060 having this memory configuration was controversial, so for a new generation of Nvidia graphics cards to stick at this level will be fuel to the flames (quite literally – Team Green better don its finest fire-retardant suit). If this turns out to be true, of course.

Capacity isn’t the only element of the memory equation here, though, and that GDDR7 VRAM is a big upgrade in itself. That rumored memory bandwidth of 448GB/s for the RTX 5060 and its Ti sibling will be a considerable step up from the RTX 4060 flavors. In fact, it’s 55% faster and 65% faster than the RTX 4060 and 4060 Ti respectively, as Wccftech points out.

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The worry is that 8GB could really hamstring the RTX 5060 for future-proofing, and consign the card more to 1080p duties, as going forward, 1440p might prove to be more of a struggle for a thin allocation of video memory such as this – even now that’s true to an extent.

More positively, the RTX 5060 Ti could have a healthy 16GB of VRAM, although that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense when you consider the RTX 5070 has been rumored to have 12GB. Now, Nvidia has been known to equip a lower-tier GPU with more VRAM than a higher-up model in the past, but that can sometimes be a case of a beefier model launching down the line – and it doesn’t feel likely Nvidia would push out an RTX 5070 12GB and very quickly follow that with an RTX 5060 Ti 16GB. Particularly when the RTX 5080 theoretically runs with 16GB, too.

In short, we’d regard this leaked info with more skepticism than normal – although it could also be read as a sign that the RTX 5070 12GB info is off the mark (here’s hoping on that score).

Meanwhile, Intel has just brought out its affordable new Battlemage GPU, the B580, and that has 12GB of VRAM, a relatively robust helping for the price bracket this graphics card sits in. Can Nvidia fly in the face of its rivals’ video memory strategies? Well, of course it can, but it remains to be seen if Team Green actually will.

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Mysterious ChatGPT hardware must be smart glasses, given what OpenAI just unveiled

After months of speculation, Jony Ive confirmed in mid-September that he and a team of former Apple designers are working on hardware that will have ChatGPT at the core. While Ive said his LoveFrom design company will be involved in creating the product (or products?), he didn’t reveal what form factor(s) we should expect.

I labeled the product an iPhone competitor because the iPhone is an AI device, just like the Pixel and any other smartphone that can run native or third-party AI apps. The ChatGPT hardware will compete against the iPhone no matter what it looks like. The only thing we know about the gadget is that it “uses AI to create a computing experience that is less socially disruptive than the iPhone.”

Nearly three months later, I believe the ChatGPT device has to feature a key component, a pair of smart glasses that will truly let the user make the most of OpenAI’s AI models. It’s all thanks to what we witnessed on December 12th, a few short hours apart.

First, Samsung and Google unveiled the Android XR experience and teased the first devices with AI at the center. Project Moohan is Samsung’s obvious Vision Pro alternative, and yes, it looks too much like the latter. Project Moohan will be a spatial computer that supports VR, AR, and AI.

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All the acronyms are there, with AI giving Samsung a theoretical advantage over the Vision Pro. That will be Galaxy AI and Gemini AI, in case you were wondering.

Samsung's Project Moohan Android XR headset.Samsung’s Project Moohan Android XR headset. Image source: Samsung

More interesting than Moohan is Google’s unannounced pair of smart glasses. Samsung is probably working on its own smart glasses, but the company didn’t feel compelled to announce them on Thursday. 

Google demoed the smart glasses during its Gemini 2.0 announcement, showing how Project Astra can work on them. The wearable device is paired with a Pixel phone, which will handle the processing, including Gemini. The glasses give the AI eyes and ears so it can see everything around you and communicate information as you seek help while on the go.

Add the Android XR platform, and you get augmented reality features. Think AI notification summaries, Google Maps navigation, and real-time translation. According to Google’s demo, these are all part of Android XR.

All of that further reinforces my belief that standalone AR glasses are the future of mobile computing. They’ll complement the iPhone first and then replace it.

Google Maps AR navigation on smart glasses.Google Maps AR navigation on smart glasses. Image source: Google

Seeing Samsung and Google’s announcements was enough to make me realize OpenAI will need similar abilities from ChatGPT. And the only way to deliver them is by making smart glasses of its own.

Little did I know that OpenAI’s “12 Days” live stream, which followed Samsung and Google’s surprise announcement, would further drive that point home.

OpenAI on Thursday announced that ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode is finally getting support for real-time video streaming and screen sharing. We saw these features demoed for GPT-4o back in May, but OpenAI needed time to bring them to all users.

The ChatGPT mobile app will let you use the camera of your iPhone or Android device to see the world and hold a conversation about it with the user.

The demos OpenAI offered showed that the AI can recognize people and remember details about them. Also, the AI can recognize objects and provide tips and tutorials related to them if asked.

When I first tried Advanced Voice Mode, I wanted to use ChatGPT as a museum voice guide. However, the experience lacked a key feature: the live video stream support that OpenAI just made available to ChatGPT users. Instead, I had to upload photos whenever I had questions about something.

Back to Thursday’s OpenAI updates, the ChatGPT demos showed that you can share your phone screen with the AI and ask questions about the content. It’s another way of giving the AI the ability to see what you’re doing.

This settled it for me. Any multimodal AI is a great tool to enhance your productivity, but it can get miles better if the AI gets eyes. Smart glasses are the best way to wear the AI’s eyes. The glasses don’t even have to support augmented reality features. AR would be just the cherry on top. 

It turns out Meta was right all along with the Ray-Ban AI project. As such, I think OpenAI and LoveFrom have to bundle a pair of smart glasses with whatever ChatGPT hardware product they end up making. I don’t think they can make standalone smart glasses. The technology isn’t ready for that.

Solos AirGo Vision ChatGPT smart glasses: Front look.Solos AirGo Vision ChatGPT smart glasses: Front look. Image source: Solos

They could always create only ChatGPT smart glasses that could then connect to the iPhone, Mac, or any smart device. But in such a case, they won’t control the underlying platform. On that note, I did show you a pair of smart glasses earlier this week (above) which put ChatGPT front and center. They might not be a first-party device, but they’re available for preorder.

This is all speculation from this ChatGPT enthusiast. I have no way of knowing what Ive & Co. are actually designing. But smart glasses seem like a key piece of the puzzle. And no, placing a camera on clothing will not work. Humane tried that and failed miserably. Eyewear is a whole different ball game.

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