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Google might have a new AI-powered password-generating trick up its sleeve – but can Gemini keep your secrets safe?
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If you’ve been using Google Chrome for the past few years, you may have noticed that whenever you’ve had to think up a new password, or change your existing one, for a site or app, a little “Suggest strong password” dialog box would pop up – and it looks like it could soon offer AI-powered password suggestions. 

A keen-eyed software development observer has spotted that Google might be gearing up to infuse this feature with the capabilities of Gemini, its latest large language model (LLM).

The discovery was made by @Leopeva64 on X. They found references to Gemini in patches of Gerrit, a web-based code review system developed by Google and used in the development of Google products like Android. 

These findings appear to be backed up by screenshots that show glimpses of how Gemini could be incorporated into Chrome to give you even better password suggestions when you’re looking to create a new password or change from one you’ve previously set.

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Gemini guesswork

One line of code that caught my attention is that “deleting all passwords will turn this feature off.” I wonder if this does what it says on the tin: shutting the feature off if a user deletes all of their passwords, or if this just means all of the passwords generated by the “Suggest strong passwords” feature. 

The final screenshot that @Leopeva64 provides is also intriguing as it seems to show the prompt that Google engineers have included to get Gemini to generate a suitable password. 

This is a really interesting move by Google and it could play out well for Chrome users who use the strong password suggestion feature. I’m a little wary of the potential risks associated with this method of password generation, similar to risks you find with many such methods. LLMs are susceptible to information leaks caused by prompt or injection hacks. These hacks are designed to trick the AI models to give out information that their creators, individuals, or organizations might want to keep private, like someone’s login information.

A woman working on a laptop in a shared working space sitting next to a man working at a computer

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Gorodenkoff)

An important security consideration 

Now, that sounds scary and as far as we know, this hasn’t happened yet with any widely-deployed LLM, including Gemini. It’s a theoretical fear and there are standard password security practices that tech organizations like Google employ to prevent data breaches. 

These include encryption technologies, which encode data so that only authorized parties can access it for multiple stages of the password generation and storage process, and hashing, a one-way data conversion process that’s intended to make data reverse-engineering hard to do. 

You could also use any other LLM like ChatGPT to generate a strong password manually, although I feel like Google knows more about how to do this, and I’d only advise experimenting with that if you’re a software data professional. 

It’s not a bad idea as a proposition and a use of AI that could actually be very beneficial for users, but Google will have to put an equal (if not greater) amount of effort into making sure Gemini is bolted down and as impenetrable to outside attacks as can be. If it implements this and by some chance it does cause a huge data breach, that will likely damage people’s trust of LLMs and could impact the reputations of the tech companies, including Google, who are championing them.

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Windows 11 on ARM gets a major browser – another hint of Microsoft’s big plans for AI PCs
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Vivaldi has produced a native version of its popular browser for Arm-based PCs, those who run Windows 11 on Arm will doubtless be pleased to hear.

As is usual for a first step, the initial incarnation of Vivaldi for Arm silicon is in preview, and there are some caveats attached.

More so than usual, because while we can expect a fair bit of flakiness with any pre-release software, in this case, Vivaldi for Arm is an early test version. As Windows Central reports, the developer tells us: “These builds are not yet part of our automated test system and have only been lightly tested on one piece of hardware. Serious issues may exist and should be expected.”

In short, anyone running the Chromium-based browser on an Arm PC at this point is likely to have a wonky experience. But the point is Vivaldi is incoming for Windows on Arm, and shouldn’t be too far off.

That’s good news for its wider availability, bearing in mind that Vivaldi is ranked as one of our best web browsers. It was chosen due to its excellent customization options, being ideal for those who love tinkering with and personalizing their browser.

Analysis: Preparing the ground

It seems that Microsoft is very much preparing the ground for Windows on Arm, to become a real force in the near future. We’ve seen a great deal of hype being built around the incoming Snapdragon X Elite chip (and rumored Plus variants), and for good reason – it’s a CPU that can seemingly make Windows running on Arm a truly viable proposition.

To the point where we’ve already experienced Qualcomm’s reference laptops running Baldur’s Gate 3 at a stable 30 fps with reasonable graphics settings – and remember, this is a game running under emulation (it’s not coded for Arm CPUs).

Neither is the Vivaldi browser currently coded for Arm chips, but this is what the incoming new version of the browser is all about. It’s another hint that Microsoft is getting behind developers to nudge them (and maybe incentivize them somehow) to make native Arm clients, which will run faster than emulation (of course, as they remove the processing overhead involved in emulating an app).

With Vivaldi having deployed an early preview now, we can guess that the final version might be ready for the release of Snapdragon X Elite laptops in June – or certainly a working beta will be. This is when Microsoft’s Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 will be emerging – the consumer versions, that is, which may be ARM-only devices from what we’re hearing on the rumor mill (there may not be any alternatives with Intel CPUs, in other words).

Moreover, other leaks suggest that Windows 11’s big incoming feature, AI Explorer – which is going to be key for AI PCs – might be for Windows on Arm only, at least to begin with. All of this just shows how much Microsoft is getting behind the Arm spin on its desktop OS, so we may see more high-profile pieces of software getting ports going forward, too. Perhaps it's finally time for Windows on Arm to shine?

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Microsoft’s VASA-1 AI video generation system can make lifelike avatars that speak volumes from a single photo
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AI-generated video is already a reality, and now another player has joined the fray: Microsoft. Apparently, the tech giant has developed a generative AI system that can whip up realistic talking avatars from a single picture and an audio clip. The tool is named VASA-1, and it goes beyond mimicking mouth movement; it can capture lifelike emotions and produce natural-looking movements as well.

The system offers its user the ability to modify the subject’s eye movements, the distance the subject is being perceived at, and the emotions expressed. VASA-1 is the first model in what is rumored to be a series of AI tools, and MSPowerUser reports that it can conjure up specific facial expressions, synchronize lip movements to a high degree, and produce human-like head motions. 

It can offer a wide range of emotions to choose from and generate facial subtleties, which sounds like it could make for a scarily convincing result. 

How VASA-1 works and what it's capable of

Seemingly taking a note from how human 3D animators and modelers work, VASA-1 makes use of a process it calls ‘disentanglement,’ allowing the system to control and edit the facial expressions, 3D head position, and facial features independently of each other, and this is what powers VASA-1’s realism.

As you might be imagining already, this has seismic potential, offering the possibility to totally change our experiences of digital apps and interfaces. According to MSPowerUser, VASA-1 can produce videos unlike those that it was trained on. Apparently, the system wasn’t trained on artistic photos, singing voices, or non-English speech, but if you request a video that features one of these, it’ll oblige. 

The Microsoft researchers behind VASA-1 praise its real-time efficiency, stating that the system can make fairly high-resolution videos (512×512 pixels) with high frame rates. Frame rate, or frames per second (fps), is the frequency at which a series of images (referred to as frames) can be captured or displayed in succession within a piece of media. The researchers claim that VASA-1 can generate videos with 45fps in offline mode, and 40fps with online generation. 

You can check out the state of VASA-1 and learn more about it on Microsoft’s dedicated webpage for the project. It has several demonstrations and includes links to download information about it, ending with a section headlined ‘Risks and responsible AI considerations.’

Works like magic – but is it a miracle spell or a recipe for disaster?

In this final reflective section, Microsoft acknowledges that a tool like this has plentiful scope for misuse, but the researchers try to emphasize the potential positives of VASA-1. They’re not wrong; a technology like this could mean next-level educational experiences that are available to more students than ever before, better assistance to people who have difficulties communicating, the capability to provide companionship, and improved digital therapeutic support. 

All of that said, it would be foolish to ignore the potential for harm and wrongdoing with something like this. Microsoft does state that it doesn’t currently have plans to make VASA-1 available in any form to the public until it’s reassured that “the technology will be used responsibly and in accordance with proper regulations.” If Microsoft sticks to this ethos, I think it could be a long wait. 

All in all, I think it’s becoming hard to deny that generative AI video tools are going to become more commonplace and the countdown to when they saturate our lives has begun. Google has been working on an analogous AI system with the moniker VLOGGER, and also recently put out a paper detailing how VLOGGER can create realistic videos of people moving, speaking, and gesturing with the input of a single photo. 

OpenAI also made headlines recently by introducing its own AI video generation tool, Sora, which can generate videos from text descriptions. OpenAI explained how Sora works on a dedicated page, and provided demonstrations that impressed a lot of people – and worried even more. 

I am wary of what these innovations will enable us to do, and I’m glad that, as far as we know, all three of these new tools are being kept tightly under wraps. I think realistically the best guardrails we have against the misuse of technologies like these are airtight regulations, but I’m doubtful that all governments will take these steps in time. 

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A key Apple app is rumored to be getting a major upgrade in macOS 15
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We're set to hear much more about what's coming with macOS 15 when Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) gets underway on June 10 – and one app in particular is rumored to be getting a major upgrade.

That app is the Calculator app, and while it perhaps isn't the most exciting piece of software that Apple makes, AppleInsider reckons the upcoming upgrade is “the most significant upgrade” the app has been given “in years”.

It's so substantial, it's got its own codename: GreyParrot (that's said to be a nod towards the African grey parrot, known for its cognitive abilities). Part of the upgrade will apparently include the Math Notes feature we've already heard about in relation to a Notes app upgrade due in iOS 18.

It sounds as though Math Notes is going to make it easier to ferry calculations between the Notes and the Calculator apps. A new sidebar showing the Calculator history is reported to be on the way too. This might well get its own button on the app, AppleInsider says.

Currency conversions

Calculator for macOS

Currency conversions currently require a pop-up dialog (Image credit: Future)

A visual redesign is also apparently on the way, with “rounded buttons and darker shades of black” to match the iOS Calculator. Users will also be able to resize the Calculator app window, with the buttons resizing accordingly, which isn't currently possible.

Unit conversion is going to be made more intuitive and easier to access, AppleInsider says, with no need to open up the menus to select conversion types – at the moment, it's necessary to select currencies in a pop-up dialog.

The thinking is that Apple wants to better compete with apps such as OneNote from Microsoft, and the third-party Calcbot app for macOS. It's been a long time since the Calculator app was changed in any way, and its rather basic feature set means it's lagging behind other alternatives.

According to AppleInsider, there's no guarantee that Apple will go through with this Calculator upgrade, but it seems likely. Expect to hear much more about macOS 15, iOS 18, and Apple's other software products at WWDC 2024 on June 10.

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Microsoft is mulling a change for widgets in Windows 11 that could prove controversial
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Microsoft has deployed a new preview build of Windows 11 to the Canary channel (which is the earliest testing outlet) and it does some work on the widgets panel that could be divisive.

This is build 26200 and there’s only a handful of changes applied here, two of which pertain to widgets.

The main thrust of innovation here is Microsoft’s new idea to allow developers to send notifications from their widgets to the taskbar button. In other words, when something happens with a widget that you might want to see, it’ll be waving at you from the taskbar to let you know.

Of course, not everyone will want their widget button in the taskbar to act in this way, and fortunately, Microsoft has included an option to turn off this behavior.

It’s also worth noting that this is a limited rollout to begin with, and indeed, most people won’t see these widget notifications yet – only those in the European Economic Area (EEA) are getting this feature in testing. Of course, that rollout could be made broader down the line, depending on feedback.

Another tweak related to this in build 26200 is that Microsoft is changing said widgets button to make the icons on the taskbar clearer.

Elsewhere on the taskbar, another icon is changing, this time the energy saver icon which resides in the system tray (on the far right). A few months back this was changed in testing to look different for desktop PCs plugged into a power socket, but now Microsoft has decided to revert it to the old look (a leaf icon).

Finally, Microsoft notes that there is an odd known issue with this preview build – and others, in the Dev and Beta channels, too – whereby Copilot is auto-launching itself after the PC is rebooted.

The software giant explains this is not related to the automatic launch on boot behavior that has been tested in preview builds before, the rollout of which has now stopped, apparently, since March (though we heard it has been restarted elsewhere).

This is a separate glitch, then, and Microsoft says it hopes to have a fix implemented soon. Meanwhile, greater visibility for Copilot is something the company is certainly driving forward with, to no one’s surprise.

Analysis: A livelier taskbar won’t be everyone’s preferred beverage

Are notifications for widgets intrusive? Well, yes they could certainly be regarded in that way, but as noted, as long as the option is provided to turn them off, it’s not too big a deal. If you want them, you can have them – if not, hit that off switch. Fair enough.

Many people likely won’t want their widgets effectively waving their hands at them from the taskbar, whenever something new pops up with a widget in the panel. This taskbar-based hand-waving appears to be a direction Microsoft is exploring in more depth, though. We’ve also recently seen an idea where the Copilot button runs an animation with its icon to draw your attention to the fact that the AI can help with something you’re doing on the desktop.

This only relates to copying text or image files currently – again, in testing – but in this case, there’s no way to turn it off.

All this could possibly point to a taskbar which is considerably livelier and more animated in the future, perhaps – and again, that’s not something everyone will appreciate.

If this is the path we’re going down for the taskbar as we head towards next-gen Windows (which might be Windows 12), hopefully Microsoft will also give Windows users enough granular control over the bar’s highlighting features and animations so they can be dialed back suitably.

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Classic PlayStation and Saturn games may be coming to your iPhone next
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With the advent of increased third-party support on iOS, video game emulators have rushed to the App Store to fill in the gap. The first bunch has been primarily for old Commodore 64 and GameBoy titles. However, this could soon change as we may see an emulator capable of running Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn games. The app in question is called Provenance EMU. In an email to news site iMore, project lead Joseph Mattiello said his team is working on launching their software to the App Store.

Provenance, if you’re not familiar, can run titles from a variety of consoles, including famous ones such as the Super Nintendo and more obscure machines. It’s unknown when the emulator will make its debut. Mattiello states they also need to make some quality-of-life fixes first and he wants to “investigate” the new rules. The report doesn’t explain what he’s referring to, but Mattiello may be talking about the recent changes Apple made to the App Review Guidelines. Lines were added in early April stating “developers are responsible for all the software inside their apps”. Plus, emulators need to “comply with all applicable laws”. 

Warning

Please note the use of emulators may be in violation of the game developer and publisher terms and conditions as well as applicable intellectual property laws. These will vary so please check these. Emulators should only ever be used with your own purchased game copy. TechRadar does not condone or encourage the illegal downloading of games or actions infringing copyright. 

This could put third-party developers under deep scrutiny by gaming publishers. Nintendo, for example, is not afraid to sic its lawyers after developers it claims are violating the law. Look at what happened with Yuzu. 

Game emulation currently exists in a legally gray area. Despite this, they have been allowed to exist, but one wrong move could bring the hammer down. So, Mattiello wants to ensure his team won’t be stepping on any landmines at launch. If all goes well, we could see a new era of mobile gaming; one where the titles aren’t just sidescrollers with sprites, but games featuring fleshed-out 3D models and environments.

What to play

We don’t recommend downloading random ROMs of games off the internet. Not only could they violate intellectual property laws, but they can also hold malware. These digital libraries aren’t the most secure. 

So if and when Provenance is released on the App Store, what can people play? At the moment, it seems users will have to try out homebrew games. They’re independently made titles that copy certain graphical styles for emulators. 

iMore recommends PSX Place, a website where hobbyists come together to share their homebrewed PlayStation games. Itch.io is another great resource. If you ever wanted to play a fan adaptation of Twin Peaks, Itch.io has one available. For GameBoy-style titles, Homebrew Hub has tons of fan-made projects. Personally, we would love to see publishers like Sony and Nintendo release their games on iOS. That way, people can enjoy the classics without skirting the law.

For those looking to upgrade, check out TechRadar's guide for the best iPhone for 2024.

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The 8 best games in the Meta Quest April Mega Sale that you should buy right now
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If you're looking to add some new titles to your Meta Quest 3 library then look no further than the Meta Quest April Mega Sale.

From now until April 28 at 11:59 PM PT (April 29 at 07:59 AM BST) you can pick up a whole host of VR games and apps at a bargain price. There are lots of fantastic option to choose from, but I've selected eight deals worth considering.

If you want to find more suggestions you can check out our best VR games list.

Walkabout Mini Golf

If I’m doing a VR game roundup, I’m going to include Walkabout Mini Golf because it’s without a doubt my favorite VR experience. I think you should buy this game at full price so while it’s discounted it’s a no-brainer.

The courses are varied and gorgeous, the mechanics feel true to life, and it offers a superb multiplier experience to boot. But honestly just stop reading this and go buy it if you haven’t already (then come back and keep reading for more suggestions).

Dungeons Of Eternity

Dungeons of Eternity is an action-packed dungeon crawler with an addictive combination of excellent physics-based combat with a satisfying gameplay loop that has you exploring, well, dungeons filled with monsters.

What really takes this game up a level is its multiplayer mode. Just grab a few friends and you can tackle the hordes of terrors together – and you might get a little fitter in the process as this was one of a personal trainer's recommended VR titles for people looking to try VR fitness.

What's even better is that this is a big discount, so it's a great time to finally try Dungeons of Eternity if you haven't already.

The Last Clockwinder

This VR puzzle game is my favorite for people after a more serious experience – combining an intriguing tale of mystery with a host of engaging mechanics.

Your goal is to restore the Clocktower’s gardens to grow different fruits using a small army of robots that mimic your movements – all while you search for the missing Clockwinder. Simply record an action and an automaton will spawn to recreate what you did on a loop; by chaining these robots you’ll create complex sequences to solve the various puzzles in your way.

What makes The Last Clockwinder fun for puzzle fans like myself is that while each mission can be completed using as many robots as you can spawn, there are in-game challenges and rewards encouraging you to be as efficient as possible. 

This means novices can always find a solution, but experts will have a real challenge finding an optimal solution – which often requires precise movements and out-of-the-box thinking.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

This VR multiplayer game is a perfect choice for people who want to enjoy VR together but only have one headset. 

One player – the person in VR – can see a complex bomb with various puzzle modules that must be solved in order to deactivate it. The other player (or players) can see a complex manual – much of which may be irrelevant to the virtual bomb you’re trying to defuse. By working together the duo must defuse the explosive before a timer runs out or making too many mistakes.

It’s chaotic, it’s fun, and right now it’s on sale for a great price.

I Expect You To Die Collection

If you’ve ever wanted to be James Bond – though at times you may feel more like Austin Powers – then this virtual escape room series is what you need. Brimming with all the spy tropes under the sun (complete with kickass theme songs I have in my playlist) this game series is an absolute delight to play through – it’s one of those VR games everyone should play.

This double pack includes the first and second games at a discounted price, but if you already own one or both you can pick up all three games in the series individually for a lower-than-normal price:

The Light Brigade

This VR shooter roguelike has you fighting through a dark world of corrupted soldiers and monsters. If you fail – and you will – you can retry your mission but be careful as the dungeon you’re adventuring through will have a different layout every time you enter.

The Light Brigade is adrenaline-inducing in all the right ways, with semi-realistic World War I-era weapons to handle, a diverse range of formidable foes, and a great selection of classes you can switch between – each with a unique style of gameplay. As you progress, you can upgrade your soldier’s abilities to make future runs a little easier.

I adore The Light Brigade – every time I boot it up I binge it for hours on end – and at this price, it’s a certified must-play.

Among Us VR

I love social deduction games – be they board games like Secret Hitler and Coup, or video games like Town of Salem and Among Us – and this VR version is an absolute riot.

The first-person perspective and proximity chat make the experience feel way more immersive (read: it’s a lot scarier being a crewmate), and meetings are a lot more engaging compared to using the flat game’s text-chat option – though chat-only VR lobbies are available.

For only $ 7.49 / £5.99 Among Us VR is a steal that you should definitely pick up.

Assassin’s Creed Nexus

This is the only game on this list I haven’t played – ignoring an early-access demo I tried when I first gave the Meta Quest 3 a whirl – but I’ve heard great things about it and it’s been on my to-play list for some time.

Nexus lets you play as the series’ most iconic Assassins in VR recreations of iconic locations from the original games. I’ve been told that at times it can be a little janky, but the combat and parkour experience are good enough for it to stick the landing on helping you live out your dream of joining the Brotherhood.

This isn’t the biggest discount in the world, but considering this is a pricey game to begin with we’ll take any discount we can get.

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Copilot is everywhere in Windows 11 and it’s about to get harder to ignore – but is Microsoft in danger of wearing out the AI assistant’s welcome?
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Windows 11 is going to see a lot more of Copilot in the future – that’s pretty obviously the line Microsoft is taking with its desktop-based assistant – and there’s fresh evidence of the AI creeping into more corners of the OS.

Firstly, we have a sighting of a new wallpaper, which came yesterday, when a couple of inbound laptops with the promising Snapdragon X Elite CPU were leaked. Both of those Lenovo notebooks had a Copilot-themed wallpaper on the desktop, so it’s a safe assumption that Microsoft has an official new background for the AI in the pipeline.

As Windows Latest observes, this is actually a traditional ‘bloom’ wallpaper, except Microsoft has redone the image in the Copilot colors (mirroring the Copilot button in the taskbar).

The tech site also points out other ways in which Copilot is creeping into Windows 11 and Microsoft Edge. For example, in the Edge browser, as highlighted by leaker Leopeva64, there’s now a bar of options pertaining to the AI when you open the Settings panel.

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This bar contains suggestions for how you might use Copilot, allowing you to get advice on security settings for example, or managing your passwords in the browser. These suggestions change depending on what section of Edge’s settings you’re in, by the way, making them more relevant to what you might be looking to do.

Note that this idea is just in testing right now, and in the Canary channel to boot (the earliest test avenue).

Another ability brought in for Copilot in Edge (again, in the Canary channel) is an expanded Ask Copilot context menu. This means that when you select a section of text in a web page, there are new options for directly interacting with Copilot in this menu.

As Windows Latest explains, these choices are: Explain, Summarize, Expand, and Ask anything in Chat.

The last option acts like the current incarnation of Ask Copilot – it just fires up the AI’s panel with a query on the selected text.

With the new options, however, Explain prompts Copilot to do just that – offer an explanation of the text – and Summarize provides a summary, as you’d expect. In a similar vein, Expand goes the other way, furnishing you with extra facts or information about the selected text.

Again with Edge, Leopeva64 also spotted that AI is going to be integrated into the browser’s ‘Magnify Image’ option, with a button spotted that offers to ‘AI Enhance’ the image after it’s been blown up. This is in very early testing, though, and the button doesn’t yet do anything at all.

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Another recent addition Windows Latest flagged up is ‘Circle to Copilot’ in Edge in Windows 11 (and iOS), allowing you to literally draw a circle around something to activate a Copilot query about the highlighted item.

All this comes on top of a recent move in the Beta channel of Windows 11 previews, trying out a new way of highlighting that Copilot can help with something – by animating the taskbar button for the AI when this is the case. New options have also been added to the menu that appears when you hover over the Copilot button, too, expanding that further.

Analysis: Making Copilot a more visible presence

All of this is still to come, we should note – these are changes in testing for Windows 11 or its Edge browser, and in the case of the wallpaper, a glimpse of what’s very likely to come.

Indeed, that Copilot background will likely be the default wallpaper for AI PCs starting with Snapdragon X Elite-powered laptops that launch in June. (Not forgetting Microsoft’s own Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6, the consumer spins on which will land then, and may have a custom version of the Elite SoC inside).

Overall, though, it’s clear that Microsoft is pushing forward with expanding Copilot’s capabilities, and sussing out ways in which the AI can be made more visible on the desktop. Whether that’s about an animation for the taskbar button (effectively declaring “It’s-a-me, Copilot, I can help with that”), or a fancy desktop wallpaper that could be a permanent reminder of the AI, if you fall for the color scheme (which does look quite funky, to be fair).

We’d be surprised if most of these tested changes didn’t come to fruition, frankly, and as noted, there’s a theme of Microsoft increasingly pushing Copilot which comes as no surprise.

The big rumored addition on the horizon is, of course, AI Explorer – but that feature (supposedly debuting in the Windows 11 24H2 update) may have an unexpected twist in its initial incarnation that’s a bit of a shocker. (Spoiler alert: If you don’t have an ARM CPU like the aforementioned Snapdragon, then you can forget it – Intel and AMD-powered PCs might be left out in the cold).

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NVIDIA Instant NeRFs need just a few images to make 3D scenes
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NVIDIA sees AI as a means of putting new tools into the hands of gamers and creators alike. NVIDIA Instant NeRF is one such tool, leveraging the power of NVIDIA’s GPUs to make complex 3D creations orders of magnitude easier to generate. Instant NeRF is an especially powerful tool in its ability to create these 3D scenes and objects. 

In effect, NVIDIA Instant NeRF takes a series of 2D images, figures out how they overlap, and uses that knowledge to create an entire 3D scene. A NeRF (or Neural Radiance Field) isn’t a new thing, but the process to create one was not fast. By applying machine learning techniques to the process and specialized hardware, NVIDIA was able to make it much quicker, enough to be almost instant — thus Instant NeRF. 

Being able to snap a series of photos or even record a video of a scene and then turn it into a freely explorable 3D environment offers a new realm of creative possibility for artists. It also provides a quick way to turn a real-world object into a 3D one. 

Some artists are already realizing the potential of Instant NeRF. In a few artist showcases, NVIDIA highlights artists’ abilities to share historic artworks, capture memories, and allow viewers of the artworks to more fully immerse themselves in the scenes without being beholden to the original composition.

Karen X. Cheng explores the potential of this tool in her creation, Through the Looking Glass, which uses NVIDIA Instant NeRF to create the 3D scene through which her camera ventures, eventually slipping through a mirror into an inverted world. 

Hugues Bruyère uses Instant NeRF in his creation, Zeus, to present a historic sculpture from the Royal Ontario Museum in a new way. This gives those who may never have a chance to see it in person the ability to view it from all angles nonetheless.

Instant NeRF of inside NVIDIA HQ

(Image credit: NVIDIA)

With tools like Instant NeRF, it’s clear that NVIDIA’s latest hardware has much more than just gamers in mind. With more and more dedicated AI power built into each chip, NVIDIA RTX GPUs are bringing new levels of AI performance to the table that can serve gamers and creators alike. 

The same Tensor Cores that make it possible to infer what a 4K frame in a game would look like using a 1080p frame as a reference are also making it possible to infer what a fully fleshed out 3D scene would look like using a series of 2D images. And NVIDIA’s latest GPUs put those tools right into your hands. 

Instant NeRF isn’t something you just get to hear about. It’s actually a tool you can try for yourself. Developers can dive right in with this guide, and less technical users can grab a simpler Windows installer here which even includes a demo photo set. Since Instant NeRF runs on RTX GPUs, it’s widely available, though the latest RTX 40 Series and RTX Ada GPUs can turn out results even faster. 

The ability of NVIDIA’s hardware to accelerate AI is key to powering a new generation of AI PCs. Instant NeRF is just one of many examples of how NVIDIA’s GPUs are enabling new capabilities or dramatically speeding up existing tools. To help you explore the latest developments in AI and present them in an easy-to-understand format, NVIDIA has introduced the AI Decoded blog series. You can also see all the ways NVIDIA is boosting AI performance at NVIDIA’s RTX for AI page. 

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Windows 11’s Photos app is getting more sophistication with new Designer app integration – but there’s a catch
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Windows 11’s Photos app has been getting some impressive upgrades recently, and it looks like another one is on the way. The app is getting Designer web app integration, which is Microsoft’s tool that enables people to make professional-looking graphics, but there’s one little catch – it’ll prompt Designer to open in Edge (Microsoft’s web browser that comes installed with Windows 11). 

The new Designer integration joins a line-up of other features that have been added in the last two years, including the background blur feature, an AI magic eraser, and more. The new feature is  accessible via an 'Edit in Microsoft Designer' option within the Photos app, represented by an icon that will appear in the middle of the Preview window. 

It’s not the most subtle position for it, and I think it’s fair to assume Microsoft is doing that because it wants users to click it. Doing so will take users to the Microsoft Designer website which opens in an Edge window – and due to Edge not being the most popular of web browsers, this could irritate people who have set their default browser to a different app, such as Chrome. 

This development is still in the testing stages, according to Windows Latest, making its way through the Windows Insider Program. The feature can be found in Photos app version 2024.11040.16001.0, which is a part of the Windows 11 24H2 preview build in the Canary channel. The feature should also be available in the Windows 11 Insider Dev channel build, but the Photos app version has to be version 2024.11040.16001.0.

Apparently, you can also prompt the Designer web app to open by right-clicking the image while in Preview in the Photos app, and clicking ‘Edit in Designer online’ in the menu that appears.

Woman relaxing on a sofa, holding a laptop in her lap and using it

(Image credit: Shutterstock/fizkes)

The apparent state of the new feature

When it tried to activate the new feature, Windows Latest hit a wall as it was presented with a blank canvas in Designer, rather than the image that was going to be edited. Hopefully, this is an anomaly or an error, and it presumably will result in the image you’re looking at in Preview in the Photos app opening up in Designer when the feature is fully rolled out in a Windows update. 

Windows Latest made several attempts at making the feature function as intended, but it wasn’t to be, and I would hope that Microsoft takes this feedback on board, especially if it’s a widespread issue. You can import the image manually while having the Designer web app already open, but this will defeat the purpose of having an easily accessible option in the Photos app. 

Users can edit their image in Designer, but only if they’ve signed into their Microsoft account. Microsoft wrote about the feature in an official Windows Blogs post, explaining that it’s currently being tested in the US, UK, Australia, Ireland, India, and New Zealand.

Having various image editing tools scattered across the Photos app, the Designer web app, and the Paint app doesn’t make things easy for Windows users. People like accessing all the relevant tools from whatever app they’re currently using instead of having to memorize which app has what exclusive feature. 

The approach has been called ‘inconsistent’ by Windows Latest, and I would bet that it’s not alone in that opinion. While it’s clear that Microsoft wants to get people using its new AI-powered tools, the company would be much better served if made them easier to access through one powerful program, rather than being scattered around Windows 11.

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