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Chrome’s new Declutter tool may soon help manage your 100 plus open tabs
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Recent evidence suggests Chrome on Android may receive a new Tab Declutter tool to help people manage so many open tabs. Hints of this feature were discovered in lines of code on Google’s Chromium platform by 9To5Google. It’s unknown exactly how Tab Declutter will work, although there is enough information to paint a picture.

According to the report, tabs that have been unused for a long period of time “will automatically” be put away in an archive. You can then go over to the archive editor, look at what’s there, and decide for yourself whether you want to delete a tab or restore it. 

Not only could Tab Declutter help people manage a messy browser, but it might also boost Chrome’s performance. All those open tabs can eat away at a device's RAM, slowing things down to a crawl.

This isn’t the first time Google has worked on improving tab management for its browser. Back in January, the company implemented an organizer tool harnessing the power of AI to instantly group tabs together based on a certain topic.  

These efforts even go as far back as 2020, when the tech giant began developing a feature that would recommend closing certain tabs if they’ve been left alone for an extended period of time. It was similar to the new Declutter tool, though much less aggressive, since it wouldn’t archive anything. Ultimately, nothing came of it, however it seems Google is looking back at this old idea.  

Speculating on all the open tabs

As 9To5Google points out, this has the potential to “become one of the most annoying features” the company has ever made. Imagine Chrome disappearing tabs you wanted to look at without letting you know. It could get frustrating pretty fast. 

Additionally, would it be possible to set a time limit for when an unused page is allowed to be put away? Will there be an exception list telling Chrome to leave certain websites alone? We'll have the answer if and when this feature eventually goes live.

We have no word on when Tab Declutter will launch. It’s unknown if Chrome on iOS is scheduled to receive a similar upgrade as the Chromium edition. It's possible Android devices will get first dibs, then iPhones, or the iPhone may be left out in some regions that don't get a Chromium-based browser. 

9To5Google speculates the update will launch in early May as part of Chrome 125. This seems a little early if it’s still in the middle of development. Late summer to early autumn is more plausible, but we could be totally wrong. We’ll just have to wait.

Until we get more news, check out TechRadar's roundup of the best Chromebooks for 2024.

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Got a Meta Quest 3? There are 12 new reasons to get a Quest Plus subscription
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Meta Quest 3 and Oculus Quest 2 owners with a Meta Quest Plus subscription are about to get a lot more bang for their buck as the program is getting a Netflix-style catalogue of rotating software.

Previously, Quest Plus owners got two free games a month that they could keep and use for as long as they were subscribed – the software for March 2024 is shooter Contractors and immersive puzzler Shadow Point. Now, on top of those two free VR apps they’ll also get access to a rotating library of other free titles they can enjoy while they’re available at no extra cost.

The current selection of 12 joining the service in March 2024 includes some excellent sports apps in The Climb and Sports Scramble, as well as some of my favorite VR games with Walkabout Mini Golf and Until You Fall.

The first 12 Meta Quest Plus catalogue titles including Demeo, Fruit Ninja, Walkabout Mini Golf and A Township Tale

The first 12 Meta Quest Plus catalogue titles (Image credit: Meta)

If the deal wasn’t sweet enough for you already there’s an extra offer available for people who buy an annual Meta Quest Plus subscription before May 31, 2024 – this includes people who buy new subscriptions, but also existing users who upgrade from a monthly Quest Plus plan.

That’s because you’ll not only get the best-value Meta Quest Plus subscription – paying just $ 59.99 / £59.99 a year instead of the $ 95.88 / £95.88 it’d cost by paying $ 7.99 / £7.99 monthly – but you'll also get $ 25 / £25 store credit to buy any Quest game or app you want.

Unlike the Meta Quest Plus software, you won’t lose access to it when you unsubscribe.

It’s unclear how long apps will be available in the rotating catalogue – if they’ll all change monthly, or if it depends on the specific title title. We also don't know if you'll get a discount on the software if you choose to buy it before it leaves (which is a benefit offered by other similar services). 

At the very least, this catalogue will offer you an extended demo for any games and apps you’re interested in – informing you if it’s worth buying once it’s gone, or not. You might even manage to finish a whole single-player adventure before spending a dime (ignoring the subscription cost).

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Windows 11’s ‘February 2024 Moment’ update is bringing new AI and accessibility features – plus no more Bing blackmail (for some people)
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The next major update for Windows 11 is expected to arrive at end of February, and what awaits users includes artificial intelligence (AI) tools for organising your desktop, being able to disable Bing in Windows Search (if you’re in the EU), the ability to uninstall Microsoft Edge (again, EU only), Notepad updates, and more. 

This Windows 11 update has been dubbed “Moment 5” and “February 2024 Moment” (the latter being the name that Microsoft uses internally).

While this update will deliver some new features and tweaks, this update is primarily aimed at making Windows 11 compliant with new legislation from the European Union, the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Mozilla recently published a report accusing Microsoft of using “dark patterns” and bad market competition practices with regard to browser choice, so at least in the EU, this situation will slightly improve. 

What Windows 11 users can look forward to and when

Some of the updates that are coming with Moment 5 update include improvements to Windows 365’s Cloud PC integration, built-in accessibility features in Windows 11, an option to remove news from the Widgets Board, and the capability to remove Bing from the Windows Search pane (if you're in the EU). These features are expected to be previewed in late February 2024 or the beginning of March 2024. 

This is all we know about Moment 5 at the moment, according to Windows Central, and we will continue to watch and report new information about the upcoming update as we have it. Going by the internal name given to the update, “February 2024 Moment,” it’s not expected to stretch into March, and Windows Central  suggests that users will be able to install this update as of February 27, 2024. 

You can try out this update out for yourself (if it’s available on the forecasted date) by doing the following: 

1. Go to your PC’s Settings app. 

2. In the left-hand menu, select Windows Update. 

3. In the resulting menu, click on the Check for updates button. 

This will prompt Windows to search for any freshly released available updates. If it finds them, it’ll automatically download and install them on your device. 

Windows 11 Update showing on laptop in an office

(Image credit: TechRadar)

EU-phoria for certain Windows 11 users

This update is good news for users in the EU, with them now being able to disable Bing in Windows Search and choose a different search provider in its place, and uninstall preinstalled apps like Microsoft Edge. It’s certainly a win for Windows 11 users in the EU and a cause for envy from the rest of us – they’re getting more choice and they’re gaining more control over their computers.

It’s not just Microsoft that’s being accused of anti-competitive practices. Mozilla and Google also recently called out Apple for not going far enough with its new rules and regulations that have come about as a result of the DMA, and, somewhat similarly to Microsoft, in engaging in poor browser market competition practices. 

Users have been complaining about Microsoft’s persistent and annoying efforts to try and get them to switch to its browser Edge, and at least for EU users, this will now hopefully end – or at least become less aggressive. The rest of us, however, will have to wait and hope for our governments to follow. 

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Windows 11’s AI-powered Voice Clarity feature improves your video chats, plus setup has a new look (finally)
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Windows 11 has a new preview build out that improves audio quality for your video chats and more besides.

Windows 11 preview build 26040 has been released in the Canary channel (the earliest test builds) complete with the Voice Clarity feature which was previously exclusive to owners of Surface devices.

Voice Clarity leverages AI to improve audio chat on your end, canceling out echo, reducing reverberation or other unwanted effects, and suppressing any intrusive background noises. In short, it helps you to be heard better, and your voice to be clearer.

The catch is that apps need to use Communications Signal Processing Mode to have the benefit of this feature, which is unsurprisingly what Microsoft’s own Phone Link app uses. WhatsApp is another example, plus some PC games will be good to go with this tech, so you can shout at your teammates and be crystal clear when doing so.

Voice Clarity is on by default – after all, there’s no real downside here, save for using a bit of CPU juice – but you can turn it off if you want.

Another smart addition here is a hook-up between your Android phone and Windows 11 PC for editing photos. Whenever you take a photo on your smartphone, it’ll be available on the desktop PC straight away (you’ll get a notification), and you can edit it in the Snipping Tool (rather than struggling to deal with the image on your handset).

For the full list of changes in build 26040, see Microsoft’s blog post, but another of the bigger introductions worth highlighting here is that the Windows 11 setup experience has been given a long overdue lick of paint.

Windows 11 Setup

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Analysis: Setting the scene

It’s about time Windows setup got some attention, as it has had the same basic look for a long time now. It’d be nice for the modernization to get a touch more sparkle, we reckon, though the improvement is a good one, and it’s not exactly a crucial part of the interface (given that you don’t see it after you’ve installed the operating system, anyway).

We have already seen the capability for Android phone photos to be piped to the Snipping Tool appear in the Dev channel last week, but it’s good to see a broader rollout to Canary testers. It is only rolling out, though, so bear in mind that you might not see it yet if you’re a denizen of the Canary channel.

As for Voice Clarity, clearly that’s a welcome touch of AI for all Windows 11 users. Whether you’re chatting to your family to catch up at the weekend, or you work remotely and use your Windows 11 PC for meetings, being able to be heard better by the person (or people) on the other end of the call is obviously a good thing.

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Apple confirms Dolby Vision HDR on Vision Pro, plus which streamers it will support – and 2 big ones are missing
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Apple has revealed more information about what watching movie and TV shows will be like on the Apple Vision Pro, including confirmation of which of the best streaming services will have full native support when it launches.

We already knew Disney Plus would be there – that was announced at the start – and obviously Apple TV Plus was always going to have great support, but now we know that Max and Prime Video will be available, too. 

On top of those, you'll also have ESPN, NBA, MLB, PGA Tour, Discovery Plus, Paramount Plus, Peacock, Pluto TV, Tubi, Fubo, Crunchyroll, Red Bull TV, IMAX, and TikTok (which obviously is a little different to the others, but hey, it's all video).

There are two huge omissions from that list: Netflix and YouTube. We actually wouldn't have been concerned about that fact that YouTube's missing from the list because it's not like the other curated streaming services there… but then Apple mentioned TikTok, and suddenly the lack of YouTube leaps out, since it's the world's best portal for VR/immersive video.

Outside of that, Apple also confirmed for the first time that the headset will support Dolby Vision HDR in addition to Dolby Atmos for audio (through the built-in speakers, or via the AirPods Pro 2 version with USB-C). Dolby Vision will help to make sure that the micro-OLED screens really reach their full potential in movies (it's on most of the best OLED TVs), while Dolby Atmos is the most sensible way to make it sound like you're sitting in a real cinema with speakers around you, thanks to its 3D soundscape tech.

One nice extra touch that Apple confirmed about its virtual cinema room that you can watch in, is that you can choose whether to sit at the front, middle or back. People have strong opinions about this!

It's not unusual

It's not a massive surprise that Netflix is missing. The company's always had a hit-and-miss relationship with Apple; the two obviously have a deep connection, but Netflix has had issues with Apple's App Store revenue sharing scheme for a long time, and the Netflix Apple TV app often doesn't get new features until long after they come to other versions of the app.

But as someone who genuinely can't wait to experience the 'Cinema Environments' mode of Vision Pro as a way to watch huge-screen movies at home, it'll be a huge shame not to be able to do that with Maestro (a movie made for IMAX but trapped in the confines on Netflix), Society of the Snow (and its beautiful, terrifying vistas) or the many classics you can find among the best Netflix movies.

Google and Apple also have a complicated relationship. The two make a ton of money off each other, but we're in a very different place to the launch of the iPhone when there was a YouTube app as part of the default apps. Clearly, Google doesn't see Vision Pro as a priority, just as Netflix doesn't – and perhaps they're right. After all, it's not like the first run of 150,000 Vision Pro headsets will depend on streaming services to sell out or not.

Whenever a more affordable non-Pro 'Apple Vision' headset arrives, that's when Apple will need the two biggest video streamers in the world on board. Until then, those lucky enough to get a Vision Pro can probably find enough to watch from the entire Apple movies store and the streaming services already confirmed.

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CoPilot Pro leak suggests Microsoft will soon make you pay for its ChatGPT Plus features
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Microsoft has spent billions on integrating ChatGPT into its Copilot AI assistant for Edge, Bing and Windows 11 – and a new code leak suggests it could be planning to claw back some of that investment very soon.

As spotted by Android Authority, some new Edge browser updates for Android contain several code references to a 'Copilot Pro' tier that isn't yet available. Right now, Copilot (previously called Bing Chat) is completely free and, as Tom's Guide recently noticed, even gives some access to the latest ChatGPT model, GPT-4 Turbo.

But those days could be numbered if Copilot Pro does become a reality. The code contains references to a “pay wall upsell” option, which suggests that Microsoft is planning its equivalent of ChatGPT Plus. The latter currently costs $ 20 / £16 / AU$ 28 per month.

Those strings of code discovered in Edge also give us hints of what kind of features a Copilot Pro subscription might give us. These include access to the newest AI models (in other words, ChatGPT's GPT-4 Turbo), priority server access, and “high-quality” image generation.

While it seems likely that a free Copilot tier will continue to be available, the days of Microsoft giving us quite so many free AI perks, then, could be drawing to a close.

Plus points

Copilot in Windows

(Image credit: Microsoft)

The arrival of a ChatGPT Pro subscription has always been a matter of when rather than if, when you consider how much its costs to run an AI assistant on the scale of Microsoft Copilot. In the case of ChatGPT, some estimates suggest the computer hardware costs could be as high as $ 700,000 a day.

This is why ChatGPT launched its Plus subscription in February 2023 – and, a year on, it looks like Microsoft Copilot Pro could soon be following in that paid model's footsteps. 

Unfortunately, that could mean the free version of Copilot becoming a bit dumber, as that version currently gives you access to ChatGPT's latest models and also Dall-E 3 image generation. 

Hopefully, some of Copilot's current restrictions, like being limited to 300 conversations per day, will also be eased in the Pro version. While we don't yet know when this Copilot Pro tier might launch, it looks like we could find out very soon.

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ChatGPT has now fixed a ‘major outage’ – and reopened its Plus subscriptions
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ChatGPT is back online after suffering a “major” outage, according to the OpenAI status log (as spotted by Bloomberg). It’s far from the first time the chatbot has gone down in recent months, and it comes amid increased competition from Google’s brand-new Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) tool.

OpenAI, ChatGPT’s developer, posted the note on its website stating that the company’s chatbot was down for just under 40 minutes yesterday, between 5:32pm and 6:10pm PST. Outage indicator website Downdetector logged almost 3,000 reports that ChatGPT had crashed, coinciding with OpenAI’s report.

Looking back through OpenAI’s incident report page, it’s far from the only time that ChatGPT has gone down recently. November was a particularly error-prone month, with another “major” outage on November 8, while a whole host of OpenAI services were inaccessible on November 11.

The latest crash comes at a potentially challenging time for OpenAI, as Google has just launched its Gemini large language model (LLM) that will power a range of AI services for the search giant. Yet Gemini hasn’t got off to the best start, as complaints have mounted over its abilities and Google’s decision to fake a “hands-on” video of the tool.

ChatGPT Plus resumes subscriptions

A laptop screen showing the landing page for ChatGPT Plus

(Image credit: OpenAI)

Just as ChatGPT was coming back online, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman shared some more positive news on X (formerly Twitter), noting that the company had re-enabled ChatGPT Plus subscriptions. “Thanks for your patience while we found more GPUs,” Altman added dryly.

ChatGPT Plus is OpenAI’s subscription service. For $ 20 / £16 a month, users gain access to a more advanced LLM (powered by GPT-4 rather than GPT-3.5, which runs the regular version of ChatGPT), faster response times and “priority access to new features and improvements.”

ChatGPT Plus had become so overrun in recent months that OpenAI was forced to pause subscriptions. According to Altman, a surge in use after OpenAI’s DevDay developer conference “exceeded our capacity and we want to make sure everyone has a great experience.”

With the rise of Google Gemini, you might be taking this moment to consider whether ChatGPT Plus is worth it. Google says Gemini can beat GPT-4 in a majority of tests, yet that’s with its high-end Ultra model, which isn’t available yet. So for now, ChatGPT Plus is still probably the best AI chatbot you can get – at least until Gemini Ultra launches.

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ChatGPT has become so popular it’s had to pause Plus subscriptions
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If you were about to start delving into the world of AI chatbots, then we have some bad news: signups for ChatGPT Plus have been paused as demand has spread beyond the capacity of OpenAI, the organization behind the chatbot/language model. 

For the uninitiated, ChatGPT Plus provides priority access to ChatGPT and faster response times for the artificial intelligence-powered language model, as well as priority access to new features and improvements all for some $ 20 a month. 

But with new subscriptions now paused, you won't be able to get access to the likes of the GPT-Turbo – a supercharged version of the ChatGPT AI model – and custom GPTs that can be tailored to particular tasks. 

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The base ChatGPT is still available for free and people can still sign up and use it, it’s just the premium tier is basically out of reach for new subscribers for the time being. So that means you can still use ChatGPT to come up with answers to all manner of queries, or finesse your CV, or even give you dating advice. Just don’t expect it to be super fast or especially accurate – while ChatGPT can be a powerful tool, it’s not quite up to the same level of intelligence as a garden-variety human.

As for the surge in subscribers for ChatGPT Plus, that may have come from OpenAI’s recent developer conference DevDay, which was held on November 6. This may have seen a spate of developers get a dose of inspiration and move to sign up for ChatGPT Plus.

“The surge in usage post-DevDay has exceeded our capacity and we want to make sure everyone has a great experience,” said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.

So the flipside of this subscription pause could deliver a better overall service once OpenAI catches up.

Rise of the chatbots 

So what can we infer from this surge? Well, it would be a good indication of the continued appetite to embrace ChatGPT and other AI tools and chatbots. 

And as a result, we could see more apps and services come with ChatGPT-powered features, likely chatbots to provide a quick way to answer user queries or provide the core experience of a smart service. 

Then again with the likes of Samsung and Apple tipped to make greater use of AI in its future smartphones, we could see all manner of AI-related tech in near-future products. Time will, as ever, tell. 

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ChatGPT Plus subscribers can now make their own customizable chatbots – GPTs
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During its first tech conference, OpenAI introduced a new service that will allow you to create your own version of ChatGPT tailored to your specific needs. What’s more, you don’t even need to know how to code.

Simply called GPTs, these custom chatbots can handle a variety of use cases across different scenarios. Businesses, for example, can create a special GPT that only their employees can access. Or parents can have one that’ll teach their kids how to solve tough math problems. It appears this is an evolution of Custom Instructions from this past July. The company told TheVerge they rolled out the features in order to give users some control over their AI, but people wanted more. 

Making a custom GPT model, from the looks of it, is a fairly straightforward process. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman demonstrated the process at the event. What you need to be aware of is that there are a lot of steps involved. 

A demonstration

First, you’ll need a subscription to ChatGPT Plus which is $ 20 a month or ChatGPT Enterprise if you own a business. Then you head over to your personal account and select the Create a GPT option at the top of the page. The GPT Builder tool will proceed to ask you what you want to make. Sam Altman demonstrated the process by telling the platform to generate a chatbot that will offer business advice to tech startups.

GPTs demonstration

(Image credit: OpenAI)

The tech will then create a fledgling AI model, which will be previewed on the right side of the screen. GPT Builder will press for more details like what name you want to give the chatbot or what kind of thumbnail image should it have. It is possible to configure it further by uploading your own data files to the AI, and further refining it for your purposes. There are also extra “capabilities” you can enable such as browsing the internet or integrating the DALL-E image generator.

Configuring GPT chatbot

(Image credit: OpenAI)

Once you’re done, you can save your newly-made chatbot to make additional tweaks down the line or you can release it by sharing it with the public via link. There will be support for select third-party services so your model can access data from “emails, databases, and more”. Another live test displayed how users can connect their Google Calendar schedule to the custom AI through the Zapier tool.

The developer demonstrating her personal GPT asked it what her schedule looked like for the day and it brought up every single meeting she had penciled in. The bot even highlighted scheduling conflicts. Third-party support is currently limited to the Zapier tool, as well as the image editing site Canva.

GPT chatbot with Zapier integration

(Image credit: OpenAI)

OpenAI states chats between you and your personal GPT will not be shared with other people or the company unless you give your explicit consent. You are in control of your data at all times. That said, the developers do have “systems” in place that give them authority to review user-generated GPTs to make sure they don’t run afoul of company policy. OpenAI doesn’t want people to create chatbots that involve themselves with “fraudulent activity, hateful content, or adult themes.” They want to keep things squeaky clean.

The GPT Builder is available in a beta state to everyone who has a subscription to ChatGPT Plus. Later in November, OpenAI will launch the GPT Store which will display “creations by verified builders.” You’ll be able to search chatbots made by others across multiple categories like productivity and education. Further down the line, presumably next year, it will be possible to make money off your chatbots “based on how many people are using your GPT.”

Pretty cool stuff, we must admit. It’ll be interesting to see what chatbot climbs to the top of the leaderboards on the GPT Store. 

If you want to learn more about the tech, check out TechRadar’s list of the best AI tools for 2023.

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ChatGPT Plus gets big upgrade that makes it more powerful and easier to use
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ChatGPT is undoubtedly one of the best artificial intelligence (AI) tools you can use right now, but a new update could make it even better by increasing the range of file types it can work with, as well as making it a little more independent when it comes to switching modes.

The changes are currently being tested in beta and are expected to come to ChatGPT Plus, the paid-for version of OpenAI’s chatbot that costs $ 20 / £16 / AU$ 28 a month. As detailed by ChatGPT user luokai on Threads (via The Verge), these changes could make a big difference to how you use the AI tool.

Specifically, ChatGPT Plus members are now able to upload various files that the chatbot can use to generate results. For instance, luokai demonstrated how ChatGPT can analyze a PDF that a user uploads, then answer a question based on the contents of that PDF.

Elsewhere, the beta version of ChatGPT can create images based on a picture uploaded by a user. That could make the chatbot much more able to generate the type of content you’re after, without just having to solely rely on your prompt or description.

Automatic mode switching

ChatGPT responding to the prompt 'is there life after death?'

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Ascannio)

That’s not all this beta update brings with it. As well as file analysis, ChatGPT could soon be able to switch modes without any user input, in a move that might make the tool much less cumbersome to use.

Right now, you need to tell ChatGPT exactly what mode you want to use, such as Browse with Bing. In the current beta, though, ChatGPT is able to determine the mode automatically based on your conversation with the chatbot.

That can extend to generating Python code or opting to use Dall-E to generate an image too, meaning you should be able to get results much closer to what you wanted without having to make an educated guess as to the best mode to use.

All of these changes could make OpenAI’s chatbot much easier to use if you’re a ChatGPT Plus subscriber. There’s no word yet on when the features will be fully rolled out, so stay tuned for more news on that front.

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