TELEVISION fans can now enjoy six additional live channels without paying a cent.

Pluto TV has announced that it has updated its free-to-view app with some bonus content.

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The app is an ad-supported rival to Netflix and Disney+.

There is no charge to watch Pluto TV, but you will have to endure commercials.

Pluto TV features more than 250 live channels, with six more joining the roster, as revealed by Cord Cutters News.

There are a few live news and horror films – as well as some quirky additions.

The full list of newly added channels includes:

• MotorTrend FAST TV
• Monster jam: Monster jam
• The Lone Ranger
• Universal monsters
• BBC news
• Difficult jobs

These channels are now live in the app and can be watched for free.

New movies on Pluto TV in March 2024

Pluto TV has also added dozens of movies available on-demand.

The full list includes:

● Airplane!
● Airplane II: The Sequel
● Awaken
● The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
● Brave heart
● Brian’s Song (1971)
● Bug-like
● The chances are high
●Chicago
● Cold comes in the night
● Coming to America
● Crawling
● Dead ringtones
● Dick
● Double jeopardy
● Dreamland (2019)
● Ella is enchanted
● Everyone wants a pair!!
● Facing the giants
● Set on fire!
● Gattaca
● Girl, interrupted
● God game
● Here and Now (2018)
● How to lose a guy in 10 days
● Jackass: The Movie
● Fool Number two
● Fool 3
● Junebug
● Just one of the boys
● Layer cake
● Little Women (1994)
● Major League II
● Major League: Back to the minors
● Miracles from heaven
● Mother! (2017)
● Noah
● Only lovers are still alive
● Panic room
● Planes, trains and cars
● Postcards from the edge
● Ball Night
● The Fast and the Dead (1995)
● Got up
● Save Face (2005)
● Feeling and sensitivity
● Shampoo
● Showdown at the Grand
● Spontaneous
● St. Elmus Fire
● Steel Magnolias (1989)
● Striking distance
● Talladega Nights: Ricky Bobby’s ballad
● The craft
● The edge of seventeen
● The last girls
● The First Women’s Club
● The Mexican
● The Mortal Instruments
● The remains of the day
● The Truman Show
● The Wolf of Wall Street
● Tommy Boy/Black Sheep
● Troop Beverly Hills (1989)
● True romance
● Used Cars (1980)
● Zodiac

PLUTO POWER?

If you’ve never used Pluto TV, it’s worth considering.

It is one of a series of popular free TV apps that offer a free alternative to increasingly expensive streaming services.

You can download the app on a wide range of devices.

If you want to watch Pluto TV on smart TVs, you can get it on Fire TV, Google TV, Hisense, LG, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, and Vizio.

It is also possible to access the app on streaming devices such as an Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Sony PlayStation, Microsoft’s Xbox, Roku and TiVo.

And you can download it on iOS for iPhoneAndroid, and also install it as a desktop app on Windows.

Finally, there is the option to simply stream directly through a web browser such as Safari or Google Chrome if desired.

THE Samsung Galaxy S25 is the next phone expected to be launched by the Korean tech giant, but little is known about it so far.

Luckily, we’ve collected all the rumors and leaks about the secret new gadget for you.

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Next generation storage

One blockbuster feature rumored to arrive on the Galaxy S25 is next-generation Universal Flash Storage (UFS) solutions.

This UFS technology promises data transfer speeds of up to 8 GB per second.

That means much faster app launches, smoother gaming and easier multitasking.

Camera boost

Little convinces consumers like a camera boost.

Fortunately, the Galaxy S25 is rumored to have an improved main camera, a 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a new telephoto camera.

By comparison, the S24 series has a 12MP wide-angle camera – so it would be quite an upgrade.

It was expected that the telephoto lens would be rolled out with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but it now appears that the S25 Ultra will be the ‘chosen one’.

These types of lenses allow users to get closer to distant subjects with greater detail.

Charge battery

The rumor is true: Samsung has officially announced that it will offer updates for Galaxy phones for seven years.

But as Android Authority notes, seven years of updates means very little if your phone’s battery dies first.

That’s why onlookers seem to think the Galaxy S25 could mark the debut of Samsung’s return to removable batteries.

This allows people to replace batteries themselves, like in the good old days of slide-back phones, before the advent of touchscreens.

Date of publication

Historically, Samsung has stuck to releasing its flagship series in January or February.

Take the Galaxy S24 for example: it was announced during Galaxy Unpacked on January 17, 2024 and released on January 31.

So it’s likely the phone company will reflect that pattern with next year’s lineup, which is expected to see the Galaxy S25 hit shelves in early 2025.

Price

There are no drastic price changes in the offing.

Experts expect the same price structure as the Galaxy S24 series, which rose from a year earlier to £799/$799, £999/$999 and £1,249/$1,299.

META is finally honoring WhatsApp users on Android with a feature that iPhone owners have been allowed to use for almost a year.

Eagle-eyed experts at TheSpAndroid discovered the feature deep within a new version of the app’s code, which should arrive in an upcoming update.

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The feature provides users with a transcription option for voice messages so they can see what was spoken in the text.

While voice notes can be a lot of fun, they can be frustrating messages to deal with if they contain important information.

And sometimes the receiving party can’t listen.

That’s when transcripts come in handy.

WhatsApp automatically transcribes the voice notes, which then appear below a recorded message.

In true WhatsApp fashion, the transcripts – just like the voice notes and standard messages – are end-to-end encrypted.

iPhone owners received this feature last year.

But Android owners have been patiently waiting for it to be rolled out to their handsets.

That time has finally come, according to TheSpAndroid, which spotted the code hidden in a WhatsApp beta version titled v2.24.7.7.

“I need this feature yesterday,” said an onlooker wrote on X.

Another tweeted: “I need that function.”

CONSUMERS may no longer have to pay top dollar for premium cameras and gaming on their next smartphone.

Technology giant Qualcomm has unveiled brand new technology to boost upcoming budget devices with the latest AI features normally reserved for expensive handsets.

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The company’s best chip is currently in mobile phones like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, which tend to have a higher price tag.

That’s why Qualcomm has come up with a new version – called Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 – to bring some premium features to the cheaper end of the market.

It is expected to appear on future handsets from the likes of Honor, iQOO, realme, Redmi and Xiaomi in the coming months.

So if you’re considering buying an expensive new smartphone because of all the new AI features, you might want to wait a little longer.

We’ve already seen how Snapdragon – Manchester United’s new shirt sponsor from the start of the 2024/25 season – has led the way in the arrival of massive new AI tools.

These include advanced photography features, like the ability to magically expand a photo you’ve already taken beyond what the lens can see.

Many of these tricks are performed on the device.

This means you don’t have to be online and none of your data has to go to the cloud, making things like AI voice assistants a lot more secure.

Qualcomm claims the new chip boosts audio capabilities with lossless high-definition sound and hyper-realistic mobile gaming.

With new devices launching within the next few months with the new chip on board, we won’t have to wait long to find out if the upgrade will pay off.

“We are excited to introduce the latest addition to our premium Snapdragon 8 lineup, our most premium mobile offering, bringing a host of exceptional, curated capabilities to more consumers,” said Chris Patrick, senior vice president and general manager of mobile phones. at Qualcomm Technologies.

The announcements come just a few weeks after Qualcomm unveiled a mega upgrade for Wi-Fi connectivity and faster 5G for upcoming smartphones.

A new system known as X80 5G Modem-RF uses AI to improve 5G speeds.

But that’s not all, as Qualcomm claims it will rid your phone of other common issues like service quality and coverage.

GOOGLE is reportedly eyeing the upcoming Pixel 9 launch to unveil a new, life-saving feature that will make Android devices trackable even when they’re turned off.

If you thought this concept sounds familiar, it does: Apple’s iPhones have had access to this feature in the Find My app for years.

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Google has its own Find My Device service, which can help you find a lost Android phone.

But the company has been working on upgrading its own Find MY Device feature since August last year.

This feature allows your phone to be located even when it is turned off.

Mishaal Rahman

Last summer, Google announced that Android owners will soon be able to use Bluetooth and offline services to locate phones.

But both features have yet to appear on Pixel devices.

And the tech giant has remained tight-lipped on an official launch date.

However, trusted Android source Mishaal Rahman has noted that Google could roll out the feature alongside its Pixel 9 handset in October.

Rahman added that the feature will be available to Pixel 8 owners once it arrives.

“I have good news for Pixel 8 owners: your phone should support Android’s Powered Off Finding feature when Google’s Find My Device network launches,” he wrote in an after.

“This feature allows your phone to be located even when it is turned off.”

It combats every thief’s first job: disabling the device to prevent tracking.

“Finally,” said the spectator tweeted in response to the new feature.

Another added: “This is a great feature, especially if the phone is stolen.”

Although it appears that only Pixel 8 and 9 owners will be protected by the feature.

Rahman added: “Unfortunately, it appears that neither the Pixel 7 Pro nor the Pixel Fold currently support this feature.”

COMPANY called Nothing brought a breath of fresh air to the busy smartphone scene in 2021.

And now the British company is hoping to do it again for those on a budget with the new Nothing Phone 2a.

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Starting at £319 this is a very attractive price tag in today’s mobile world, but does it add up to a good quality device worth considering?

Read on for our full review.

Nothing Phone 2a: Look and feel

Nothing Phones stand out for their quite unique design, led by the quirky Glyph lighting system on the back.

For those who don’t know, the Glyth light strips flash in a variety of ways of your choosing, such as for notifications, as a volume indicator, or as a timer – think of it as a mini dance floor in the palm of your hand.

The Glyth lighting thankfully survived on the 2a, but has been scaled back quite a bit compared to its bigger brother, the Nothing Phone 2.

There are now just three light strips, compared to the 11 on the Nothing Phone 2 – and they’re concentrated on the top third of the handset, rather than the entire surface.

It’s certainly a consideration for anyone tired of breaking the bank on a smartphone

As someone who really likes the Glyth feature, it’s sad to see it reduced, but I can understand why there needs to be some wiggle room to keep the overall cost down, which is why I’m glad it’s in some way another form remains.

An important point to note about the back is that it’s plastic and not glass like previous Nothing Phones – which is another way the company has seemingly cut corners to reduce overall costs.

They don’t look all that different, but the plastic is more sensitive to fingerprints and will scratch more easily.

As for the display, it’s a 6.78-inch screen that delivers sharp, bright and colorful results.

Nothing Phone 2a: Performance

Nothing has swapped the chipsets that power the device and switched to MediaTek’s Dimensity 7200 Pro.

General apps ran quite quickly, although switching between apps wasn’t as smooth as I’d like.

But games performed surprisingly smoothly considering the price.

The maximum amount of storage you can get is 256GB, which isn’t much if you like to take a lot of photos and videos – and there’s no microSD support either, leaving you reliant on the cloud or staying super tidy with what you keep on your handset.

In terms of functionality, there aren’t any AI tools making headlines like we’ve seen with other recent smartphone launches.

The Nothing Phone 2a runs Android 14 and Nothing has committed to three years of major Android updates and four years of security updates, which is less than most rivals.

Nothing Phone 2a: Battery

The battery measures 5,000 mAh, which is the same size as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but so are some mid-range devices.

Nothing claims that you can get up to two days of use and especially after a day of reasonable use (watching videos, surfing the internet and light gaming) my battery was about half empty.

The Nothing Phone 2a does not have a charging brick in the box, but it does have a USB-C cable.

Charging up to 45W is supported, meaning I can get a full charge from zero in about an hour.

One feature that has been removed is wireless charging.

Nothing Phone 2a: Camera

The Nothing Phone 2a has a dual 50-megapixel main camera and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera.

It took some pretty decent photos, although some parts lack sharp detail.

And since there’s only a 2x digital zoom, you don’t expect to get a great close-up photo of something that’s far away.

Taking photos in low light at night went well, although some elements felt too artificially brighter.

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GOOGLE has added a new password security alert that works in real-time to protect user accounts from cybercriminals.

The password improvement is part of a broader security upgrade rolling out first to iPhone and PC users and to Android owners later this month.

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Previously, Google only told users if their password was leaked in a data breach.

But now users are getting a change that not only flags compromised passwords, but also passwords that are weak or have been reused.

Passwords are leaked quite regularly during data breaches.

These types of incidents can affect thousands of people at any time.

Just days ago, TV streaming company Roku revealed that more than 15,000 customer accounts have been compromised in two separate cyberattacks since December.

According to Bleeping Computer, the hijacked Roku accounts were sold on the Dark Web for as little as 50 cents each.

It is important to have strong and unique passwords for each of your accounts.

If a password leaked in a breach is used for multiple accounts, those accounts are also at risk.

Google is introducing a broader upgrade to its Safe Browsing standard protection, meaning it can monitor untrustworthy sites for malware in real time.

Previously, Safe Browsing’s default protection checked the sites you visited against a local list on your device that refreshed every 30 to 60 minutes.

But this did not ensure that web surfers were properly protected, as the “average malicious site actually exists for less than 10 minutes,” according to Google.

This will “compare sites in real time against Google’s server-side list of known bad sites” and is expected to block 25 percent more phishing attempts.

MORE Samsung owners will soon have access to a slew of new cameras and features that use artificial intelligence (AI).

The Korean phone company promised it would roll out these shiny new features to older handsets – and is finally making good on that promise.

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In a recent one blog postSamsung confirmed that handsets would receive the One UI 6.1 update later this month, bringing the power of AI into more people’s pockets.

It means phones that hit shelves more than a year ago will get much of the same features as the latest Galaxy S24 handsets, which launched in January.

It’s unclear when exactly these devices will be able to install One UI 6.1, but it will certainly be before early April.

Camera boost and AI upgrades

Samsung has injected its camera and photo app with a huge dose of AI.

Gauss is the name of an exclusive Samsung AI that consists of three tools: Samsung Gauss Language, Samsung Gauss Code and Samsung Gauss Image.

But one addition to Gauss Image is the ability to magically expand your photo beyond what has been captured.

Other cool tools include the ability to delete unwanted objects (or people) and move or resize them.

One UI 6.1 also includes the AI ​​Live Translate Call feature, a new functionality that allows users to get live translations for calls in multiple languages.

It also summarizes your messages and emails for you, which can be especially useful for friends who like to send essay texts.

The Sun has seen first-hand how it can change the tone of a text or communication for you – so you can write a few rough lines and it will suggest a more formal tone, a conversational tone or a polite tone, for example.

Among all the AI ​​excitement coming to Samsung’s phones are AI wallpapers.

If you’re wondering what that means, you can basically tell your phone what you want the wallpaper to look like and it will create it for you.

It uses a generative AI model that can generate high-quality text, images and in this case backgrounds in an instant.

Older handsets may not get this all the same AI features as the Galaxy S24 series, but it’s certainly better than none.

Does my phone qualify?

Check this list to see if your phone is eligible for the One UI 6.1 upgrade:

• Samsung Galaxy S23
• Samsung Galaxy S23+
• Samsung Galaxy S23Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy S23FE
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series

ANDROID owners have been warned that an invisible bank thief could be hiding in plain sight on their phones.

A banking Trojan malware known as PixPirate has been discovered on phones without an app icon, making it impossible for the untrained eye to detect until victims see their money gone.

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Cyber ​​experts at Cleafy TIR first documented the threat last month and discovered that it targeted Latin American banks.

Smartphone owners can usually tell if they have installed a malicious app because an icon will appear on their home screen.

However, PixPirate does not use an app icon.

This allowed hidden malware to become prevalent on Android phones, even on handsets running the latest Android 14 software.

In a separate study by IBM’s security firm Trusteer, researchers explain that this new version of PixPirate versions uses two different platforms that work together to steal information from devices.

The first is the ‘downloader’ that victims accidentally install from phishing messages they receive via WhatsApp or SMS.

The ‘downloader’ app requests invasive permissions when users install it, which, if they approve, allows the app to install a second app containing the banking malware.

Silent fraud

PixPirate has remote access capabilities, meaning hackers can force actions on a device without the owner’s knowledge or consent.

This allowed the malware to steal banking information and two-factor authentication codes to conduct unauthorized money transfers.

Android owners are advised to exercise caution when installing apps and clicking links in messages.

Links to avoid are Android Package Files (APKs), which are used to cloak PixPirate.

A Google spokesperson told Bleeping Computer that the malware does not appear in the apps on Google Play.

This suggests that Android owners download the app exclusively from third-party sources – a process that is frowned upon due to security concerns.

“Based on our current detections, no apps containing this malware have been found on Google Play,” the spokesperson said.

“Android users are automatically protected against known versions of this malware by Google Play Protect, which is enabled by default on Android devices with Google Play Services.

“Google Play Protect can warn users or block apps known to exhibit malicious behavior, even if those apps come from sources outside of Play.”

SAMSUNG has launched a few smartphones that won’t break the bank despite flaunting some premium features.

It’s already been a busy year for the Korean tech giant, having launched a major AI with Samsung Galaxy S24 phones in January.

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But now it’s time for some newcomers in the mid-range segment.

The two new devices are called the Galaxy A55 5G and the Galaxy A35 5G.

This is the first time that Samsung has added top-level security upgrades to the budget Galaxy A series devices.

And there’s also a great battery that Samsung claims can last up to two days on a single charge.

They show off improved cameras that can take better photos even in the dark.

Both are secured by Samsung Knox, the company’s multi-layered security platform designed to keep critical information safe and protect against bank robbery vulnerabilities.

There’s a 5,000mAh battery on board – which is the same size as the company’s top-end Galaxy S24 Ultra and also bigger than any iPhone battery.

The only real difference between the two is a slightly different chipset under the hood to power things – the A55 is a bit stronger on that front.

And the cameras aren’t identical either: the selfie camera has a resolution of 32 megapixels on the A55, compared to 13 megapixels on the A35.

Furthermore, they look exactly the same with a 6.6-inch display and four color options.

These include:

• Great ice blue
• Great lemon
• Great lilac
• Great Navy

“Our ambition is to bring the latest technologies to everyone,” said James Kitto, Vice President and Head of MX Division, Samsung UK and Ireland.

“We’re thrilled to offer even more features on our competitively priced Galaxy A Series devices, including offering Samsung Knox Vault for the first time in this lineup, meaning users can enjoy with even more confidence of our excellent mobile experiences and security.”

Prices start at £339 depending on the model and storage size you opt for.

Both will be available for purchase from March 20.

Samsung Galaxy A55 5G:

• 8GB memory + 128GB storage – £439
• 8GB memory + 256GB storage – £489

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G:

• 8GB memory + 128GB storage – £339
• 8GB memory + 256GB storage – £389