• Canon has launched a new app aimed at livestreamers
• It lets you control multiple iPhones and iPads from a single app
• Extra effects like graphics and overlays need a monthly subscription

An increasing number of people enjoy creating livestreamed video content, whether that’s hosting cookery lessons, teaching classes to students, unboxing the latest tech goodies, or something else. Doing that can be fiddly, though, especially if it’s just you and you’re trying to work with multiple camera angles at once.

To help, Canon has just launched a new app that it thinks will alleviate some of that hassle and offer a simpler alternative to the likes of OBS (Open Broadcaster Software). Called Live Switcher Mobile, the app for iPhone and iPad lets you manage several aspects of livestreamed content on the go, without needing other apps or equipment.

For example, Live Switcher Mobile lets you set a timer before the stream’s feed automatically switches to a different camera. Canon’s announcement says this helps content creators to create interesting shots “even when they are working alone and cannot manually operate multiple devices.”

If you want to add text or graphics to your stream, you can do that too with Canon’s app, and it will also display comments from viewers and let you directly interact with them. And if you want to stream your device’s screen – say, the game you’re playing on your iPad – and layer the feed from a second camera on top of your gameplay footage, you can do that too.

The full version isn't cheap

(Image credit: Canon)

Livestreamed content has steadily grown in popularity over the last few years, but the barrier to entry has sometimes been high due to the need to have several cameras on the go if you want to shoot content at different angles. As well as that, it can be a fiddly affair as you try to manage all the different wires and connections that are part of your setup. And that’s without even working out which of the best streaming apps you should be using.

The idea with Live Switcher Mobile is that it simplifies the whole process. It’s definitely not a high-end solution – professional video creators will probably want to look elsewhere – but it could be a decent option if you’re just getting started, are working with a tight budget, or want to stick to using iPhones and iPads.

Right now, Live Switcher Mobile only supports video feeds from iPhones and iPads running at least iOS 16 or iPadOS 16, making it a decent option if you already own these devices and don’t want to buy expensive camera equipment to supplement your livestreams. Canon says that the app will also support digital cameras (including its own, of course) in the future.

Live Switcher Mobile is free to download and use from Apple’s App Store, although some features (such as most graphics) require a fee. Paying the subscription also hides ads and Canon’s watermark, allows zooming and image overlays, and more. According to the app’s App Store page, a one-month subscription costs a fairly hefty $17.99 (around £15 / AU$29), but you can trial the features for free for one month.

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Character.AI, the chatbot for conversing with different AI characters, is offering a new activity for those looking to do more than just talk to its virtual personalities. The platform is testing games on its website and mobile app in case you want to play word games with Shakespeare and not just discuss sonnets. Subscribers and a growing number of free users can now play the initial two games, though if they go over well, more will likely be added.

The two games are Speakeasy and War of Words. Both are designed to turn your friendly AI chats into competitive battles of wit and wordplay. In Speakeasy, the goal is to trick your chatbot into saying a specific word without using five banned words. Picture trying to make it say “croissant” without mentioning butter, French, or flaky. It’s part strategy and part luck. Meanwhile, War of Words pits you in a verbal duel against your chosen character, with an impartial AI referee deciding who delivers the better arguments over five rounds. Think rap battles, but make it nerdy.

To keep things neat, Character.AI prompts you to start a new chat for these games so your previous conversations with your favorite bot stay untainted. This means your deep philosophical discussion with the AI version of Aristotle won’t be interrupted by the aftermath of losing a word battle to AI Napoleon. Just remember, most of your favorite copyrighted and trademarked characters aren't around to play with anymore.

AI gamemasters

The aim of the new games appears to be for Character.AI to bill itself as more of an entertainment hub and not just a home for chatbots. Users have already created games of their own, including text-based adventures and chess. Designing its own games gives the company more control and an opportunity to exploit its deeper knowledge of what the AI chatbots can do.

Adding AI games might seem like a small step, but they point to where AI chatbot hubs may go in the future as people get over the initial wonder of basic interactions and look for something more engaging to do with them. Competitive wordplay with AI is much more enticing than just making small talk.

The addition of games might also serve as a subtle shift in the conversation around Character.AI after the company felt compelled to release multiple rounds of new safety features. These safety features were mainly aimed at children, after the platform faced accusations that the AI chatbots were negatively impacting teenager's mental health. Instead of ersatz romance, people can now try to beat an AI in War of Words.

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• OpenAI is launching the o3 mini AI model on ChatGPT and as an API
• The o3 mini is more powerful than the o1 mini but smaller than the o3 model
• The o3 mini boasts superior problem-solving abilities in science and math

OpenAI followed up on its December release of the OpenAI o1 model with the official rollout of its smaller sibling, the OpenAI o3 mini model. CEO Sam Altman broke the news on X, revealing that o3 mini will be available on ChatGPT and as an API for developers. The o3 mini model is an upgrade to the o1 mini model just as the o3 model is to the o1 model released last year. The o3 series is supposed to be smarter, faster, and better in all ways from its predecessors.

The o1 models were designed to spend more time processing queries, taking a longer, harder look at problems most models would give up on. The o3 models take those abilities and further enhance them while also running more quickly and efficiently. That's going to be useful when you use ChatGPT's new Tasks feature, which gives the AI chatbot a more proactive role in reminding you of tasks and events.

The launch of the o3 mini isn’t just about improving reasoning capabilities; it’s about staying ahead in the highly competitive AI landscape. Google, Meta, and others are all working to advance their models and try to dominate the market. ChatGPT and OpenAI can't afford to rest on their laurels, and the company seems to understand that. OpenAI clearly believes users want tools that don’t just follow the rules but also think critically and are flexible in how they assist you. That's where Altman and his team hope the o3 and o3 mini models will shine.

thank you to the external safety researchers who tested o3-mini.we have now finalized a version and are beginning the release process; planning to ship in ~a couple of weeks.also, we heard the feedback: will launch api and chatgpt at the same time!(it's very good.)January 17, 2025

Power in miniature

A bigger question may be, will models like o3 mini actually change how AI is used, or if it's just going to improve the results in small ways. OpenAI obviously hopes these upgrades lead to more people engaging with its AI models. By making its models better at reasoning, the company looks to be targeting those users who need something more sophisticated than the current level of conversational AI.

The o3 mini model looks like it might hit the sweet spot between power and accessibility for ChatGPT users. By offering smarter reasoning in a more compact package, OpenAI could attract users who want cutting-edge AI but don’t need the full heavyweight version just yet.

With burgeoning competition, OpenAI might be thrilled with any improvements it can point to in its latest models, considering the rumors of stalled progress on recent AI models at OpenAI and elsewhere. Even if its sense of humor may still be a work in progress.

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• TikTok wasn't the only Bytedance app to be banned
• CapCut was taken down, and Meta out of nowhere announced Edits
• Edits sounds a lot like CapCut as a free editing tool for smartphones

Update: CapCut, Marvel Snap and other ByteDance apps have returned to the US (at least for now). They may still be banned if a sale doesn't go through again but for the meantime you can enjoy CapCut and forget all about Instagram's upcoiming Edits app. The original story continues below.

Original: TikTok’s short-lived (for now) US ban might have ended but several other apps that were caught in the crossfire are still yet to make a comeback at the time of writing due to their Bytedance affiliation. Marvel Snap was taken out, to everyone’s surprise, popular TikTok alternative Lemon8 was removed, and video-editing software CapCut also got cut. And in completely unrelated news, Meta took the opportunity to announce Edits, its own CapCut clone.

For the uninitiated, CapCut is a free photo and video editor from Bytedance that you can use on your phone, tablet or PC to edit your content. While it’s ideal for cutting together shortform content for platforms like TikTok, you can also use its tools and AI features to create longer-form videos complete with captions and effects. Thouygh it isn't quite one of the best video editing apps out there, or even one of the best free video editing apps.

With that in mind, let's look at the Edits announcement from Adam Mosseri, and Meta’s head of Instagram. Taking to Threads Mosseri calls Edits a free smartphone video editor for Instagram and other platforms – sounds kinda similar right? Well there are a few differences.

For one it sounds like Edits will be entirely focused on the smartphone experience rather than also having a PC launch. For another, Mosseri paints Edits as a place to not only edit content but as a one-stop shop for creatives to draft and store ideas, to capture video using an improved camera app, and to get access to info on trends to help inform your next short.

The TikTok ban affected more than one app (Image credit: Getty Images)

Though to return to the CapCut similarities, just like its rival, Edits isn’t available to download right now either – with the software currently up for preorder on iOS (an Android release is planned too) with a scheduled launch date of March 13, 2025.

It does seem a little suspect that Meta would have this announcement ready to go the day of TikTok and CapCut’s apparent demise, we’re just surprised it didn't take this opportunity to actually roll its rival out – though given the initial issues it had rolling out Threads when Twitter seemed to be on death's door, we aren’t surprised it’s taking things more slowly.

What’s up with other banned apps?

As for Bytedance’s other banned apps, TikTok is steadily making its comeback. You can now access your favorite creators via the app without using one of the best VPNs to spoof your location, though US users are still unable to install the app via app stores.

Marvel Snap will make a comeback soon (Image credit: Nuverse)

It’s unlikely that TikTok will be restored in full until Donald Trump signs the executive order he has promised that will extend the timeline within which TikTok must be sold. While he has vowed that there would be “no liability” for companies that support TikTok, and that he will sign the order on his first day in office, until he signs such an order we expect Apple and Google will hold fire in case he does yet another 180 on whether he wants to ban or save the social media platform.

Marvel Snap, the most surprising ban from over the weekend (even its own creators, Second Dinner, didn’t realize the app would be banned) is looking to return soon too. It’s still down in the US but in a post made on Sunday January 19 at 8:38pm ET / 1:38am GMT Second Dinner says it hopes to "have it back online within 24 hours.” It’s unclear if this is because it’s rejigging things on the backend so they’re no longer associated with Bytedance, or if the unbanning will be as part of the promised Trump unban but hopefully it’ll return soon so players can get back to playing the current Dark Avengers season.

Lemonade is still offline too. We expect it’ll return properly when TikTok does, though given its status in the US as simply a TikTok alternative which users only flocked to in the face of a ban, we expect it’s not Bytedance’s top priority – certainly not as much of a priority as TikTok.

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• Windows 11 24H2 is rolling out automatically to eligible PCs on 22H2 or 23H2
• Persistent bugs like Asus compatibility and camera unresponsiveness may delay updates for affected PCs
• 24H2 brings performance boosts and new features but has had a history of issues for some time

If you’re currently using older versions of Windows 11 (such as 23H2 or 22H2), Microsoft has plans for you, as it has begun automatically updating PCs to the latest version, 24H2. A notification post was added to the “Windows 11, version 24H2 known issues and notifications” document on the Microsoft Learn blog to explain that Microsoft now considers Windows 11 24H2 stable enough to roll out to everyone using eligible Windows 11 PCs.

Those with qualifying PCs will be updated to the latest version of 24H2 and those using devices managed by organizations (such as work laptops) won’t be affected by this.

However, this push to upgrade older versions of Windows 11 to the 24H2 update might not go down too well, as the update itself has had a rocky start, causing problems like games not working properly and malfunctioning HDR (meant to improve colors and brightness on screens).

Because of these well-publicized problems, quite a few people have - understandably - been reluctant to upgrade.

How will this affect you?

As mentioned above, if your PC is eligible and running Windows 11 versions 22H2 or 23H2 (Pro or Home) editions, it’ll be updated automatically to Windows 11 24H2 very soon. If you would rather wait, you can apparently delay the update for up to five weeks, as reported by Tom’s Hardware. You can do this by following these steps:

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Open the Windows Update section, which can be found in the left-hand menu (you may need to scroll down).

3. Find the ‘Pause updates’ option in this section and from the dropdown menu you can select the number of weeks you want to delay updates by (up to 5 weeks).

On the flip side, if you haven’t installed version 24H2 yet and would like to, you can select ‘Check for updates’ on the same Windows Update page as above and click ‘Download & install’ to get the update manually.

(Image credit: Microsoft) Some things to consider and what's on the horizon for Windows 11 24H2 users

If you have one of Microsoft’s new Copilot+ PCs, which are designed to integrate new AI-powered capabilities, then the 24H2 update will bring the hotly discussed (but not as warmly received) Windows Recall feature to all eligible PCs. Recall requires a Copilot+ PC and it’s currently being previewed with members of the Windows Insider Program. Recall is a feature intended to improve productivity for Windows 11 users by capturing snapshots of their PC activity and making them searchable to make finding past information easier. Despite the intended benefits, Recall’s been met with notable controversy due to privacy and security concerns, especially around the possibility of malicious actors getting access to the information stored by Recall.

If you’re not using a Copilot+ PC, 24H2 still promises to bring improved performance and swifter updates going forward for PCs equipped with AMD's Ryzen CPUs and running Windows 11. Those with PCs that have Intel chips will also get some special Windows 11 24H2 patches that will reportedly ensure optimal performance for its Arrow Lake processors (although it seems like this hasn’t led to noticeable improvements for the people who have already updated).

(Image credit: Microsoft)

When it comes to the steady stream of issues we’ve seen plague 24H2, it does seem like most of these have been addressed through patches released by Microsoft. Tom’s Hardware went through Microsoft’s bug log in the document listing known issues and confirmed that this seems to be the case.

However, there are apparently still some problems that persist and have yet to be resolved. For example, some Asus PCs can’t install the update, wallpaper apps might play up unexpectedly, and some PCs might experience unresponsiveness from their cameras. If your PC is affected, Microsoft will hold back the update, putting it on a ‘safeguard hold’ until it’s all good to install.

In short, the update should hopefully improve your PC’s performance (and eventually bring new features), but if you’re wary about the automatic update to 24H2, you’ve got a bit of time. If Windows 11 24H2’s track record is anything to go by so far, Microsoft will have to keep its eye on the ball, stay alert for possible issues, and release fixes as soon as it can if there’s going to be an influx of new users upgrading. Also, if you choose to delay updates, you could be opening up your PC to potential risks that go unaddressed and might come up unexpectedly, which is why we always recommend moving to the latest version of software (especially operating systems) as soon as you can.

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• New custom instructions added to ChatGPT
• Responses become more personal to you
• More new features expected in 2025

OpenAI has confirmed via X.com that it has introduced new customization features to ChatGPT. The new features that allow you to customize how the AI chatbot responds to you are rolling out now in the browser-based version of ChatGPT and on desktop on Windows.

The release currently doesn’t cover users in the EU, Norway, Iceland Liechtenstein, and Switzerland, but will be “available soon” according to OpenAI. It’s also not available yet in the Mac app. OpenAI says the new features will be coming to desktop on MacOS ”in the next few weeks.”

We've updated custom instructions to make it easier to customize how ChatGPT responds to you.With the new UI, you can tell ChatGPT the traits you want it to have, how you want it to talk to you, and any rules you want it to follow. pic.twitter.com/BaXaqAw5cEJanuary 17, 2025

Accessing the new features

The update includes two new options in the Customize ChatGPT dialog box (available by clicking on your icon, and then choosing Customize ChatGPT from the menu that appears). The first is ‘What should ChatGPT call you?’ and the second is ‘What do you do?’ which is asking for your occupation.

In the ‘What traits should ChatGPT have?’ box you’ll find new options have been added including ‘Chatty’, ‘Witty’, and ‘Opinionated’.

Below this box is a new ‘What else would you like ChatGPT to know about you?’ box, where you can type in your interests and values.

Once you’ve entered some information in these boxes you’ll find your interactions with ChatGPT are taken to a much more personal level, which can help save you time, since you don’t have to keep asking it to respond in a certain way. It will also tailor information to your profession.

Click on your user account icon in the top right of the screen to access the new customization options. (Image credit: OpenAI/Apple) Much more personal

I've experimented with the options and the effects are immediate. I love the more chatty GPT, for instance. And if you want a bit of fun you can ask to reply in "casual bro talk", or "like you're in a Jane Austen novel". In fact, the possibilities are endless.

The only thing I found a bit limiting was not being able to set up multiple personality profiles. Currently, if you want to turn off your custom settings, or switch easily between two different modes of reply, you have to go back to this menu then edit and save it every time.

While welcome, this update to ChatGPT is fairly minor, and we’re still waiting for some of the more exciting updates we’ve been promised for 2025, most notably an AI Agent from ChatGPT. So far in 2025 OpenAI has added a new tasks feature, which goes some way towards the goal of an AI agent by enabling you to set reminders for certain times using ChatGPT, but is still a fair way off the full autonomous agent experience we’re looking forward to.

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No one was injured. The building, which includes a district office of a Wisconsin congressman who has been a critic of TikTok, sustained moderate damage in the fire on Sunday.

The app has repeatedly name checked the president-elect in pop-up messages and statements, as it navigates a ban in the United States unless it is sold to a non-Chinese owner.

Some users saw the social media app come back online on Sunday, following a shutdown when a federal law went into effect requiring a sale or ban.

Instagram on Sunday rolled out Edits, a video-editing product that appeared similar to CapCut, which is owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.

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TikTok is set to be blocked in the U.S. after the Supreme Court upheld a law that effectively bans the app. TikTok, a Chinese-owned social media platform, has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers for its national security risks and its ties to China. Sapna Maheshwari, a business reporter for The New York Times, examines the security concerns and the reactions to the news.

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