Poco X6 Series, Poco M6 4G Design Renders, Colour Options Leaked; Camera Details Tipped

Poco X6 series is confirmed to debut in India soon with a base Poco X6 and a Poco X6 Pro model. A new report now shows leaked renders of the handsets which show their design and colour options. The report also details similar features of a purported Poco M6 4G model and has suggested some of its key launch specifications.

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Quordle today – hints and answers for Monday, January 1 (game #707)

It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. 

Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's fun, but also difficult.

What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also keeping it fresh in the form of a variant called the Daily Sequence, which sees you complete four puzzles consecutively, rather than concurrently. 

But Quordle is tough, so if you already find yourself searching for today's Wordle answer, you'll probably need some hints for this game too. 

I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #707 and the answers to the main game and Daily Sequence. 

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #707) - hint #1 - Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). 

Quordle today (game #707) - hint #2 - total vowels

What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?

• The total number of vowels across today's Quordle answers is 10.

Quordle today (game #707) - hint #3 - repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #707) - hint #4 - total letters

How many different letters are used in Quordle today?

• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 12.

Quordle today (game #707) - hint #5 - uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. Two of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #707) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #707) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• M

• I

• B

• E

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #707) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #707, are…

• MAIZE
• IDIOM
• BRAIN
• EXERT

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

---

Daily Sequence today (game #707) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #707, are…

• LIEGE
• NEVER
• THROB
• RUMBA

---

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #706, Sunday 31 December: TOXIC, SOLVE, ALBUM, GRAZE
• Quordle #705, Saturday 30 December: ACUTE, SALLY, GROAN, GROWL
• Quordle #704, Friday 29 December: AGONY, FLAKY, PHONE, AFOUL
• Quordle #703, Thursday 28 December: CLERK, BERTH, FINER, SCALY
• Quordle #702, Wednesday 27 December: ALIVE, ABHOR, BRACE, CORER
• Quordle #701, Tuesday 26 December: TAROT, WRING, OMBRE, CHUTE
• Quordle #700, Monday 25 December: RANCH, HAUTE, LEASH, WISER
• Quordle #699, Sunday 24 December: FURRY, SKATE, SHARE, WEEDY
• Quordle #698, Saturday 23 December: EXULT, WHEAT, SCENE, CRESS
• Quordle #697, Friday 22 December: FRUIT, SWEET, MEATY, EMBER
• Quordle #696, Thursday 21 December: TENSE, SCALP, QUASI, PRAWN
• Quordle #695, Wednesday 20 December: HUMPH, SOWER, WAGON, EDICT
• Quordle #694, Tuesday 19 December: CHINA, TRUNK, SUAVE, DETER
• Quordle #693, Monday 18 December: FLUNK, TRAIN, SKATE, SPRIG
• Quordle #692, Sunday 17 December: SOLAR, GENIE, ENNUI, PLACE
• Quordle #691, Saturday 16 December: EXULT, POSSE, FRANK, SPIKY
• Quordle #690, Friday 15 December: FELON, GHOST, SASSY, CLEAR
• Quordle #689, Thursday 14 December: FEWER, RERUN, SPEAK, CREEP
• Quordle #688, Wednesday 13 December: MELEE, GOLLY, HEIST, PLACE
• Quordle #687, Tuesday 12 December: SCRAP, ETHOS, CONDO, SNORT

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year. 

As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.

The website also includes a practice mode - which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! - and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements - specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.

Oh, and it's difficult. Really difficult.

What are the Quordle rules?

The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow. 

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…

4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two. 

5. Answers are never plural.

6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.

8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle's Hard mode.

9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.

10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.

What is a good Quordle strategy?

Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can't blindly throw letters at it and expect to win - you'll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.

That's the case in Wordle too, of course, but it's even more important in Quordle.

There are two key things to remember. 

1. Use several starting words

Firstly, you won't want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words. 

The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.

For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options - you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe - but something like that should do the trick.

If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!

2. Narrow things down

Secondly, if you're faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options - for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH - you'll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options. 

In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It's risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it's the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure - you simply don't have enough guesses.

In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.

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The top spec OnePlus 12 phone may not be available to everyone

The OnePlus 12 is a little bit in limbo right now, because it's been officially announced but it's not yet available outside of China – and a new rumor fills in some of the details for those who are eagerly awaiting its international release.

According to well-known tipster @ishanagarwal24 (via Android Police), the OnePlus 12 spec configurations that will be made available outside of China will be 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, and 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

If that's correct, that means the very top spec configuration – 24GB of RAM and 1TB of internal storage – will be exclusive to China. That's going to be something of a disappointment to power users who were planning to spend big on this handset.

We're expecting both the OnePlus 12 and the cheaper OnePlus 12R to be launched globally on January 23, 2024, at which point we should get all the details about the spec options and the regional pricing for these handsets.

Exclusive: OnePlus 12R will again start with 8GB RAM + 128GB variant in 🇮🇳 India to keep the prices in check. Other variant is 16/256GB. Blue & Gray colors.OnePlus 12 is getting an upgrade, now starts at 12/256GB in India & other is 16/512GB. Green & Black. Article below. pic.twitter.com/B1JgaiT7vJDecember 29, 2023

See more

What we know so far

We're assuming that the rest of the OnePlus 12 specs are going to be the same no matter which country you buy it in. Those specs start with a 6.82-inch AMOLED display running at a resolution of 3168 x 1440, and with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz.

Under the hood there's a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor from Qualcomm running everything, and the phone is also fitted with a 5,400mAh battery offering 100W wired and 50W wireless charging (up from 5,000mAh on the OnePlus 11).

The cameras on the back are a 50MP primary camera, a 48MP ultrawide camera, and a 64MP telephoto camera that offers 3x optical zoom. On the front we've got a 32MP camera for taking selfies and making video calls.

We know much less about the OnePlus 12R, but it's rumored to be running the older Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, and will be more affordable as a result. We will of course bring you all the announcements as they happen on January 23.

You might also like

• The OnePlus 12 has a bigger battery than any of the best phones
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AMD in 2023: year in review

We’re almost done with 2023, and as ever at TechRadar, it’s time to look back at how the various tech giants performed over the past year. In AMD’s case, we saw some inspiring new products introduced for its consumer processor and GPU ranges, and renewed gusto in its pursuit of AI.

There were also shakier times for Team Red, though, notably a string of blunders – the vapor chamber cooling debacle is one that springs immediately to mind, but there were other incidents, and a few too many of them. Join us as we explore the ups and downs of AMD’s 2023, weighing everything up at the end.

(Image credit: Future/John Loeffler)

Zen 4 gets 3D V-Cache

One of AMD’s big moves this year was the introduction of 3D V-Cache for AMD’s Ryzen 7000 desktop processors.

There were a trio of X3D models introduced, with the higher-end Ryzen 9 7950X3D and 7900X3D hitting the shelves first in February. These were good CPUs and we liked them, particularly the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, which is a sterling processor, albeit very pricey (similarly, we felt the price of the 7900X3D held it back somewhat).

What everyone was really waiting for, though, was the more affordable mid-range 3D V-Cache chip, and the Ryzen 7 7800X3D turned up in April. We praised the 7800X3D’s outstanding gaming performance and it’s the best choice for a gaming PC as we conclude in our roundup of the best processors. This was a definite highlight in AMD’s releases this year.

We were also treated to an interesting diversion in the form of a new last-gen X3D processor which AMD chose a very different tactic for. The Ryzen 5 5600X3D arrived in July as a cheap CPU that’s great for an affordable gaming PC, the catch being that it only went on sale through Micro Center stores in the US. For those who couldn’t get that, though, there was always the old Ryzen 5800X3D which dipped to some really low price tags at various points throughout the year. For gamers, AMD had some tempting pricing, that’s for sure.

Away from the world of 3D V-Cache, AMD also pushed out a few vanilla Ryzen 7000 CPUs right at the start of the year, namely the Ryzen 9 7900, Ryzen 7 7700, and Ryzen 5 7600, the siblings of the already released ‘X’ versions of these processors. They were useful choices to be thrown into the mix offering a bit more affordability for the Zen 4 range.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

RDNA 3 arrives for real

AMD unleashed its RDNA 3 graphics cards right at the close of 2022, but only the top-tier models, the Radeon RX 7900 series. And the RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT were all we had until 2023 was surprisingly far along – it wasn’t until May that the RX 7600 pitched up at the other end of the GPU spectrum.

The RX 7600 very much did its job as a wallet-friendly graphics card, mind you, and this GPU seriously impressed us with its outstanding performance at 1080p and excellent value proposition overall. Indeed, the RX 7600 claimed the title of our best cheap graphics card for this year, quite an achievement, beating out Nvidia’s RTX 4060.

Then we had another sizeable pause – which witnessed gamers getting rather impatient – for the gap, or rather gulf, to be filled in between the RX 7600 and RX 7900 models. Enter stage left the RX 7800 XT and the 7700 XT as mid-range contenders in September, one of which really punched its weight.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

That was the RX 7800 XT and even though it only marginally outdid its predecessor for pure performance, this new RDNA 3 mid-ranger did so well in terms of its price/performance ratio versus its RTX 4070 rival that the AMD GPU scooped the coveted top spot in our best graphics card roundup. (Deposing the RTX 4070, in fact, which had held the number one position since its release six months prior).

As for the RX 7700 XT, that was rather overshadowed by its bigger mid-range sibling here, not making as much sense value-wise as the 7800 XT.

Still, the long and short of it is that AMD bagged both the title of the best GPU for this year, as well as the best budget offering – not too shabby indeed.

From what we saw of sales reports – anecdotally and via the rumor mill – these new desktop graphics cards pepped up AMD’s sales a good deal. While the RX 7900 series GPUs were struggling against Nvidia early in 2023, towards the end of the year, the 7800 XT in particular was really shifting a lot of units (more than the RTX 4070).

While Nvidia is still the dominant desktop GPU power by far, it’s a sure bet AMD regained some turf with these popular RDNA 3 launches in 2023.

(Image credit: AMD)

FSR 3 finally turns up

We did a fair bit of waiting for stuff from AMD this year as already observed, and another item to add to the list where patience was definitely required was FSR 3.

FSR is, of course, AMD’s rival to DLSS for boosting frame rates in games, and more specifically, FSR 3 was Team Red’s response to DLSS 3 that uses frame generation technology (inserting extra frames into the game to artificially boost the frame rate).

FSR 3 was actually announced in November 2022 – as we covered in our roundup of AMD’s highlights for last year – and we predicted back then that it wouldn’t turn up for ages.

Indeed, it didn’t, and we heard nothing about FSR 3, save for a small info drop for game developers in March, for most of 2023. Then finally, at the end of September, AMD officially released FSR 3.

However, it wasn’t a simple case of that’s that and AMD was level-pegging with Nvidia suddenly. For starters, Nvidia went ahead and pushed out DLSS 3.5 (featuring ray reconstruction), and frankly, AMD’s frame generation feature was quite some way behind Team Green’s in its initial incarnation. It was also not nearly as widely supported – and remains so – with adoption moving at a sluggish pace, and only four games available that make use of FSR 3 so far.

But at least it’s here, and AMD made another important move in December, as the year drew to a close, releasing an improved version of FSR 3. We saw with Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – the third game to introduce support – that the new version of FSR (3.0.3) runs a good deal more slickly, at least according to some reports.

(Image credit: AMD / Ubisoft)

On top of this, AMD also made FSR 3 open source. That means more games should be supported soon enough (and modders can, and already have, started introducing FSR 3 to some titles, but unofficial support will never be quite the same as the developer implementing the tech).

Furthermore, in terms of better support for games, Team Red did make another move at the same time as FSR 3. We’re talking about AMD’s Fluid Motion Frame (AFMF) tech which as well as being part of FSR 3 is integrated separately at a driver level.

This allows for frame generation boosts to be applied to all games – via the driver, with no need for the game to be coded to support it – with the caveat being that it only works with RX 7000 and 6000 GPUs. Now that’s great, but note that what you’re getting here is a ‘lite’ version of the frame generation process applied in FSR.

As 2023 now comes to a close, AFMF is still in preview (testing) and somewhat wonky, though Team Red has improved the tech a fair bit since launch, much like FSR 3.

In short, it looks like AMD is getting there, and also ushering in innovations such as anti-lag+ (for reducing input latency, with RX 7000 and supported games only, although this has had its own issues). Not to mention the company is wrapping up all this tech in HYPR-RX, an easy-to-use one-click tuning mode that’ll apply relevant (supported) features to make a given game perform optimally (hopefully).

But there’s still that inevitable feeling of following in Nvidia’s wake when it comes to FSR and related features, with AMD rather struggling to keep up with the good ship Jensen.

Still, AMD appears to have an overarching vision it’s making solid, if somewhat slow, progress towards, but we certainly need to see more games that (officially) support FSR 3 – with an implementation impressive enough to equal DLSS 3 (or get close to it).

(Image credit: Future)

Portable goodness

This year saw some interesting launches from AMD on the portable device front, not the least of which was the Ryzen Z1 APU. Built on Zen 4, this mobile processor emerged in April to be the engine that several gaming handhelds were built around, notably the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go.

There were two versions of the Z1, the 6-core vanilla chip, and a Z1 Extreme variant which was an 8-core CPU but crucially had a lot more graphics grunt (12 RDNA 3 CUs, rather than just 4 CUs for the baseline processor). The Z1 Extreme proved to be an immense boon to these Windows-powered gaming handhelds, driving the Legion Go to become what we called the true Steam Deck rival in our review.

The weakness of those Windows-toting Steam Deck rivals is, of course, the battery life trade-off (particularly when driving demanding games at more taxing settings). AMD was on hand to help here, too, introducing HYPR-RX Eco profiles to its graphics driver late in the year, which should offer a convenient way to tap into considerable power-savings (without too much performance trade-off – we hope).

Away from handhelds, in December we were also treated to the launch of a range of Ryzen 8000 CPUs for laptops. These ‘Hawk Point’ chips aren’t out yet, but will debut in notebooks in early 2024, although note that they’re Zen 4-based (the same as Ryzen 7000 silicon).

The line-up is led by the flagship Ryzen 9 8945HS, an 8-core processor with integrated graphics (Radeon 780M) that’ll be great for 1080p gaming (with some details toned down, mind). These chips will also benefit from AMD’s XDNA NPU (Neural Processing Unit) for accelerating AI tasks, and Team Red asserted that Hawk Point chips will be 1.4x faster than the Ryzen 7040 series in generative AI workloads – a pretty tasty upgrade.

(Image credit: AMD)

AI bandwagon

Those Hawk Point mobile CPUs showed AMD’s growing focus on AI, and this was a broader push for Team Red throughout the year, which comes as no surprise – everyone who was anyone in tech, after all, was investing in artificial intelligence. Moreover, Nvidia made an absolute fortune in the AI space this year, and obviously that didn’t go unnoticed at AMD towers.

As well as incorporating heftier NPUs in its processors, in May AMD tapped Microsoft for resources and cash to help develop AI chips (for the gain of both companies). But the real power move for Team Red came late in the year, when in December AMD revealed a Zen 4 APU for AI applications (the largest chip it has ever made, in fact, bristling with 153 billion transistors).

The Instinct MI300A is loaded with 24 CPU cores plus a GPU with 228 CDNA 3 CUs and eight stacks of HBM3 memory, posing a genuine threat to Nvidia’s AI dominance. AMD’s testing indicates that the MI300A is about on par with Nvidia’s mighty H100 for AI performance, and as the year ended, we heard that firms like Microsoft and Meta are interested in adopting the tech.

AMD said that the Instinct MI300A will be priced competitively to poach customers from Nvidia, as you might expect, while acknowledging that Team Green will of course remain dominant in this space in the near future. However, Lisa Su intends for her firm to take a “nice piece” of a huge AI market going forward, and if the MI300A is anything to go by, we don’t doubt it.

(Image credit: Reshetnikov_art / Shutterstock)

Year of the gremlins

While AMD had plenty of success stories in 2023, as we’ve seen, there were also lots of things that went wrong. Little things, medium-sized things, and great hulking gremlins crawling around in the works and making life difficult – or even miserable – for the owners of some AMD products who got unlucky.

Indeed, AMD was dogged by lots of issues early in the year, most notably a serious misstep with the cooling (vapor chamber) for RX 7900 XTX graphics cards. Although the flaw only affected a small percentage of reference boards, it’s absolutely one of the biggest GPU blunders we can recall in recent years. (Nvidia’s melting cables with the RTX 4090 being another obvious one).

We also witnessed a worrying flaw with AMD’s Ryzen 7000 CPUs randomly burning out in certain overclocking scenarios. Ouch, in a word.

Other examples of AMD’s woes this year include a graphics driver update in March bricking Windows installations (admittedly in rare cases, but still, this is a nasty thing to happen off the back of a simple Adrenalin driver update), and other driver bugs besides (causing freezing or crashing). And we also saw AMD chips that had security flaws of one kind or another, some more worrying than others.

Not to mention RX 7000 graphics cards consuming far too much power when idling in some PC setups (multiple monitors, or high refresh rate screens – a problem not resolved until near the end of the year, in fact).

There were other hitches besides, but you get the idea – 2023 was a less than ideal time for AMD in terms of gaffes and failures of various natures.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

Concluding thoughts

Clearly, AMD tried the patience of gamers in some respects this year. First of all with those glaring assorted blunders which doubtless proved a source of frustration for some owners of their products. And secondly, purely due to making gamers wait an excessively lengthy time for features like FSR 3 – which seemed to take an age to come through – and ditto for filling out the rest of the RDNA 3 range, as those graphics cards took quite some time to arrive.

However, the latter were very much worth the wait. The double whammy for GPUs was a real coup for AMD, releasing the top budget graphics card in the RX 7600, and our favorite GPU of them all, the reigning RX 7800 XT that sits atop our ranking of the top boards available right now.

There were plenty of other highlights, such as releasing the best gaming CPU ever made – in the form of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D – which was a pretty sharp move this year. We also received a top-notch mobile APU for handhelds in the Ryzen Z1 Extreme.

AMD’s GPU sales were appropriately stoked as 2023 rolled on, and FSR – plus other related game boosting tech – seems to be coming together finally, albeit in an overly slow but steady manner as mentioned. In the field of AI, Team Red is suitably ramping up its CPUs, and with the Instinct MI300A accelerator it’s providing a meaningful challenge to Nvidia’s dominance.

In short, despite some worrying wobbles, 2023 was a good year for AMD. The future looks pretty rosy, too, certainly with next-gen Zen 5 processors that look set to get the drop on Intel’s Arrow Lake silicon next year. And some even more tantalizing Zen 5 laptop chips (‘Strix Point’ – sitting above Hawk Point, and sporting XDNA 2 and RDNA 3.5) are inbound for 2024.

Next-gen Radeon GPUs are a little sketchier – RDNA 4 is coming next year, but the range may top out at mid-tier products, as AMD refocuses more on AI graphics cards (as expected in terms of going where the profits are). Those RDNA 4 cards could still pack a value punch, though, and looking at the current mid-range champ, the RX 7800 XT, we’d be shocked if they didn’t.

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Quordle today – hints and answers for Sunday, December 31 (game #706)

It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. 

Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's fun, but also difficult.

What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also keeping it fresh in the form of a variant called the Daily Sequence, which sees you complete four puzzles consecutively, rather than concurrently. 

But Quordle is tough, so if you already find yourself searching for today's Wordle answer, you'll probably need some hints for this game too. 

I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #706 and the answers to the main game and Daily Sequence. 

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #706) - hint #1 - Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). 

Quordle today (game #706) - hint #2 - total vowels

What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?

• The total number of vowels across today's Quordle answers is 8.

Quordle today (game #706) - hint #3 - repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #706) - hint #4 - total letters

How many different letters are used in Quordle today?

• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 16.

Quordle today (game #706) - hint #5 - uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. Two of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #706) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #706) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• T

• S

• A

• G

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #706) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #706, are…

• TOXIC
• SOLVE
• ALBUM
• GRAZE

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

---

Daily Sequence today (game #706) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #706, are…

• FERRY
• CONIC
• ELDER
• FLASH

---

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #705, Saturday 30 December: ACUTE, SALLY, GROAN, GROWL
• Quordle #704, Friday 29 December: AGONY, FLAKY, PHONE, AFOUL
• Quordle #703, Thursday 28 December: CLERK, BERTH, FINER, SCALY
• Quordle #702, Wednesday 27 December: ALIVE, ABHOR, BRACE, CORER
• Quordle #701, Tuesday 26 December: TAROT, WRING, OMBRE, CHUTE
• Quordle #700, Monday 25 December: RANCH, HAUTE, LEASH, WISER
• Quordle #699, Sunday 24 December: FURRY, SKATE, SHARE, WEEDY
• Quordle #698, Saturday 23 December: EXULT, WHEAT, SCENE, CRESS
• Quordle #697, Friday 22 December: FRUIT, SWEET, MEATY, EMBER
• Quordle #696, Thursday 21 December: TENSE, SCALP, QUASI, PRAWN
• Quordle #695, Wednesday 20 December: HUMPH, SOWER, WAGON, EDICT
• Quordle #694, Tuesday 19 December: CHINA, TRUNK, SUAVE, DETER
• Quordle #693, Monday 18 December: FLUNK, TRAIN, SKATE, SPRIG
• Quordle #692, Sunday 17 December: SOLAR, GENIE, ENNUI, PLACE
• Quordle #691, Saturday 16 December: EXULT, POSSE, FRANK, SPIKY
• Quordle #690, Friday 15 December: FELON, GHOST, SASSY, CLEAR
• Quordle #689, Thursday 14 December: FEWER, RERUN, SPEAK, CREEP
• Quordle #688, Wednesday 13 December: MELEE, GOLLY, HEIST, PLACE
• Quordle #687, Tuesday 12 December: SCRAP, ETHOS, CONDO, SNORT
• Quordle #686, Monday 11 December: BASAL, BARON, HASTE, MANIA

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year. 

As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.

The website also includes a practice mode - which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! - and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements - specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.

Oh, and it's difficult. Really difficult.

What are the Quordle rules?

The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow. 

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…

4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two. 

5. Answers are never plural.

6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.

8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle's Hard mode.

9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.

10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.

What is a good Quordle strategy?

Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can't blindly throw letters at it and expect to win - you'll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.

That's the case in Wordle too, of course, but it's even more important in Quordle.

There are two key things to remember. 

1. Use several starting words

Firstly, you won't want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words. 

The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.

For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options - you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe - but something like that should do the trick.

If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!

2. Narrow things down

Secondly, if you're faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options - for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH - you'll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options. 

In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It's risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it's the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure - you simply don't have enough guesses.

In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.

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Microsoft launches Copilot for iPhones and iPads right after Android

That didn't take long: just days after launching a dedicated Copilot app for Android, Microsoft has restored balance to the universe again by making the same app available for those users who prefer iPhones and iPads.

As initially spotted by The Verge, the Copilot app for iOS and iPadOS seems to be an exact replica of the Android one, and is also free to use. The same rules apply: you can use it in a limited fashion without logging in, but signing into a Microsoft account gives you more prompts and more features (like image generation capabilities).

If you do sign in with a Microsoft account, then you can enable the latest and greatest GPT-4 model from Microsoft's partner OpenAI. Responses will generally be slower but better, and bearing in mind that ChatGPT customers have to pay to get the GPT-4 version, this is a pretty good deal from Microsoft.

While it's a notable move from Microsoft to give Copilot its own app, this hasn't come out of nowhere: pretty much all of the functionality here was previously available in the Bing apps for Android and iOS, so little has changed in terms of what you can do.

Copilot everywhere

If you're completely new to generative AI, these tools can produce text and images based on a few user prompts. You can get Copilot to do anything from write a poem about TechRadar to produce an image of a glowing Apple iPhone.

You can also get Copilot to query the web – if you need party game or travel ideas, for example – and have it explain complex topics in simple terms. It's a bit like a supercharged version of Google Assistant or Siri from Apple.

Microsoft is continuing to push forward quickly with upgrades to Copilot, as it knows that the likes of Apple and Google are busy improving their own generative AI tools. It looks inevitable that AI will be one of the hottest tech trends of 2024.

And if you don't want to install Copilot on your phone, you can find it in plenty of other places too. The same features are still available as part of Bing on the web, and Copilot has also now been added to Windows 11 and Windows 10.

You might also like

• Microsoft just added a powerful new upgrade to Copilot
• It's official – Copilot is taking over Microsoft 365
• Copilot's new AI tool will turn your simple prompts into songs

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This air fryer is ridiculously cheap in Walmart's after-Christmas sales

If you're on a budget and can't pick up our favorite Ninja kitchen appliance deals from this year's post-Christmas sales then this air fryer could be the bargain you're after.

Right now this Moosoo 2-qt air fryer is just $37.99 at Walmart. That's ridiculously cheap even for an air fryer from a lesser-known brand. Reviews on the store page are generally positive too though at just 2-quarts it's fairly small, and its cooking capabilities don't come close to rivaling those of the best air fryers.

Alternatively, if you're budget can stretch a little further we'd recommend this Ninja AF101 air fryer at Amazon. It's $79.99 which is $50 less than its usual $129.99 price and offers twice the cooking capacity and better results.

Today's best air fryer deals

Moosoo 2-quart air fryer: was $49.81 now $37.99 at Walmart
This small air fryer won't be the best out there but it is ridiculously cheap at just under $40. If you're on a tight budget and only need to cook small amounts then this could be a solid pickup. That said...View Deal

Ninja AF101 4 quart air fryer: was $129.99 now $79.99 at Amazon
If you can afford to spend $40 more you can get an air fryer that boasts twice the space and much stronger cooking credentials. This Ninja model has been cheaper before but this current price is the best it has been in 2023.View Deal

In our review of the entry-level Ninja air fryer we gave it four stars. We celebrated its cooking abilities, though it lost points for being small and a little pricey. At this discounted price it's much better value for money, and while size is still an issue that's only a problem for larger families. 

If you're living alone, or don't need to cook much in this air fryer the 4 quart size shouldn't be much of an issue. If anything its compact size could be a good thing as it won't take up space on your worktop.

More after-Christmas deals

• Amazon: 70% off Kindle, TVs, tablets & clothing
• Apple: AirPods, Apple Watch & iPads from $79
• Adidas: 40% off running shoes & clothing
• Beauty: 51% off makeup, skincare & hair tools
• Best Buy: $800 off TVs, laptops & headphones
• Cheap TVs: big-screen 4K TVs from $269.99
• Christmas clearance: 50% off trees & decor
• Dell: cheap laptops and desktops from $259
• DreamCloud: 40% off all mattresses
• Fitbit: up to 30% off at Amazon
• Gaming: console bundles from $289.99
• Lenovo: 76% off laptops, desktops & printers
• Lululemon: up to 30% off sitewide
• Nectar: mattress deals starting at $359
• Nike: up to 50% off running shoes & clothes
• Nordstrom: 40% off Nike, Levi's & UGGs
• Patagonia: pullovers starting at $64.99
• Purple: up to $400 off mattresses
• Saatva: $400 off mattresses over $1,000
• Samsung: $2,000 off TVs, $800 off Galaxy S23
• Target: 40% off fitness equipement, TVs & toys 
• Toys: Disney, Barbie & Lego from $14.99
• Treadmills: from $179.99 at Walmart
• Walmart: cheap TVs, air fryers, PS5 & toys

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Oppo Reno 11 Series India Launch Date Tipped; Design Revealed via Official Website

Oppo Reno 11 series global and India launch could happen as early as next week, if a leak is to be believed. The Oppo Reno 11 and Reno 11 Pro handsets were launched in China last month. The global variants of the phones are being teased official by Oppo Malaysia with the standard Reno 11 having a slightly different design compared to the China variant.

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Best Smartphones of 2023: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, OnePlus Nord 3, Pixel 7a and More

With a greater focus on premium devices and foldable, we have seen a drastic shift in interest with manufacturers (which often reflect consumer choices) in the entry-level and budget segment to the higher end of the budget range and the midrange in a quest to deliver a feature-packed smartphone that meets expectations at a tolerable price tag.

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Quordle today - hints and answers for Saturday, December 30 (game #705)

It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. 

Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's fun, but also difficult.

What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also keeping it fresh in the form of a variant called the Daily Sequence, which sees you complete four puzzles consecutively, rather than concurrently. 

But Quordle is tough, so if you already find yourself searching for today's Wordle answer, you'll probably need some hints for this game too. 

I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #705 and the answers to the main game and Daily Sequence. 

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #705) - hint #1 - Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). 

Quordle today (game #705) - hint #2 - total vowels

What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?

• The total number of vowels across today's Quordle answers is 7.

Quordle today (game #705) - hint #3 - repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #705) - hint #4 - total letters

How many different letters are used in Quordle today?

• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 13.

Quordle today (game #705) - hint #5 - uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #705) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #705) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• A

• S

• G

• G

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #705) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #705, are…

• ACUTE
• SALLY
• GROAN
• GROWL

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

---

Daily Sequence today (game #705) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #705, are…

• WRECK
• ETUDE
• PERKY
• PECAN

---

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #704, Friday 29 December: AGONY, FLAKY, PHONE, AFOUL
• Quordle #703, Thursday 28 December: CLERK, BERTH, FINER, SCALY
• Quordle #702, Wednesday 27 December: ALIVE, ABHOR, BRACE, CORER
• Quordle #701, Tuesday 26 December: TAROT, WRING, OMBRE, CHUTE
• Quordle #700, Monday 25 December: RANCH, HAUTE, LEASH, WISER
• Quordle #699, Sunday 24 December: FURRY, SKATE, SHARE, WEEDY
• Quordle #698, Saturday 23 December: EXULT, WHEAT, SCENE, CRESS
• Quordle #697, Friday 22 December: FRUIT, SWEET, MEATY, EMBER
• Quordle #696, Thursday 21 December: TENSE, SCALP, QUASI, PRAWN
• Quordle #695, Wednesday 20 December: HUMPH, SOWER, WAGON, EDICT
• Quordle #694, Tuesday 19 December: CHINA, TRUNK, SUAVE, DETER
• Quordle #693, Monday 18 December: FLUNK, TRAIN, SKATE, SPRIG
• Quordle #692, Sunday 17 December: SOLAR, GENIE, ENNUI, PLACE
• Quordle #691, Saturday 16 December: EXULT, POSSE, FRANK, SPIKY
• Quordle #690, Friday 15 December: FELON, GHOST, SASSY, CLEAR
• Quordle #689, Thursday 14 December: FEWER, RERUN, SPEAK, CREEP
• Quordle #688, Wednesday 13 December: MELEE, GOLLY, HEIST, PLACE
• Quordle #687, Tuesday 12 December: SCRAP, ETHOS, CONDO, SNORT
• Quordle #686, Monday 11 December: BASAL, BARON, HASTE, MANIA
• Quordle #685, Sunday 10 December: GODLY, THUMP, PLANK, CIVIC

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year. 

As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.

The website also includes a practice mode - which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! - and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements - specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.

Oh, and it's difficult. Really difficult.

What are the Quordle rules?

The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow. 

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…

4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two. 

5. Answers are never plural.

6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.

8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle's Hard mode.

9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.

10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.

What is a good Quordle strategy?

Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can't blindly throw letters at it and expect to win - you'll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.

That's the case in Wordle too, of course, but it's even more important in Quordle.

There are two key things to remember. 

1. Use several starting words

Firstly, you won't want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words. 

The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.

For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options - you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe - but something like that should do the trick.

If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!

2. Narrow things down

Secondly, if you're faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options - for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH - you'll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options. 

In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It's risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it's the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure - you simply don't have enough guesses.

In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.

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Ohio lottery hit by serious ransomware attack forcing some system shutdowns

The Ohio Lottery apperas to have suffered a ransomware attack which forced it to shut some of its systems down and also allegedly lost sensitive data on millions of its users. 

On December 24, the company issued a press release claiming to have suffered a “cybersecurity incident” that resulted in the shutdown of “some of its internal applications”. 

An investigation is already underway, but the gaming system remains “fully operational”, the company confirmed.

Selling the access

However, mobile cashing, as well as prize cashing above $599 at Super Retailers, are currently not available. “The Lottery will notify the public once these services resume. In the interim, prize claims can still be mailed to the Ohio Lottery Central Office,” the press announcement reads. 

What’s more, winning numbers for KENO, Lucky One, and EZPLAY Progressive Jackpots are also not available on the company website or mobile app. Users can check the results at any Ohio Lottery Retailer, the company said.

The company did not share any details about the threat actors, their methods, or demands, but BleepingComputer has. In its writeup, the publication says DragonForce has claimed responsibility for the attack. This is a relatively new and unknown entrant in the ransomware space.

"More than 3,000,000+ entries, first name, last name, mail, addresses, winning amounts! SSN + DOB records of employees and players,” the group was cited as saying on a dark web page. “The total weight of the leak when unpacked is about 600+ gigabytes." 

For hackers, stealing sensitive identity data from a lottery company is the same as hitting the jackpot (pun definitely intended). Personal data is often used for phishing attacks. These emails typically carry a sense of urgency, which can deter victims from thinking things through before acting. Ohio Lottery players should exercise caution when receiving email messages claiming they have won a grand prize.

More from TechRadar Pro

• Ransomware gangs are increasingly turning to remote encryption, and that's a huge problem
• Here's a list of the best firewalls today
• These are the best endpoint protection services right now

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Finally! AMD-powered workstation mini PC comes with USB 4 ports – allowing creatives to connect Thunderbolt-powered GPU docking stations

Geekom, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in October 2023, produces some excellent mini PCs, including the Mini IT13 which we reviewed here in October, and the Mini IT11, reviewed at the end of 2022.

Its next big – well, tiny – release will be the Geekom A7 mini PC. This will be officially unveiled at CES 2024, but we’ve had a sneak peek, and it looks like the company has another hit on its hands.

The Geekom A7, with a metal body, will be powered by Ryzen 7000 series APUs - specifically Ryzen 9 7940HS and Ryzen 7 7840HS – matched with up to 64 GB of DDR5 RAM, clocked at 5600 MHz in dual-channel. This setup means it should be able to handle some reasonably heavy workloads. An M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 slot means the A7 can accommodate up to a 2TB SSD, and the new mini PC has a connector for a SATA drive too.

USB4 support

Its wireless capabilities include Intel Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, and it comes with a decent selection of ports, including a 2.5G Ethernet, USB Type-A, 3.5 mm audio, and HDMI.

Most notably, the A7 mini PC will come with a USB 4 Type-C port. USB 4 mirrors many of the specifications of Thunderbolt 4, so it will be able to support DisplayPort 2.0 and deliver speeds of up to 40Gbps. It will also be backward compatible with USB 3.2 (and even USB 2.0). This inclusion means creatives can connect GPU docking stations to the device, delivering a significant performance boost.

According to Alan Chen, the CEO of Geekom, "In terms of body size, the A7 will be the thinnest Mini PC on the market, with stability and performance guaranteed."

There’s no word on pricing or availability for the Geekom A7 yet, but with CES 2024 just around the corner, we won’t have to wait too long to find out the full details.

More from TechRadar Pro

• We've rounded up the best mini PCs on the market today
• This new mini PC is a compact powerhouse
• These are the best mobile workstations around

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New Android malware family has infected thousands of devices - here's what we know

Cybersecurity researchers from McAfee hae uncovered over a dozen malicious apps lurking in the Google Play Store. 

The researchers claim these apps were carrying a potent piece of malware, capable of stealing sensitive data from the infected Android devices and possibly even running ad fraud.

The apps were downloaded at least 330,000 times.

Accessibility Service

According to the researchers, the backdoor is called “Xamalicious”, and has so far been discovered in thee following apps:

- Essential Horoscope for Android – 100,000 installs 

- 3D Skin Editor for PE Minecraft – 100,000 installs 

- Logo Maker Pro – 100,000 installs 

- Auto Click Repeater – 10,000 installs 

- Count Easy Calorie Calculator – 10,000 installs 

- Dots: One Line Connector – 10,000 installs 

- Sound Volume Extender – 5,000 installs

After being labeled as malicious, Google removed these apps from its app repository.

While Google's action is commendable, the move doesn’t protect users who already downloaded the apps in the past, with some reportedly having been available for download since mid-2020. They will have to remove those manually and use an anti-virus program or cleaner to remove up any loose ends.

The majority of the victims were found in the US, the UK, Germany, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. 

To operate properly, the malware asks the victim to grant it Accessibility Service permissions, which is often a red flag and should help most people identify a malicious app from a legitimate one. 

That being said, with Accessibility enabled, the malware is able to grab device and hardware information, including Android ID, brand, CPU, model, OS version, language, developer options status, SIM details, and firmware. Furthermore, it can identify the device’s physical location, ISP name, organization, and services. It also comes with a few features to help it determine if it’s installed on a genuine device or an emulator.

Finally, the malware can pull a second-stage payload from the C2 server.

Via BleepingComputer

More from TechRadar Pro

• These Android apps are nothing but adware, but have been installed over 2 million times already - so uninstall now
• Here's a list of the best firewalls today
• These are the best endpoint protection services right now

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iQoo Neo 9, iQoo Neo 9 Pro With 50-Megapixel Camera, 6.78-Inch Display Launched: Price, Specifications

iQoo Neo 9 series has been launched in China. The lineup includes the iQoo Neo 9 and iQoo Neo 9 Pro. They come with 16-megapixel front cameras and feature 6.78-inch AMOLED displays. The iQoo Neo 9 series is available for pre-order in China and will go on sale later this month.

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Quordle today - hints and answers for Thursday, December 28 (game #703)

It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. 

Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's fun, but also difficult.

What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also keeping it fresh in the form of a variant called the Daily Sequence, which sees you complete four puzzles consecutively, rather than concurrently. 

But Quordle is tough, so if you already find yourself searching for today's Wordle answer, you'll probably need some hints for this game too. 

I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #703 and the answers to the main game and Daily Sequence. 

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #703) - hint #1 - Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too). 

Quordle today (game #703) - hint #2 - total vowels

What is the total number of vowels in Quordle today?

• The total number of vowels across today's Quordle answers is 5.

Quordle today (game #703) - hint #3 - repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #703) - hint #4 - total letters

How many different letters are used in Quordle today?

• The total number of different letters used in Quordle today is 14.

Quordle today (game #703) - hint #5 - uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #703) - hint #6 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #703) - hint #7 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• C

• B

• F

• S

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #703) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #703, are…

• CLERK
• BERTH
• FINER
• SCALY

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

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Daily Sequence today (game #703) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #703, are…

• HONEY
• DELTA
• CHAFE
• STOOL

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Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #702, Wednesday 27 December: ALIVE, ABHOR, BRACE, CORER
• Quordle #701, Tuesday 26 December: TAROT, WRING, OMBRE, CHUTE
• Quordle #700, Monday 25 December: RANCH, HAUTE, LEASH, WISER
• Quordle #699, Sunday 24 December: FURRY, SKATE, SHARE, WEEDY
• Quordle #698, Saturday 23 December: EXULT, WHEAT, SCENE, CRESS
• Quordle #697, Friday 22 December: FRUIT, SWEET, MEATY, EMBER
• Quordle #696, Thursday 21 December: TENSE, SCALP, QUASI, PRAWN
• Quordle #695, Wednesday 20 December: HUMPH, SOWER, WAGON, EDICT
• Quordle #694, Tuesday 19 December: CHINA, TRUNK, SUAVE, DETER
• Quordle #693, Monday 18 December: FLUNK, TRAIN, SKATE, SPRIG
• Quordle #692, Sunday 17 December: SOLAR, GENIE, ENNUI, PLACE
• Quordle #691, Saturday 16 December: EXULT, POSSE, FRANK, SPIKY
• Quordle #690, Friday 15 December: FELON, GHOST, SASSY, CLEAR
• Quordle #689, Thursday 14 December: FEWER, RERUN, SPEAK, CREEP
• Quordle #688, Wednesday 13 December: MELEE, GOLLY, HEIST, PLACE
• Quordle #687, Tuesday 12 December: SCRAP, ETHOS, CONDO, SNORT
• Quordle #686, Monday 11 December: BASAL, BARON, HASTE, MANIA
• Quordle #685, Sunday 10 December: GODLY, THUMP, PLANK, CIVIC
• Quordle #684, Saturday 9 December: POKER, WHACK, HOBBY, BAGEL
• Quordle #683, Friday 8 December: THEFT, SAINT, MUSHY, TALON

Quordle FAQs: Everything you need to know

What is Quordle?

Where Wordle challenges you to guess a new five-letter word each day, Quordle presents you with four puzzles to solve. And rather than complete them in turn, you do so simultaneously. You get nine guesses, rather than the six for Wordle, but the rules are otherwise very similar. 

It's played online via the Quordle website and you can also get to it via the Merriam-Webster site, after the dictionary purchased Quordle last year. 

As with Wordle, the answers are the same for every player each day, meaning that you're competing against the rest of the world. And also as with Wordle, the puzzle resets at midnight so you have a fresh challenge each day.

The website also includes a practice mode - which I definitely recommend using before attempting the game proper! - and there are daily stats including a streak count. You also get Quordle Achievements - specific badges for winning a game in a certain number of turns, playing lots of times, or guessing particularly hard words.

Oh, and it's difficult. Really difficult.

What are the Quordle rules?

The rules of Quordle are almost identical to those of Wordle.

1. Letters that are in the answer and in the right place turn green.

2. Letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn yellow. 

3. Letters that are not in the answer turn gray…

4. …BUT the word you guess appears in all quadrants of the puzzle at the same time, so an A could turn green in one square, yellow in another and gray in the final two. 

5. Answers are never plural.

6. Letters can appear more than once. So if your guess includes two of one letter, they may both turn yellow, both turn green, or one could be yellow and the other green.

7. Each guess must be a valid word in Quordle's dictionary. You can't guess ABCDE, for instance.

8. You do not have to include correct letters in subsequent guesses and there is no equivalent of Wordle's Hard mode.

9. You have nine guesses to find the Quordle answers.

10. You must complete the daily Quordle before midnight in your timezone.

What is a good Quordle strategy?

Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can't blindly throw letters at it and expect to win - you'll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.

That's the case in Wordle too, of course, but it's even more important in Quordle.

There are two key things to remember. 

1. Use several starting words

Firstly, you won't want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words. 

The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.

For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options - you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe - but something like that should do the trick.

If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!

2. Narrow things down

Secondly, if you're faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options - for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH - you'll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options. 

In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It's risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it's the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure - you simply don't have enough guesses.

In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.

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