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Google's Chrome browser has become much faster on Android devices. These speed improvements come from better software builds, V8 JavaScript and Blink rendering engine upgrades, and more teamwork with Android device makers.

Disney+ has added ESPN+ content to its platform, making it easier for subscribers of the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ bundle in the U.S. to access everything in one place. Now, there is a new ESPN section within the Disney+ app that released today.

UPDATE: Dec. 4, 2024, 2:10 p.m. EST This article has been updated to include streaming release details for 'Cuckoo.'

The best streaming deals to watch 'Cuckoo': BEST STREAMING DEAL Hulu annual subscription $99.99 per year (save 16%) Get Deal WATCH NOW Rent or buy 'Cuckoo' on Prime Video $5.99 or $14.99 Get Deal BEST BUNDLE DEAL Hulu and Disney+ (with ads) $10.99 per month (save $8.99 per month) Get Deal BEST FOR STUDENTS Hulu Student Deal $1.99 per month (save $8 per month) Get Deal BEST FOR T-MOBILE CUSTOMERS Hulu (with ads) free for one year for Go5G Next customers (save $99.99) Get Deal

Looking for a new horror film to watch? Cuckoo, a bonkers mountain horror-thriller starring Hunter Schafer (Euphoria), is available to watch at home after a successful release this summer.

It's got its fair share of creepy characters, eerie atmosphere, dramatic tension, and cinematic mountain lodge vibes a la The Shining. Far from a jump scare-filled traditional horror movie, Cuckoo is more dependent on building unnerving, creeping dread. Prepare for an uncomfortably tense, truly bizarre movie night.

Here's everything you need to know about how to watch Cuckoo at home.

What is Cuckoo about?

Written and directed by Tilman Singer, the film follows 17-year-old American Gretchen (Schafer) who is uprooted to a resort in Bavaria with her father Luis (Márton Csókás), stepmother, Beth (Jessica Henwick), and 8-year-old stepsister, Alma (Mila Lieu).

Resort owner Mr. König (Dan Stevens) finds Gretchen a job working reception at a nearby lodge, where one day she's chased back to her new home on her bike by a mysterious hooded figure with glowing eyes. When nobody believes she was attacked, she's forced to investigate largely on her own. What she uncovers is quite bonkers and might leave you scratching your head.

Check out the full trailer below:

Is Cuckoo worth watching?

Cuckoo reviews are a mixed bag, but lean mostly positive, with a 78 percent critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 60 percent audience rating. Mashable's own reviewer Siddhant Adlakha calls it "incredibly strange and deviously fun."

"Whatever the film's more overt horrors, whether its chilling atmosphere or its attempts at amusing moral and visceral obscenities, they're all bound by Schafer's increasing physical and emotional despondency," wrote Adlakha in his review. "She doesn't just save the movie. She is the movie, making it all the more remarkable to watch."

As Schafer's first lead role in a film, she knocks it out of the park. And for her performance alone, it's worth a watch. Plus, of course, there's Dan Stevens.

How to watch Cuckoo at home Credit: NEON

If you skipped the big screen, you're in luck. Cuckoo became available to watch at home as of Sept.17. The mountain horror-thriller is available to rent or buy at digital-on-demand retailers like Prime Video, YouTube, and Apple TV. If you'd rather wait and stream the film, keep reading for more information.

Note: If you choose to rent the film, you'll have 30 days to start watching and just 48 hours once you begin.

Here are some of the platforms where you can rent or purchase the film online:

• Prime Video — $5.99 to rent or $14.99

• Apple TV — $5.99 to rent or $14.99 to buy

• Fandango at Home (Vudu) — $5.99 to rent or $14.99 to buy

• YouTube — $5.99 to rent or $14.99 to buy

• Google Play — $5.99 to rent or $14.99 to buy

When is Cuckoo streaming?

Since the indie film distributor Neon has a deal with Hulu, Cuckoo will officially make its debut on the streamer on Dec. 17 alongside other recent theatrical hits from Neon — Immaculate, Robot Dreams, and Infinity Pool. Hulu is surprisingly one of the most generous streamers for newbies, as it offers a free 30-day trial. Subscriptions start at $9.99 per month, but we've rounded up a few different ways you can save on your subscription below.

The best Hulu streaming dealsBest Hulu deal for most people: Hulu annual subscription Opens in a new window Credit: Hulu Hulu (with ads) annual subscription $99.99 per year (save 16%) Get Deal

Rather than paying $9.99 per month for Hulu, which adds up to $119.88 in a year, you can opt for an annual subscription and save 16%. An annual subscription with ads costs just $99.99, which drops the monthly fee down to just $8.33 per month. Sure, you'll have to pay more upfront, but you'll end up keeping more in your pocket in the long run.

Best bundle deal: Get Hulu and Disney+ for 37% off Opens in a new window Credit: Hulu / Disney+ Duo Basic bundle: Hulu and Disney+ with ads $10.99 per month (save 45%) Get Deal

If you're already a Disney+ subscriber or you want to get more bang for your buck, you can sign up for the Disney Duo Basic bundle and get both Disney+ and Hulu (with ads) for $10.99 per month. That's just $1 more than paying for Hulu alone, or a savings of 45%. Even better, if you're a sports fan, you can throw ESPN+ into the mix for only $16.99 per month total. That's 47% in savings on all three services.

Best for students: Hulu Student Opens in a new window Credit: Hulu Hulu Student $1.99 per month (save 80%) Get Deal

Students looking to stream Cuckoo and other Neon hits can sign up for Hulu for only $1.99 per month. That's a savings of 80% compared to the full cost of Hulu with ads. You'll just have to verify your college email address using SheerID to score the deal.

Best for T-Mobile users: Hulu (with ads) included for one year for Go5G Next customers Opens in a new window Credit: T-Mobile / Hulu Hulu (with ads) Free for select T-Mobile customers Get Deal

One of the best ways to get free streaming services, including Hulu, is to switch your mobile plan to T-Mobile's Go5G Next plan. Customers on this plan get Hulu with ads included in their plan for no extra cost, plus Netflix and Apple TV+. If you're already on a Go5G Next plan, head over to the T-Mobile promo page and choose "redeem now" to claim your offer. You'll have to enter your T-Mobile number and account details in order to sign up for Hulu.

Note: After your initial 12-month promotional period, you'll also have to take action in order to keep your subscription alive.

UPDATE: Dec. 4, 2024, 1:45 p.m. EST This article has been updated with the official streaming release date and details of 'Smile 2,' as well as the latest pricing.

The best deals for watching 'Smile 2' online: BEST STREAMING DEAL Paramount+ Essential annual subscription Free 7-day trial, then $59.99/year (save 17%) Get Deal BEST THIRD-PARTY STREAMING DEAL Free Paramount+ with Walmart+ membership free 30-day trial, then $98/year Get Deal BEST AD-FREE DEAL Paramount+ with Showtime annual subscription Free 7-day trial, then $119.99/year (save 17%) Get Deal BEST FOR STUDENTS Paramount+ for students $4.50/month (save 25%) Get Deal BEST NON-STREAMING DEAL Buy 'Smile 2' on demand $19.99 at Prime Video (save $5) Get Deal

Smile! The horror box office hit of the fall is coming to spook you on the small screen soon. Smile 2, the pop star-centric sequel to Parker Finn's 2022 feature, is one of the rare film follow-ups to outshine the original. Charlie's Angels actress Naomi Scott stars as the film's lead, a pop megastar named Skye Riley. The cast also features Rosemarie DeWitt, Kyle Gallner, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Dylan Gelula, and Ray Nicholson.

Whether you skipped the theater or want to watch it again, Smile 2 is now officially streaming. Here's everything you need to know.

What is Smile 2 about?

Taking place just days after the original left off, the film follows international pop star Skye Riley (Scott), who is working toward a career comeback a year after a devastating crash that killed her boyfriend. Though she's been sober since the crash, the emotional and physical pressure of the tour leads her to seek out an old drug dealer acquaintance Lewis (Gage) for painkillers. Unfortunately, she gets a bit more than she bargained for, as Lewis has been infected by the Smile curse and passes it to Skye. What follows is an "unpredictable narrative that's full of jump scares, creepy imagery, and spine-tingling sound effects," and of course, a bunch of eerie smiling people.

Here's the full trailer:

Is Smile 2 worth watching?

Still in select theaters nationwide, Smile 2 has been a surprising box office hit. Against a $28 million production budget, the film has grossed an exceptional $125 million worldwide. What's more, $23 million of that came from its opening weekend. Even more impressive, critics and fans alike are loving it more than the original — a very rare feat for a sequel. Smile 2 currently holds an 85 percent critic rating and 81 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while the original Smile holds 79 percent and 77 percent, respectively.

Mashable reviewer Monica Catillo called it "even more fun and gory this time around" in her review. "It's not often that a sequel exceeds its original, but Smile 2 delivers the thrills and chills of its predecessor with an even more pronounced funhouse feel."

Read our full review of Smile 2.

How to watch Smile 2 at home Credit: Paramount Pictures

Just a month after Smile 2 dominated the box office, it made its at-home debut on video-on-demand sites like Prime Video and Apple TV+. You can now purchase the film for your own digital library. A rental option will also be available eventually. If you'd rather stream the Smile sequel, keep reading to learn more.

As of Nov. 19, you can purchase the film at the following retailers:

• Prime Video — $19.99 to buy

• Apple TV — $19.99 to buy

• YouTube — $19.99 to buy

• Fandango at Home (Vudu) — $19.99 to buy

Is Smile 2 streaming?

Smile 2's first stop in the home entertainment market was digital on demand. If you don't want to pay $19.99 for the film, however, it's now officially streaming as of Dec. 3. Since it's a Paramount Pictures film, it has joined the Paramount+ library alongside the original.

We were anticipating a mid-to-late December streaming release, so we're pleasantly surprised that Smile 2 is already available. For reference, Paramount Pictures' A Quiet Place: Day One opened in theaters June 28 and didn't hit Paramount+ until Aug. 27, almost two months to the date. Smile 2 opened in theaters Oct. 18, so its streaming debut is definitely ahead of schedule.

You can sign up for a Paramount+ subscription starting at $7.99 per month. We've also found a few different ways you can save some money on a subscription. Check out the best Paramount+ streaming deals below.

The best Paramount+ streaming dealsMost affordable: Get a free 7-day trial, then $7.99/month Opens in a new window Credit: Paramount+ Paramount+ Essential Free 7-day trial Get Deal

Want to spend the least amount of money possible to watch Smile 2? Your best bet is to just sign up for a single month of Paramount+ Essential for $7.99. If you're new to the streamer, you'll get to enjoy a seven-day trial, which will allow you to watch it for free. After you watch, just be sure to cancel your subscription before the week is up if you want to avoid the monthly charge. You'll have to watch some ads throughout the movie, but just think of them as built-in bathroom breaks.

Best long-term deal: Save 38% on a Paramount+ Essential annual subscription Opens in a new window Credit: Paramount+ Paramount+ Essential annual subscription $59.99/year (save 38%) Watch Now

If you opt for the annual plan instead of the monthly plan, you can save 38% on your subscription. You'll have to pay more upfront, but it pays off in the grand scheme of your streaming lineup. An annual Paramount+ Essential plan will run you $59.99 per year, which breaks down to only $5 per month as opposed to $7.99 per month. That's basically like getting 12 months for less than the price of eight. If you want to watch more than just Smile 2 and ads aren't a dealbreaker, this is your best bet.

Best deal for no ads: Save 23% on a Paramount+ with Showtime annual subscription Opens in a new window Credit: Paramount+ with Showtime Paramount+ with Showtime Free 7-day trial, then $119.99/year Watch Now

If ads are a deal breaker for you, you'll have to sign up for the ad-free tier: Paramount+ with Showtime. This will run you either $12.99 per month or $119.99 per year (which breaks down to just $10 per month). Plus, if you're new to the streamer, you can also take advantage of that seven-day trial. Beyond just giving you ad-free Paramount+ content, the extra cost also unlocks access to Showtime originals and movies (like Yellowjackets and The Curse), live TV with CBS, and college football. Although you'll have to pay more, it's definitely a whole lot of bang for your buck.

Best deal for students: Save 25% on Paramount+ Essential Opens in a new window Credit: Paramount+ Paramount+ Essential for students $4.50/month (save 25%) Watch Now

College students can score a Paramount+ Essential monthly subscription for just $4.50 per month, so long as they can verify their student status using SheerID. Once verified, student discounts are valid for four years, even if you graduate prior to the four-year period. After four years, you'll be charged the standard rate for an Essential monthly subscription.

Best third-party deal: Get Paramount+ for free with a Walmart+ membership Opens in a new window Credit: Walmart / Paramount Walmart+ membership Free 30-day trial, then $98/year Watch Now

It may not be the simplest way to watch Smile 2, but a Walmart+ membership gives you free access to Paramount+ and plenty of other sweet benefits. Better yet, you can kick things off with a free 30-day trial, so you can enjoy an entire month of streaming without paying a cent. Just be sure to cancel before your trial ends if you want to avoid charges. If you want to keep your Walmart+ membership going, it'll cost you either $12.95 per month or $98 per year ($8.17/month).

Oh you thought the holiday season would be a time of peace on Earth — or at least peace on the internet? OpenAI has other ideas.

SEE ALSO: OpenAI is definitely, maybe thinking about ads for ChatGPT

On Wednesday, the ChatGPT maker announced "12 Days of OpenAI." Starting on Thursday, Dec. 5, OpenAI will livestream a new product release everyday. For 12 days.

Tweet may have been deleted

According to The Verge, one of the announcements will be its highly-anticipated AI video generator Sora. That would be one of the most significant releases in a long time for OpenAI. But not everyday will be a Sora-level blowout. OpenAI spokesperson Leah Anise said, "not every day will be a big launch - the 12 days will include some stocking stuffers and some bigger gifts." Minor releases might include a holiday-themed voice for Advanced Voice Mode, according to a user who spotted a new voice and snowflake icon in the ChatGPT code.

View on Threads

Ever since OpenAI announced Sora, which is currently in a closed research preview, the AI video generator has attracted controversy. Based on demos, the text-to-video model is capable of detailed photorealistic renderings, purportedly from simple text prompts. But as is the case with its other AI models, OpenAI hasn't shared any details about Sora's training data. That hasn't stopped creatives from speculating that it was trained on human-created work on YouTube and other parts of the web.

Recently, Sora testers added fuel to the proverbial fire by leaking its API access as a form of protest against "corporate AI overlords" who say they are "being lured into 'art washing' to tell the world that Sora is a useful tool for artists." If Sora really ships in the next 12 days, it will no doubt ignite the AI discourse once again, and just when all we at Mashable wanted to think about was chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

SAVE $90: The solar-powered Netvue Birdfy smart bird feeder is on sale at Amazon for $159.99, down from the list price at Netvue of $249.99. That's a 36% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Netvue Netvue Birdfy smart bird feeder $159.99 at Amazon
$249.99 Save $90.00 Solar-powered, yellow Get Deal

Bird watching is one of the most wholesome and enjoyable hobbies around. Not only does it give you a glimpse of the outdoors, it encourages you to get to know the local fauna. If you or anyone on your holiday shopping list enjoys watching birds come into the yard, check out this great deal at Amazon.

As of Dec. 4, the solar-powered Netvue Birdfy smart bird feeder is on sale for $159.99, down from the listed price at Netvue of $249.99. That's a 36% discount and a savings of $90. To get this sale price, opt for the yellow colorway.

SEE ALSO: Amazon deal of the day: Snag the Sony ULT Wear headphones while they're still at Cyber Monday pricing

The Birdfy smart bird feeder allows you to tune into the smartphone app to view and identify each bird that comes to visit. With 1080p resolution, you'll be able to see vivid details of feathered friends, including 1080p full-color night vision. The Birdfy app can send you automatic notifications when a bird arrives with 30 days of cloud storage. Plus, you can share the Birdfy's stream with up to 20 guests, so family members or neighbors can also enjoy seeing which birds come to visit.

The included solar panel means you'll be using renewable energy to power the smart bird feeder, and the weatherproof materials mean you won't have to worry about it during a winter storm or a summer heat warning.

Netvue included an extended perch on this model to give birds a more comfortable place to enjoy the feeder, which also gives you a better opportunity to check out the visitors.

The bird feeder can hold up to 50 ounces of bird seed and has an easy-to-use cover that flips open for refilling. To help deter squirrels, the Birdfy app also has a siren feature on the livestream page.

If you or anyone on your holiday shopping list has taken a liking to bird watching, the Netvue Birdfy smart bird feeder is a dream, giving you live access to each bird that comes to visit. Thanks to today's sale price at Amazon, you can grab the yellow solar-powered feeder for $159.99, which works out to an impressive $90 discount.

General Motors and its EV charging partner, EVgo, have doubled the number of public stations in their U.S. charging network to 2,000 in total, in just over a year and with hundreds potentially more on the way by the end of 2024.

SAVE $40: As of Dec. 4, you can snag an HP DeskJet 4255e wireless all-in-one color inkjet printer, scanner, and copier for just $59.99 at Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: HP HP DeskJet 4255e wireless all-in-one color inkjet printer, scanner, and copier $59.99 at Amazon
$99.99 Save $40.00 Get Deal

Having a printer at home is an underrated luxury that almost no one talks about until it’s time to go to the DMV, file taxes, or print an important document. It’s like the home office flex equivalent of having an in-unit washer and dryer — a true testament to one's adulting skills. If you haven’t been able to get a printer of your own (and you’re tired of running to FedEx whenever you need one), Amazon’s got a steal of a deal right now on the HP DeskJet 4255e wireless all-in-one printer, scanner, and copier (588S6A).

As of Dec. 4, you can get this versatile HP wireless printer for just $59.99 at Amazon. That’s a 40% discount off the list price and a savings of $40. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen on this particular model.

SEE ALSO: The best Cyber Monday deals still live in 2024

This printer is a triple threat: It can print, scan, and copy documents, photos, and more. Its print speed is 5.5 ppm per color page and 8.5 ppm per black-and-white page. It has a 60-sheet input tray, and with the HP App, you can print, scan, copy, and even fax documents directly from your smartphone.

If you decide to activate HP+ (HP's ink subscription service), you’ll get three months' worth of ink included. Once the three months are up, you can renew at $6.99 per month or cancel.

GET UP TO 50% OFF: As of Dec. 4, get a year-long subscription of MoviePass for 25% off, or a month membership for 50% off.

Opens in a new window Credit: MoviePass MoviePass Subscription Get a year-long subscription of MoviePass for 25% off, or a month membership for 50% off Get Deal

The weather's getting colder. If you don't want to brave the cold, you might instead consider some warmer activities, like going to see a movie. But that can be expensive – unless you invest in a membership to something like MoviePass, which lets you watch tons of movies each month for a membership fee. Good news: it's still available at its Black Friday price right now.

As of Dec. 4, you can get a yearlong subscription of MoviePass for 25% off or a month membership for 50% off. That means you can subscribe to an annual or monthly plan that nets you a certain denomination of credits that you can then use to watch a number of movies without having to pay the (sometimes outrageous) fees that come with them.

SEE ALSO: The best Netflix movies of 2024 now streaming

MoviePass credits work similarly to cash. Depending on where and when you see a movie, you'll need to put a certain number of credits toward doing so. You can expect to pay up to 20 credits for a weekend movie, while matinees can cost around 10 credits. The basic $10 month plan, for example, nets you 34 credits, so you can watch one weekend movie a month, or a few matinees. Or, if you watch a lot of movies, you can spend more each month for more credits to spend on multiple showtimes.

Credits do roll over, so you can save up and plan to go on a movie-watching spree if that sounds like something you'd be interested in doing. And no matter which plan you choose, you'll still be saving a significant amount of money, since even one ticket per showing can cost anywhere from $13 and up according to where you live. So if you're planning on catching some movies this year, this deal is worth snagging before it runs out.

Welcome to Research Focus, a series of blog posts that highlights notable publications, events, code/datasets, new hires and other milestones from across the research community at Microsoft.

NEW RESEARCH Adaptive Security, Erasures, and Network Assumptions in Communication-Local MPC

n-party Multi-Party Computation (MPC) is a cryptographic protocol technique that allows separate parties to securely compute a function on their joint data while keeping their inputs private. To build such a protocol, most works require all pairs of participating parties to be able to securely and reliably communicate with each other. Recently, the problem of Communication-Local (CL) MPC has been explored where this assumption is modelled more realistically – e.g. by only requiring that participating parties can securely and reliably communicate with a few other participating parties (as for example in networks like blockchains). However, few solutions exist that guarantee adaptive security—resilience to dynamic corruption of parties—and most rely on strong assumptions about party actions.

In a recent paper: Adaptive Security, Erasures, and Network Assumptions in Communication-Local MPC, researchers from Microsoft and external collaborators revisit assumptions made in earlier work. The authors conclude that for secure, adaptive CL-MPC, some previously assumed capabilities (like secure erasure and multisend) can be bypassed under certain conditions; however, fully reducing all-to-all to all-to-one communication remains unachievable in CL settings without some minimal assumptions. They propose a new SOS-RMT protocol, enabling more efficient CL-MPC under specific feasibility bounds and additional cryptographic assumptions.

Read the paper NEW RESEARCH Cuttlefish: A Fair, Predictable Execution Environment for Cloud-hosted Financial Exchanges

Low-latency algorithmic trading is driving efficiency in modern financial markets by promoting accurate/timely pricing of securities, higher liquidity, and lower trade costs for investors. The goal is to process incoming market data and issue trades as quickly as possible to take advantage of ephemeral market-making and arbitrage opportunities. Interest in cloud-hosted financial exchanges is growing, as they promise a cost-effective platform more accessible to market participants, among other benefits.

Unfortunately, one of the major roadblocks in cloud environments is to ensure equal network and compute despite the unpredictable network latencies as well as non-deterministic computation times.

In a recent preprint: Cuttlefish: A Fair, Predictable Execution Environment for Cloud-hosted Financial Exchanges, researchers from Microsoft and external collaborators present a fair-by-design algorithmic trading platform that can run in cloud environments. Cuttlefish aims to apply efficient and robust mapping of real operations to a novel formulation of ‘virtual time’. This allows Cuttlefish to push fairness to the extreme, regardless of the underlying network communication and computation hardware. The researchers’ implementation and evaluation validate the practicality of Cuttlefish and shows its operational efficiency on public cloud platforms. This paper builds on previous work: Rethinking Cloud-hosted Financial Exchanges for Response Time Fairness and DBO: Fairness for Cloud-Hosted Financial Exchanges. 

Read the paper GigaPath: Whole-Slide Foundation Model for Digital Pathology

Digital pathology helps decode tumor microenvironments for precision immunotherapy. In joint work with Providence and UW, we’re sharing Prov-GigaPath, the first whole-slide pathology foundation model, for advancing clinical research.

Read more Opens in a new tab NEW RESEARCH LLM2CLIP: Powerful language model unlocks richer visual representation

CLIP is a prominent multimodal foundational model, aligning visual and textual signals into a shared feature space. It supports various tasks, including zero-shot classification, detection, segmentation, and cross-modal retrieval, significantly influencing the entire multimodal domain. As a feature extractor, it has become dominant in cross-modal representation tasks such as image understanding, video understanding, and text-to-image/video generation. However, rapid advancements in large language models (LLMs) are continually pushing the boundaries of language comprehension and generation. Can the capabilities of LLMs be harnessed to further improve multimodal representation learning?

In a recent article: LLM2CLIP: Powerful Language Model Unlock Richer Visual Representation, researchers from Microsoft and external collaborators propose LLM2CLIP, a novel approach to unlock CLIP’s potential, focusing on fundamental optimizations of promising foundation models. By fine-tuning the LLM in the caption space with contrastive learning, they extract its textual capabilities into the output embeddings, significantly improving the output layer’s textual discriminability. The researchers then design a training process where the fine-tuned LLM acts as a powerful teacher for CLIP’s visual encoder. The LLM’s presence allows them to incorporate longer and more complex captions without being restricted by CLIP’s text encoder’s context window and ability limitations. Their experiments demonstrate that this approach brings substantial improvements in cross-modal tasks.

Read the paper Learn more about LLM2CLIP NEW RESEARCH LORASC: Expressive and Generalizable Low-rank Adaptation for Large Models via Slow Cascaded Learning

Foundation models, which are large-scale models pre-trained on extensive datasets and subsequently adapted for specific downstream tasks, have become integral to contemporary machine learning frameworks. Fine-tuning these models is essential, yet full parameter fine-tuning often encounters significant memory and computational bottlenecks. Parameter-efficient finetuning (PEFT) techniques aim to minimize the number of trainable parameters to reduce training costs and improve training stability. Among these techniques, Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) is highly efficient, although it has limitations in terms of expressiveness and generalization have been noted.

In a recent paper: LORASC: Expressive and Generalizable Low-rank Adaptation for Large Models via Slow Cascaded Learning, researchers from Microsoft and external collaborators present an innovative technique designed to enhance LoRA’s expressiveness and generalization capabilities while preserving its training efficiency. Their cascaded learning strategy enables a mixture-of-low-rank adaptation, thereby increasing the model’s ability to capture complex patterns. They also introduce a slow-fast update mechanism and cascading noisy tuning to bolster generalization. Their extensive experiments on various language and vision datasets, as well as robustness benchmarks, show that the proposed method significantly outperforms existing baselines, while also mitigating overfitting, enhancing model stability, and improving out-of-distribution (OOD) robustness.

Read the paper Microsoft Research in the news Can AI spot the next bomb cyclone far in advance? Microsoft hopes so 

Seattle Times | November 23, 2024

Microsoft claims that Aurora, a deep-learning model that’s constantly being trained, can produce weather forecasts much faster than — and with accuracy that meets or exceeds — traditional forecasting models.

How Microsoft's next-gen BitNet architecture is turbocharging LLM efficiency  

VentureBeat | November 13, 2024

One-bit large language models (LLMs) have emerged as a promising approach to making generative AI more accessible and affordable. In a new paper, Microsoft researchers introduce Binet a4.8, a new technique that further improves the efficiency of one-bit LLMs without sacrificing their performance.

2024 Ellison Cliffe Lecture: AI in science and medicine with Christopher Bishop 

Royal Society of Medicine | November 13, 2024

Christopher Bishop, Technical Fellow and Director of Microsoft Research AI for Science, discusses the extraordinary advances in the deep learning technology that underpins the AI revolution, including crucial progress in the fields of scientific discovery and medicine. This recent speech at the Royal Society of Medicine includes current examples of AI’s impact in materials design, drug discovery, and healthcare.

View more news and awards Opens in a new tab

The post Research Focus: Week of December 2, 2024 appeared first on Microsoft Research.

Introduction

Generative foundation models have transformed various domains, creating new paradigms for content generation. Integrating these models with domain-specific data enables industry-specific applications. Microsoft Research has used this approach to develop the large market model (LMM) and the Financial Market Simulation Engine (MarS) for the financial domain. These innovations have the potential to empower financial researchers to customize generative models for diverse scenarios, establishing a new paradigm for applying generative models to downstream tasks in financial markets. This integration may provide enhanced efficiency, more accurate insights, and significant advancements in the financial domain. 

Applying generative models to financial markets

In recent years, generative foundation models have achieved notable success in fields like natural language processing and media generation. Their rise has sparked a new wave of research and industrial adoption, reshaping production processes across industries. These models excel due to three essential elements: a large volume of high-quality training data; effective tokenization and serialization of core information (such as semantic information in text); and an auto-regressive training approach that models data comprehensively, enabling implicit reasoning. 

Building on years of AI applications across industries, Microsoft researchers recognized that combining generative models with domain-specific data could lead to impactful solutions, particularly in finance. The financial market is a prime example, notably for its vast amount of order data, which are characterized by three key features: 

• Fine granularity: Orders, as the atomic data in the financial market, provide a comprehensive and detailed representation of the real market. Combined with matching rules, one can reproduce the entire market operation process. 
• Large scale: Electronic trading has resulted in the accumulation of massive trade-order data across global exchanges
• Well-structured: The structured nature of order data makes it ideal for tokenization and sequential modeling

• Download MarS 

These characteristics position order flow data as a critical foundation for generative modeling in financial markets. To this end, Microsoft Research developed the LMM and the MarS, which financial researchers can use to customize generative models for various applications, thus fostering a new paradigm of generative solutions for all downstream tasks in finance. This has the potential to advance efficiency and insight generation in the financial industry. 

Figure 1: Illustration of stock market and orders Tokenization of order flow information

Order flow data is vital for generative models in finance, reflecting real-time interactions among market participants. It offers two types of value: 

• Fine-grained market feedback: Each order, especially large ones, may influence others’ decisions, providing a micro-level view of pricing behavior. 
• Macroscopic market dynamics: Collective interactions shape trading dynamics over time, capturing the evolution and resolution of conflicts between market forces. 

Researchers at Microsoft developed LMM by modeling both individual orders and entire order sets over time. This two-tiered approach captures both fine-grained feedback and macro-level dynamics of competition. Figure 2 shows the tokenization techniques for these models, enabling high-fidelity simulations of complex market dynamics. 

Figure 2: Tokenization for individual orders (top) and batch orders (bottom)  Expansion law of large market model: Unlocking the potential of financial data 

The effectiveness of generative models improves significantly with larger training datasets and model parameters. Researchers at Microsoft used two tokenization strategies to design models based on the Transformer architecture, testing them across varying data scales. Figure 3 illustrates the scaling behavior of both the order and order batch models, highlighting insights from historical trading data. This integration enhances the model’s ability to generate order flows with a deep understanding of market intricacies, enabling more accurate time-series modeling. 

Figure 3: Scaling curves of order and batch order models under different parameter sizes 

Microsoft Research Blog

Microsoft Research Forum Episode 3: Globally inclusive and equitable AI, new use cases for AI, and more

In the latest episode of Microsoft Research Forum, researchers explored the importance of globally inclusive and equitable AI, shared updates on AutoGen and MatterGen, presented novel use cases for AI, including industrial applications and the potential of multimodal models to improve assistive technologies.

Read more Opens in a new tab MarS based on LMM A customizable generative model for financial scenarios

Generative models, once trained, can be easily adapted for a range of downstream tasks, often outperforming traditional models tailored for specific scenarios. Building on the development of LMM, researchers further analyzed the needs of various financial scenarios and designed MarS as a versatile financial market simulation engine. MarS not only serves as a general-purpose simulation tool but also introduces a novel framework for applying generative models across diverse financial tasks, from market prediction and risk assessment to trading strategy optimization. 

Figure 4: Framework of MarS Constructing a unified paradigm for prediction and detection tasks 

Traditional financial prediction solutions often require the development of specialized algorithms, which must be frequently adjusted, consuming time and resources. LMM’s capacity to model financial markets in depth allows for periodic updates based on the latest data. MarS creates a virtual exchange to match order flows generated by LMM, simulating trades and deriving simulated market trajectories (see the top right of Figure 4). This approach can effectively address common prediction and detection tasks in financial scenarios, introducing innovative solutions within the generative model framework. 

Applications in prediction tasks

Prediction tasks, vital in finance, involve estimating future market metrics. Traditional models require modifications with any change in prediction targets. MarS addresses this by continuously generating future order flows from recent data, which are matched in a virtual exchange, allowing for the simulation of potential future market trajectories. This provides a significant advancement in forecasting capabilities.

Figure 5 demonstrates the use of MarS in forecasting stock-price movements, where its performance significantly outperforms traditional benchmark algorithms. Taking the Order Model (1.02B) for instance, its performance exceeds that of DeepLOB by approximately (0.662/0.583−1=13.5%) at a 1-minute horizon and increases to (0.579/0.473−1=22.4%) at a 5-minute horizon This widening performance gap suggests that the Order Model maintains its predictive accuracy more effectively over longer horizons, highlighting its superior generalization capability compared to baseline, especially as the prediction task becomes more challenging over extended timeframes. This provides an attractive solution for prediction tasks in financial markets, while also highlighting LMM’s capability in modeling stock market dynamics. 

Figure 5: Predicting stock price trends with MarS Applications in detection tasks

For regulators, detecting systemic risks or market abuse is critical for market stability. LMM models typical market patterns, enabling the identification of anomalies by comparing real market trajectories with those generated by MarS. Figure 6 shows the differences in the spread distribution (i.e., the difference between the best buy and sell prices, which reflects asset liquidity) between simulated and real market trajectories during a confirmed malicious market manipulation incident. This comparison can uncover subtle deviations indicative of unusual activities, offering regulators effective tools for monitoring market integrity.

Figure 6: Spread correlation between simulated and real market during market manipulation  Defining new FinTech scenarios 

Generative models can create tailored content from simple descriptions. In MarS, a mechanism generates specific order flows from natural language descriptions of market conditions. To address extreme conditions, researchers developed a control signal system using a hierarchical diffusion model to generate high-fidelity signals during rare events, such as stock market crashes and circuit breakers. This capability transforms broad descriptions into precise order flow controls. 

By integrating controlled order generation with real-time feedback, MarS creates a unified framework for prediction and detection tasks, redefining financial research, applications, and market understanding. Key applications include “What If” analyses and training environments for reinforcement learning algorithms in realistic market conditions. 

“What If” analysis for financial research

The question “What would happen if different sizes of trading orders were executed under different market conditions?” is crucial for understanding market behavior. Traditional methods, relying on real orders, experience, and assumptions, are costly and slow. Generative models provide a breakthrough solution.

Figure 7 illustrates how MarS can simulate market impact: the top left shows how buy orders affect asset price trajectories, while the top right presents market impact curves of different strategies, matching traditional patterns. Researchers also used MarS to generate large-scale simulated data, constructing a market impact model using ordinary differential equations (ODE). The bottom left of Figure 7) shows the derived impact formula, and the bottom right demonstrates its interpretability. These advancements highlight MarS’s potential to enhance “What If” research through deep market modeling. 

Figure 7: Sample research results for market impact of orders using MarS  Training environments for reinforcement learning in financial markets

Reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms require controlled environments for testing and optimization. Financial market behaviors often manifest through order flow changes, impacting the market. If the simulation cannot reflect these impacts accurately, an RL algorithm may fail in real-world scenarios.

MarS provides high-fidelity generation and real-time feedback, creating a comprehensive environment for RL in finance. Figure 8 shows the training process of trading agents, highlighting significant improvements in performance over time and demonstrating MarS’s effectiveness as an RL training ground. 

Figure 8: Performance of reinforcement learning trading agents trained in MarS. During training, the agent’s performance improved significantly, showcasing MarS’s ability to aid in developing robust reinforcement learning algorithms for real market conditions. 

Disclaimer: The research mentioned in this article, conducted by Microsoft Research, focuses on scientific exploration, aiming to advance knowledge and provide theoretical and technological support for research and applications in the financial field. All studies adhere to Microsoft’s responsible AI guidelines, ensuring principles such as fairness, inclusiveness, reliability and safety, transparency, privacy, and accountability are maintained. The technologies and methods discussed are still under research and development, not yet forming any commercial products or services, nor constituting any financial solutions. Readers are advised to consult certified financial professionals before making any financial decisions. 

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The post MarS: A unified financial market simulation engine in the era of generative foundation models appeared first on Microsoft Research.

SAVE $60: As of Dec. 4, you can snag a Fitbit Charge 6 for just $99.95, down from $159.95. That's 38% off the list price. Plus, more Fitbit deals.

Best Fitbit deals as of Dec. 4 Best deal overall Fitbit Charge 6 $99.95 (save $60) Get Deal Best budget deal Fitbit Inspire 3 $69.95 (save $30) Get Deal Best smartwatch deal Fitbit Versa 4 $119.95 (save $80) Get Deal

Cyber Monday may be over, but Amazon isn’t holding back on its deals. While many of the low prices from the annual shopping event have come and gone, we’ve found a few lingering discounts worth taking advantage of before they disappear for good.

SEE ALSO: The best Cyber Monday deals still live in 2024

You can now get a Fitbit for a fraction of the cost. (A gasp-worthy find, considering Amazon is super stingy about dropping the prices of Fitbit trackers, even on major shopping holidays — we didn’t see any good Fitbit deals during Prime Day.)

Here are the best Fitbit deals to shop this week:

Best Fitbit deal overall Opens in a new window Credit: Fitbit Fitbit Charge 6 $99.95 at Amazon
$159.95 Save $60.00 Get Deal Why we like it

The Fitbit Charge 6 was one of the most popular products among Mashable readers over Cyber Weekend, and it’s still available for $99.95 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. This is the lowest price we’ve seen for this model and a great deal for a fitness tracker that typically retails for $159.95.

The Fitbit Charge 6 has a seven-day battery life, 40 exercise modes, built-in GPS, and tons of other features to help you reach your fitness goals and track your progress. It’ll also give you a stress management score and nightly sleep score to help you better understand how your body responds to your daily routine.

Bonus: You’ll get six months of Fitbit Premium for free.

Best budget Fitbit Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Fitbit Fitbit Inspire 3 $69.95 at Amazon
$99.95 Save $30.00 Get Deal Why we like it

The Fitbit Inspire 3 has reached its record-low price of $69.95 at Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Kohl's. That’s 30% off the original price of $99.95.

It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the Charge 6, but for this price, it’s a steal. The Fitbit Inspire 3 tracks your steps, calories burned, heart rate, and sleep. (It also tracks menstrual health.) It has a 10-day battery life and 20 exercise modes.

You’ll also get six months of Fitbit Premium with this model.

Check out our full review of the Fitbit Inspire 3.

Best Fitbit smartwatch deal Opens in a new window Credit: Fitbit Fitbit Versa 4 $119.95 at Amazon
$199.95 Save $80.00 Get Deal Why we like it

The Fitbit Versa 4 is down to $119.95 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. That’s 40% off the list price of $199.95.

The Fitbit Versa 4 has a built-in GPS, 40+ exercise modes, six days of battery life, and all the tools you need to stay on top of your health and fitness goals, including a stress management score, menstrual health tracking, and mindfulness content.

You can take calls and respond to texts on the go with this smartwatch, or ask Alexa for help.

It also comes with six months of Fitbit Premium.

OpenAI might bring ads to ChatGPT, emphasis on might.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told the Financial Times on Monday that the AI company was considering an ad model, adding that it plans to be "thoughtful about when and where we implement them."

However, Friar backtracked a little in a follow-up statement to the outlet, saying "while we’re open to exploring other revenue streams in the future, we have no active plans to pursue advertising."

SEE ALSO: OpenAI's Sam Altman had an AMA on Reddit: 5 takeaways about ChatGPT and more

This is in line with what OpenAI told Mashable when it launched ChatGPT Search at the end of October. When asked whether the company planned on introducing ads to the AI-powered search engine, a spokesperson said, "we don’t have any plans for ads."

That said, OpenAI has been hiring lots of top monetization talent lately. Shivakumar Venkataraman, formerly on Google Search's advertising team, became an OpenAI VP in May, and Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil who led product teams at Instagram and X came on board in June. On Tuesday, OpenAI hired its first Chief Marketing Officer Kate Rouch, who oversaw Coinbase's Super Bowl ads.

OpenAI recently closed a massive funding round of $6 billion, giving the company a valuation of $150 billon. According to the New York Times, OpenAI's revenue projections underpinning the largest VC round of all time expect to bring in $11.6 billion in 2025. This is despite the fact that OpenAI currently operates at a loss of $2.3 billon. So somehow OpenAI has to essentially triple its revenue despite the huge cost of maintaining and developing AI models. That money has to come from somewhere, and upping its premium subscriptions might not be enough.

Of course bringing ads to ChatGPT risks enshittifying the product and alienating users. This could be costly in a highly competitive environment with Anthropic, Perplexity, and Google Gemini developing similar tools.

SAVE OVER 40%: Celebrate National Cookie Day by saving over 40% on baking deals at Amazon including the KitchenAid stand mixer and a great countertop oven from Ninja.

Best baking deals at Amazon Best overall baking deal KitchenAid Artisan Series Stand Mixer (5-quart) $329.95 at Amazon (save $120.04 + get a $16 Amazon credit) Get Deal Best countertop oven deal Ninja Double Stack XL Countertop Oven and Air Fryer $279.99 at Amazon (save $100) Get Deal Best baking accessory KitchenAid Glass Surface Digital Kitchen Scale (black with silver) $15.99 at Amazon (save $11) Get Deal

Holiday sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday are slowly disappearing, leaving us kinda bummed while we wait for our packages to arrive. Thankfully, there's something worth celebrating today: National Cookie Day. If you'll be embarking on some holiday baking or simply love homemade cookies, Amazon has some great baking deals in store today. Here are some of our favorites to help everyone celebrate National Cookie Day.

Best overall baking deal Opens in a new window Credit: KitchenAid KitchenAid Artisan Series Stand Mixer (5-quart) $329.95 at Amazon
$449.99 Save $120.04 + get a $16 Amazon credit Get Deal Why we like it

A KitchenAid stand mixer has long been a quintessential part of every kitchen. It's perhaps the most important item that makes baking a breeze. If you've ever tried to whip up egg whites by hand or work a tough bread dough, you understand the struggle of baking without a stand mixer.

The ultra durable and reliable KitchenAid Artisan Series stand mixer is on sale at Amazon for $329.95, down from the normal price of $449.99. That means you'll save 27%. You'll also automatically get a $16 Amazon credit added to your account 30 days after the mixer ships.

The KitchenAid stand mixer has a 5-quart capacity, making it ideal for any batch of cookies, cupcakes, or bread dough. The stainless steel bowl is dishwasher safe, and you'll also get a coated dough hook, 6-wire whip, and a coasted flat beater attachment.

Best countertop oven deal Opens in a new window Credit: Ninja Ninja Double Stack XL Countertop Oven and Air Fryer $279.99 at Amazon
$379.99 Save $100.00 Get Deal Why we like it

For plenty of reasons, a countertop oven can be perfect for baking cookies. Not only can countertop ovens be much better for indoor air quality, they're perfect if you feel like baking just a dozen or so cookies and don't feel like heating up the entire range to do so. Countertop models can also be perfect if your apartment or small home doesn't come with a traditional oven.

The super versatile Ninja Double Stack XL Countertop Oven and Air Fryer is a do-it-all machine that's currently on sale at Amazon on National Cookie Day for $279.99, instead of the typical $379.99. For starters, it's an oven and an air fryer, so you'll be able to free up some precious counter space since it's a 2-in-1 model. But the Ninja is so much more than just an oven and an air fryer. The dual model gives you two cooking spaces, so you could bake a tray of chocolate chip cookies on the upper oven and roast a chicken on the lower. The flavors (and smells) stay separate while cooking.

Plus, the oven has a convection bake setting, which is ideal for perfectly browning and evenly baking cookies regardless of if they're baking at the front of the tray or the back. You can also use the easy one-touch pizza button for a quick weeknight meal or use the oven to dehydrate fruit for homemade snacks.

Best baking accessory deal Opens in a new window Credit: KitchenAid KitchenAid Glass Surface Digital Kitchen Scale (black with silver) $15.99 at Amazon
$26.99 Save $11.00 Get Deal Why we like it

Baking isn't quite as forgiving as cooking can be. Add in a bit too much flour or water and your cookies might turn out looking or even tasting wonky. Baking with the accuracy of a kitchen scale can be a super easy (and inexpensive) way to level up your baking skills. On National Cookie Day, Amazon has the KitchenAid Glass Surface Digital Kitchen Scale on sale for just $15.99 in the black and silver model. This deal means you'll be saving $11 off the typical price of $26.99.

The KitchenAid scale easily switches between fluid measurements of ounces and milliliters to dry measurements like grams. Using this precision on recipes that call for dry yeast or baking powder can be especially useful. It can also save you the hassle of searching for measurement conversions if you're using a recipe that measures in grams and milliliters.

More baking deals at Amazon

• Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz — $15.67 $35 (save $19.33)

• Nordic Ware 3 Piece Baker's Delight Set — $35.26 $39.99 (save $4.73)

• USA Pan Bakeware Cookie Sheet (set of 2) — $39.76 $46.99 (save $7.23)

• Calphalon 10-Piece Nonstick Bakeware Set — $67 $131.99 (save $64.99)

• KitchenAid Bread Bowl with Baking Lid — $99.95 $129.99 (save $30.04)

Check out the best Amazon deals of the day as of Dec. 4: OUR TOP PICK Sony ULT Wear headphones $148 (save $51.99) Get Deal BEST TABLET DEAL Amazon Fire Max 11 $139.99 (save $90) Get Deal BEST FITNESS TRACKER DEAL Fitbit Charge 6 $99.95 (save $60) Get Deal BEST TRAVEL DEAL Tile Pro Bluetooth tracker $27.99 (save $7) Get Deal BEST TV DEAL Amazon 55-inch 4-Series Fire TV $379.99 (save $80) Get Deal

It's hard to fathom, but another Cyber Week has come and gone. We saw some incredibly impressive deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday on tech, kitchen gadgets, outdoor gear, streaming services, and so much more. If you missed out on the biggest sale of the season, no need to fret. Fortunately, Amazon has plenty of lingering discounts you can still grab. We've rounded up a few of our favorites still live on Dec. 4.

Here are our top picks for the best Amazon deals of the day. If none of these are your cup of tea, check back tomorrow for a whole new round of picks.

Our top pick: Sony ULT Wear headphones Opens in a new window Credit: Sony Sony ULT Wear headphones $148.00 at Amazon
$199.99 Save $51.99 Get Deal

"We try not to make sweeping claims in our reviews at Mashable, but these honestly might be my favorite pair of headphones I’ve tried — especially when you consider the price," writes Deputy Shopping and Reviews Editor Miller Kern. The Sony ULT Wear headphones offer multiple bass levels, punchy 360-degree sound, solid noise cancellation, customizable EQs, and intuitive on-ear controls, all for just under $200 on a regular day. Post-Cyber Monday, these babies are still sitting at $148 — a savings of 26% and the lowest price on record.

Check out our full review of the Sony ULT Wear headphones.

Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet $139.99 at Amazon
$229.99 Save $90.00 Get Deal

Not only is the Fire Max 11 our favorite budget tablet, but it's also Amazon's best iPad competitor. At full price, it'll run you $229.99, but thanks to a Cyber Monday deal that's still sticking around, it's down to just $139.99. That's a savings of 39% and matches its all-time low. It features a crisp 11-inch display (the largest Fire tablet you can buy), 8MP cameras that support 1080p video, 14-hour battery life, an upgraded octa-core processor, and WiFi 6 compatibility. As Mashable's reviewer noted, it's also "blazing fast, making it a good alternative to pricier tablets for streaming and games."

Check out our full review of the Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet.

Fitbit Charge 6 Opens in a new window Credit: Fitbit Fitbit Charge 6 $99.95 at Amazon
$159.95 Save $60.00 Get Deal

The Fitbit Charge 6 was one of our readers' top purchases this Cyber Week, and we can see why. As far as fitness trackers go, it's one of the best — and it's still sitting at its best-ever price of $99.95 (that's 38% off). With a seven-day battery life, over 40 exercise modes, a heart rate monitor, sleep tracking, a built-in GPS, it'll give you solid insight into your health and habits. It also comes with six months of Fitbit Premium to help you really kickstart your fitness routine.

Tile Pro Bluetooth tracker Opens in a new window Credit: Tile by Life360 Tile Pro (2024) $27.99 at Amazon
$34.99 Save $7.00 Get Deal

If you have holiday travel plans, you may want to grab yourself a Bluetooth tracker before jetting off. The Tile Pro is one of our favorite options (the best AirTag alternative) and the newest iteration is on sale for just $27.99. That's 20% off its usual price. Paired with the Tile app on your phone, you can have constant intel on the whereabouts of your luggage. You can also attach it to your purse, wallet, keys, or practically anything else you want to keep tabs on. Just press a button on your phone and a loud remote chime will alert you to your lost items from hundreds of feet away.

Amazon 55-inch 4-Series Fire TV Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon 55-inch 4-Series Fire TV $379.99 at Amazon
$459.99 Save $80.00 Get Deal

Amazon just dropped a brand-new version of its most popular smart TV last month — the 4-Series. And in true Amazon fashion, it's already on sale for $80 off. The latest 4-Series now features an ultraslim bezel that fades into the background, making your content more immersive. Otherwise, it's largely the same TV Fire TV fans know and love. It supports vivid 4K Ultra HD, HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Digital Plus, comes with the Alexa Voice Remote Enhanced, and features four HDMI inputs to connect all your gaming and audio peripherals. The 55-inch model is priced at $459.99, but it's down to $379.99 post-Cyber Monday.

None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.

Now that you've had time to digest your Spotify Wrapped 2024 results — maybe you even shared your top artists to your Instagram Story or posted your top songs on your FYP — it's time to start thinking ahead. With the arrival of Wrapped comes the inevitable question: When does Spotify Wrapped start tracking for 2025?

SEE ALSO: You can probably guess Spotify's most-streamed artist of 2024

Spotify’s year-end roundup has become a cultural phenomenon. It marks the unofficial end of the year and sparks debates over sound towns, audio auras, and music evolutions. But Wrapped isn’t just a snapshot of your listening habits; it’s also a motivator for the coming year. Knowing when the clock resets can help dedicated users curate their listening habits with the next Wrapped in mind.

When does Spotify Wrapped begin tracking?

Spotify has never confirmed its exact tracking period — sorry! — but it has given us a ballpark estimate.

Molly Holder, the senior director of product for personalization at Spotify, told Mashable at a Wrapped press presentation on Dec. 3, "We start at the beginning of January with all of your listening that begins right then at the beginning of the year, and it goes all the way through collecting data up until a few weeks before we launch the Wrapped product."

Therefore, the tracking period depends on the product's launch date. Spotify has also denied rumors that it stops tracking user data for Wrapped on Oct. 31. This means that the songs and artists you listen to in November are still considered for your annual Wrapped. But the artists and songs you listen to post-Wrapped and before January are free game, so please proceed to listen to your holiday playlists without shame.

"We aim to get as much of your year in listening covered as possible," Holder added. "This is how we can capture as much of your data to make the best personalized recommendations for you."

Looking ahead to Wrapped 2025

If you’re already planning for your next Wrapped, it’s never too early to start curating your playlists and exploring new genres. For those hoping to diversify their Wrapped data next year, Spotify’s Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and curated playlists offer a great way to break out of listening ruts. You can even try making your own playlist using AI...if you're really desperate for new music.

There's also a way to keep embarrassing music off your Wrapped. Say you're a parent who's streamed the Bluey theme song more times than you can count or a dancer learning choreography; Spotify has created a way to remove playlists from your "Taste Profile," which is how the platform defines the music you like and generates Wrapped. Songs and artists on playlists removed from your Taste Profile won't be in your top songs or artists on your Wrapped list, but they will contribute to your total listening time.

But it's important to note that if you listen to the songs outside the playlist, they will still be included in your Taste Profile and could appear in your Wrapped results.

SAVE $16: As of Dec. 4, get a 3-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription for $33.99, down from $49.99, at Woot. That's a discount of 32%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Woot Credit: Woot Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (3-Month Subscription) $33.99 at Woot
$49.99 Save $16.00 Get Deal

If you snagged a new Xbox during Black Friday or Cyber Monday, or you're looking to give a loved one a console for the holidays, you're going to need some games to play. But that doesn't mean you should drop a ton of cash on Xbox games to get ahead. Instead, turn to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, one of your best bets when it comes to saving money and having the freedom to try out as many games as you like. You can snag a membership for a great price right now, thanks to Woot.

As of Dec. 4, get a digital code for a 3-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription for just $33.99 at Woot. That's $16 off its normal price of $49.99 and a discount of 32%. Plus, these codes are stackable, so if you want to grab a few at a time and stay subscribed longer, that's doable here. And if you're a new Woot member, use code GAMEPASS to get an extra $5 off your code through Dec. 13.

SEE ALSO: I love budget gaming monitors, and this impressive Samsung 4K monitor is a steal at $130 off

An Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription unlocks hundreds of Xbox games so you can play anything on the service that you want for as long as you want, or as long as it remains available. That means you get access to new games on the day they release, like the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, without having to buy the game outright. You also get to play games from Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks, and more without having to commit to a $50 to $70 price tag. The Ultimate tier of Game Pass also grants access to EA Play, so you have those titles to choose from as well.

An Ultimate subscription also lets you try out Xbox Cloud Gaming as well as multiplayer in games that offer it. But even if you only use it to try out a bunch of different games, it's still worth the price. Be sure to grab a code (or two or three) if you're planning on joining the Xbox gang this year.

SAVE UP TO 33%: As of Dec. 4, you can get up to 33% off select Vitamix, Instant Pot, and Keurig appliances at Amazon.

Best kitchen deals as of Dec. 4 Best air fryer deal Instant Pot Vortex Plus 6-Quart Air Fryer $79.95 (save $40.04) Get Deal Best coffee maker deal Keurig K-Café Barista Bar Single Serve Coffee Maker and Frother $99.99 (save $40) Get Deal Best blender deal Vitamix Explorian Blender (E310) $254.99 (save $124.96) Get Deal

We’ve been covering the ongoing Cyber Week sales, and the deals continue to pour in — it’s crazy how many great sales are still available, even a week after Black Friday (but we’re not complaining!).

SEE ALSO: The best Cyber Monday deals still live in 2024

As of Dec. 4, you can still find discounts on some of the most popular kitchen brands, including Vitamix, Instant Pot, Keurig, and more. We’re seeing price cuts on blenders, air fryers, coffee makers, and other small appliances that make great gifts or additions to your own kitchen.

Here are just a few of the top deals that are still live:

Best air fryer deal Opens in a new window Credit: Instant Pot Instant Pot Vortex Plus 6-Quart Air Fryer $79.95 at Amazon
$119.99 Save $40.04 Get Deal Why we like it

The Instant Pot Vortex Plus 6-Quart Air Fryer is on sale for $79.95 at Amazon. That’s a 33% discount, or $40.04 off the list price. While it’s not as low as the price we saw for Cyber Monday (when it dropped to $67.99) it’s still a great price for an air fryer that can broil, roast, dehydrate, bake, reheat, and, of course, air fry.

Its EvenCrisp technology promises crispy, golden-brown results every time, and the six-quart capacity can easily handle a full meal or multiple side dishes. With fast pre-heating and multiple one-touch smart programs, this air fryer makes mealtime easier.

Best coffee maker deal Opens in a new window Credit: Keurig Keurig K-Café Barista Bar Single Serve Coffee Maker and Frother $99.99 at Amazon
$139.99 Save $40.00 Get Deal Why we like it

You can get a Keurig K-Café Barista Bar Single Serve Coffee Maker and Frother, which normally goes for $139.99, for $99.99 at Amazon. That’s a $40 price cut and the lowest price we’ve seen for this model.

The K-Café isn’t your typical Keurig coffee machine — this one features a two-ounce coffee shot function and includes a milk frother for whipping up hot or iced lattes, cappuccinos, and more. It can brew up to 12 ounces at a time and has a removable 42-ounce water reservoir for fewer refills.

Best blender deal Opens in a new window Credit: Viatmix Vitamix Explorian Blender (E310) $254.99 at Amazon
$379.95 Save $124.96 Get Deal Why we like it

Vitamix is one of the biggest names in the blender game, which, unfortunately, also means it’s one of the more expensive. But right now, you can buy a Vitamix Explorian Blender (E310) for $254.99, down from $379.95 at Amazon. That’s a 33% discount, or $124.96 off the list price.

The Explorian has 10 variable speeds and a powerful 1,400-watt motor that can blend everything from smoothies to soups to dips and spreads. The Pulse Feature gives you more control over texture (think chunky salsas, hearty soups, and more), and the 48-ounce container makes it ideal for blending for a crowd or meal prepping.

The internet loves Spotify Wrapped while simultaneously loving to poke fun at it. If you use Spotify, you're pretty much obligated to share your Wrapped on social media. Needless to say, Spotify Wrapped Day — which happens to be today, Wednesday, Dec. 4 — is a big day online.

There's lots to check out in 2024's version of Spotify Wrapped. Mashable's Crystal Bell has all the details, but in short, Spotify users got their "music evolution" for the year, details on their top listening streaks, and, most strangely, an AI-generated podcast that sums up their listening habits in audio format.

The internet had lots of jokes, memes, and reactions about it all.

Folks made jokes about, well, nothing really changing.

Tweet may have been deleted

same as ever for me except please please please wormed its way in cuz it rules

[image or embed]

— Tim Marcin (@timmarcin.bsky.social) December 4, 2024 at 9:07 AM Tweet may have been deleted

Lots of people weren't excited with how Wrapped went in 2024.

Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted

There were also the random, weird jokes that the internet makes about, well, anything.

Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted

Spotify Wrapped just dropped. Mine is very “meat and potatoes”

[image or embed]

— ITYSL memes 💦🥩 (@ityslmemes.com) December 4, 2024 at 9:22 AM

It might not be the most exciting year for Wrapped but, as has become a yearly ritual, the internet was still chatting about it all Wednesday.

TikTok's had a fruitful, delicious, and undeniably challenging year, both on and offline.

When the social media platform wasn't bleeding lime green during brat summer, dropping CapCuts of Moo Deng's lettuce hat, looking for a man in finance, or shaping modern language while being very demure, very mindful, the company itself faced (and is facing) a potential U.S. ban in the new year — despite the White House joining the platform.

Books, Sephora tweens, the "Apple" dance, and whole cucumbers ruled TikTok, and we proudly told jerks to "scram!"

But what does TikTok itself see as its biggest trends of the year? The company announced its Year on TikTok 2024 on Wednesday, joining the plethora of Big Tech platforms dropping the data on what we all got up to over the last 12 months.

SEE ALSO: The best internet moments of 2024, from Moo Deng mania to 'brat' summer

TikTok's year in review is separated into several trend topics, which we've breezed through here. But you can check out the full breakdown on TikTok's hub. The summary, the company says, "is based on research comprising in-app and third-party insights focused on TikTok's social, economic, and cultural impact, conducted from January to November 2024."

Year on TikTok 2024: A brief rundown

In the "From moments to movements" section, TikTok highlights some of the biggest trends, from Jools Lebron's "very demure, very mindful" moment to Charli XCX's "brat summer" (including Kelley Heyer's "Apple" dance) and Megan Boni's "Man in Finance" meme.

Animal-wise, there's been a wave of adorable stars trending from Thailand's bratty pygmy hippo Moo Deng to Australia's big fluffy boi penguin Pesto.

SEE ALSO: From Moo Deng to Pesto the Penguin, here are the cutest animals taking over our feeds

For foodies, TikTok highlighted some of the top food-related trends, including Logan Moffitt's cucumber salad, the #sambasandalittleredbag trend started by @maisieisobel_'s, Fix Dessert Chocolatier's chocolate bar, @thespudbrothers' live videos, and Chippy Diva's review of @merchants_fishandchips. (Here are our personal favourite TikTok food trends of the year.)

BookTok-wise, the site saw over 1.2 million book-related posts created in the first 10 months of 2024, and a 300 percent increase in #Romantasy posts this year.

TikTok also called out the platform's educational creators, noting the expansion of its educational STEM feed to all users (not just teens) this year. From the U.S. and UK, TikTok's notable knowledge creators included Shelby Lattimore, Chemical Kim, Charlie Engelman, Big.Manny1, Deidre Kelly, Yorkshire Fossils, Doctor Ahmed Ezzat, and the Royal Armouries Museum, who let Gen Z write the script, and astronaut Kellie Gerardi.

Music on TikTok in 2024

But of course, TikTok's music charts have all the eyes on them. TikTok broke down the top artists and tracks on the platform this year. The top 10 songs on TikTok globally saw 8 billion streams on Spotify, with "Gata Only" by FloyyMenor and Cris Mj topping the list. The top song in the U.S. was Tommy Richman’s "MILLION DOLLAR BABY (VHS)" and in the UK it was Tinashe's "Nasty".

Credit: TikTok

As for the top artists globally, Mexico's Yeri Mua was number one, with her track "Linea del Perreo" going viral this year. In the U.S., Sabrina Carpenter topped the list, and in the UK, it was Central Cee.

Credit: TikTok

You can check out the whole list on TikTok's blog. And if you're looking for more end-of-year 2024 wrap-ups, Mashable's got you covered.