OnePlus Buds 4 Design Revealed in Early Teasers as Price and Features Leak Ahead of Launch

OnePlus is gearing up to launch its latest wireless earbuds, the OnePlus Buds 4, in China, expected to debut alongside the OnePlus Ace 5 Racing Edition and Ace 5 Ultra smartphones on May 27. The new earbuds have already started appearing on the Oppo China e-store, where pre-reservations are open. Early teasers have revealed several design details, color options, and key features, giving prospective buyers a good idea of what to expect before the official launch.

The OnePlus Buds 4 come in two color variants: Pine Shadow Green and Space Grey, both sporting a sleek frosted metallic finish that gives them a premium look and feel. The earbuds feature an ergonomic in-ear design with rounded stems, which promises a comfortable fit for extended listening sessions. This refreshed design marks a clear evolution from the previous generation, aiming to blend style with practical usability.

On the technology front, the OnePlus Buds 4 are said to deliver flagship-level vocal noise reduction, making calls and voice commands clearer even in noisy environments. The earbuds also include upgraded dual DAC (digital-to-analog converter) units, which should improve audio fidelity and offer richer sound quality. These enhancements signal OnePlus’s focus on providing an immersive and high-quality listening experience.

While OnePlus has kept some specifications under wraps, leaked details suggest the Buds 4 will come with competitive pricing to capture the mid-range TWS market. Given that the OnePlus Buds 3 launched earlier this year in January, the Buds 4 represent a timely upgrade with improvements in both design and performance, aiming to keep OnePlus strong in the highly competitive true wireless earphones segment.

OpenAI’s o3 Model Aids Discovery of Critical Zero-Day Flaw in Linux Kernel SMB Stack

A cybersecurity researcher recently leveraged OpenAI’s o3 artificial intelligence (AI) model to uncover a critical zero-day vulnerability in the Linux kernel’s Server Message Block (SMB) implementation, known as ksmbd. This previously unknown security flaw, now tracked as CVE-2025-37899, involved complex interactions between multiple users or connections, making it particularly difficult to detect through traditional methods. Fortunately, a patch addressing the vulnerability has already been released to protect affected systems.

The discovery marks a significant milestone in the use of AI for cybersecurity, as such models are seldom used to find zero-day bugs—security flaws that are unknown and potentially unexploited before detection. While manual code audits remain the predominant approach for finding vulnerabilities, they can be painstaking and time-consuming when dealing with massive codebases. Researcher Sean Heelan explained in a detailed blog post how the o3 model accelerated the identification process, demonstrating AI’s emerging role as a powerful aid in vulnerability research.

Interestingly, Heelan initially employed the AI to examine a different security issue, CVE-2025-37778, a Kerberos authentication vulnerability categorized as a “use-after-free” bug. This type of flaw occurs when a system frees a block of memory but subsequent processes continue to reference it, potentially causing crashes or exploitable conditions. While testing the AI on this bug, the model unexpectedly flagged the SMB flaw in about eight out of 100 runs, underscoring the AI’s potential to uncover hidden vulnerabilities beyond its primary task.

This breakthrough with OpenAI’s o3 model highlights the growing synergy between artificial intelligence and cybersecurity research. As AI tools become more sophisticated, they offer promising avenues for automating complex code analysis and enhancing the detection of elusive security threats. The Linux SMB vulnerability case exemplifies how AI can augment human expertise, making systems safer in an era of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.

FromSoftware Plans to Introduce Two-Player Mode in Elden Ring Nightreign Post-Launch

FromSoftware’s upcoming Elden Ring Nightreign is set to launch on May 30 for PC and consoles, featuring two main game modes at release: a three-player online co-op mode and a solo mode. However, the game currently lacks a dedicated two-player mode, something that the developers say was overlooked during development. Despite this, the studio is now considering adding a two-player option after the game’s launch, allowing pairs of players to experience the game together.

In a recent interview with IGN, Junya Ishizaki, the director of Elden Ring Nightreign, explained that the game was primarily designed and balanced for three-player cooperative gameplay. This focus meant that the two-player mode was unintentionally left out during the initial development cycle. Ishizaki apologized for this omission and clarified that the core experience revolves around three-player co-op, with solo play also being carefully crafted to offer a satisfying experience.

Ishizaki also highlighted the importance of the solo mode, stating that the team wanted to ensure players who prefer to go it alone would still enjoy a well-rounded gameplay experience. The solo mode was given significant attention to balance the new mechanics and rules introduced in Nightreign, aiming to provide a fulfilling challenge even without teammates. This emphasis on solo play further contributed to the two-player mode being overlooked.

Despite the initial oversight, FromSoftware is now actively considering adding support for two-player gameplay in a post-launch update. This decision shows the studio’s willingness to respond to player feedback and expand the game’s multiplayer flexibility in the future. Fans who enjoy cooperative play with just one friend may soon have a tailored option, making Elden Ring Nightreign’s multiplayer experience even more accessible and versatile.