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Today — 30 January 2025Latest Tech News From Engadget

Samsung Galaxy S25 review: More powerful, but more of the same

By: Mat Smith
30 January 2025 at 09:00

Over a year since it dipped into generative artificial intelligence, Samsung’s Galaxy S-series phones are now the vanguard for its gen-AI features. This year, we’re getting even deeper hooks into Google’s Gemini AI assistant and more built-in software tricks than ever before. At the same time, however, the Galaxy S25 arrives with marginal hardware upgrades over last year’s S24.

While there’s a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” you’ll need to stare hard at the spec sheets to spot the differences between this year’s phone and the 2024 model. With the Galaxy S25, there’s a triple-camera system, a 6.2-inch Full HD+ screen and support for the ever-improving Galaxy AI, which the company seems to be prioritizing this year — even if it isn’t quite enough to carry an entirely new device.

Hardware and design

Samsung Galaxy S25 review
Photo by Mat Smith for Engadget

Barring a powerful new chip, the S25 is a massive serving of deja vu from a hardware perspective. You could revisit last year’s S24 review to get the gist.

Samsung decided thinner is the new direction this time around. Galaxy S25 Edge aside, this year’s range has been slimmed down. I think the S25 is tangibly thinner – but that’s because I was able to compare it with a Galaxy S24 side-by-side. It’s less of a selling point when measuring a change of 0.4 millimeters.

After several years of carrying around and testing phones with screens over 6.5 inches, having the S25 with me is refreshing. Even if the 6.2-inch screen is a little small for extensive Netflix or YouTube watching, like the 6.3-inch Pixel 9 Pro, it remains plenty big for pretty much everything else. The 2X AMOLED screen tops out at 2,600 nits, which is plenty bright enough, with variable refresh rates that top out at 120Hz.

I received the Silver Shadow S25 with a frosted sheen, which I love. It’s not the most eye-catching option, however. I think the rich Navy blue is my pick. But who are we kidding? Most of us throw our phones into cases – and I’ll do the same once my case gets here.

Oddly enough, one of the upgrades with the S25 involves adding a case: support for faster Qi2 charging (and magnetic latching) is only possible through compatible cases. Those cases, however, weren’t available for this review. My colleague Sam Rutherford explains it all here; but at least there’s some compatibility, which was lacking in last year’s Galaxy phones.

Cameras

Samsung Galaxy S25 review
Photo by Mat Smith for Engadget

Samsung makes some of the best smartphones for photography, which is lucky because the S25’s camera sensors appear identical to last year's. Which themselves are the same as the year before. Hmm.

As a refresher, that includes a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide shooter and a 10MP 3x telephoto camera with a front-facing 12MP camera. if you’re looking for 5x zoom and high-res sensors, you should check out the Galaxy S25 Ultra (or the Pixel 9 Pro) — but the setup on the base S25 still works well, despite the aging sensors.

I was pleasantly surprised with the S25’s sheer consistency. Most of my photos were crisp and objects were in focus, although I preferred the iPhone 16’s results in darker conditions. I found that the Galaxy S25 tends to process images differently between the telephoto and primary sensor, with some night-time shots coming out a bit amber-hued.

Samsung’s claims that the new Snapdragon 8 Elite would help low-light performance are also accurate. The company says that with the chip's power, the S25 series can better analyze noise, even detecting moving and static objects and processing them differently. Samsung’s computational photography has also improved when it comes to difficult shooting conditions. Digital zoom, at 10x, seems crisper and offers more usable photos than its predecessors.

If you’re willing to dip into a separate camera app, Samsung’s Expert RAW features another new option: virtual aperture. I’ve struggled to discern a tangible difference while shooting with the S25. It appears to be a more advanced version of Portrait mode, without requiring the phone to identify a person or subject to apply a soft bokeh to the background. The effect is moderately successful, but demands a good level of light. I found it struggled to apply a virtual aperture effect in dark environments.

Unfortunately, the feature is hidden away in the experimental section of Samsung’s Expert RAW camera app, which needs to be downloaded separately. This camera app is for power users who demand manual controls, and it’s great that it’s available. However, lots of (maybe most) prospective S25 buyers won’t need it, or even know it exists

Another under-the-hood improvement is within S25’s gallery, where the search feature has improved categorization and makes it generally easier to find what you’re looking for. As I typed, it’d suggest WhatsApp images, locations and more. Samsung says it’s added 2.7 times more keywords, which is delightfully specific.

While photography is still similar, spec-wise, on the S25, Samsung has substantially improved video for more seasoned cinematographers. This year’s phones will also capture video in HDR by default, while a new Galaxy Log mode means you can capture log video for improved dynamic range. It’ll also mean you can apply more accurate color grading if you like to edit videos and get in deep. Video is also recorded in 10-bit color, offering more latitude for editors. Still, like I said, this is for folks already neck-deep in using LUTs, with a compatible editing app at the ready.

With Audio Eraser. Samsung has caught up with Apple and Google. This is its own post-processing feature for recording video in louder environments. It taps into AI to nix specific environmental noises, like wind, water and traffic. The effect isn’t quite as impressive in real life as during Samsung’s S25 launch keynote, however.

When faced with the erratic street traffic noise, Audio Eraser’s automatic setting compressed the audio pretty severely, leaving my voice sounding a little gurgly and crunchy. It’s similar to audio with noise cancellation on Google Meet and WhatsApp voice notes. I was definitely more audible – but it wasn’t easy listening.

The upgrades are welcome, but given the iPhone 16’s Camera Control button and the Pixel 9’s latest software tricks like Add Me, Samsung’s cameras have had a weaker showing than the competition.

Software

Samsung Galaxy S25 review
Photo by Mat Smith for Engadget

Software additions don’t stop at the camera app. There’s a scattering of new features across the board with the S25. The most immediately noticeable update is more of a duo: Now Bar and Now Brief. The Now Bar is a new lockscreen tile — part contextual info panel and part notification banner. With rolling Google Maps navigation instructions and media playing functions, we’ve seen many of these ideas on the iPhone’s Dynamic Island. Samsung’s version is more limited, at least for now.

Embarrassingly, only eight apps (or features) can appear on the Now Bar, including the clock, sports notifications from Google and a voice recorder. It’s underwhelming. If third-party app makers (or more Google apps) can make their way into the Bar, it could be more helpful, but as it is, it’s barely more than a lock-screen widget.

The Now Brief, similarly, could use a little more meat. I hate to make another Apple comparison, but it’s a more accessible version of the iPhone’s summaries generated in Notifications. The Now Brief populates with relevant notifications, weather summaries and even traffic guidance, all of which is possibly most valuable in the mornings. It will also generate daily summaries accessible from a widget on the S25’s home screen. I’ll be strapping on a Galaxy Watch to see how these interact with fitness goals and wellness, so stay tuned for more insight here.

(Sidenote: Google Discover, a swipe-left-from-home screen also offers a similar stream of news, notifications and other smartphone info. It has been around for years.)

Changes elsewhere seem more like rebranded features. AI Select (once called Smart Select) resides in the pull-out Edge Panel (and the screenshot toolbar) and will offer up suggested actions once you select or circle something onscreen. It can offer clever suggestions when it contextually detects an event to add to your calendar or something that needs translating. I’m not sure AI Select is noticeably better than Smart Select, but it’s at least on by default. You had to enable the former in Settings for it to appear in the Edge Panel. While it’s not completely straightforward, AI Select does work well as a shortcut, suggesting translation with foreign languages or offering to pull dates into your calendar with a tap.

This ties into Gemini AI upgrades, which appear first on the S25 series but will be coming to other Android phones that can run Gemini AI. With a long press of a button, your voice commands to Gemini can pull in information and then apply them to make a reminder, plan a route or send details through text message to a friend, or even a WhatsApp message. I’m looking forward to Android adding further third-party apps and services, but I've been waiting for more effortless uses for AI assistants. This is a step in that direction.

I’m also not entirely writing off the Now Brief. It could improve over time, especially with Samsung’s Personal Data Engine, which will attempt to join the dots between your smartphone interactions. As I finished this review, the Now Brief began offering audio highlights from The Guardian, even though I hadn’t yet installed the news organization’s app. However, Galaxy AI figured it out, it was the right choice: I don’t read the Daily Mail Online. I wish Google and Apple News would work that out without me having to actively block news sources.

Performance and battery life

Has Samsung solved our smartphone battery life woes? The Galaxy S25 clocked in at over 28 hours of video playback. That’s almost four hours more than last year’s S24, and given the hardware parity with the S25, it’s a testament to the processor efficiency upgrades this year. With more typical use, I was recharging the phone every two days. That’s not how often I usually have to charge smartphones during reviews — I’m very impressed.

With the 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, those gains aren’t just in efficiency. The CPU multi-core performance hit 8,950 (up from 7,049 on the S24), while GPU scored 19,158, up from 15,082 last year. Not that there was that much need for such a leap.

Once again, the Galaxy S25 is fast and handled everything I threw at it effortlessly. However, back-to-back generative AI requests and shooting and uploading 4K video made the S25 heat up – it lacks the expanded vapor chamber that Samsung added to the S25 Ultra.

Wrap up

Samsung Galaxy S25 review
Photo by Mat Smith for Engadget

With the Galaxy S25, never has a Galaxy S series seemed more iterative. Fortunately, Samsung’s premium smartphones are in a commanding position, so even with a screen (an cameras) that are now two years old, the Galaxy S25 isn’t a bad smartphone. In fact, it’s a very good one.

I described the S25’s cameras as consistent and I think that applies to the entire phone. The screen is bright, smooth and rich, the battery life is, frankly, incredible, while both performance scores and my experience with it prove this is a powerful flagship phone.

I love the streamlined Gemini AI capabilities, which can take a voice command and easily turn it into a calendar entry, reminder and even plan my route. Even Galaxy AI diversions like the Portrait Studio offered more refined (and consistent) 3D cartoons and sketches of my portrait photos. I’m not sure Samsung’s features would warrant an AI subscription — I doubt many would pay for them as they stand.

And that brings me to a bigger point: Besides a powerful new chip and AI tricks, why isn’t the S25 cheaper? The Galaxy S25 is priced at $799 at launch, the same as the S24 and even the S23. The comparison you have to make isn’t only with the latest iPhone, but also cheaper Android phones, like the $499 Pixel 8a. Or, unfortunately, the year-old Galaxy S24. Unless you’re desperate for a bump in processing power and battery life, it would be wise to see how heavily last year’s models get discounted in the coming months.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s25-review-170040665.html?src=rss

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© By Mat Smith for Engadget

Samsung Galaxy S25 review

Security researchers found a big hole in DeepSeek's security

30 January 2025 at 08:35

The generative intelligence platform DeepSeek has set the world on fire this week, but with great popularity comes increased scrutiny. Analysts with Wiz Research have found a fairly substantial hole in the software’s security. The research shows that DeepSeek left one of its critical databases exposed.

This means that whoever came across the database would be allowed access to more than one million records, including user data, system logs, API keys and even prompt submissions. The researchers also noted that they were able to find the database almost immediately, without too much scanning or probing.

BREAKING: Internal #DeepSeek database publicly exposed 🚨

Wiz Research has discovered "DeepLeak" - a publicly accessible ClickHouse database belonging to DeepSeek, exposing highly sensitive information, including secret keys, plain-text chat messages, backend details, and logs. pic.twitter.com/C7HZTKNO3p

— Wiz (@wiz_io) January 29, 2025

“Usually when we find this kind of exposure, it’s in some neglected service that takes us hours to find—hours of scanning,” Nir Ohfeld, the head of vulnerability research at Wiz, told Wired. But this time, he said, “here it was at the front door.”

Wiz Research says it’s possible that a nefarious actor could have used this security hole to access other DeepSeek systems, but the company admits it only performed the base minimum assessment. This was to confirm its findings without further compromising user privacy. There is also no evidence that anyone else found the database.

Wiz staffers didn’t exactly know how to disclose their findings, given that DeepSeek is both a new entity and based in China. Researchers eventually sent their findings to every email address and LinkedIn profile they could find. The database was locked down within 30 minutes of the mass email.

DeepSeek isn’t the only AI company that has experienced a serious security breach (or two.) A hacker was able to access OpenAI’s internal messaging logs back in 2023 and a bug exposed personal information later that year.

“AI is the new frontier in everything related to technology and cybersecurity,” Ohfeld said. “Still we see the same old vulnerabilities like databases left open on the internet.”

As previously mentioned, DeepSeek took the world by storm in the past week or so. The disruptive AI model was allegedly created for just several million dollars. OpenAI runs through billions of dollars each year. This massive financial discrepancy sent the stock market into a tailspin, with many AI-adjacent stocks taking a plunge.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/security-researchers-found-a-big-hole-in-deepseeks-security-163536961.html?src=rss

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© Wiz Research

A sad robot has been hacked.

Squid Game season three will hit Netflix on June 27

By: Kris Holt
30 January 2025 at 08:22

You won't have to wait too much longer to find out how the story of Squid Game wraps up. Only a month after the second season premiered, Netflix has revealed that the final episodes of its biggest non-English language series ever will arrive on June 27. That's a remarkably short window, especially considering that there was a gap of over three years between the first and second seasons.

As was the case the last time around, the third season will pick up right where the previous one ended (no spoilers here, but season two ended on a cliffhanger). Meanwhile, Netflix has revealed that season two of Squid Game is already its third most-downloaded series of all time, behind the first season in top spot and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

Netflix announced the Squid Game season three release date as part of an expansive look at its 2025 film and TV slate. On the movie side, there's another Knives Out murder mystery to look forward to in the fall, as well as Guillermo del Toro’s take on Frankenstein this November. As for Netflix's shows, the animated adaptation of Devil May Cry will debut on April 3.

The company reaffirmed that the next seasons of Black Mirror, Wednesday, The Witcher and Stranger Things will arrive this year, but no dates have been confirmed for those as yet. To speculate for a moment, a fall premiere date for Stranger Things season five seems likely. Both that and Squid Game are among the company's franchises and putting some distance between their final installments makes sense.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/squid-game-season-three-will-hit-netflix-on-june-27-162235783.html?src=rss

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© Noh Ju-han/Netflix

A man wearing a green tracksuit stained with blood is handcuffed to a bedframe.

Nothing is launching the Phone 3a series on March 4

30 January 2025 at 07:00

Nothing is launching a new device, the Phone 3a Series, on March 4. That's a year after the London-based company launched the Phone 2a, which is a budget version of the brand's Phone 2 model released in 2023. Nothing models with "a" in them are typically the less expensive versions of those without — its Ear a earbuds are also cheaper than the Ear, for instance, — but there's no Phone 3 for which the 3a would serve as a budget alternative. Most likely, the Phone 3a is simply named as such, because it would be in the same price range as the 2a that sold for at least $349 at launch. 

"For the (a) Series we have a different set of users," Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis said. "When people buy a smartphone some are looking for the greatest specs, they want the latest innovations and processors. Yet there are some other users that are equally excited about tech, but are happy with just a great user experience — that’s who the (a) Series is for. We're really focused on the core user needs in terms of camera, screen, processor, and of course design."

If you want to be notified when Nothing unveils the Phone 3a on March 4 at 5AM ET, you can sign up to get an alert on the company's website. We'll, of course, keep you updated, as well. In addition to announcing the Phone 3a's upcoming launch, the company has also revealed that it has surpassed $1 billion in lifetime revenue since it was founded in October 2020, half of which Nothing earned in 2024. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/nothing-is-launching-the-phone-3a-series-on-march-4-150026313.html?src=rss

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© Nothing

"(3a) series" against a dark background.

Microsoft's Surface Pro and Laptop for Business are getting Intel's new AI PC chips

What a difference a year makes. When Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 for Business last March, it almost seemed as if the company was giving up on the consumer PC market entirely. Of course, just a few months later, we got the new Surface Pro and Laptop Copilot+ systems, which was also the debut of Microsoft's AI PC initiative. Now, the company is rounding out its Surface family by updating its Business machines — those meant for corporate customers — with Intel's new Core Ultra 200V AI PC processors. Say hello to the new Intel-equipped Surface Pro (11th Edition) and Surface Laptop (7th Edition) for Business.

If you've been eagerly awaiting a cellular-equipped Surface Laptop, Microsoft also says it'll launch a 5G model later this year. Aside from that, the big change with Intel's new Core Ultra chips is their larger 48 TOPS NPU, which will allow them to handle more complex AI tasks than before. In comparison, the original Core Ultra chips had much smaller 10 TOPS NPUs. The upgrade will particularly relevant for advanced AI features like Windows Recall, which requires a 40 TOPS NPU at the very least (the minimum requirement for all Copilot+ systems).

Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Laptop for Business
Microsoft

Aside from better AI performance, you can expect Intel's Core Ultra 200V chips on the Surface Laptop 7 to be around 26 percent faster than the Laptop 5 when it comes to multitasking, while also delivering double the graphics performance and three times better battery life. We haven't seen performance metrics for the new Surface Pro, but Microsoft claims it offers double the battery life in Teams calls compared to the Surface Pro 9.

Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Laptop for Business
Microsoft

Just like other Copilot+ systems, the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop also come with Microsoft's Pluton chip for security. The company says Pluton hardware will also get an update with a Key Storage Provider (KSP) feature later this year. It will "allow for more secure storage and management of cryptographic keys," according to Microsoft.

As for accessories, there's also a new $200 Surface USB 4 Dock, which includes two USB-C connections, USB-A, Ethernet and HDMI. It also supports fast charging for both new systems — and for that price, it damn well better.

Microsoft Surface USBC 4 Hub
Microsoft

The new Intel Core Ultra 200V-equipped Surface Pro and Surface Laptop will be available on February 18, starting at $1,500. And if you're looking for better battery life, you can opt for the Qualcomm Snapdragon variants as well (though be ready to deal with slower emulated apps and potential software and driver incompatibility).

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/microsofts-surface-pro-and-laptop-for-business-are-getting-intels-new-ai-pc-chips-150001906.html?src=rss

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© Microsoft

Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Laptop for Business

Lime announces $25 million action plan to help fix London's e-bike chaos

30 January 2025 at 06:15

In November, Transport for London (TfL) announced new steps to regulate e-bikes, but a lack of legislation or power meant that most of the onus fell to e-bike services to do the right thing. Now, Lime CEO Wayne Ting has announced a £20 million ($24.8 million) five-point London Action Plan to help with overcrowding and poor parking, multiple publications report, including UKTN

"The feedback we’ve received from London residents, community groups and elected officials is why we’re launching our London Action Plan," Ting stated. "We recognise the need for meaningful investments to accelerate change and improve parking, starting with more funding for dedicated e-bike parking, and additional operational capacity and processes."

An investment of £5 million ($6.2 million) will go into creating 2,500 additional e-bike parking spaces. Part of the plan will also include expanding Lime's on-street team to 400 people and aiming to move or collect about 4,000 bikes daily. Plus, Lime intends to use improved AI to confirm proper parking in end of trip photos. 

The action plan directly responds to TfL's statement at the end of last year. "The new policy sets out that TfL will consider taking action against operators who allow their bikes to be parked outside of designated places on red routes and on TfL land, which includes areas such as station forecourts and bus garages," the organization said. "Operators are ultimately responsible for ensuring their bikes are deployed and parked bikes appropriately."

As someone living in London, I can certaintly attest that Lime bikes are scattered everywhere around the city. Lime claims that 49 percent of 18 to 34 year olds in London rent an e-bike weekly. The company also states that 2024 saw an 85 percent increase in annual journeys.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/lime-announces-25-million-action-plan-to-help-fix-londons-e-bike-chaos-141559309.html?src=rss

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© Carl Court via Getty Images

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 27: Lime bikes lay in the road on March 27, 2024 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Netflix is the exclusive home of WWE's 2K fighting game on mobile

30 January 2025 at 06:00

If there are two things Netflix has been pushing over the last couple years its live sports and games. A large part of this initiative has come through its partnership with WWE to stream live shows. But, starting fall 2025, Netflix subscribers will also be getting exclusive access to WWE 2K video games on mobile. 

The WWE 2K series first launched 25 years ago and has remained extremely popular. Now, the organization is leaning further into its partnership with Netflix to give the streamer unique access. 

This announcement comes shortly after Monday Night Raw, WWE's flagship show, began weekly live streams on Netflix in the US, UK, Latin America, Canada and more. It's the first time in over 30 years that the show hasn't aired on a linear TV network. Netflix is reportedly paying WWE $5 billion over 10 years for the ability to air Monday Night Raw and other WWE programs

WWE 2K will join over 100 games currently available in Netflix's library. It also won't require ads or in-app purchases. Subscribers can also check out some of the best games on Netflix include Kentucky Route Zero, Triviaverse and Before Your Eyes.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/netflix-is-the-exclusive-home-of-wwes-2k-fighting-game-on-mobile-140059055.html?src=rss

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© USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Nov 22, 2021; Brooklyn, NY, USA; A general view of the lumberjack tag team match during WWE Raw at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Grubhub is bringing new delivery robots to college campuses

30 January 2025 at 06:00

GrubHub is partnering with Avride, an autonomous robot delivery company, to expand its offerings on college campuses. The pair have launched 100 robots on The Ohio State University's campus, but have plans to expand further. 

“Our robots have already proven their value in campus environments, delivering convenience and delight to students,” said Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO of Avride, in a release. “We’re thrilled to be working with Grubhub to scale this success and expect to see hundreds of our robots serving campuses already in 2025.”

Avride launched a new model last October, notably ditching its six wheels for a more efficient four. The robots can hold a decent amount of food, such as an assortment of pizza and drinks, the company states. They also have customizable LED panels that offer animated designs, such as the college's colors. The robots can also make 180-degree turns instantly, thanks to a new mechanical connection between each side's wheel pairs. Plus, they can move faster than their predecessor and can park on inclines.  

This partnership adds to GrubHub's existing robot delivery presence on campuses. Since 2021, the company claims it has delivered hundreds of thousands of orders using robots on dozens of schools. That year, it partnered with Russian tech company Yandex — which used to house what is now Avride in its autonomous driving wing. However, that bit of the company spun-off as its own entity, divested its Russian assets following the country's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and rebranded as Avride. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/grubhub-is-bringing-new-delivery-robots-to-college-campuses-140028029.html?src=rss

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© Avride

Three Avride autonomous delivery vehicles parked in a line. They have red flags.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review: Too much AI, not enough Ultra

30 January 2025 at 06:00

It feels like every major tech company is totally convinced that AI is the future. And for all I know, they may be right. But while we’re waiting for someone to develop our seemingly inevitable AGI-based overlords, we have to suffer through every baby step to get today’s machine learning-powered features. Unfortunately, that’s a problem for gadgets like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra — because when the biggest focus of a new $1,300 flagship smartphone is iterative AI updates, the device can feel a bit underwhelming. Combine that with hardware that seems like it’s been frozen in time for the last couple of years and you get something that leaves you wanting more.

Design and display: Rounded corners, Gorilla Armor 2 and not much else

For this year’s Ultra, Samsung wanted to give the phone a softer, more curvy appearance to reinforce the familial resemblance between it and its less expensive siblings. And by rounding off the S25 Ultra’s corners, I’d say mission accomplished. Elsewhere, its front and back glass are now made of Corning Gorilla Armor 2, which features a new version of the company’s anti-reflective coating and looks great. When combined with bezels that are 15 percent smaller than before, you get a phone with super clean lines and a slightly larger 6.9-inch display (up from 6.8 inches) without an increase in its physical size.

But make no mistake, the S25U still feels a lot like the last two Ultras that came before it. Its flat edges give it a very boxy feel, and even though the Note line is dead, there’s still the requisite cubby hole for the S Pen. However, for 2025 the included stylus has gotten a minor downgrade now that Samsung has removed support for Bluetooth Low Energy. This means it no longer supports Air action gestures, so you can’t use it as a remote camera trigger or to do things like switch cameras or change photo modes.

Samsung claims this loss of functionality shouldn’t be a big deal as a tiny fraction of people actually used the feature. Plus, if you want a way to remotely snap a photo, there are other methods like holding your hand up to the camera or using a Galaxy Ring or Watch. But if you’re one of the few who did enjoy Air actions, it’s an unfortunate step backward. Thankfully, for those who absolutely need a stylus with gesture support, you can still get that functionality from Samsung’s optional S Pen Pro.

On the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung reduced the size of the phone's bezels by 15 percent, allowing for a slightly larger 6.9-inch screen without increasing its physical dimensions.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

One small thing I do want to call out is the improved anti-reflective coating on the S25 Ultra’s screen. It strikes an almost perfect balance between typical glossy displays and the matte texture used on traditional desktop monitors. Colors remain vivid while still cutting out the most distracting forms of glare, and with a peak brightness of 2,600 nits, the screen dazzles in practically any environment.

Performance: More speed than you’ll know what to do with

The Galaxy S Ultra has never lacked power, but that didn’t stop Samsung from adding even more speed thanks to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. This thing absolutely flies and there’s not much you can do to slow it down. Samsung has even tightened up the animations in One UI so that the phone feels as responsive as its benchmarks suggest, which are up as much as 30 to 40 percent depending on the task (or closer to 15 percent while gaming). The one wrinkle to this is that, when under heavy loads, the S25 Ultra does become a bit power-hungry, which can result in slightly faster-than-expected battery drain when doing heavy multitasking or running demanding apps.

Software: Just what you wanted, more AI

Some of the Galaxy S25 Ultra's new AI features include Now Brief, AI Select, Drawing Assist and more.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The S25 Ultra’s main focus for this year is on improved AI. This can be seen across a number of new and improved features (and some obvious inspiration from rivals like Apple and Google) with the general goal of making all of its tools more powerful, more intuitive and in many cases, easier to use with your voice.

The first major addition is Samsung’s Now Brief, which adds a personalized feed filled with things like the weather, local traffic, upcoming calendar appointments, the news and more. It gets refreshed periodically throughout the day (morning, midday, afternoon, etc.) and by using what Samsung calls its Personal Data Engine, it will attempt to learn what you like instead of having you check off a list of tickboxes. It’s a handy tool, though for anyone already familiar with the Android ecosystem, it’s not especially groundbreaking. And it does take time for the phone to understand what you do and don’t care about, which adds a bit of a learning curve to the process.

Samsung's Now Brief feature uses AI to create a personalized feed with content including the weather, traffic, calendar events and more.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Now Briefs also works with Samsung’s Now bar to surface relevant events in other areas of the phone — specifically your lock screen and notification shade. It’s meant to help you keep tabs on apps you’re using (like how long you’ve let the Voice Recorder app run) or stuff like sports scores, with the ability to toggle between different things simply by swiping left and right. It’s helpful, but forgive me if this is becoming repetitive, because many of these look like duplicate versions of stuff like Google’s Live Notifications.

Meanwhile, if you open the Edge Panel by swiping in on the tab on the right side of the screen, you’ll see even more AI features. AI Select is a revamped take on Smart Select, which helps you take screenshots, turn videos into gifs and more. Drawing Assist is the tool formerly known as Sketch to Image, which lets you create art by doodling with the S Pen or using text inputs. And then there’s the self-explanatory Interpreter app, plus an icon for Now Brief in case you don’t like using the widget. All of these sort of work just like you expect them to, and in some cases like when drawing, the resulting images are a touch more detailed and realistic than before. But to me, the biggest upgrade across Samsung’s second-gen AI suite is a slightly more cohesive UI that makes learning what each tool can do a bit easier.

The S25 Ultra's Now Bar gives you an easy way to keep tabs on open apps or quickly check things like sports scores.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Perhaps my favorite new use of AI is improved natural language commands throughout the phone. For example in the Gallery app, you can search for specific subjects just by hitting the asking Gemini (or Bixby too, if you’re into that). It’s a convenient way to quickly find a specific photo amongst thousands of shots — though once again, there’s similar functionality in Google Photos. But more importantly, you can use voice commands to do stuff like change device settings or even add events to your calendar. And you don’t even need to be very specific. When I asked the phone to add the next Knicks game to my calendar, I didn’t need to give it any more information than that. It all feels slightly magical, even if it’s not an essential part of my day.

Cameras: A new ultra-wide sensor but that’s about it

The Galaxy S25 Ultra features the same 200MP and 50MP 5x telephoto cameras as the previous model alongside a new 50MP sensor for its ultra-wide cam.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Like its predecessors, the S25 Ultra features a 200-megapixel main camera and a 50MP telephoto with a 5x zoom. The one upgrade is a new 50MP sensor for its ultra-wide lens (up from 12MP). As you’d expect, expansive landscape pics look a touch sharper thanks to the increased resolution, though aside from that, there aren’t a ton of immediately obvious improvements to the rest of the phone’s general image quality.

As you’d expect, in bright light the S25 Ultra captures lovely images with rich details and vibrant colors. However, I did notice that Samsung’s penchant for going slightly overboard on sharpening can still be an issue. The new ultra-wide sensor also provides a noticeable upgrade in image quality to the point where I prefer it over what the Pixel 9 Pro can do. But I must admit, compared to the main camera or even the 5x zoom, that lens is the one I use the least, so it doesn’t have as much of an impact on my overall photography.

In low light, the S25 Ultra nearly kept pace with Google’s Night Sight mode on the Pixel 9 Pro, and in a few situations, it pulled ahead. However, I had a hard time spotting how much of an effect Samsung’s improved noise reduction had on nighttime graininess. Regardless, even with a few hiccups, the S25 Ultra proved it can hang with other top-tier shooters from Google and others.

Meanwhile, in the Camera and Gallery apps, there are some handy tweaks including the new Audio Eraser feature. It uses AI to identify a handful of different sound types (such as speech, wind noise and more) before creating a custom EQ that lets you adjust things on the fly. This is great for those times when you’re shooting video and ambient sounds make it hard to hear what people are saying. You can also create and save custom photo filters to ensure all your pics on social media have a unique and consistent look.

Additionally, for more advanced users, there’s a virtual aperture setting that gives you a bit more control over depth of field, though it's still not nearly as good as being able to physically switch lenses like you can on a proper camera. And for even more demanding content creators, Samsung created a new Galaxy Log video format that allows you to more easily edit and color grade your footage. That said, unless you’re a YouTuber or hardcore video junkie, you may not get a ton of use out of these tools, especially with the latter of the two being restricted to Samsung’s Expert Raw app (which doesn’t come pre-installed).

Battery life and charging: Samsung is cutting corners with its Qi2 “readiness”

The Galaxy S25 Ultra supports up to 45-watt wired charging. Unfortunately, because it doesn't have magnets inside, it doesn't work with Qi2 accessories natively without help from a case.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The size of the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s 5,000 mAh power pack hasn’t changed in five years, but that’s OK because you still get great battery life. On our local video rundown test, it lasted an incredible 29 hours and 27 minutes, which is up almost two hours compared to last year’s phone. That said, it’s important to note that the S25U loses in both capacity and longevity to the OnePlus 13, whose 6,000 mAh cell posted an even better time of 30:18.

Wired charging is staying put at up to 45 watts and annoyingly it's a very similar story when using wireless pads as well. That’s because while technically the S25 Ultra supports version 2.1 of the WPC’s Qi charging spec and is said to be “Qi2 ready”, because Samsung didn’t include magnets inside the phone, it won’t work with the wide variety of Qi2 accessories on sale today. At least not without some help. For that, you need to rely on a Qi2 charging case to add the proper alignment and mounting point needed to attach magnetic peripherals.

Thanks to the anti-reflective coating on its Gorilla Armor 2 glass, the Galaxy S25 Ultra strikes a great balance between traditional glossy and matte displays.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

For a lot of Android phones users, this is really disappointing after seeing the wealth of MagSafe gadgets that iPhone users have enjoyed for several generations. As the biggest phone maker on the planet, Samsung has a lot of sway when it comes to fostering the adoption of useful protocols like Qi2 and seeing them stop short of truly supporting the spec is a bit bewildering.

Wrap up

The S25 Ultra is a hugely versatile phone, but this edition of Samsung’s flagship is hard to get excited about. That’s because while it's one of the few handsets with an included stylus and a long 5x telephoto zoom, its general hardware and capabilities haven’t changed much since the previous generation. Or even two models back for that matter. Even so, the screens on Samsung phones are unrivaled while camera quality remains among the best. And while its battery hasn’t gotten bigger in years, longevity remains strong. Then you add in a new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip with blazing performance and you get a phone that’s good at pretty much everything. But for $1,300, it better be able to deliver on all that and more.

Like its predecessor, the S25 Ultra features a titanium frame along with new Gorilla Armor 2 panels in front and back.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

And it's that “and more” where the S25 Ultra’s value proposition gets a bit awkward. The phone’s biggest advancements are more powerful software and AI. Features like AI Select, Now Brief and improved natural language commands make the phone smarter and easier to use. But consider this: If you could pay for those tools separately, how much extra would you fork over to get more sophisticated AI on your phone? For many, that number might be zero, or at the very least a way less than the price of upgrading and the hassle of setting up a new phone and then figuring out how to use it.

This means a lot of what Samsung focused on in this generation feels more like a bonus rather than a must-have feature. And when you can get around 90 percent of the phone’s capabilities from previous models, the most dangerous thing Samsung is asking buyers to consider is why they need to upgrade at all.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s25-ultra-review-too-much-ai-not-enough-ultra-140022798.html?src=rss

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© Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Starting at $1,300, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is Samsung's latest flagship phone.

Vodafone demonstrates 'world's first' satellite video call with a standard mobile phone

30 January 2025 at 05:45

Vodafone has demonstrated the capabilities of a new satellite network by making what it calls the "world's first" satellite video call, albeit with some caveats. The company used partner AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird satellites specifically designed to transmit 4G/5G mobile broadband signals from space. That technology will give users broadband cellular capability with any 4G/5G smartphone in remote areas lacking traditional mobile coverage.

In its demonstration, Vodafone Group's chief executive Margherita Della Valle explained that the BlueBird satellites can connect directly with a regular smartphone, then transmit the signal back to Vodafone's terrestrial network via a satellite link. She then took a call from an engineer in a remote mountain region of Wales, a "nought spot" with no cellular coverage. The quality was a bit low-res and had substantial lag, but was decent otherwise.

AST SpaceMobile's five BlueBird satellites have onboard communications arrays that give off-the-shelf smartphones the same voice, data and video speeds as a broadband tower, up to 120 megabits per second. Once operational, the satellites will provide "non-continuous cellular broadband service across the United States and in select markets globally." That will allow cell users to communicate even in areas with limited broadband tower coverage, like rural communities or national parks.

SpaceX's Starlink has already made a satellite video call using a regular mobile phone, so Vodafone hedged its claim substantially. Specifically, the company said it made the "world's first space video call from an area of no coverage using a standard mobile phone and commercial satellites built to offer a full mobile broadband experience."

T-Mobile is working on a similar US network in partnership with Starlink's Direct-to-Cell service, but it will be limited to text messages at first. It's also possible right now to connect to dedicated satellite phone networks using specific iPhone and Google Pixel models that have custom modems — but that's limited to low-data communications like SMS messages and emergency alerts. 

Vodafone's network, by contrast, would allow a full-fat broadband cellular experience when it launches in Europe, likely by the end of 2025. Meanwhile, AT&T, Verizon and AST SpaceMobile will begin testing in the US this spring, but no launch date (or pricing) for stateside service has been announced yet. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/vodafone-demonstrates-worlds-first-satellite-video-call-with-a-standard-mobile-phone-134509766.html?src=rss

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© AST SpaceMobile

Vodafone demonstrates 'world's first' satellite video call with a standard mobile phone

Netflix finally lets iOS users download an entire season with one tap

30 January 2025 at 05:30

You'll finally be able to download all the episodes in an entire season on Netflix with just one tap if you're on iOS. The streaming service introduced the capability on Android years ago, but it remained a "much-requested" feature for users on iPhone and iPad until now. It's not unusual for Netflix to give Android users access to a certain capability first — it took a year for Smart Downloads, which automatically deletes downloaded episodes you've already seen and then downloads the next one in a series, to be available on iOS.

"We've heard that downloading episodes one-by-one has been a pain point for iOS members — something we're now addressing with this rollout," a Netflix spokesperson told Variety. It's certainly great to have if you like stocking up on shows you can watch for long flights or cross-country road trips. 

The option to download entire seasons is available for all the shows currently on the streaming service. To download multiple episodes all at once, find the button for the new feature next to the Share option on the series' page in the Netflix app. While tapping the button will download all the episodes in a season automatically, you can still manage individual episodes under the Downloads section in the My Netflix tab.

A screenshot of the Netflix app.
Netflix

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflix-finally-lets-ios-users-download-an-entire-season-with-one-tap-133025196.html?src=rss

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© Netflix

Illustration with cards on a phone.

Deepseek is coming to Windows Copilot+ PCs

30 January 2025 at 05:00

Microsoft is closely associated with OpenAI's ChatGPT AI model, but the software giant has no qualms about playing the field. Microsoft announced that it's bringing the DeepSeek-R1 AI model to Copilot+ PCs soon, starting with Snapdragon X devices and following later with Intel Lunar Lake and AMD Ryzen AI 9 PCs. The DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-1.5B model will arrive "soon" on Microsoft AI Tookit for developers, with more powerful 7B and 14B variants coming later.

The 1.5B (base) model isn't powerful compared to the higher-tier 32B and 70B models, but MIcrosoft points out that the models are "NPU-optimized" for Copilot+ PCs. The minimum configuration for such computers is 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM and an NPU with at least 40 TOPS (trillions of operations per second). 

"These optimized models let developers build and deploy AI-powered applications that run efficiently on-device, taking full advantage of the powerful NPUs in Copilot+ PCs," Microsoft wrote. It added that it implemented systems to take advantage of low-bit processing to ensure the R1 models could run locally on NPU hardware. 

At the same time, Microsoft is bringing DeepSeek's R1 model to its Azure AI Foundry platform, The Verge reported. It joins other AI models on that service, including GPT-4, Mistral AI, Meta-Llama 3 and others. That comes as a bit of a surprise, given that Microsoft is reportedly probing whether DeepSeek used OpenAI's technology in an unauthorized manner. 

AI pundits have also expressed concerns about privacy issues around China-based DeepSeek, something that Microsoft addressed in a Marketplace Community post. "DeepSeek R1 has undergone rigorous red teaming and safety evaluations, including automated assessments of model behavior and extensive security reviews to mitigate potential risks," wrote Microsoft senior product marketing manager, Justin Royal. 

DeepSeek shook up the AI world with its R1 model, which doesn't require nearly as much computing power as competing models. That spooked markets yesterday, causing a selloff in chip giant NVIDIA and other AI-adjacent stocks. OpenAI, which has been sued by multiple newspapers and publishers around the world for copyright infringement, recently accused DeepSeek and other Chinese AI startups of "distilling" its models. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/deepseek-is-coming-to-windows-copilot-pcs-130041096.html?src=rss

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© Steve Dent for Engadget

Deepseek is coming to Windows Copilot+ PCs
Yesterday — 29 January 2025Latest Tech News From Engadget

Elon Musk says Tesla will launch a robotaxi service in Austin this June

29 January 2025 at 20:47

Tesla will introduce a paid autonomous ride-hailing service in Austin, Elon Musk said during an earnings call discussing the automaker's financial results for 2024. As TechCrunch reports, he said the company will use cars with no human driver behind the wheel and with the unsupervised version of its Full Self-Driving software, which Tesla has yet to release. The service will launch with the company's internal fleet in Austin this June before expanding to other locations in the US. And then next year, Tesla owners will be able to add their cars to the fleet whenever they want, kind of like how people can list and unlist their properties on Airbnb, Musk said. He explained that the automaker wants to iron out any kinks first, such as making sure billing works well and that the robotaxis will stop at the right spot when they're ordered.

Since the plan is to allow vehicle owners to add their Teslas to the company's robotaxi fleet, the automaker is also planning to release its unsupervised FSD software in California and other regions in the US before the year ends. Knowing Musk's tendency to overpromise on timelines, though we'd take that announcement with a (huge) grain of salt.

Musk has been talking about robotaxis for a while now and said back in 2019 that Tesla will "have over a million robotaxis on the road" within a year. When he launched the Cybercab in 2024, he said he envisions a future wherein people own several robotaxis that they can then earn money from through a ridesharing network. It's worth noting that Waymo started offering fully autonomous rides to select users in Austin in late 2024 and will be launching the service fully in the city sometime this year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/elon-musk-says-tesla-will-launch-a-robotaxi-service-in-austin-this-june-044745591.html?src=rss

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© Tesla

A silver sedan parked on the street.

US Department of Transportation moves to cut fuel efficiency standards

29 January 2025 at 15:52

Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has only been in his post for a day and already making it clear that the agency will be ignoring the role vehicle pollution plays in worsening climate change. Duffy sent a memo to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calling for a review of fuel economy standards to align with President Donald Trump's goals of promoting the use of oil, natural gas and biofuels. The memo claims that "artificially high" fuel economy standards have made new cars prohibitively expensive for US buyers and could negatively impact the US auto industry.

It's the latest swing of the pendulum as the country's leadership changes hands once again. Trump's first presidency saw a rollback of fuel efficiency standards that had been enacted by Barack Obama, followed by the EPA introducing its strictest standards to date when Joe Biden assumed office. President Donald Trump's transition team had already signaled in December that he would walk back moves by previous administration to strengthen fuel efficiency standards and promote electric vehicle adoption. Today's development isn't a surprise, but it's still bad news considering multiple international reports have demonstrated that the planet's rising temperature will cause extreme and catastrophic weather events.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/us-department-of-transportation-moves-to-cut-fuel-efficiency-standards-235205073.html?src=rss

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© Kevin Carter via Getty Images

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 22: Drivers sit in traffic on southbound Interstate 5 during the afternoon commute heading into downtown San Diego on November 22, 2024 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Meta will pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit with Donald Trump over his 2021 Facebook suspension

29 January 2025 at 15:40

Meta has agreed to pay President Donald Trump $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit stemming from the social network’s decision to suspend Trump's Facebook account following the riots at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

According to The Wall Street Journal, there had been “little activity” surrounding the lawsuit until Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg flew to Mar-a-Lago following the election. “Toward the end of the November dinner, Trump raised the matter of the lawsuit,” The Journal reports. “The president signaled that the litigation had to be resolved before Zuckerberg could be ‘brought into the tent.’” Much of the settlement will reportedly go toward funding Trump's presidential library.

Settling the lawsuit is the latest step Zuckerberg and Meta have taken to appease Trump, who at one point during the campaign threatened to imprison the Facebook founder for “plotting” against him. Following the election, Zuckerberg ended Meta’s longtime fact-checking program and rolled back content moderation standards that prohibited dehumanizing language and slurs targeting immigrants and LGBTQ people. He also ended corporate diversity programs and added Trump backer and UFC CEO Dana White to Meta’s board. Zuckerberg had a prominent seat at Trump’s inauguration, alongside other tech CEOs.

News of Meta’s settlement broke just as the company released its latest earnings results. During a call with analysts, Zuckerberg said that 2025 was “going to be a big year for redefining our relationship with governments.” Though he didn’t mention Trump by name, he said that “we now have a US Administration that is proud of our leading companies, prioritizes American technology winning, and that will defend our values and interests abroad.”

Zuckerberg, who earlier this week said the company would spend as much as $65 billion on AI investments this year, predicted that Meta AI would reach 1 billion users in 2025. He also commented on the rise of DeepSeek, an open-source AI assistant from China, saying that it’s “strengthened our conviction” about open source AI. “One of the things that we're talking about, is there's going to be an open source standard globally,” he said. “And I think for own national advantage, it's important that it's an American standard.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-will-pay-25-million-to-settle-a-lawsuit-with-donald-trump-over-his-2021-facebook-suspension-234046291.html?src=rss

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© Pool via Getty Images

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives for the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th President of the United States. (Photo by Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)

NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission teases new insights on how life began

29 January 2025 at 14:35

NASA and its partners have published the first wave of information about the samples collected in the OSIRIS-REx mission. "The findings do not show evidence for life itself, but they do suggest the conditions necessary for the emergence of life were widespread across the early solar system, increasing the odds life could have formed on other planets and moons," NASA said in a press release.

The OSIRIS-REx mission used some pretty fascinating tech to autonomously acquire rocks and dust from an asteroid called Bennu. Asteroids can act as time capsules, and Bennu reflects what was happening in the solar system roughly 4.5 billion years ago. After a total journey of 3.9 billion miles, the capsule returned safely to Earth on September 24, 2023.

One paper about Bennu, appearing in the journal Nature Astronomy, revealed that the samples contained 14 amino acids and five nucleobases also found in life forms on Earth. They also uncovered high levels of ammonia in the Bennu samples, as well as formaldehyde; when those two combine in the proper conditions, they can form complex molecules such as amino acids.

The second publication appeared in Nature, and it detailed the environment those molecules formed in. Their assessment found evidence of a "brine," identifying a set of minerals that could have been left behind as salt water evaporated.

"Data from OSIRIS-REx adds major brushstrokes to a picture of a solar system teeming with the potential for life," said Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA Goddard. "Why we, so far, only see life on Earth and not elsewhere, that’s the truly tantalizing question."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nasas-osiris-rex-mission-teases-new-insights-on-how-life-began-223527954.html?src=rss

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NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission teases new insights on how life began

29 January 2025 at 14:31

NASA and its partners have published the first wave of information about the samples collected in the OSIRIS-REx mission. "The findings do not show evidence for life itself, but they do suggest the conditions necessary for the emergence of life were widespread across the early solar system, increasing the odds life could have formed on other planets and moons," NASA said in a press release.

The OSIRIS-REx mission used some pretty fascinating tech to autonomously acquire rocks and dust from an asteroid called Bennu. Asteroids can act as time capsules, and Bennu reflects what was happening in the solar system roughly 4.5 billion years ago. After a total journey of 3.9 billion miles, the capsule returned safely to Earth on September 24, 2023.

One paper about Bennu, appearing in the journal Nature Astronomy, revealed that the samples contained 14 amino acids and five nucleobases also found in life forms on Earth. They also uncovered high levels of ammonia in the Bennu samples, as well as formaldehyde; when those two combine in the proper conditions, they can form complex molecules such as amino acids.

The second publication appeared in Nature, and it detailed the environment those molecules formed in. Their assessment found evidence of a "brine," identifying a set of minerals that could have been left behind as salt water evaporated.

"Data from OSIRIS-REx adds major brushstrokes to a picture of a solar system teeming with the potential for life," said Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA Goddard. "Why we, so far, only see life on Earth and not elsewhere, that’s the truly tantalizing question."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/preview-nasas-osiris-rex-mission-teases-new-insights-on-how-life-began-223033717.html?src=rss

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Climate change increased the odds of Los Angeles' devastating fires, researchers say

29 January 2025 at 13:16

As Los Angeles reels from the loss of lives and homes to the Easton and Palisades fires, scientists are asking why the events of this January have been so catastrophic. Climate change very likely played a part in setting the stage that caused multiple fires to sweep through the region, according to analysis from the World Weather Attribution, an international research initiative.

"Eight of the eleven models examined also show an increase in extreme January [Fire Weather Index], increasing our confidence that climate change is driving this trend," the group said of their investigation.

Earth is currently 1.3°C hotter than it was before the industrial era began. The WWA found that extreme Fire Weather Index conditions are 35 percent more likely to occur in the LA area at this temperature. If the planet increases 2.6°C from its pre-industrial temperature, extreme conditions become another 35 percent more likely. Based on current policies, a 2.6°C higher temperature is the minimum increase the Earth is projected to reach by the year 2100.

The researchers noted, however, that the growing odds of those peak conditions is not a linear progression. Other factors also contributed to the widespread devastation across the Los Angeles area, including lack of rain; the region had not received significant rainfall since May 2024. This type of drought condition is 2.4 times more likely at the Earth's current temperature than at its pre-industrial level. Santa Ana winds also caused the rapid spread and difficulties containing the blazes. The team said that the impact of wind is not always reflected well in climate models.

The World Weather Attribution conducts rapid studies into extreme weather events to analyze whether climate change was a factor. The international team of researchers aim to address the impact of climate in natural disasters "while the impacts of the extreme weather event are still fresh in the minds of the public and policymakers, and decisions about rebuilding are being made."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/climate-change-increased-the-odds-of-los-angeles-devastating-fires-researchers-say-211652200.html?src=rss

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© ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire as it burns multiple structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

Garmin says it has fixed the blue triangle boot error that was bricking some devices

29 January 2025 at 12:49

A day after the plight of Garmin users whose devices have been stuck in a boot error gained media attention, the company says it has found a solution. “We have resolved the underlying issue causing some devices to be stuck on the start up screen,” a Garmin spokesperson told Engadget, pointing us to a support page the company recently updated. Unfortunately, if your wearable or cycling computer is displaying a “blue triangle of death,” the potential fix may involve losing some data in the process.

Depending on the device, Garmin says a factory reset is required. In other cases, you may only need to reset the power on your wearable and sync it with either the Garmin Connect app on your phone or via Garmin Express on a PC. Garmin has provided additional troubleshooting information for those with devices that are still malfunctioning after a power reset, with the required steps varying by product line.

For instance, in the case of the company’s popular Forerunner family of running watches, you’ll need to power off your device, then press down and hold the Start/Stop and Back buttons until you hear a beep. At that point, release the Start/Stop button, but continue holding the Back button until you hear a second beep. Your watch will then display Garmin's language selection screen. If it was previously paired with your phone, you’ll need to remove the device from your Bluetooth settings before you can continue the reset process.

If it’s been a while since you’ve synced your watch, Garmin warns a factory reset will result in the loss of some data, including information relating to Garmin Wallet, Connect IQ content such as watch faces and, most notably, Body Battery insights. However, once you sync your device with Garmin Connect, most (if not all) of that data should be restored.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/garmin-says-it-has-fixed-the-blue-triangle-boot-error-that-was-bricking-some-devices-204919328.html?src=rss

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© u/SuspiciousCucumber16 / Reddit

Photo of a person holding a Garmin smartwatch with a blue triangle on its screen.

Beyond: Two Souls is becoming a TV show with help from star Elliot Page

By: Kris Holt
29 January 2025 at 12:25

Yet another video game is being adapted into a different medium. Quantic Dream's Beyond: Two Souls is bound for TV screens. There's one interesting wrinkle this time around, as one of the game's stars is behind the adaptation.

Elliot Page, who played protagonist Jodie Holmes in the 2013 action-adventure, will produce the series, which is in early development. His production company, Pageboy Productions, has scooped up the TV adaptation rights from Quantic Dream. The game's writer and director, David Cage, said he is collaborating with Page on the project.

As Deadline reports, the show will likely hew close to the non-linear storytelling format of the game. “This adaptation will honor the game’s legacy while inviting fresh perspectives,” Matt Jordan Smith, Pageboy’s head of development and production, said. “Delving into questions of survival and how split-second decisions can alter not just our lives, but the lives of others, are key to telling the story.”

The sci-fi plot of Beyond: Two Souls should be a good fit for television. Jodie possesses supernatural powers via her lifelong psychic link to a spiritual entity named Aiden. 

Although Jodie can die in Beyond: Two Souls, there's no game over screen if she does, so it will be interesting to see how that translates into a TV show. "It's a game about death, so you can imagine that death plays a role in all of this," Cage told Engadget in 2013. "Actually, it's one of the big discoveries — one of the big mysteries in the game is to discover what's on the other side. And it's definitely not a black screen."

“The story’s rich narrative and emotional depth offer us a fantastic foundation," Page told Deadline. "We want to create a unique vision of the characters and their journeys that resonates with fans and newcomers.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/beyond-two-souls-is-becoming-a-tv-show-with-help-from-star-elliot-page-202544852.html?src=rss

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© Quantic Dream

Beyond: Two Souls
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