If you couldn’t stomach $800 for a new iPhone with Apple Intelligence, don’t worry: Apple just announced the iPhone 16e. At $599, it strikes a balance on specs, which is the soft and cosy way to say it doesn’t have everything.
It has a lot, though. With a 6.1-inch screen, it’s a much bigger device than the 4.7-inch iPhone SE, with a notch for FaceID (no more TouchID), USB-C (adios, Lightning) and the company’s A18 processor. There’s also an action button, which arrived with the iPhone 15 series, but no Camera Control.
That’s the same processor as the $800 iPhone 16, so you’ve got access to what seems to be the full gamut of Apple Intelligence. That includes generative AI writing tools, Genmoji, Image Playground, Visual Intelligence and ChatGPT integration. So yeah, a mixed bag.
The notable hardware standout might be the single 48-megapixel Fusion camera, at a time when 'pro' iPhones have three. The last time I tested a single-camera smartphone was the Pixel 4a back in 2020. Oh, and the last iPhone SE.
Apple has dropped both wireless charging and MagSafe’s magnetic ring for the iPhone 16e too, which is a surprise. I’m not a huge fan of wireless charging. It’s slow, inefficient and confusing. Having said that, I hope this isn’t the beginning of the end for Apple’s wireless charging feature. I love the mag part of MagSafe, which has introduced far more elegant tripods and phone mounts that lock iPhones in place without needing a clamp or a plug. In recent years, we’ve got unofficial MagSafe cases for other smartphones, so I can do the same with my Android phones.
The iPhone 16e lands on February 28 in black and white, but don’t worry, there will be fizzy color cases. Even if they don’t have MagSafe.
(And kudos to this hilariously timed discount on the Pixel 8a, now only $399. I love a good troll deal.)
HP has bought the company’s IP, but it doesn’t want the pins.
Engadget
The company behind the widely ridiculed AI assistant badge/thing has sold all its assets to HP for $116 million — not the billion-dollar buyout it hoped for.
In a note to its customers, the company said AI Pins will “continue to function normally” until 12PM PT on February 28, less than a week from now. Customers still within the 90-day return window (why did you buy it?!) will get a refund.
Oppo’s Find N5 is thinner than a headphone jack when unfolded and weighs only 229 grams. That’s just a few more than a typical flagship phone. Despite that footprint, it packs a 6.62-inch outer display and an 8.12-inch inner screen, with a seven-core Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and a 5,600mAh battery, which supports 80W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. It’s technically impressive, but there’s no word on when the device will make it to the US. Typically, the devices hit the US under OnePlus branding, but that company says there will be no OnePlus Open 2 this year, so you may have to go out of your way to get your hands on one. Also, expect to pay just shy of $2,000.
Oppo is back with a new foldable, and the Find N5 is a technically impressive balance of thinness and power. Skipping over the whole unlucky number four thing (this is technically the fourth iteration of the Find foldable), the company claims its latest book-style foldable is the world’s thinnest at 8.92mm. That's not a lot thicker than a typical flagship phone. Despite that, the Find N5 has a 6.62-inch outer display and an 8.12-inch inner screen which, Oppo says, features multiple durability improvements, flanked by a new titanium hinge.
For the sake of clarity: While you may not have bought, used or even seen an Oppo phone, this company is under the same corporate owner as OnePlus. Last year’s Find N3 foldable ended up in the US as the OnePlus Open, so you may see the Find N5 similarly rebadged. If that’s the case, and this is eventually the Open 2, you won’t see it this year. OnePlus announced that its follow-up foldable will not land until 2026.
At an early briefing, my first impression of the Find N5 was that it was a very thin, premium foldable. Unfolded, one side is just 4.21mm — thinner than a headphone jack. (That’s a great excuse for the lack of one.) It’s so slender that Oppo had to reinforce and beef up the edges of the Find N5’s USB-C port, which has only a razor-thin border around it. The ring camera array — which still looks a bit much — has also been shaved down 20 percent.
Mat Smith for Engadget
In addition to that thinner profile, which seems to be the 2025 trend for phones, the Find N5 weighs just 229 grams (8.07 ounces). That’s only two more grams than the single-screen iPhone 16 Pro Max and 10 grams less than the N5's main rival — the Galaxy Z Fold 6. It’s even more impressive when you consider that the Find N5 has a bigger internal screen than all the other foldables.
In fact, using its external screen when closed it feels like any other non-foldable phone, due to its sharp profile and light weight. A 6.62-inch screen is larger than most phones I use regularly, so browsing and watching things before I’ve even unfolded the N5 feels like a treat.
Despite its thickness (or lack thereof), Oppo has ensured it is suitably powerful, with a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and a 5,600mAh battery. (For comparison, Samsung’s latest Galaxy Fold has a 4,400mAh cell.) Unlike the OnePlus Open, the Find N5 is compatible with wireless chargers and if you have Oppo’s own wireless fast charger, it tops out at 50W AIRVOOC.
Using the included fast charger, you get an impressive and swift 80W wired charging speed. I could completely recharge the Find N5 in less than an hour. However, like many other recent Android phones, this device is not Qi2-ready. Oppo argued that its proprietary wireless charging tech is faster, and added that a magnetic case will be on sale when the device launches. (Oppo does include a non-magnetic case to cover the device's rear with the phone.)
With its Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, the Find N5 is the first foldable to pack Qualcomm’s most powerful mobile chip, with substantial power efficiency gains alongside performance boosts compared to older Snapdragon 8 silicon. We’ve been amazed by battery life improvements on Samsung and OnePlus devices with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and Oppo continues that trend. Combined with that massive battery, this foldable typically lasted almost two days in my testing before needing to charge.
One of the biggest challenges to foldables is durability, and to address this, Oppo has upgraded the Find N5’s hinge and screen toughness. The hinge is now made from titanium alloy, 3D-printed to maintain the material strength while shrinking the hinge’s size by 26 percent. At a press briefing in London, the company decided to showcase the hinge strength by suspending a 44-pound kettlebell from its new foldable, which spanned two tables. I’m not sure this translates to real-world toughness, but it was an impressive spectacle. Next time, put your newest thousand-dollar-plus device somewhere near a three-year-old — let’s see how tough it really is.
Mat Smith for Engadget
Oppo says the smaller external screen is made of nanocrystal glass, which includes an outer layer of ceramic to improve scratch and drop resistance. The company also says the inner screen has been strengthened with a new anti-shock film that can absorb impact, improving shock resistance by 70 percent.
The Find N5 also comes with a literal list of water resistances: IPX6 (resistant to powerful water jets), IPX8 (resistant to being submersed in water deeper than 1 meter) and IPX9 (resistant to powerful, high-temperature water jets). If you think at least one of those must be redundant, I agree.
The Find N5 is the first foldable to claim all that protection. However, there’s no dust-resistance rating, which might concern existing foldable users who have been grappling with that lil’ bit of dust lodged in their years-old smartphone screen.
Camera improvements are focused on the periscope telephoto shooter, which is upgraded to 50MP sensor from the 32MP one found on the Find N3. The Find N5 can now punch into 3X optical zoom, up from 2X on its predecessor. There’s a lossless 6X zoom that taps into AI to sharpen detail, but as usual, your mileage may vary here. I find the lossless options on most phones often a little too smooth (and turn most zoomed-in faces into nightmares), but at least it’s an option.
The periscope telephoto camera can also utilize a macro mode, meaning you can zoom in closer and still maintain crisp focus and detail. Macro photography with a typical smartphone doesn’t always work. Your phone will cast a shadow on your subject, or perhaps you can’t get your camera close enough. On the Find N5, a four-inch focal distance makes this less of an issue, and early images are promising. It’s not the first time we’ve seen the feature (both the Huawei P60 Pro and vivo X100 Ultra have telephoto macros) but it’s rare in most devices that make it to the west. We usually have to make do with a macro mode on the ultrawide camera, and hope for the best.
Mat Smith for Engadget
The camera has many familiar features, too: portrait mode (with some Hasselblad assistance) and Lightning Snap burst shooting. The latter is augmented by Oppo’s take on AI unblurring and sharpening. Fold in an AI eraser and reflection remover and it goes toe-to-toe with recent Samsung and Google flagships.
Multitasking is similar to the OnePlus Open, with some improvements. Oppo’s version is called Boundless View, with several features now accessible from a triple-dot icon, where you can shift second and even third apps into shrinkable windows. By tapping the top bar above one app, you can automatically widen it, but leave a sliver of the other app in view, making it easier to switch between them.
One smart touch is that the Find N5 will gauge your multitasking, offering a prompt when switching between two apps to use them in split screen mode. As someone who doesn’t use book-style foldables, I find it a nice reminder of the utility of this form factor.
Another software addition is the O+ app, where you can manage files on your phone and even sling them across to your Mac. At the briefing, an Oppo exec showed how easy it was to transfer a photo across devices, which was pretty unremarkable. (Think of all the cloud options we have in 2025)
Mat Smith for Engadget
But it was the Remote Mac Control that surprised me. With the Find N5 propped up and half-folded, the Oppo spokesperson used the onscreen trackpad and keyboard to interact with their Mac. This feature works with both Intel and Apple Silicon-based Macs, so I was able to test it out with my aging Intel MacBook Pro. Does anyone remember and pine for that VAIO laptop that could slip into your jeans pocket? No? Just me? Just me. Anyway, it felt like using that. You’re not going to work daily from it, but if there are files, or certain simple tasks you need to accomplish in Photoshop or other PC programs, it’s functional and impressive.
It’s not quite as effortless or seamless as Apple’s own Continuity feature, since you have to install apps on the Find N6 and your Mac. Oppo promises a future update allowing you to transfer files to your Mac from Find N5’s native Files app without dabbling in Remote Mac Control.
Wrap-up
Mat Smith for Engadget
With the Find N5, Oppo went to town on hardware. It feels and looks more premium than the company’s previous foldables but with substantial spec bumps at a time when many smartphones seem a little iterative. (Yes, Samsung, you.) The intriguing part is, if the OnePlus Open 2 isn’t happening in 2025, will this device make it to the US at all? And if it does appear next year, will all these upgrades be as impressive?
The Find N5 launches globally today, with Oppo so far only announcing official pricing in Singapore: 2,499 Singapore Dollars. That equates to just below £1,500 in the UK, where it will go on sale, or shy of $1,900. That would put it at the same price point as the leading foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 6. However, it's much more interesting (and impressive) than Samsung's latest foldable.
However, without US availability, this is just an exercise in currency conversion for now.We'll update this story when we get more precise availability.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/the-oppo-find-n5-hands-on-release-date-price-120058154.html?src=rss
Last week, Apple’s Tim Cook teed up a new product for launch on February 19 — that’s tomorrow. Cook’s tweet also included an animated image of a shimmering Apple logo, which made a lot of us assume the reveal could be for a second-generation AirTag. It’s been rumored for a while that Apple would introduce a second-gen tracker sometime this year, and the original AirTag landed almost four years ago. So there are plenty of tech upgrades the tracker could benefit from.
Rumors suggest the next AirTag may feature a more tamper-proof speaker to reduce stalking and an improved Ultra-Wideband chip with up to 3x longer tracking range. However, would the CEO of Apple tweet (and hype up) a mere accessory? Probably not. Following a barrage of leaks and rumors, a next-gen iPhone SE seems more likely.
This upgraded entry-level basic iPhone may appear with a design closer to the iPhone 14. That means appearing with a notch, so no Dynamic Island, no home button. It’ll likely make the shift to USB-C and probably have enough power to run all those Apple Intelligence features too. (In the past, while SE iPhones have had humble screens and hardware, Apple typically packs them with chips on par with the latest iPhones.)
It could also be a wildcard: Apple’s rumored smart display is meant to arrive sometime this year too. Having said all that, there isn’t really an Apple device as shiny as an AirTag. We’ll find out tomorrow. Hopefully alongside some more tech news because it’s been a quiet few days.
The new CPU could be a piece in the $500 billion Stargate AI project.
Arm is reportedly planning to reveal its own processor this year, with Meta as the main customer. The chip would be a CPU designed for data center servers and customizable for clients.
Last month, Arm’s parent company, Softbank, announced the Stargate project, a partnership with OpenAI to build up to $500 billion worth of AI infrastructure. Arm, along with Microsoft and NVIDIA, is a key technology partner for the project. Arm’s chip could now play a role in all of that.
It’s become a depressing trend from recent Samsung hardware: solid, capable devices that lack a strong enough reason to upgrade — or get excited, even. The Galaxy Watch 7 is a capable companion for Samsung phones, with great hooks into Samsung’s Health app, reliable activity tracking and zippy performance. The always-on display hits battery life hard, however, so we were tasked with recharging (or even topping up) the device more often than we’d like.
TikTok is once again available in Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store in the United States. The app disappeared from both Apple and Google’s stores January 19, 2025, as a nationwide ban took effect. Briefly.
What will ultimately happen to TikTok remains unclear. President Trump wants to strike a “deal” that will allow the company to remain operational in the US, including arrangements that would give the US government a stake in the company.
You know who’s probably furious? Every other social media company.
In a tweet on Thursday, CEO Tim Cook told Apple aficionados to “get ready to meet the newest member of the family. ”What that product is remains a slight mystery, though we won’t have to wait too long to find out. The reveal will take place on Wednesday, February 19.
While we’ve focused on a next-gen iPhone SE, Cook’s tweet also featured an animated image of a shimmering Apple logo on what appears to be the outline of an AirTag. There have been rumors for a while that Apple would introduce a second-gen tracker sometime this year.
Also: AirTags have changed my life. Or at least stopped me getting locked out of my apartment multiple times in the last few years. It’ll be intriguing to see what else a tracker can offer. Please don’t make it AI.
The tech love story of 2025 is over. Honda and Nissan have ended merger plans. If they’d gone through with it and also brought Nissan-controlled Mitsubishi on board, the new entity would’ve had a net worth of around $50 billion.
The Financial Times reported in early February that Honda presented a new company structure that would make Nissan its subsidiary as a “take it or leave it” offer. Nissan decided to leave it.
Ask Engadget: Where is the best place to buy a cheap iPad?
Ask Mat Anything.
Thanks to all the early question-askers (hit me up on askmat(at)engadget.com), including a timely question in the face of new Apple hardware. From Matt Ali: What’s the cheapest way to get an iPad? And which one should I get in early 2025?
Instead of doing my own research or asking unhinged AI chatbots, I tapped our iPad expert (and reviewer), Nathan Ingraham, for an answer:
“Apple hardware is known for being expensive, but the company has a store packed with high-quality refurbished products that can save you some serious cash. I’ve bought many devices there over the years and have never had a problem — everything is in like-new condition and has the same warranty as a brand-new product.”
At the time of writing, there are a few good options in Apple’s refurbished store if you want an iPad nearly as capable as the newest models but want to save some cash. If you want the largest screen possible, you can grab a sixth-generation, 12.9-inch iPad Pro with an M2 chip and 256GB of storage for $979. Considering the latest 13-inch iPad Pro starts at $1299, this merits consideration — especially if you’re an artist who wants a large canvas.
If you don’t need that large screen, consider the fifth-generation iPad Air. For $529, you’ll get an 11-inch display, M1 chip and 256GB of storage. That’s $170 less than the current M2 iPad Air with the same amount of storage. Apple’s standard iPad is also available refurbished, but you can often find a brand-new version of it on sale on Amazon. Between that and the rumors of a new basic iPad coming this spring, I’d avoid this one, for now.
If you want to upgrade the storage or get a model with cellular connectivity, that should also be doable for extra cash. For me, 256GB or 512GB is the sweet spot for storage — given the ubiquity of the cloud, having a ton of local storage doesn’t feel particularly necessary.
Similarly, cellular connectivity is probably not worth the extra cash unless you plan to travel with your iPad. Most of the time, you can easily tether an iPad to your phone if you need to get online quickly. But, those refurb options are available if you want them.”
Thanks Nate! Other tech dilemmas? Modern texting etiquette? The best way to make your wearable nag you into your new year fitness goals? Hit. Me. Up!
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121508200.html?src=rss
Logos of TikTok are seen at the TikTok house on the opening day of the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
Elon Musk has launched a $97.4 billion bid for AI darling OpenAI. The Wall Street Journal reported that a group of investors led by Musk’s xAI submitted an unsolicited offer to the company’s board of directors on Monday. It’s a bid for the non-profit that controls OpenAI’s for-profit arm.
OpenAI is not a traditional company, and the non-profit structure Sam Altman and others at the company want it to get away from may, in fact, protect it from Musk’s offer.
There’s further drama around all this: Musk had sued OpenAI and Sam Altman for allegedly ditching its non-profit mission around this time last year.
An OpenAI spokesperson pointed Engadget to an X post from CEO Sam Altman that said, “No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” Musk’s purchase of Twitter was a heady lump of money that didn’t lead to a typical ROI. It did, however, help him attach himself to President Trump’s successful bid for office.
In a bid to demolish my social life, Civilization VII is getting a VR port, exclusive to Meta’s most recent headsets. Meta and developer Firaxis Games announced last weekend that it will land on Meta Quest 3 and 3S in spring 2025. Apparently, “players are transported to an ornate museum as they look out onto a vista personalized to their leader; in mixed reality, the Command Table adapts to its placement in a player’s physical space.” Civilization VII is available now for Advanced Access buyers on PC and consoles, but reviews haven’t exactly set the world on fire. (Then again, that’s how I sometimes play Civ games…)
A new entry-level phone could land later this month.
Apple could finally unveil a new iPhone SE. According to Bloomberg, the company will announce its latest lower-cost model as soon as this week before it goes on sale later this month. The last iPhone SE was released in 2022.
Last week, an X user who goes by Majin Bu posted a video of a device that’s supposedly Apple’s upcoming low-cost iPhone model. That model had a camera notch at the top, which Apple had removed from its latest phones in favor of its Dynamic Island design. It’s also expected to have a USB-C port. The last SE iPhone cost $429, but that was two years ago — the new model may cost a bit more.
Instead of focusing on AI, the OnePlus 13 packs a bunch of top-of-the-line components into an attractive chassis. And we mean great specs: a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, 4,500-nit screen and 6,000mAh battery, all for $100 less than a base Galaxy S25+. Camera quality could be better, though.
If not the world, how about a pellet grill? Weber’s second pellet grill is more versatile than the original SmokeFire. With reliable cooking performance and a much-improved display, the grill is definitely more dependable than its predecessor.
In a tweet, the TikTok Policy account has announced the service has made Android Package Kits available for download through its official website. Companies don’t typically endorse sideloading as it opens up the opportunity for bad actors and security wobbles if you use a bad source for your apps. The Apple App Store and the Google Play Store are still required to remove the app unless they want to get slapped with a $5,000 fine for every user in the US who downloads it.
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 05: Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Co-Chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill on December 05, 2024 in Washington, DC. Musk and his Co-Chair, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy are meeting with lawmakers today about DOGE, a planned presidential advisory commission with the goal of cutting government spending and increasing efficiency in the federal workforce. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The week has been a mixed bag for Apple. First, it launched a new iPhone app for organizing events and being actually social; then, it had to contend with a third-party app store offering a porn app in the European Union. And there’s nothing like an Apple-pornography headline to draw the eye.
But first, Apple Invites, where you can host an unlimited number of events, each one limited to 100 participants. It’s also possible to invite non-iPhone users. What?!
You can use your own photos or backgrounds in the app as an image for the invite and even arrange a communal playlist through Apple Music.
Of course, there’s some Apple Intelligence shoehorned in. Image Playground is built into Invites to generate images for your events when there aren’t any appropriate photos.
What about the future for existing invite apps, like Evite, Partiful, Luma and the rest? Well, all isn’t lost: Only paid iCloud subscribers can create invites in the app — and prices start there at 99 cents a month, while rival apps offer free basic event invites. Also, the web experience for non-iPhone people is pretty clunky and painful. At least for now.
Meanwhile, a third-party app store called AltStore PAL announced a porn app called Hot Tub was now available to iOS users in the European Union. The marketplace described it as the “first Apple-approved porn app” — which probably isn’t entirely accurate.
It’s seemingly the first time a porn app has been available natively for the iPhone. Apple said it was “deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore porn apps of this type create for EU users, especially kids.”
And just to add further corporate spice: Longtime Apple App Store foe Epic gave the alternative app store a MegaGrant last year to help fund the “core technology fees” third-party app stores are required to pay Apple. Not that it’s directly affiliated with this adult entertainment portal. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney took to X to say, “the Epic Games Store doesn’t carry this app, doesn’t carry any porn apps, and has never carried porn apps.”
Despite the appearance of rival smart rings from the likes of Samsung, the Oura Ring 4 remains the best option. It tracks your sleep, activity and stress levels, is comfortable to wear and looks, shock, like a regular ring. The battery life is admirable, lasting up to seven days, with new features including 24/7 heart rate tracking and temperature monitoring. However, these features are only available if you pay for a monthly subscription — and that may remain the biggest caveat for this $349 ring.
The first chess win for a computer against a world champion.
IBM
This week, we go back 29 years. Back when we were barely saying artificial intelligence, let alone AI, on February 10, 1996, IBM’s Deep Blue chess computer defeated fleshbag world champion Garry Kasparov. It marked the first time a computer beat a high-level opponent. However, Kasparov won the series 4-2. It wasn’t until a year later that Deep Blue bested him in a rematch.
After President Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on nearly all Canadian imported goods (and Canada announced its own 25 percent tariff on American imported goods), Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario — and a former supporter of President Trump — announced the Canadian territory would be “ripping up” a $100 million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink. The contract was signed in November last year.
Musk, boss of Starlink and the richest man in the world, is a close confidant of Trump and has control over the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE (urgh), tasked with cost-cutting and deregulation in government.
Ford believed this was enough to link Musk (and his businesses) to Trump’s tariffs. He said Ontario “won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy” and that Musk wants to “take food off the table” of hard-working Canadians. Ford also commanded the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) to remove American-made spirits from store shelves. (Oh no, not the Tito’s vodka!)
It’s since de-escalated. After Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump agreed to pause the tariff standoff for 30 days, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was also pausing the province’s cancelation of its Starlink contract.
After being nominated in November 2024 for two Grammys, “Now and Then” won Best Rock Performance. When the song, as a demo, was first recorded, John Lennon’s singing and piano were on the same audio track, and separating them was impossible. Fortunately, AI can now do that with zero effort. The surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, were able to complete the song by recording new bass and drum parts and released it almost 30 years later. Sean Ono Lennon, the son of the late Beatle, accepted the trophy in his father’s stead. “Now and Then” was also nominated for Record of the Year.
The absurdist PBJ — The Musical (first previewed at Day of the Devs ’24) heads to the App Store on March 26. It’s a collaboration between studio founder Philipp Stollenmayer and English musician and comedian Lorraine Bowen, famous for “The Crumble Song” and a former semi-finalist of Britain’s Got Talent. Kamibox says the game’s happy ending involves (spoilers) the creation of the beloved peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which might be a welcome salve to often bleak and harrowing AAA gaming.
Announced at CES 2025, Anker’s Eufy E20 is a first-of-its-kind robot vacuum that turns into a cordless stick vacuum, with attachments, plus a self-emptying base. It even comes in at a mid-range price of $550. Sure, it works best as a robot, but the transformers-style design will make this a tempting buy for those who don’t want to rely solely on a robovac. It transforms quickly between modes, and while the stick vac certainly isn’t the strongest, it does the job for emergency cereal spills and muckier spots.
In this photo illustration a Starlink logo seen displayed on a smartphone screen in Chania, Greece on August 15, 2023. (Photo illustration by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
It’s early 2025, the weather’s still cold, so it must be time for Samsung to kick off the year’s flagship smartphone race with its latest barrage of devices. This time, we’ve got three S25 phones, ranging from the $800 S25 through to the $1,300 S25 Ultra.
Let’s start with the flagship, the S25 Ultra. This year, Samsung has honed the design of the slate to closer match the rest of its family, while adding a substantially upgraded ultrawide camera sensor. There’s also a powerful 3nm Snapdragon Elite for Galaxy added, a collaboration between Samsung and Qualcomm that augments its computational photography skills and more. (Not to mention incredible battery life.)
And you know what? It’s another great phone, capable of going toe-to-toe with the iPhones and Pixels of this world. However, it also looks very similar to last year’s model, which makes the S25 Ultra a less impressive update, given its price.
Then there’s the Galaxy S25 — priced the same as the last few S-series base models. I spent over a week with it, and much of its hardware remains the same, with incremental improvements to the camera, courtesy of behind-the-scenes processing, and that incredible battery life. And it’s Samsung, so it was always going to be a solid premium phone with a gorgeous screen. But if you were thinking of upgrading from an S24 (or S23, even S22), it’s a hard pitch.
Even if it didn’t name the Chinese startup explicitly.
The big story this week is around DeepSeek AI: the open-source chatbot that reportedly requires far less computing power than competitors and was developed on a (relative) shoestring budget.
It subsequently put stocks related to AI, like NVIDIA, into a tailspin, although they have somewhat recovered. DeepSeek’s had brief success, even stimulating a response from President Trump.
Now, ChatGPT maker OpenAI says Chinese startups are cribbing the models of US AI companies. It claims rivals are persistently trying to copy the technology of existing AI companies, adding that OpenAI and its partner Microsoft have been banning accounts suspected of “distilling” its models.
The company didn’t explicitly mention DeepSeek in its statement, but… yeah. Also, let’s not forget: OpenAI admitted last year that getting its AI models up to speed was impossible without dipping its toes into copyrighted materials.
How does it feel, having your hard work repurposed and regurgitated? I couldn’t possibly relate.
Offering the biggest reason yet to install a retail store’s app, CVS says it will let select users, without needing staff, to shop for items typically locked away in its stores. If you haven’t been to a CVS, many items are locked up to prevent theft (and antagonize everyone). The feature is only available to loyalty program members and in a handful of unnamed stores. It was being trialed in just three stores but will be expanded to 10 to 15 stores. (There are over 9,000 CVS locations in the US.)
By the headline alone, this sounds terrible, but you should read Devindra’s takedown in full. So many questions: Why the name? Why even make Incention? Who wants this? Does it smell like a blockchain-scented Quibi? Yes, yes it does.
What is the best Galaxy phone under $500? Are refurb iPads worth it? My Roomba stole my girlfriend, please advise. We’re bringing back Ask Engadget, with an entirely new email address: [email protected]. Aside from spamming free trials of apps and streaming services, let’s put it to use.
Ask me something!
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121727846.html?src=rss
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
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
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
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
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
Obsessed with throwing money and resources at AI in any way they can, the likes of OpenAI, NVIDIA, Google and Amazon all just got a surprise.
Out of seemingly nowhere, Chinese AI assistant DeepSeek is suddenly the top-rated free app on Apple’s App Store in the US and elsewhere, beating more familiar names, like ChatGPT. The open-source DeepSeek V3 model reportedly requires far less computing power than its competitors and, depending on who you believe, was developed for under $6 million. Shocks all around — especially for OpenAI and all the billions it has floating around.
Focusing on coding and research, DeepSeek’s models are similar to other AI assistants you’ve heard of. Its first DeepSeek-R1 release is available under an MIT license, so it can be used commercially without restrictions.
How does it compare with the far pricier US rivals now China is unable to import the most powerful AI chips? Well, to start with, DeepSeek’s founder Liang Wenfeng reportedly stockpiled NVIDIA A100 chips before the US export ban and is pairing those with less powerful chips from China. An MIT Review report also suggests the side effect of the US sanctions are innovations that focus on efficiency and collaboration.
All the attention and a small financial market wobble has put DeepSeek in the crosshairs for “large-scale malicious attacks.” Those cyberattacks mean new user registration may be slow, so if you’re intrigued, you’ll have to wait to check it out.
Device leaker Majin Bu shared on X what they claim is the new iPhone SE 4. As proof, they posted a video of the device from all angles and four photos of both a black and a white model from the back. With a single camera (gasp!) and a smaller-seeming body to current iPhones, the big twist is the return to a notch. At this point, all iPhones available from Apple’s store (aside from the iPhone 14) have a Dynamic Island cutout instead of the notch.
Traditionally, the SE series has a throwback hardware design, so this would make sense. And hey, the Pixel 8a needs some competition. While the dummy phones leaked look convincing, Majin Bu has missed with some of their predictions and leaks in the past. So pinch of salt, and all that.
As X continued to walk the plank, Bluesky experienced explosive growth last year. That meant a big ramp up in its moderation efforts. Bluesky said user numbers jumped from 2.9 million users to nearly 26 million. Its moderators received 17 times the number of user reports in 2023 — 6.48 million in 2024 compared to 358,000 the previous year. The bulk of these reports were regarding “harassment, trolling or intolerance,” spam and misleading content (including impersonation and misinformation). Moderators took down 66,308 accounts in 2024, while its automated systems took down 35,842 spam and bot profiles.
This photo illustration shows the DeepSeek app on a mobile phone in Beijing on January 27, 2025. Chinese firm DeepSeek's artificial intelligence chatbot has soared to the top of the Apple Store's download charts, stunning industry insiders and analysts with its ability to match its US competitors. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) (Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
This year, Samsung unified the design language of its S-series flagships, making the S25, S25+ and the S25 Ultra look and feel the same (barring the camera). The curving sides of the S24 Ultra are finally gone, replaced with the solid, squared-off lines seen on the cheaper Galaxy S handsets. Flatter sides make the device easier to grip, slide into your pocket, or prop up when you’re trying to photograph them for a tech website.
I’ll be honest, they look like iPhones. And older Galaxy S phones. And, well, even older iPhones. Smartphones have hopped from flat to curves for as long as smartphones have existed.
Samsung
With Samsung, we’ve gripped onto rounded sides from the debut of Galaxy S (2010) through to 2015. Then, the Galaxy S6 (2015) had more flattened sides before the series returned to curves for the S8 (2017). It stayed that way until the more recent S24, with recent years gradually hammering out those curves. The S25 series, now, has flat sides for every model.
Are flatter sides actually easier to grip? I don’t know. I’m a hypocrite. I’ve found multiplereviews and impressions pieces where I love flat sides. I’ve found the samenumber of stories where I loved curved devices. Why should you ever believe me again? I’m sure there are tech journalists who have stuck with one form factor being better, but I couldn’t find them.
Each time it happens and the company explains its change, the designers say this lack of curves/ introduction of curves is better than whatever it was last year. In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2024, Jony Ive said that Apple chose rounded edges for the iPhone 6 series because they made larger phones feel less clunky. That was when the iPhone 6 Plus had a heady 5.5-inch screen, which seems… quaint in 2025.
My theory is that our hands get used to whatever phone form factor we’ve used for the last couple of years. That means when the design gets shaken up (or you swap to a different manufacturer), one has to pay more attention to holding it. But that effect fades.
If the two most significant, most influential phone makers have settled on flat sides, then there are reasons for it. Until there’s an even bigger reason to return, once again, to curves.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/curvy-sides-flat-edges-the-galaxy-s25-and-the-arbitrary-shape-of-smartphones-130047461.html?src=rss
Welcome to a new newsletter, with a bit of a new direction. While our mid-week edition tackles news specifics, this end-of-the-week missive combines the biggest news with more context, more things to read and watch, recommendations, easter eggs, inside baseball and stuff that interests our readers, alongside the breaking news, reviews and features you expect from Engadget.
We’d love your feedback on what you’d like to see covered in these meatier editions — hit me up at tma(at)engadget.com.
Luckily for me, we kick things off with Samsung’s big Unpacked event, launching three new phones and teasing two — yes, two! — more coming soon.
Everything Samsung announced, including prices and launch dates (February 8 — I’ll save you a click), we collated here, but it was largely a fallow year for Galaxy S hardware, barring a substantially more powerful chip.
While the Galaxy S25 Ultra et al. might not thrill, Samsung managed to breadcrumb several devices with no launch date. First, at its San Jose event, the company revealed its mixed reality headset in person, finally — even if it was just a functionless headset for photos and gawping at.
Then there was the Galaxy S25 Edge — a device I didn’t think existed. (And something that wasn’t shown at my satellite event in London — we got a not-great projection mapping brand activation across London’s Thames river. Boo.)
Like Samsung did a year ago with its Galaxy Ring teaser, we got a fleeting glimpse of the rumored slim Galaxy phone, actually called the Galaxy S25 Edge. It’s slim, has two cameras and... that’s about all we know. Bloomberg reports it will cost less than the S25 Ultra when it arrives later this year.
Samsung/YouTUbe
And then there’s the mysterious teaser for some possible bifold device — see the screengrab above. This would be a foldable concertina, like devices we’ve seen from Huawei. Samsung teased the display tech back at CES 2022 and subsequent trade events. Is it now ready?
Will the company’s foldables become the new home for Samsung hardware innovation? Is the Galaxy Fold series now truly the new Galaxy Note?
Apple demonstrated its first Macintosh computer in front of 3,000 people. Graphical computing on the Macintosh wasn’t as commercially successful as Microsoft’s DOS and Windows, but this was the first successful mass-market desktop personal computer with a graphical user interface, built-in screen and mouse. Yes, a mouse! The epic Ridley Scott-directed ad, 1984, also teased it.
What can we answer for you that a hallucinating AI can’t? When is the best time to buy a new iPhone? Do I need a high-res screen on my gaming laptop? My smart home is trying to kill me. While Google/ ChatGPT/ social media can often help, we’re bringing back Ask Engadget. Whatever it is, I made my boss create an entirely new email address: askmat(at)engadget.com. So help me help you. (Keep me gainfully employed in an era of bots and AI.)
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-123633309.html?src=rss
In just a few years, Samsung has built up a substantial collection of artificial intelligence tricks, features and apps. While some of them have been impressive, like live translation and annotation, others (often involving generative AI) aren’t actually helpful — or notable — enough to warrant regular use.
The latest trio of Galaxy S flagship phones means another barrage of AI. Samsung has saved the best hardware for its S25 Ultra, of course, but the company also has smaller (and cheaper) flagships, with the Galaxy S25 ($800) and larger S25+ ($1,000) both launching at the same time.
And those AI features could be more crucial for the base S25 and larger S25+. Aside from the addition of a potent new chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, there’s not a lot here to differentiate from last year’s Galaxy S24. In fact, you really have to look for changes.
Mat Smith for Engadget
The Galaxy S25 and S25+ are as premium and solidly built as any of their predecessors. Once again, the company has gone for aluminum frames, while the S25 Ultra gets the favorable titanium treatment. There’s also Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 across both the screen and the back of the devices, with a trio of cameras (the same again) standing out as the only detail on the otherwise smooth backs. All of the devices’ edges are flat just like their predecessors — even the S25 Ultra’s design has caught up here too. Is this more comfortable than the curvier sides? I don’t think anyone knows. We’ve seen Samsung, Apple and many others flit from rounded to flattened edges. I don’t know anymore.
But, boy, are they skinny. Does the Galaxy S25 “slim” exist? I’m not sure it needs to: This year’s S-series models are the slimmest we’ve seen in nearly a decade – barring Samsung’s foldables (… unfolded). Both the S25 and S25+ are 0.4mm thinner than their predecessors. That makes the S25 the thinnest Galaxy phone since the 6.8mm Galaxy S6. They’re both more pocketable because of this change, but I have an oversized affection for the base S25. It’s bigger, but it reminds me of the Apple iPhone mini (RIP).
As you’d expect from Samsung, the AMOLED displays on these new phones are vivid, bright and gorgeous, with refresh rates up to 120Hz. The smaller 6.2-inch S25 has an FHD+ resolution, which is fine for a screen this size. Fortunately, the bigger S25+ has a higher-res qHD+ 6.7-inch display.
So what’s the biggest upgrade this year? It’s a bit dry, but it’s the chip. The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy is the biggest hardware upgrade since last year. Samsung claims the S25’s CPU is 37 percent faster than its predecessor, with 40 percent improvements on the NPU, and a 30 percent more powerful GPU. Those are substantial jumps.
Mat Smith for Engadget
Given the hardware has barely changed, AI improvements and upgrades are the core focus for the Galaxy S25 series. Some features were unavailable during my briefing or will require a closer look and deeper testing. Some are intriguing, though, like a new spatial-temporal filter on the camera app. It’s a Samsung exclusive since it relies on the custom Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and adds more power to noise analysis, as well as the ability to apparently maintain crispness of photo and video subjects while taming blurring backgrounds and low-light noise.
Samsung says its new AI image processing with ProScaler offers 40 percent improvements to its AI images only on the S25+ and S25 Ultra. If you’re looking for video upgrades, the S25 series all records 10-bit color profile video by default, while Audio Eraser offers some AI-augmented noise removal, although the benefits were difficult to discern during my brief time with the devices.
A new large language model is also part of the S25’s camera processing, which the company says will improve Portrait mode results and generative AI editing like object removal. Sadly, there is no sign of the Pixel’s “Add Me” — arguably the best application of AI and photography on a phone. However, Samsung has also used its AI improvements (and the more powerful chip) to substantially improve the generative AI selfies inside the S25’s Portrait Studio. Just look at what it did with my face at our briefing. This is a pretty decent line drawing — and yes I was wearing a neckerchief.
Mat Smith for Engadget
Like we’ve mentioned elsewhere, Samsung has refined its existing AI features. A new AI select button will appear when you tap on the side panel, suggesting what you might want to do, based on the context of what the S25 can “see” on screen; Circle to Search can now figure out what to search based on sound too, using Google’s existing Shazam-like hum-to-search feature. Cross-app smarts that integrate Google’s Gemini mean the voice assistant can dip in and out of multiple apps to add appointments, figure out routes and set reminders. From my brief testing, this appears to involve only core Samsung and Google apps, which could constrain exactly how useful this is. I’m at least intrigued and want to test this out in real life.
Another feature that demands real-world testing is Samsung’s new “Now Bar” and “Now Brief,” which is meant to collate your smartphone life and schedules into, hopefully, a single place. It’ll offer up a morning and evening briefing, even pulling in sleep and wearable data for some wellness and health insights.
One feature Samsung mentioned but did not hugely elaborate on was the S25’s Personal Data Engine, which will analyze user context, patterns and preferences to deliver a personalized way of using your new Samsung device. I’d imagine that taps into "Now Brief," which seems similar to iOS’s daily summaries, offering up a curated selection of your schedule, weather updates, travel plans and even fitness and health insights from all those Galaxy wearables. Whether this offers some truly personalized experiences within One UI 7 will only be clear once we’re using these phones, but it’s hard to imagine it’ll be all that game-changing. Let’s see if the S25 can change my mind, Samsung.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s25-and-s25-hands-on-180017460.html?src=rss
Almost immediately after taking office, President Donald Trump signed a swathe of executive orders — including a reprieve for TikTok in the US.
With the executive order, Trump’s Justice Department will not enforce the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act for 75 days, extending the time the company has to reach a deal.
TikTok (and other ByteDance apps) went offline late Saturday, but the TikTok outage only lasted a matter of hours. Trump affirmed there would be “no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.” Trump also proposed a joint venture that would see US interests take a 50 percent stake in TikTok. Earlier on Monday, China (where ByteDance is based) signaled it was at least a little open to an arrangement with the US.
TikTok’s rescue wasn’t the only change President Trump announced. Read on, everyone.
Coming up, we’ve got Samsung’s big Unpacked event tomorrow, where we expect to see at least three new phones, a bunch of AI tricks and features of varying utility and who knows, maybe another wearable?
Trump is president, and Nintendo has a new console. It’s 2017 all over again. The company is keeping the technical details under wraps, but the teaser shows a bigger console, bigger Joy-Cons and possibly a smoother gaming experience, judging by the Mario Kart renders.
Expect the full details during the Nintendo Direct on April 2, with the company planning a worldwide roadshow to let gamers go hands-on with the console. These events start in New York and Paris on April 3 to 6, with more taking place in the following months.
A little update ahead of the big Unpacked show tomorrow: Leakers have posted numerous renders this past week comparing the different size options. A post from Ice Universe puts the S25 Slim at 6.4mm. However, the FCC certifications made public so far only appear to cover the familiar trio of flagships. So if a slim iteration does exist, it may not arrive until much later in the year.
Sarah Baus, left, of Charleston, S.C., and Tiffany Cianci, who says she is a "long-form educational content creator," livestream to TikTok outside the Supreme Court, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Welcome back to the newsletter. We are changing things up, so expect to see at least two editions each week, with the occasional special edition. The newsletter will continue to live on Engadget.com too, but if you haven’t subscribed, you should do that.
Next week, Samsung will reveal its next family of Galaxy phones. Not the foldables, no, but the traditional S series devices. Going on track record, we can expect to see three S25 devices: standard, Plus and Ultra.
There’s unlikely to be a huge change to aesthetics, but we expect some subtle differences — rounded corners, flatter edges and (of course) thinner bezels. Inside, at least in the US, the S25 series will probably be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite, designed for on-device generative AI. The chip promises 45 percent faster single- and multi-core performance while using 27 percent less power than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, so it could improve battery life too.
Some rumors suggest a Galaxy S25 Slim with a — you guessed it — slimmer design. It’s all very on trend. However, given the FCC certifications only appear to cover the usual trio of flagships, that device may not arrive until later in the year. (If at all.)
Expect an awful lot of AI razzle-dazzle too. One rumor suggests the Galaxy S25 series will include “an AI Agent that provides personalized clothing suggestions and transport information,” even though Google and myriad third-party apps already fully service the latter. I’d put money on a laborious bragging segment from Samsung and its AI tricks — many of which will fall by the wayside. A request: Please steal the Pixel’s Add Me photo feature.
We’ll be reporting live from Samsung’s first Unpacked event of 2025. Mark your calendar for January 22!
According to Bloomberg, the iPhone 17 Air will be 2mm thinner.
The rumored ultra-thin iPhone we’ve heard about for the last few months will get Apple’s Air branding. In his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said the iPhone 17 Air will be roughly 2 millimeters thinner than any other phone model.
“It will have a base-level A19 chip and a single-lens camera system,” Gurman notes, and will serve “as a testing ground for future technologies.” A single-lens camera could be an intriguing decision now three sensors is the standard for Apple’s most premium phones.
Sonos CEO Patrick Spence is leaving the company after last year’s disastrous app launch, in which its redesign was missing core features. Back in May 2024, the company rolled out a mobile app rife with bugs and missing features like alarms and sleep timers. Some customers even complained that entire speaker systems would no longer work after updating to the new app. Sonos’ stock price has fallen by around 13 percent since the app launched. Sonos laid off over 100 people in August as it tried to fix the software and revenue fell 16 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended on September 28.
Spence’s payout package includes $7,500 per month until June, a cash severance of $1.9 million and shares in Sonos. I aspire to screw up an app update.
Sharing the Instagram alternative was briefly considered ‘spam.’
Meta appeared to block links to Pixelfed, a decentralized photo-sharing platform, on Facebook, according to users on both Bluesky and 404 Media. A small group of posts that linked to pixelfed.social was deleted, with Facebook’s Community Standards on spam used as a justification.
There’s a bigger impetus for users to jettison Instagram: Meta just announced dramatic changes to how it plans to moderate speech on its platforms. The company is ending both its third-party fact-checking program and made changes to its Hateful Conduct policy last week. A Meta spokesperson said removing the posts to Pixelfed was a mistake, and they’d be reinstated.
As we finish up our live coverage of all things CES, it’s time to pick the best in show. So many of the new things we saw this year had an AI component, with a noticeable uptick in AR glasses, hearing aid earbuds, solar-powered tech, emotional support robots and robot vacuums. (Why this year, robovacs?)
Our list of CES 2025 winners covers various categories, ranging from typical Engadgety things like PCs, home entertainment and gaming to themed winners in sustainability and accessibility.
In fact, our best-in-show winner was an accessibility pick: the WeWalk Smart Cane 2. A high-tech version of the mobility cane for people who are blind seemed like the best helpful application of AI. With a new voice assistant powered by GPT, users can speak directly to the cane to get navigation guidance, with sensors that alert the user of upcoming obstacles. Since the cane can handle things like turn-by-turn navigation, users don’t have to worry about holding a smartphone while trying to get around.
There were plenty of other winners too. Which laptop beat the rest? Read on for more!
The automotive talk of CES was the Sony Afeela 1 — again. The company has been showing off some variation of this EV for five years at this point. Now, the car is almost ready to launch, and the more specifications we hear, the warier we’re getting. The maximum charge rate of the Afeela 1 is 150 kW for its 91 kWh battery, which provides an estimated 300 miles of range. Compare that to a cheaper Lucid Air, which can charge twice as quickly and cover over 400 miles on a charge, you begin to see the problems. All of this in a car that’s a heady almost-$90,000. The charming Tim Stevens takes Sony Honda Mobility to task — and not just for the company name.
We’ve curated all the crazy (and sometimes useful) devices we spotted out in the wild of the show floor at CES. Weird doesn't necessarily mean bad — it just might not have the might of a multinational corporation… or the desire to change the world. Still, solar sun hat? Yes, please.
Samsung’s The Frame TV lineup was a success. It doesn’t just look like a black box when you’re not using it, but rather blends in with your home decor by showing art on the screen, with a single-cable build that tidies the usual mess of the back of TVs. It inspired many imitators, but Samsung is finally back with a pro iteration. Most importantly, The Frame Pro now has a Neo QLED display — the same Mini LED tech that powers the company’s high-end QN900 series TVs.
The world’s biggest tech show is approaching its end, and it’s been hard. Mostly. But it’s not without its perks. Perhaps you got to sit in and experience the first CES press event inside the fully screened Sphere, or maybe you’re getting a lovely facial treatment that combines cooling plates with LED light therapy, creating photos that will haunt you for the rest of your professional career? Or perhaps you’re fleeing the violence and… fungi of The Last of Us universe in an immersive experience. (Work hard, play harder.)
It’s not just upgraded laptops and TVs — even if plenty of those have broken cover. And stay tuned: We’re selecting our nominees for the Best of CES — what is your pick? (And why isn’t it this solar beach umbrella?)
This week, Delta was the first company to host a CES press conference, or as the emcee called it, “a show,” at the Sphere in Las Vegas. You’ve likely heard about the high-tech venue, which usually hosts immersive concerts rather than trade show events. The “multi-sensory experience” has interior and exterior surfaces draped in LED displays and offering 4D effects like wind and smells. And Delta put all of those to use. Apple, Google, Sony and the rest of you, it’s time to up your game.
While a lot of the most significant announcements at CES aren’t going to land until later in 2025, there are a few cool things you can already order. Like Anker’s rebalanced four-port charger, which can output 140W and has its ports on the top/bottom, making it less likely to fall out of your power outlet. Segway’s first e-bikes are also available to pre-order if you’re feeling spendier, although specific pricing remains a mystery.
Astrohaus has been making its “distraction-free writing tools” under the Freewrite name for about a decade. Until now, they were standalone single-purpose devices simply for drafting text, but the Freewrite Wordrunner is a keyboard designed specifically with writers in mind. The function row has been replaced by a custom set of keys, which includes find and replace, undo and redo, paragraph up and down as well as back, forward and reload keys. The device will launch with early bird pricing on Kickstarter in February, but we don’t know the price yet.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced yesterday that the company is swinging away from its efforts to corral its content. Meta is suspending its fact-checking program to move to an X-style Community Notes model on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. We go into detail on the changes Meta promised, but is the company attempting to court the new Trump presidency?
Well, alongside donating to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, replacing policy chief Nick Clegg with a former George W. Bush aide and even adding Trump’s buddy (and UFC CEO) Dana White to its board… yeah. Probably.
Meta blocked Trump from using his accounts on its platforms for years after he stoked the flames of the attempted coup of January 6, 2021. At the time, Zuckerberg said, “His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world.”
But who cares about that when you could get some sweet favor with the incoming administration? Zuckerberg, who revealed the change on Fox News, said Trump’s election win is part of the reasoning behind Meta’s policy shift, calling it “a cultural tipping point” on free speech. He said the company will work with Trump to push back against other governments, including China.
He added, “Europe has an ever-increasing number of laws institutionalizing censorship and making it difficult to build anything innovative there.” It’s not innovative to copyeverything rival social networks do, Mark. Also, pay your fines, Mark.
Alongside Zuckerberg’s video, Meta had a blog post — “More Speech and Fewer Mistakes” — detailing incoming changes and policy shifts — or more lies and fewer consequences.
Google is integrating Gemini capabilities into its smart home platform via devices, like the Nest Audio, Nest Hub and Nest Cameras, and at CES we finally got to see them in action. The main takeaway is that conversations with Google Assistant will feel more natural. Possibly the most impressive trick we saw was the case of the missing cookies. The rep asked the Nest Hub what happened to the cookies on the counter, and it pulled footage from a connected Nest Cam, showing a dog walking into a kitchen, swiping a cookie and scampering off. Cheeky. These Gemini-improved smarts will reach Nest Aware subscribers in a public preview later this year. Subscribers? Cheeky.
Following Anker’s thrilling solar beach umbrella, we’re moving onto accessories. EcoFlow’s Solar hat is a floppy number able to charge two devices at a time. EcoFlow says it’ll output a maximum of 5V / 2.4A, so you can expect it to keep your phone or tablet topped up, if not power anything more substantial. Fashion victims can rejoice: It’s already on sale for $129. The Solar hat also marks the start of my favorite part of CES coverage: compromising pictures of our editors looking goofy in tech. Wait until you see Cherlynn Low tomorrow.
I don’t know why this is the year everyone’s going hard on truly innovating with robot vacuums, but here we are. Dreame’s new model doesn’t have an arm, but it can climb stairs. For just $1,699.
There’s also a Windows 11 version that will arrive earlier.
Ready to supplant the beefy Legion Go, Lenovo is announcing a slightly more portable version called the Legion Go S, supporting two OSes: Windows 11 and SteamOS. The specs on both are nearly identical, with either an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go chip or the Z1 Extreme APU Lenovo used on the previous model, up to 32GB of RAM, 1TB SSD and a 55.5Wh battery. Compared to the original Legion Go, the S features a smaller but still large 8-inch 120 Hz OLED display (down from 8.8 inches) with a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution and VRR instead of 2,560 x 1,600 144Hz panel like on the original. That should translate to a better battery life, but we’ll have to see when we eventually get one to test.
ARCHIVO - Mark Zuckerberg habla sobre las gafas Orion AR en la conferencia de Meta Connect el 25 de septiembre de 2024, en Menlo Park, California. (AP Foto/Godofredo A. Vásquez, Archivo)
Handheld gaming PCs are here to stay, and as the entire category grows and matures, things are getting bigger. Even bigger. Packing detachable controllers and a built-in kickstand, Acer’s Blaze 11 shares several similarities with Lenovo’s Legion Go handheld.
However, (the clue is in the name) the Blaze 11 has a huge 11-inch 2,560 x 1,600 IPS display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness. The effect of that huge screen is akin to “holding a steering wheel with a tablet-sized screen slammed in the middle,” according to our own Sam Rutherford. It’ll be powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS chip and Radeon 780M graphics, 16GB of RAM and up to 2TB of SSD storage.
As predicted, CES threw up a lot of PC upgrades and accompanying laptops. Alienware, however, is bringing back an old favorite: its Area-51 desktops. The new Area-51 PC has a full-sized 80L tower with headroom for over 600W of dedicated graphics power and 280W for processing. It supports the latest NVIDIA graphics cards and an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K CPU. In fact, its launch configuration will cost around $4,500. (Other builds will follow, including a (unspecified) cheaper entry-level option.)
The company says a new airflow system moves 25 percent more air, runs 13 percent cooler and is 45 percent quieter than the two previous Alienware Aurora desktops. That cooling effect, the company says, leads to 50 percent more processing power.
And! A Ghost of Tsushima anime is also in development.
Sony’s CES presentation yesterday was heavy on entertainment announcements — especially concerning its PlayStation hits. Columbia Pictures is in the early stages of developing a movie based on the post-apocalyptic PlayStation game Horizon Zero Dawn, whileNeil Druckmann from Naughty Dog popped out to announce season two of The Last of Us would hit HBO in April. You can also expect an anime based on Ghost of Tsushima Legends, the coop multiplayer game linked to the original. Something to keep wannabe ninjas and samurai entertained till the sequel lands?
Two versions of the car will be available starting at $89,900.
Through Sony Honda Mobility, you can reserve a vehicle now for $200. The car that was once the Vision-S and Vision-S 02 will actually be a thing you can buy. Now known as Afeela 1, the EV has continued to evolve in the past few years, adding an in-vehicle assistant and updated interior design. More on that later this week!
The Anker Solix Solar Beach Umbrella also appeared at CES 2025, a flexible, freestanding umbrella that can also charge your phone or power the company’s EverFrost 2 cooler — convenient. Like a normal umbrella, the Solix Solar Beach Umbrella is portable and collapsible, but Anker says it’s using perovskite solar cells in its panels to offer “30 percent better performance” than traditional crystalline silicon cells, which translates to a solar-rated power of up to 80W.
At CES 2025 in Las Vegas, which kicks off this week, Roborock, a Chinese manufacturer of robot vacuums and other household cleaning appliances, has unveiled a new robotic vacuum model with a foldable robotic arm. It had already piqued my curiosity, but now I really want one.
The OmniGrip arm has five-axis movement and can lift objects under 300 grams, like socks and dog toys. It marks objects it can lift while cleaning the floor and then circles back to pick them up when it’s done. It even cleans the areas under the objects on its second pass — that’s attention to detail! The Saros 270 will go on sale later this year, but the price is TBA.
The previews are done and CES 2025 is full steam ahead. The Engadget team is in Las Vegas, reporting on all the biggest tech launches. And all the ridiculousness. We’re running a dedicated live blog with all the news from Vegas — follow along here.
In addition to the usual tradeshow floor chaos, there will be keynotes by NVIDIA’s founder and CEO Jensen Huang, Delta CEO Ed Bastian and more. We’ve also seen Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X (Twitter), will be interviewed by journalist Catherine Herridge at a keynote on January 7. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel will speak about the “future goals of the platform” on January 8. Those last two might be the most interesting.
Meta has killed most of its AI-generated profiles from Facebook and Instagram, the company confirmed, after the AI characters prompted widespread outrage and ridicule from users on social media. AI managed by Meta launched in September 2023, rolling out alongside the company’s celebrity-branded AI chatbots (also discontinued). Meta has updated none of these profiles for several months, and the pages seem to have been largely unnoticed until this week. On Instagram, their profiles also featured AI-generated posts that, as 404 Media noted, looked a lot like the AI slop that’s filling the corners of the internet.
