N e w s C e n t r a l

YouTube Premium adds 256kbps audio 'experiment' for music videos

<a href="https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/youtube-is-testing-a-new-version-of-its-premium-lite-subscription-220050877.html">YouTube</a> is rolling out new perks for paying users, starting with the ability to switch on more than one experiment. If you're paying for a Premium subscription, you can test out the video streaming service's experimental features by going to <a href="http://youtube.com/new">youtube.com/new</a>. It was only previously possible to try one experiment at a time, but now you can activate multiple options so you can try out a few at once. YouTube even added new features you can test out now that you can activate more than one, including the ability to play music videos with your audio set to 256kbps. Previously, you could only listen to 256kbps audio on <a href="https://www.engadget.com/you-can-now-hum-to-find-a-song-on-youtube-music-for-android-190037510.html">YouTube Music</a>.  Another new test feature is Picture-in-Picture for YouTube Shorts on iOS, so you can watch short-form videos while you have other apps open. You can also activate Smart Downloads on iOS if you want YouTube to automatically save recommended Shorts on your phone to view offline. Another thing YouTube is testing is "Jump ahead" for web viewing, which lets you skip ahead to specific parts of a video. It used to be exclusively available on YouTube apps. Finally, you'll soon be able to play videos even faster on mobile, with expanded playback options of up to 4x the speed.  <div id="672848ee802e482b960079c969f0b53f"><div><div style="width: 100%; height: 0;"></div></div></div> If you're in the US, take note that Google is rolling out a bundle with YouTube Premium and 2 TB of cloud storage with Google One, which will cost you $21.98 a month. That's slightly less than the typical price of $24 a month together ($10 for Google One and $14 for the YouTube Premium individual plan). <div id="98926c39dee141e69fb95703c54dbc90"><div style="width: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"></div></div> This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/youtube-premium-adds-256kbps-audio-experiment-for-music-videos-160043945.html?src=rss

Source: www.engadget.com

Reception: Positive

Can our climate be saved by vacuuming carbon out of the skies?

Imagine: A switch is flicked and, in a heartbeat, every process spewing deadly pollution into the heavens is replaced with something clean and sustainable. Sadly, even then, the Earth would still tip towards being uninhabitable thanks to all of the carbon we’ve already dumped up there. If we as a species are to survive then all of that junk needs to be pulled back to Earth, and fast. Proponents of Direct Air Capture believe it’s a vital weapon to accomplish that task; its critics say it’s so inefficient that we’d be better off trying anything else first. Direct Air Capture <figure><img alt="Image of Mission Zero's Direct Air Capture plant" src="https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-01/461a8150-d737-11ef-b7b6-d1f4a86e390c" style="height: 3648px; width: 5472px;" /><figcaption></figcaption><div class="photo-credit">Mission Zero</div></figure> Put simply, Direct Air Capture (DAC) is the practice of removing CO2 from the atmosphere by pulling air through a mechanical or chemical filter. Air is typically drawn through a DAC system via one or more fans, while filtering is done with a solid (known as a sorbent) or with a liquid (known as a solvent). Once captured, heat or electricity is applied to the filter material to remove the CO2, both to re-use the filter and get the CO2 ready to move on. It’s this last stage that’s often the most energy-intensive, and therefore costly, part of the process. Given the amount of air that will need to be cleaned (all of it) for this to work, DAC needs to be as energy efficient as possible. The most cost-effective way to do this is by capping the smokestacks of a carbon-intensive process, like a factory or fossil fuel power plant to prevent more CO2 release. But that does nothing to reduce the excess CO2 already in the atmosphere. That’s why some scientists and entrepreneurs are inclined to gamble on DAC plants in free air to scrub the heavens clean. The <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide">NOAA explains</a> that in 1960, humanity was pumping out 11 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air each year. Half a century later, and that figure now stands closer to 40 billion, which is why emissions-reduction work is so vital. But even if we did manage to reduce all of our new emissions to zero, we’d still have to address the 950 gigatons or so of CO2 lurking in the atmosphere already. At the time of writing, the CO2 in the atmosphere as recorded by the <a href="https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/">NOAA’s Global Monitoring Lab</a> at Mauna Loa is 422.38ppm. The scientific consensus is any figure over 350ppm will spell catastrophic doom for humanity and the state of the planet more generally. This June, the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2024-06-05-new-report-states-7-9-billion-tonnes-co2-must-be-sustainably-removed-year-hit">University of Oxford</a> published research saying that if we want to limit warming to just 1.5 degrees (which would be catastrophic), humanity will need to extract between seven and nine billion tons of carbon dioxide out of the air each year by 2050. The <a href="https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2023_L17_adv.pdf">COP28 declaration</a> supports <a href="https://www.engadget.com/time-to-get-miserable-about-the-cop28-declaration-174527863.html">signatory nations</a> throwing their weight behind carbon capture technologies. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/faq/faq-chapter-4/">says</a> there is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/SR15_Chapter2_Low_Res.pdf">no viable pathway</a> to averting climate change unless large volumes of CO2 are pulled from the air. This has been the status quo for a while: In 2017, a coalition of <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2017-07-19-remove-co2-atmosphere-climate-change-dollars-emissions.html">prominent scientists led by Professor Jim Hansen</a> said it was imperative that humanity began mass-removing atmospheric CO2. What to do with all the CO2 Once DAC has sucked the unwanted carbon out of the air, it needs to be put somewhere. One option, <a href="https://www.bgs.ac.uk/discovering-geology/climate-change/carbon-capture-and-storage/#:~:text=Storage%20in%20deep%20geological%20formations,injected%20directly%20into%20sedimentary%20rocks.">The British Geological Survey</a> explains, is to easily and affordably convert CO2 to its supercritical form, which behaves like a runny liquid. This liquid can then be stored underground after being injected into porous rocks, with old oil fields and coal seams appearing to be ideal places. The oil and gas industry <a href="https://www.energy.gov/fecm/enhanced-oil-recovery">actually uses this approach to boost production in existing fields</a>, as the liquid CO2 fills up the space, pushing more oil toward the extraction site. But the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) <a href="https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/9766b4da-a5e3-4d76-874d-ea286e333956/DirectAirCapture_Akeytechnologyfornetzero.pdf">briefing paper</a> on Direct Air Capture suggests more than half of all atmospheric CO2 emissions recovered will need to be sequestered. Obviously, getting more fossil fuels out of the ground to burn does not do very much for the climate, and ideally the governments of the world would just invest in effective carbon capture to prevent us from boiling to death. Fortunately for humanity’s fixation on market solutions, recycling some of the non-sequestered CO2 could become an industry unto itself. CO2 can also be turned into synthetic fuels in traditional combustion engines. Air travel is the most obvious example, especially given that the size and weight of batteries make it nearly impossible to build an electric jumbo jet. Recovered CO2 can also be used as the base for common non-fuel products including construction materials, in chemical and agricultural products, not to mention putting the fizz in our drinks. <div id="87565ab39f074a2d9dada08a3a0148f2"></div> Holocene is one of many companies looking to turn CO2 extraction into a viable, long term business by selling carbon removal credits to big businesses. Its approach is to pull air through water which has been embedded with an amnio acid that binds to CO2. The water and CO2 mix is then combined with guanidine, which turns the CO2 into a solid that can be easily filtered out, allowing the amino acid water to be reused. The solid CO2 is then heated to a low temperature, which separates the guanidine from gaseous CO2, ready for use or sequestration. Holocene believes a reusable solvent (and reusable chemical treatment) combined with the low-temperature heat makes its approach far more cost-effective than that of its rivals. Mission Zero is also looking to develop a low-cost way of procuring large quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere. It draws air into its hardware and then applies a water-based solvent. But rather than treating this mix chemically, it uses electrodialysis and an ion exchange process to purify the liquid and extract the CO2. From there, the liquid can be reused and the CO2, again, can either be buried underground or, turned into viable products. The company says that its electro-chemical process is similarly far more cost and energy-efficient than many of the other companies operating in this space. Given the commercial sensitivities involved, it’s not easy to get a real handle on how much it costs to extract CO2 from the atmosphere using DAC in open air. Depending on where you look, the figure can be as much as $600 per ton, but a more common figure is between the $300 and $400 mark. For years, the received wisdom has been that DAC needs to reach a <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.iecr.0c04839">cost of $100 per ton in order to become economically viable</a>. Earlier this year, a German climate-focused VC firm, Extantia Capital went <a href="https://medium.com/extantia-capital/will-direct-air-capture-ever-be-affordable-the-rise-of-dac-3-0-d46cb355f35c">digging into the source of that </a>$100 shibboleth and traced it back to a paper from early DAC firm <a href="https://carbonengineering.com/news-updates/climate-change-breakthrough/">Carbon Engineering in 2018</a> when it published a paper projecting its long-term cost would fall to as little as $94 per ton. Suddenly, the phrase “less than $100 per ton” became the benchmark to which all other DAC companies were held. But, as Extantia’s Torben Schreiter wrote, that figure was also pegged to 2016 dollar prices, so it hasn’t grown with inflation. In 2023, the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/08/how-to-get-direct-air-capture-under-150-per-ton-to-meet-net-zero-goals/">World Economic Forum</a> said the cost of Direct Air Capture had to fall “below $200 per ton” before it would be widely adopted. It doesn’t matter if your aims are environmental or industrial, we know the volume of CO2 that needs to be extracted from the atmosphere is significant. For that to be viable, the cost of extraction needs to fall by a significant degree. A more mature metric would be that pricing falls in line with, or below, the perpetually in-flux cost of carbon dioxide as a commodity. <figure><img alt="Image inside Holocene's Pilot Plant" src="https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-01/660964d0-d418-11ef-bc77-a0e67d285897" style="height: 552px; width: 828px;" /><figcaption></figcaption><div class="photo-credit">Holocene</div></figure> “All these DAC approaches use a bunch of energy,” said Holocene’s CEO Keeton Ross. Ross says it’s the cost of this energy that is keeping the price of Direct Air Capture higher than it needs to be. He believes heat-based systems (like Holocene's) will likely win out in the end because heat can come from any number of affordable sources. These claims of being able to cut the costs of DAC were compelling enough that in September Google invested in Holocene and pledged to buy carbon credits from it in future. Dr. Nicholas Chadwick, CEO of Mission Zero, told Engadget his company is targeting around $350 per ton by 2026, but that figure is “dependent on a specific price of electricity.” That price, he believes, is "substantially better than what’s available in the commodity market,” making it a no-brainer for industries that are reliant on CO2 to start buying from Mission Zero. Roadblocks The obvious objection to Direct Air Capture is that while there’s a lot of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it’s still a relatively small proportion of the whole. I’ve heard the process described as panning for gold in the ocean, and the energy costs alone will make it unfeasible on the scale necessary. In 2022, the <a href="https://ieefa.org/articles/carbon-capture-decarbonisation-pipe-dream">Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis</a> bluntly claimed the process “simply won’t work.” Part of the objection was that it can be (and is) used for enhanced oil recovery, but also that when DAC facilities are up and running, they’re often far less effective at capturing CO2 than initially promised. In 2023, a piece published by the <a href="https://thebulletin.org/2023/12/direct-air-capture-an-expensive-dangerous-distraction-from-real-climate-solutions/">Bulletin of Atomic Scientists</a> expressed outrage that the US Department of Energy invested $600 million in one such project. Its authors said the energy costs required to filter that much air to extract just 0.04 percent of its total are far in excess of other, already less expensive ways to reduce emissions, and that there won't be any dramatic improvement in the physics and chemistry that will make Direct Air Capture dramatically more efficient. They said, bluntly, "It’s just dumb to build today something that we won’t need for 50 years, if ever." Chadwick said a lot of the criticisms around DAC center on its technical feasibility, which he says is the wrong point. “There are tons of industrial processes where the thermodynamics are terrible, look at ammonia,” he said, “it took years and years to get the yields to where they are right now.” What drove those otherwise inefficient processes was the “economic imperative for it in the marketplace,” he said. “When someone proves they can do [Direct Air Capture] for $200 a ton, all of these arguments go away.” Both Chadwick and Ross spoke about the importance of scale to help accelerate the still quite nascent industry. In 2023, Carbon Engineering, 1PointFive and Occidental broke ground on the <a href="https://carbonengineering.com/news-updates/direct-air-capture-groundbreaking/">Stratos plant</a> in Texas that, when completed, is expected to suck 500,000 tons of CO2 out of the air per year. Both are optimistic, however, that the projects that are currently under construction will help engineers solve those questions. It’s a long, long way to go before we get to the billions of tons experts believe we’ll need to be extracting to have a hope of survival.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/can-our-climate-be-saved-by-vacuuming-carbon-out-of-the-skies-145944818.html?src=rss

Source: www.engadget.com

Reception: Positive

Google is investing another billion dollars in Anthropic

Google has decided to invest another billion into Anthropic, four sources told the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ed631513-dd37-44a3-a536-b2002f5727cc"><ins>Financial Times</ins></a>, bringing its total sunk cost to more than three billion dollars. Both companies have declined to comment. Google uses Anthropic’s Claude AI models on <a class="rapid-with-clickid" href="https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?siteId=us-engadget&pageId=1p-autolink&contentUuid=9dfccf43-ef9d-41b4-a173-6c5f6b31d5e1&featureId=text-link&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL2Nsb3VkLmdvb2dsZS5jb20vdmVydGV4LWFpL2dlbmVyYXRpdmUtYWkvZG9jcy9wYXJ0bmVyLW1vZGVscy91c2UtY2xhdWRlIiwiY29udGVudFV1aWQiOiI5ZGZjY2Y0My1lZjlkLTQxYjQtYTE3My02YzVmNmIzMWQ1ZTEiLCJvcmlnaW5hbFVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vY2xvdWQuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS92ZXJ0ZXgtYWkvZ2VuZXJhdGl2ZS1haS9kb2NzL3BhcnRuZXItbW9kZWxzL3VzZS1jbGF1ZGUifQ&signature=AQAAAQdP0fps9I3JQvXbc4xJ44fEokzVoOQ2rdSsmmEuqVFo&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fcloud.google.com%2Fvertex-ai%2Fgenerative-ai%2Fdocs%2Fpartner-models%2Fuse-claude"><ins>Vertex AI</ins></a>, an AI-powered development platform. Amazon has also <a href="https://www.engadget.com/amazons-invests-4-billion-in-anthropic-openai-rival-095321755.html"><ins>invested four billion</ins></a> into Anthropic to integrate its Claude AI models into the next generation of Alexa speakers. Other sources say Anthropic is also <a class="rapid-with-clickid" href="https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=2f007401-3eaa-4237-b69b-54ccbe125502&siteId=us-engadget&pageId=1p-autolink&contentUuid=9dfccf43-ef9d-41b4-a173-6c5f6b31d5e1&featureId=text-link&merchantName=The+Wall+Street+Journal&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy53c2ouY29tL3RlY2gvYWkvYWktc3RhcnR1cC1hbnRocm9waWMtcmFpc2luZy1mdW5kaW5nLXZhbHVpbmctaXQtYXQtNjAtYmlsbGlvbi0xOWQwNjA1YSIsImNvbnRlbnRVdWlkIjoiOWRmY2NmNDMtZWY5ZC00MWI0LWExNzMtNmM1ZjZiMzFkNWUxIiwib3JpZ2luYWxVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy53c2ouY29tL3RlY2gvYWkvYWktc3RhcnR1cC1hbnRocm9waWMtcmFpc2luZy1mdW5kaW5nLXZhbHVpbmctaXQtYXQtNjAtYmlsbGlvbi0xOWQwNjA1YSJ9&signature=AQAAATt6RIHC0yGKTYrkmqAchgydKi7hqhesSQ_DLz70Vxg6&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Ftech%2Fai%2Fai-startup-anthropic-raising-funding-valuing-it-at-60-billion-19d0605a"><ins>in talks</ins></a> with Lightspeed Venture Partners to raise another two billion. This investment would make Anthropic worth 60 billion. Even so, investors don’t believe that Anthropic or its rivals will be profitable soon due to the extreme costs of developing AI models. Google <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/02/08/1068068/chatgpt-is-everywhere-heres-where-it-came-from/"><ins>invented</ins></a> transformers, a type of neural network that became a backbone technology for AI models, back in 2017. Despite some success with <a href="https://ai.google/get-started/our-models/"><ins>models</ins></a> like Gemini, Imagen, Chirp, Veo and more, Google doesn’t have as significant a foothold in the generative AI market. Having so many big tech companies backing AI start-ups alarmed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which <a href="https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-uks-antitrust-regulator-will-formally-investigate-alphabets-23-billion-anthropic-investment-171043846.html"><ins>investigated</ins></a> Google parent Alphabet’s first $2.3 billion investment in Anthropic. However, as the Financial Times notes, FTC commissioner Lina Khan, who had a reputation as an aggressive antitrust enforcer, has since stepped down from her post at the head of the agency as the Trump regime took power, which could mean similar deals might not receive the same scrutiny in the future.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-is-investing-another-billion-dollars-in-anthropic-145548826.html?src=rss

Source: www.engadget.com

Reception: Positive

What we expect at the Samsung Galaxy S25 Unpacked 2025 event

Get ready for new Samsung Galaxy phones. That's the safe bet for the headliner today at the company's Galaxy Unpacked event which kicks off today at 1PM ET in San Jose, CA. Engadget will offer you two ways to follow the launch in real-time: our <a href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-unpacked-how-to-watch-the-galaxy-s25-event-on-wednesday-211629772.html">Galaxy S25 livestream</a> (live video of the event) and our <a href="https://www.engadget.com/samsung-unpacked-2025-live-updates-on-the-galaxy-25-launch-galaxy-ai-and-more-110043358.html">Galaxy Unpacked liveblog</a> (commentary from our resident phone experts). While the event is imminent, this story collects the full list of leaks, rumors and assumptions as to what we can reasonably expect from the presumed Galaxy S25 phones.  Before we detail everything we know, take note: If you're enough of a Samsung fan to preorder sight unseen, it's your last chance to do so. Reserving "the next evolution of Galaxy AI" at <a class="rapid-with-clickid" href="https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=f85e63cd-e13c-4f9d-991c-9fbaadede3ac&siteId=us-engadget&pageId=1p-autolink&contentUuid=957d0177-c4f2-48bf-ae74-643ab58d6b18&featureId=text-link&merchantName=Samsung+Electronics&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5zYW1zdW5nLmNvbS91cy9zbWFydHBob25lcy90aGUtbmV4dC1nYWxheHkvcmVzZXJ2ZS8iLCJjb250ZW50VXVpZCI6Ijk1N2QwMTc3LWM0ZjItNDhiZi1hZTc0LTY0M2FiNThkNmIxOCIsIm9yaWdpbmFsVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Ftc3VuZy5jb20vdXMvc21hcnRwaG9uZXMvdGhlLW5leHQtZ2FsYXh5L3Jlc2VydmUvIn0&signature=AQAAAcatwWcrx3Ot4Vt_TQ7Kh_9UX6O1UICwhV4fDs3QMqcj&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.samsung.com%2Fus%2Fsmartphones%2Fthe-next-galaxy%2Freserve%2F">Samsung.com</a> will get you a $50 credit and up to $1,250 in additional savings (both of which must be applied to other Samsung products, alas). The reservation window ends exactly as the event begins.  <h2 id="jump-link-galaxy-s25-s25-and-s25-ultra">Galaxy S25, S25+ and S25 Ultra</h2> <figure><img alt="Photo of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra phone sitting in the snow." src="https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-01/3a872e40-cf91-11ef-bb76-4eb046e15fb4" style="height: 576px; width: 960px;" /><figcaption>Galaxy S24 Ultra</figcaption><div class="photo-credit">Sam Rutherford for Engadget</div></figure> Much like Apple reveals its latest iPhones at <a href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/everything-apple-revealed-at-the-iphone-16-launch-event-apple-watch-series-10-airpods-4-ios-18-and-more-170346723.html">its first fall event</a>, Samsung typically launches its mainline Galaxy S flagships at its <a href="https://www.engadget.com/watch-the-samsung-galaxy-unpacked-2024-event-in-under-10-minutes-110059576.html">first Unpacked shindig of the year</a>. You can bet the farm that there will be Galaxy S25 phones at this event. And given Samsung’s recent trend of launching three tiers of flagships — <a href="https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-s23-plus-ultra-comparison-vs-iphone-pixel-181508859.html">standard, Plus and Ultra</a> — you can bet we’ll see that again. (Samsung could technically change the brand names, but the three-layered lineup is practically guaranteed.) There’s even an <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=Y&application_id=IQBvviGL96oT%2BKdtIlYPyQ%3D%3D&fcc_id=A3LSMS938U">FCC certification</a> (first <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.91mobiles.com/hub/samsung-galaxy-s25-series-fcc-certification/">spotted</a> by 91Mobiles) to dispel any doubts. The degree of certainty falls sharply once we dig into the phones’ features. A subtle redesign with rounded corners, flatter edges and thinner bezels appears likely based on a leaked <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/samsunggalaxy/comments/1gzlim3/s24_ultra_definitely/">video</a> posted to Reddit and <a href="https://x.com/Jukanlosreve/status/1875416338539409520">images</a> from reputable tipster Ice Universe. But this isn’t expected to be the generation where Samsung’s <a href="https://www.engadget.com/samsung-appoints-hubert-h-lee-design-chief-221014832.html">hiring of a former Mercedes-Benz designer</a> will lead to drastic aesthetic changes. Android Headlines also <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.androidheadlines.com/samsung-galaxy-s25-series-design">posted plenty of pictures</a> of the purported Galaxy S25, S25+ and S25 Ultra that confirm the relatively minor redesign. The site also claims the screen size for the Galaxy S25 and S25+ are unchanged from last year at 6.2 and 6.7 inches, respectively. The Ultra gets an ever-so-slightly bigger display at 6.9 inches. <figure><img alt="Promo image breaking down the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite’s features." src="https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-01/cfa52950-cf91-11ef-b8f4-d94b895f753a" style="height: 458px; width: 814px;" /><figcaption></figcaption><div class="photo-credit">Qualcomm</div></figure> At least in the US, the phone is practically guaranteed to use <a href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/qualcomms-snapdragon-8-elite-is-its-next-premium-mobile-chip-173525493.html">Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite</a> processor, which the chip-maker revealed in October. (Qualcomm even <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2024/10/qualcomm-unveils-snapdragon-8-elite-with-the-world-s-fastest-mob">listed</a> Samsung among the companies launching devices with that processor “in the coming weeks.”) Like just about every flagship processor these days, the Snapdragon 8 Elite is built for on-device generative AI, which aligns with <a href="https://www.engadget.com/samsungs-galaxy-s24-lineup-puts-generative-ai-front-and-center-180034530.html">Samsung’s Galaxy AI blitz</a> in recent models. We don’t know whether the company will split its S25 processors between Snapdragon (US and other markets) and Exynos (everywhere else), but Ice Universe has <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://x.com/UniverseIce/status/1856677902869516626">claimed</a> it will be all Snapdragon this generation. That would be a good thing, given what’s often a glaring performance and battery life disparity favoring Qualcomm. There would be precedence, too: although the vast majority of Galaxy S generations have had different processors regionally, the S23 had the same "Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy" chip globally. Samsung is rumored to stick with last-generation OLED displays (made with M13 organic materials) instead of the brighter and more efficient M14 OLED panels used in the <a href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/iphone-16-pro-and-pro-max-review-apple-focuses-on-cameras-and-customization-120052459.html">iPhone 16 Pro</a> and <a href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/pixel-9-pro-and-pixel-9-pro-xl-review-superb-cameras-with-a-side-of-gemini-ai-170055834.html">Google Pixel 9</a>. Logic suggests Samsung would want its best homemade screen in its best phones — especially when its competitors are already using it. But it could stick with the cheaper panels to keep the bill of materials down. Perhaps it calculated that better displays don’t make for better generative AI (the obsession of nearly every tech company right now), while the latest Qualcomm chip does. Speaking of AI, expect Samsung to devote a perhaps agonizingly long portion of the event to generative AI features. The hit-or-miss DigiTimes <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20241225PD216/samsung-galaxy-ar-smart-glasses-2025.html">reported</a> last month that the Galaxy S25 series will include “an AI Agent that provides personalized clothing suggestions and transport information.” What that would look like in practice is anyone’s guess, but I’m not sure I want to know. <figure><img alt="Samsung Executive Vice President Sally Hyesoon Jeong onstage in front of the text " src="https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-01/1fb07e90-cf92-11ef-aefc-c9e42fcf781d" style="height: 541px; width: 960px;" /><figcaption></figcaption><div class="photo-credit">Samsung</div></figure> The phones will run <a href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/samsungs-one-ui-7-is-out-in-beta-and-its-chock-full-of-security-features-163820698.html">Samsung’s One UI 7</a> on top of Android 15. We know this because Samsung said in October that its user experience (based on Android 15) will <a href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/samsungs-one-ui-now-covers-all-of-its-consumer-devices-including-tvs-and-appliances-201850799.html">launch on the next Galaxy S flagships</a>. It’s already available in beta for <a href="https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-s24-and-s24-review-a-taste-of-generative-ai-in-everyday-use-160041639.html">Galaxy S24 phones</a>. Samsung has said that One UI 7 will be its "first integrated AI platform." It added that Galaxy phones "will become true AI companions" that are able to understand natural language derived from speech, images and text. And to drive things home, <a href="https://news.samsung.com/global/one-ui-7-beta-earns-rave-reviews-from-tech-enthusiasts">Samsung reaffirmed</a> that the "One UI 7 will be officially released with the upcoming Galaxy S series devices." On the camera front, Ice Universe <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://x.com/UniverseIce/status/1833100800941519242">claims</a> (via <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.androidheadlines.com/2024/12/galaxy-s25-ultras-camera-sensors.html">Android Headlines</a>) it’s “confirmed” that only the ultra-wide sensor will see an upgrade in the Galaxy S25 Ultra — to 50MP from 12MP in last year’s model. The leaker says the S25 Ultra will stick with a 200MP main sensor, 10MP 3x zoom and 50MP 5x zoom. <figure><img alt="Photo of the back of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Closeup of the camera lenses." src="https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-01/47222690-cf92-11ef-b82b-429bae63d216" style="height: 576px; width: 960px;" /><figcaption>Galaxy S24 Ultra</figcaption><div class="photo-credit">Sam Rutherford for Engadget</div></figure> Samsung will <a href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-will-finally-support-qi2-wireless-charging-in-2025-190430230.html">add the Qi2 wireless charging standard</a> to its new flagships — and that comes straight from the horse’s (aka, the Wireless Power Consortium’s) mouth. However, leaker chunvn8888 (aka “yawn”) <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://x.com/chunvn8888/status/1868996832376099265">says</a> Samsung’s phones won’t have built-in magnets for Qi2’s native <a href="https://www.engadget.com/qi-2-charging-borrowed-from-apple-is-coming-to-android-phones-in-2023-114738401.html">MagSafe in everything but name</a> charging. Given that's the main benefit of Qi2, this would be disappointing news. Instead, the leaker says Samsung will sell a first-party case with a Qi2 magnetic ring to enable that. (Gotta move those accessories, baby!) Is it really Qi2 if you need a case?  Rumors have <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.etnews.com/20241031000259">buzzed</a> about an alleged Galaxy S25 Slim with a — you guessed it — slimmer design joining the trio at some point this year. That’s something Apple is <a href="https://www.engadget.com/apple-is-said-to-be-working-on-a-significantly-thinner-iphone-180823565.html">also rumored to be working on</a>. <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://x.com/OnLeaks/status/1879816518646874517">Leakers</a> have posted numerous renders this past week comparing how the different size options may compare to each other. A <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://x.com/UniverseIce/status/1879717013666644394">post</a> from Ice Universe puts the S25 Slim at 6.4mm. However, given the FCC certifications only appear to cover the familiar trio of flagships, that phone (if it’s in the pipeline at all) may not arrive until later in the year. <h2 id="jump-link-galaxy-ring-2-samsung-xr-and-ar-glasses">Galaxy Ring 2, Samsung XR and AR glasses</h2> <figure><img alt="A hand wearing the Samsung Galaxy Ring." src="https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-01/75af91f0-cf92-11ef-bfec-dcfc2790b0cc" style="height: 540px; width: 960px;" /><figcaption>Galaxy Ring</figcaption><div class="photo-credit">Sam Rutherford for Engadget</div></figure> DigiTimes <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20241225PD216/samsung-galaxy-ar-smart-glasses-2025.html">reported</a> in December that Samsung would show off (or maybe just tease) the Galaxy Ring 2 and augmented reality (AR) glasses during its January Unpacked event. The Taiwanese publication says the Galaxy Ring 2 will add two more sizes to the nine from <a href="https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-ring-review-a-bit-basic-a-bit-pricey-130034811.html">the original model</a>, which only launched in July. The second-gen wearable health tracker is said to add new AI features (surprise!) and updated sensors for more accurate measurements. The Galaxy Ring 2 is also rumored to last longer than the current model’s maximum of seven days. <figure><img alt="A tech bro wearing a prototype of Android XR glasses in a modern posh office." src="https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-01/1b52ad40-cf93-11ef-bb7f-cf64e0147341" style="height: 1096px; width: 1582px;" /><figcaption></figcaption><div class="photo-credit">Google</div></figure> DigiTimes also claims Samsung’s AR glasses — which the company has <a href="https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/google-lays-out-its-vision-for-an-android-xr-ecosystem-160001103.html">confirmed it’s working on</a> — will look like regular prescription glasses and weigh around 50g. It says the futuristic glasses would use <a href="https://www.engadget.com/ai/gemini-20-is-googles-most-capable-ai-model-yet-and-available-to-preview-today-170329180.html">Google’s Gemini AI</a>, which aligns with what we already know about Samsung’s <a href="https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/google-lays-out-its-vision-for-an-android-xr-ecosystem-160001103.html">partnership with Google and Qualcomm</a> on Android XR. But given the lack of supply chain rumors surrounding the glasses, it’s likely that any mention at the event would amount to little more than a teaser, a la its grand reveal of... <a href="https://www.engadget.com/samsung-announces-a-render-of-its-new-fitness-device-the-galaxy-ring-192012919.html">a stinkin’ render for the first Galaxy Ring</a> at Unpacked 2024. We also know Samsung is co-developing an Android XR (extended reality) headset — codenamed Project Moohan — alongside Google and Qualcomm. The “lightweight” and “ergonomically designed” headset will have a “state-of-the-art display,” passthrough video and natural multi-modal input. Google’s renderings show a wearable reminiscent of <a href="https://www.engadget.com/apple-vision-pro-two-months-later-a-telepresence-dream-181550906.html">Apple’s $3,500 Vision Pro</a>. <figure><img alt="Render of an Android XR headset." src="https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-01/e1911010-cf92-11ef-96b9-15a65dfcaa04" style="height: 1080px; width: 1920px;" /><figcaption>Project Moohan</figcaption><div class="photo-credit">Google / Samsung</div></figure> Since Google only recently began offering a developer kit and API for the platform, any glimpse of it at Unpacked wouldn’t likely include an imminent release or deep dive into its hardware. Engadget will have full coverage of Samsung’s first Unpacked event of 2025. More to come on January 22! Update, January 13 2025, 12:58PM ET: This story has been updated with purported images and more details on the Galaxy S25, S25+ and S25 Ultra from Android Headlines. Update, January 14 2025, 3:20PM ET: This story has been updated with some more information about One UI 7. Update, January 17 2025, 12:45PM ET: This story has been updated with more details on the Galaxy S25's processor and the history of processors in the Galaxy S series. Update, January 19, 2025, 12:15PM ET: This story has been updated with more information about the rumored Galaxy S25 Slim.  Update, January 20, 2025, 3:35PM ET: This story has been updated to include Samsung's recent affirmation that the One UI 7 interface will be present on new Galaxy devices.  Update, January 21, 2025, 2:29PM ET: This story has been updated to include reservation details for the new (as yet unannounced) Samsung products.  Update, January 22, 2025, 9:45AM ET: This story has been updated to add the link to our liveblog.  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/what-we-expect-at-the-samsung-galaxy-s25-unpacked-2025-event-202024699.html?src=rss

Source: www.engadget.com

Reception: Positive

Watch the Samsung Galaxy S25 Unpacked 2025 event here

The wait is over: The first<a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/this-years-first-samsung-unpacked-2025-event-will-be-on-january-22-224535221.html"> Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event</a> of the year kicks off at 1PM ET today — and you'll be able to watch it all right here. If you've been following the long series of <a href="https://www.phonearena.com/news/Leaked-Galaxy-S25-Ultra-images-seem-to-confirm-Samsungs-self-sabotaging-move_id166774">credible leaks</a> over the past few weeks, you'll know we can expect Samsung's usual January release: An updated lineup of <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/what-to-expect-at-the-samsung-galaxy-s25-unpacked-2025-event-202024337.html">Galaxy S25 phones</a> (including Ultra, Plus and regular models).  The event begins at 1PM ET / 10AM PT in-person in San Jose and online everywhere else. If you plan on watching, you can find a stream on <a class="rapid-with-clickid" href="https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=f85e63cd-e13c-4f9d-991c-9fbaadede3ac&siteId=us-engadget&pageId=1p-autolink&contentUuid=538d96ee-567e-4312-a573-265171678aa4&featureId=text-link&merchantName=Samsung+Electronics&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5zYW1zdW5nLmNvbS91cy8iLCJjb250ZW50VXVpZCI6IjUzOGQ5NmVlLTU2N2UtNDMxMi1hNTczLTI2NTE3MTY3OGFhNCIsIm9yaWdpbmFsVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Ftc3VuZy5jb20vdXMvIn0&signature=AQAAAaE_fhKrO76EnLV0Wmdyb6DjNd-TQ9RYbzmmFOXDb-lT&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.samsung.com%2Fus%2F">Samsung.com</a>, in <a href="https://news.samsung.com/global/">Samsung's Newsroom</a>, or watch along right here in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HinL5jCy_oI">YouTube video</a> embedded below. Engadget is also liveblogging the event. <div id="b42363e2e694499187aae6e7ac992336"></div> The new phones are more or less guaranteed to use Qualcomm's <a href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/qualcomms-snapdragon-8-elite-is-its-next-premium-mobile-chip-173525493.html">Snapdragon 8 Elite chip</a>, and sport some amount of design tweaks, and new colors. And <a href="https://news.samsung.com/global/how-a-true-ai-companion-can-unleash-your-creativity">Samsung's recent blog post</a> effectively confirmed that its new One UI 7 — announced at a <a href="https://www.samsungdeveloperconference.com/">Samsung developer event in 2024</a> — will be part of today's reveal, so expect more details on how the operating system revamp will actually impact using the company's new devices. Beyond that, Galaxy AI will be featured prominently, based on <a href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/this-years-first-samsung-unpacked-2025-event-will-be-on-january-22-224535221.html">Samsung's original announcement</a> of the event. The bigger unknown is what — or if — we'll see beyond the presumed new phones. Perhaps the company could include an update on its <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-ring-review-a-bit-basic-a-bit-pricey-130034811.html">wearables</a>, or more information about Project Moohan, the headset it's developing for Google's <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/google-lays-out-its-vision-for-an-android-xr-ecosystem-160001103.html">Android XR platform</a>. Maybe the <a href="https://www.engadget.com/home/the-cute-samsung-ballie-home-robot-will-actually-go-on-sale-this-year-223528677.html">Ballie robot</a> will make a cameo. Stay tuned here for complete coverage. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/watch-the-samsung-galaxy-s25-unpacked-2025-event-here-211629652.html?src=rss

Source: www.engadget.com

Reception: Positive

Google reportedly made sure Israel's military had access to its AI tools

Google has been a much larger facilitator of tools to Israel during its war with Hamas than previously disclosed. A new <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/01/21/google-ai-israel-war-hamas-attack-gaza/">report from The Washington Post</a> found that Google employees have repeatedly worked with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel’s Defense Ministry (IDM) to expand the government's access to AI tools. In 2021, Google entered into a $1.2 billion cloud computing contract with the Israeli government, titled <a href="https://www.engadget.com/ai/deepmind-workers-urge-google-to-drop-military-contracts-190544509.html">Nimbus</a>, alongside Amazon. Internal documents show that Google employees repeatedly requested greater access to the company's AI technology on behalf of Israel — starting shortly after the October 7 attacks. An employee in Google's cloud division reportedly escalated appeals from the IDM for greater access to <a href="https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-generative-ai-video-model-is-available-in-private-preview-160055983.html">Vertex</a>. In one document, an employee allegedly warned the IDM could turn to Amazon instead, losing Google business. A November document then allegedly shows the employee thanking their co-worker for assisting with the request.  Additional documents from 2024 reportedly show further requests which  continued to as recently as November 2024, with an employee requesting the IDF receive access to <a href="https://www.engadget.com/home/gemini-ai-is-coming-to-google-tv-devices-in-2025-making-them-easier-to-talk-to-160003805.html">Gemini AI technology</a> in order to develop its own AI assistant. The request was for improved processing of audio and documents, but its unclear what earlier access pushes were used for in regards to military operations.  The news sheds a fresh light on employees' protests over Google's cloud computing contract with Israel's government. Google employees have spoken out against the company's dealings with Israel since the contract began. However, the war brought renewed calls from its employees for Google to drop out of Nimbus. Instead, Google has <a href="https://www.engadget.com/google-fired-28-workers-who-protested-israeli-government-cloud-contract-084444878.html">fired over 50 employees</a> for <a href="https://www.engadget.com/google-fires-engineer-who-protested-at-a-company-sponsored-israeli-tech-conference-090430890.html">protesting the contract due</a> to what it called "disruptive behavior." In mid-2024, over 100 Google employees — made up of managers and members of its human rights group — reportedly emailed the company to review the Nimbus contract, but Google ignored it. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-reportedly-made-sure-israels-military-had-access-to-its-ai-tools-142130574.html?src=rss

Source: www.engadget.com

Reception: Positive

Many Akai devices will soon support Native Instruments sound packs

Akai and Native Instruments are sort of like the Nintendo and Sega of music production. These long-time rivals offer many similar products, but some musicians get drawn to Akai’s MPC workflow while others choose NI’s Maschine platform. Soon, folks may not have to choose at all. These two icons of the space are teaming up. The MPC platform will soon be home to Native Instruments sound packs. This means that if you currently use an MPC Live II or a Key 61, or any other number of <a href="https://www.engadget.com/akai-adds-a-37-key-standalone-workstation-to-its-mpc-lineup-191246047.html">standalone music-making machines</a> by Akai, you’ll be able to pull up legit Native Instruments sounds for your tracks. This is a truly big deal. The MPC workflow is iconic and many genres of music wouldn’t be the same without it. At the same time, NI is known for its top-tier instruments and sounds. <div id="53cc971d425c4922b28a3b0e68eaf2d4"></div> “This collaboration bridges two iconic brands to provide creators with a fully integrated ecosystem,” said Simon Cross, CPO of Native Instruments. “By combining Akai’s legendary hardware with our expansive sound libraries and tools, we’re pushing the boundaries of music creation.” We spoke to legendary instrument designer Roger Linn, who originally invented the MPC platform all the way back in 1988, about this partnership. He’s no longer with Akai in an official capacity but said that putting NI instruments on Akai products will "really benefit both companies." He also said that the move perfectly positions MPC devices "to be the next standard musical instrument like the guitar or piano."  Linn, who also invented modern digital music-making concepts like swing and quantization, heaped praise on newer MPC devices, as the platform has come a long way since the MPC60 in 1988. He says that products like the Live II are "still warm and fuzzy for the people who are familiar with the MPC, while moving toward a DAW (digital audio workstation)." The Native Instruments integration promises to make these products even warmer and fuzzier.  <div id="9cc826777a3645d28a2325a422c4559c"></div> The only caveat? MPC devices can only access Play Series instruments and official Expansions, which are genre-specific sound packs. You won’t be able to pull up, say, the full Massive X synthesizer or Kontakt. All told, there are five instruments that will be available in the middle of February, along with five Expansions. These have all been “expertly tailored for the MPC platform.” More releases are likely to follow, assuming positive user feedback.  We asked Native Instruments CPO Simon Cross if there are plans for compatibility in the other direction. Will the Native Instruments Maschine+ standalone groovebox be able to pull up Akai plugins and sound packs? There are no current plans, which is something of a bummer. It’s a bit understandable, given that the company only has <a href="https://www.engadget.com/maschine-plus-native-instruments-virtual-instruments-groovebox-155725975.html">one standalone device</a>, but still. <figure><img alt="A Midi controller." src="https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-01/3e535430-d762-11ef-abff-3a554012b49f" style="height: 1140px; width: 1718px;" /><figcaption></figcaption><div class="photo-credit">Akai</div></figure> Finally, the partnership extends to <a href="https://www.engadget.com/akai-mpk-mini-plus-midi-controller-141814734.html">MPK controllers</a>. Akai’s line of MIDI controllers will soon integrate with Native Instruments’ Native Kontrol Standard (NKS). This means that Akai controllers will be able to “seamlessly control all NKS-compatible plugins.” The integration allows for pre-mapped controls and “intuitive navigation” directly from MPK devices. The software update drops at end of February.  This expands controller compatibility to over 1,800 new instruments and plugins. The NKS standard is also coming to third-party controllers in the near future from companies like M-Audio, Novation and Korg, among others.  To celebrate the burgeoning partnership, all current MPK Series owners will receive a free copy of Komplete 15 Select. This is a curated bundle of Native Instruments instruments and effects. Again, this is free for all MPK Series owners, and not just new purchasers.  <div id="28bcecc1fb3642a5bc1820381d45562b"></div> As for Linn, his company currently manufactures the <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2010-05-16-linnstrument-multitouch-music-maker-gets-demoed-on-video-grasps.html">ultra-expressive MIDI controller LinnStrument</a>. The device tracks finger movements in five ways, to bring acoustic-like expressiveness to digital instruments. He also (relatively) recently co-designed one of my all-time favorite drum machines, <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/video/2011-01-14-synth-pioneer-roger-linn-shows-us-his-new-analog-drum-machine-t.html">the Tempest</a>, along with MIDI and synthesizer luminary Dave Smith, who passed away in 2022. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/many-akai-devices-will-soon-support-native-instruments-sound-packs-140059822.html?src=rss

Source: www.engadget.com

Reception: Positive

Plex update adds public reviews and profiles

Plex is kicking off the year with some updates that could make the streaming platform a more social place. Viewers will be able to leave public reviews on titles and to comment on other users' assessments. "To us, discovery isn’t just about finding what to watch, but also about finding more friends and fans like you in the process," the company said in a <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.plex.tv/blog/new-year-same-mission/__;!!Op6eflyXZCqGR5I!FINsEpHNAxe9SIObHJkcujeCnIC9TG54RWJPT04EjVKbBxoyuM7EFMpg2BU9mu8jRkKMRA-2WU-A$">blog post</a> announcing the new features. Public reviews expand on the social features Plex <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/plex-is-adding-reviews-for-tv-shows-and-movies-173622067.html">introduced</a> in October. The expanded reviews are paired with some new privacy options. Plex users can make their profiles visible to others in search, allowing anybody to see their reviews and ratings, as well as their watchlist and viewing history. Users will be findable in search by default unless they have previously changed that setting. Plex is also letting users set how broadly visible their ratings and reviews will be; this setting ranges from totally public to all logged in Plex users to friends of friends to friends only to private. Plex has been working on a redesign of its app for <a class="no-affiliate-link" href="https://www.engadget.com/apps/plex-is-overhauling-its-apps-with-a-redesign-and-under-the-hood-upgrades-160521751.html">a long time</a>, and today the company will begin previewing the new look on Apple TV. More platforms will be added to the preview "soon." The blog post cautioned that the Apple TV preview is still preliminary and encouraged users to provide feedback. The new look emphasizes more artwork and visuals, as well as offering more intuitive navigation through the library. Finally, Plex is ready to make its HEVC encoding available to members of its Plex Pass membership. This option offers improved visual quality at a lower bitrate, and it preserves HDR metadata.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/plex-update-adds-public-reviews-and-profiles-140050631.html?src=rss

Source: www.engadget.com

Reception: Positive

Sonic The Hedgehog 4 will arrive on March 19, 2027

We finally know when Sonic will grace movie theaters again: Paramount has announced Sonic The Hedgehog 4 will arrive on March 19, 2027, <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/sonic-4-release-date-march-2027-1236280697/">Variety reports</a>. The company <a href="https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/sonic-the-hedgehog-4-movie-confirmed-by-paramount-190234137.html">confirmed the next installment</a> back in December, but we only knew that Spring 2027 was its premiere goal.  The first Sonic The Hedgehog movie premiered in early 2020, just before the world shut down. The third <a href="https://www.engadget.com/sonic-the-hedgehog-3-movie-release-date-fall-guys-141838217.html">movie came out just before Christmas</a> last year — though Paramount had already announced its follow up was in the works. Similarly, it was first announced about two years before its final release date. If the pattern continues then we should get <a href="https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/sonic-the-hedgehog-3-trailer-introduces-keanu-reeves-broody-shadow-134106308.html">a trailer</a> in late 2026.  Each of the movies has done well at the box office, with Sonic The Hedgehog 3 currently grossing $218 million domestically and $422 million globally. Paramount also claims that the movies have driven another $180 million-plus from digital purchases and at-home rentals. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/sonic-the-hedgehog-4-will-arrive-on-march-19-2027-133002387.html?src=rss

Source: www.engadget.com

Reception: Positive

Eleven percent of game developers were laid off in 2024, according to GDC survey

It's a challenging time to be a developer these days, according to <a href="https://gdconf.com/news/gdc-2025-state-game-industry-devs-weigh-layoffs-ai-and-more">GDC's 2025 State of the Game Industry</a> report that surveyed over 3,000 game devs and industry professionals. In one of the worst years ever for game industry job losses, 11 percent of developers said they were let go from their positions in 2024 and 29 percent observed direct colleagues being laid off. All of that is part of an <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/2024-was-the-year-the-bottom-fell-out-of-the-games-industry/">unfortunate trend</a> caused in part by <a href="https://www.engadget.com/activision-blizzard-now-officially-belongs-to-microsoft-125053787.html">consolidation</a> that could see around 14,000 layoffs in 2024 when final tallies are done. Meanwhile, live service games appear to be here to stay, despite the spectacular <a href="https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/concord-aside-playstation-is-having-a-great-year-171506490.html">flameout of Concord</a> and the <a href="https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/sony-axes-two-more-live-service-games-130048000.html">axing of several Sony projects</a>. One-third of AAA developers said they're currently working on live service games (GaaS), with 16 percent across the entire developer base working on such titles. That doesn't mean they all like it though, as 41 percent expressed that they weren't interested at all on working on GaaS style games. That lines up with a <a href="https://www.pcgamer.com/im-officially-exhausted-by-all-the-live-service-games-and-i-want-to-see-way-less-next-year/">general malaise</a> among gamers with regard to live service titles.  One encouraging upward trend is in PC games, where 80 percent of developers reported that they were working — up massively from 66 percent last year. That could be due in part to Valve's Steam deck, as 44 precent of devs said they were interested in working specifically on that platform. Browser games are also on the upswing, with 16 percent of respondents working on releases. Finally, while gaming execs seem to love the potential for AI in gaming, developers hate it, with 30 percent saying it's having a negative impact on the industry — up 12 percent from last year. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/eleven-percent-of-game-developers-were-laid-off-in-2024-according-to-gdc-survey-130003228.html?src=rss

Source: www.engadget.com

Reception: Negative

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