Technology

• Rule changes see AWS forced to step down from the CISPE board
• The company will remain a member of the group
• Microsoft is also a newly added member

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has stepped down from the board of CISPE (cloud infrastructure service providers in Europe) after a change of rules meaning only European-based companies can serve.

Per the new rules, non-European cloud vendors with a revenue of more than €10 billion can still participate, but only as non-voting members.

At the same time, CISPE introduced a Sovereignty and Strategic Autonomy Committee designed to cater to the growing demand for European cloud infrastructure and AI solutions.

AWS forced to step down from CISPE board

A CISPE spokesperson commented: “This shift comes at a critical time with concern over economic and geopolitical dependencies becoming more pronounced. The urgent need for a resilient, competitive, and independent European cloud ecosystem has never been clearer.”

CISPE promised “bold and innovative commitments to harness Europe’s diverse and fragmented cloud ecosystem” this year with a focus on serving Europe’s SMEs, be they customers or vendors.

Jacqueline van de Werken from the Netherlands’ Leaseweb, David Chassan from France’s Outscale and Lorenzo Chiriatti from Register in Italy remain on the board, together with newly elected members Alexander Windbichler of Anexia, Austria and Jake Madders representing the UK’s Hyve.

CISPE confirmed that, together with AWS, Gigas and UpCloud decided not to seek re-election either.

AWS Head of Public Policy EMEA, Stéphane Ducable, commented (via The Register): “We are proud of our contributions to CISPE's achievements and growth over nearly a decade and remain committed to the association and its founding principles.”

Ducable added: “As a dedicated CISPE member, we will continue to actively contribute to CISPE initiatives which champion the cloud industry, support cloud customers' choice and enhance European competitiveness.”

The changes comes shortly after it was revealed Microsoft had joined CISPE to focus on building a “constructive partnership” in Europe, despite the company’s previous cloud conflict in the region.

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• Asahi Linux lead developer Hector Martin resigns
• Intense community requests and complaints are responsible
• Martin misses a time where he could relax and not worry about the project

Hector Martin has resigned as the project lead for Asahi Linux, a popular Linux distro designed specifically for M-series Macs, citing burnout as the key driver.

Martin also claimed conflicts within the Linux community had led to his decision to step down, with resistance from some Linux developers adding to his workload.

In a long letter notifying the community about his resignation, Martin explained that a personal “dream project,” which was once fun, has turned into more of a chore.

Asahi Linux head resigns

Martin detailed how he and his colleagues built the Apple Silicon-destined Linux distro “from scratch, with zero vendor support or documentation,” acknowledging that building this particular distro was more difficult than running Linux on a PS4, for example.

However, it seems the real reason Martin has decided to leave was what he’s called “entitled users” – over the years, the developer says he’s received hundreds of requests and complaints relating to battery life, USB-C display support and next-generation M-series chip support.

He wrote: “No matter how much we did, how many impossible feats we pulled off, people always wanted more. And more.”

Martin avoided burnout by limiting the amount of time he spent on certain areas, like kernel upstreaming, however it got to the point that Asahi Linux development was interfering with his personal life.

Beyond users, Martin explained that, despite Linux creator Linus Torvalds expressing a desire for Linux to work smoothly on M-series Macs, the Finnish developer ignored Martin’s request to discuss the operating system’s challenges.

He summarized: “I miss having free time where I can relax and not worry about the features we haven’t shipped yet,” confirming: “I’m resigning as lead of the Asahi Linux project, effective immediately.”

At the end of his letter, Martin revealed anybody who has financially supported him should consider supporting the Asahi Linux OpenCollective from now on, and that he’s open to new work.

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• The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 could both have highly efficient screens
• This could lead to improved battery life
• The Z Fold 7 apparently won't have a bigger battery, and there's no news on the Z Flip 7's battery capacity yet

Until now, we hadn’t heard much about the battery life of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, but now we’re hearing that both phones might be longer-lasting than their predecessors.

This is according to @PandaFlashPro – a leaker who doesn’t yet have much of a track record – posting on X (via NotebookCheck). Specifically, they claim that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 both have “highly efficient” displays that consume less power and offer longer battery life.

They add that this technology – coupled with a new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset – has boosted the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s battery life by around 55 minutes, though they don’t specify what kind of usage leads to that figure.

"Confirmed"Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 Displays are Highly Efficient, Consuming less Power and offering longer battery life.Galaxy Z Fold 7 Test Battery backup is increased around 55minutes, with Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy.February 14, 2025

Interestingly, it sounds like these increases in battery life might be down to more efficient components and software, rather than larger battery capacities. According to leaker Setsuna Digital – who has a solid track record – posting on Weibo (also via NotebookCheck), the Galaxy Z Fold 7, at least, will have the same 4,400mAh battery as its predecessor.

They don’t say anything about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, but they add that the Z Fold 7 will be upgraded in other ways, including its screen, hinge, main camera, under-display camera, internal structure, and dust and water resistance.

A more durable hinge and a slimmer design

Z Flip 7 Confirmed.Improve Hing Durability due to New Internal Structure | Less Visible Crease | Display High Efficiency | All New Flexible Glass | ProScaler | Bigger Vapor Chamber | Next Generation of ProVisual Engine | bit Faster charging speed with same 25w | Thinner body.February 15, 2025

@PandaFlashPro, meanwhile, has posted about some other Galaxy Z Flip 7 features, including that it apparently has improved hinge durability, a smaller crease than either its predecessor or the Galaxy Z Fold 7, a thinner body than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, 25W charging, a 50MP main camera, an Armor Aluminum frame, and either an Exynos 2500 chipset or a Snapdragon 8 Elite, with there apparently being prototypes of both configurations.

They also reiterate a previous claim that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 will have a larger vapor chamber than the Z Flip 6, which could also help improve its battery life. So, hopefully, the Z Flip 7 will have improved endurance, as in our Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 review we found the phone had “disappointing battery life.”

We’ll probably find out in July, as that’s when both the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 are expected to launch.

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Rates up to 4.65% APY won't stick around forever.

• Security researchers are warning of a SonicWall flaw being actively exploited
• The bug was discovered in early January 2025, and subsequently fixed
• However not all users have applied the patch yet

Cybercriminals are actively abusing a vulnerability in SonicWall firewalls to gain access to target endpoints, tamper with the VPN, and more, cybersecurity researchers Arctic Wolf have revealed.

The vulnerability in question is an Improper Authentication bug in the SSLVPN authentication mechanism. It was discovered in early January 2025 and was given a severity score of 9.8/10 - critical. It is tracked as CVE-2024-53704 and impacts SonicOS versions 7.1.x (up to 7.1.1-7058), 7.1.2-7019, and 8.0.0-8035. SonicWall released versions SonicOS 8.0.0-8037 and later, 7.0.1-5165 and higher, 7.1.3-7015 and higher, and 6.5.5.1-6n and higher, to address the bug.

Soon after SonicWall released a fix, security outlet Bishop Fox came forward with a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) exploit to warn the security community, and SonicWall users, about potential attack avenues. Consequently, it also gave cybercriminals ideas on how to exploit the flaw and expectedly, it has happened.

Exploitation attempts

"Shortly after the proof-of-concept was made public, Arctic Wolf began observing exploitation attempts of this vulnerability in the threat landscape," the company said in its security advisory.

The researchers explained that in the exploit, the target endpoint incorrectly validates a malicious session attempt. As a result, the target is logged out, while the attacker gets access to the session, including the ability to read the victim’s Virtual Office bookmarks, access VPN client configuration settings, open a VPN tunnel, and more.

"With that, we were able to identify the username and domain of the hijacked session, along with private routes the user was able to access through the SSL VPN," the researchers said.

Even though a patch is available for more than a month now, there are still thousands of vulnerable endpoints out there.

Via The Register

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ExpressVPN has announced a major change to its Lightway protocol, recoding the protocol from C to Rust in a bid to revolutionize the VPN industry and create a "more secure and high-performing" Lightway for users.

Modernizing the protocol to the Rust programming language while keeping the code open source ensures anyone with the right knowledge can see that Lightway works as it should and retains security. Two independent auditors, Cure53 and Praetorian, have already confirmed the upgraded service is private and secure.

The provider's built-in VPN router, ExpressVPN Aircove, is the first platform supporting the new Lightway. In the coming months, the provider will roll out the upgrade across all other devices, with its Android VPN expected to be updated by the end of March.

A new VPN protocol standard

When ExpressVPN built and launched Lightway in 2020, the provider designed it to deliver speedy, secure, and more reliable connections. Now, Lightway's Rust upgrade aims to continue that promise, posing the foundation "for the future of VPN connectivity."

"At ExpressVPN, we innovate to solve the challenges of tomorrow," said Pete Membrey, Chief Research Officer at ExpressVPN. "With Rust widely recognized as the high-performing, secure, and reliable language, it was a natural choice for evolving Lightway."

Rust, the provider explains, essentially brings three key advantages – better security, performance, and ease of extension.

Rust uses built-in memory safety that supposedly eliminates the risk of some common vulnerabilities and attack vectors plaguing its C counterparts. Rust's code is even simpler than C, too – making the VPN connection lighter, faster, and less power-consuming.

Lastly, Rust's modern architecture should also ensure easier implementation of Ligthway's security fixes and new features. This is especially advantageous within the post-quantum VPN race.

(Image credit: ExpressVPN)

As mentioned, two independent audits – carried out by cybersecurity firms Cure53 and Praetorian – have already taken apart the upgraded Lightway and didn't find any major vulnerabilities.

Specifically, Praetorian reported only two low-risk findings and Cure53 five, with four classified as "miscellaneous" carrying low exploitation potential. After that, ExpressVPN fixed all these findings, as new auditors' validation could confirm.

"Investing in dual audits from two independent firms was an important decision we made to gain diverse expert perspectives on Lightway’s new code base,” said Aaron Engel, Chief Information Security Officer at ExpressVPN.

ExpressVPN's commitment to transparency doesn't end here, though. Everyone can view Lightway's source code by heading to ExpressVPN's GitHub page.

Challenging the industry

Lightway 2.0 promises to set a new standard for future VPN protocols where security, performance, and efficiency go hand in hand.

Yet, ExpressVPN's goal isn't just making its product more secure, reliable, and faster – the provider now hopes the whole industry will follow suit, inviting everyone to test it out and, potentially, adapt it.

"Promoting digital rights is ultimately our main goal," said Director for Communication and Advocacy, Lauren Hendry Parsons, pointing out how Lightway in Rust could also be implemented on decentralized VPN solutions.

"We do hope that people [in the VPN industry] will see Lightway as a resourceful tool," added Chief Research Officer Membrey. "You have a post-quantum secure VPN that works really fast and could potentially be used in military settings as well.

"Our goal with Lightway is not only to serve the users of ExpressVPN but also to contribute its technology meaningfully to the VPN industry."

By recoding its Lightway protocol in Rust, ExpressVPN claims it has beefed up its speed, security and performance.

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It's here. It's officially Presidents' Day, and the highly anticipated 2025 Home Depot Presidents' Day sale is live. The retailer has massive discounts on major appliances, tools, furniture, and more, with over $1,000 in savings. As TechRadar's deals editor, I've combed Home Depot's Presidents' Day sale and hand-picked the seven best offers.

• Shop Home Depot's full Presidents' Day sale

Home Depot is one of the most popular retailers during Presidents' Day sales, thanks to impressive price cuts on big-ticket items, including major appliances. You can save up to 30% off refrigerators, dishwashers, and washing machines from brands like LG, Samsung, GE, and Whirlpool. Plus, you can save an additional $450 off select appliances. Other stand-out offers from Home Depot include up to $150 off best-selling tools and accessories, 30% off furniture and decor, and 50% off bathroom vanities.

Below, you'll find links to Home Depot's most popular Presidents' Day sale categories, followed by the top deals on appliances, tools, furniture, vacuums, and more. Keep in mind that Home Depot's sale ends tonight at Midnight, which means you have just hours left to score incredible offers.

Home Depot Presidents' Day sale 2025 - quick links

• Major Appliances: 35% off + $450 in additional savings
• Bath: 40% off bath vanities, faucets, toilets & more
• Furniture: 35% off furniture, rugs & decor
• Kitchen devices: 25% off coffee makers, air fryers & blenders
• Patio furniture: sectionals, chairs, and tables from $399
• Storage: 30% off storage solutions for garage, closet & more
• Tools: up to 40% off select tools, plus free shipping
• Vacuums: 40% off robot and upright vacuums
• Standing desks: Up to 40% off height-adjustable desks
• Office chairs: Office swivel chairs from $50
• Water heaters: up to 15% off, plus up to $2,000 in rebates

Home Depot Presidents' Day sale – the top 7 deals

Home Depot Presidents' Day sale: save up to 35% on major appliances
Home Depot's Presidents' Day appliance sale is its most popular offer, with up to 35% off major appliances, including refrigerators, washers and dryers, ranges, and more from brands like Samsung, GE, and Whirlpool. You can also save up to an additional $450 when you spend $2,996 or more on select appliances.View Deal

Home Depot Presidents' Day sale: 35% off furniture, mattresses, and decor
Furniture is another popular Presidents' Day sales category, and Home Depot is offering up to 35% off, which includes beds, dressers, TV consoles, couches, decor, and more. You'll also find big savings on mattresses from brands like Sealy, Tempur-Pedic, and Beautyrest.View Deal

Home Depot Presidents' Day sale: up to $200 off select tools and accessories
You can save up to $200 on select tools, which include everything from saws to drills, plus you can score free two-day shipping. Today's Presidents' Day deals include big-name brands like Dewalt, Ryobi, and Milwaukee getting in on the action, there are some particularly impressive savings up for grabs right now.View Deal

Home Depot Presidents' Day sale: save up to 30% off storage solutions
If you're still looking to get organized in the new year, Home Depot's Presidents' Day storage sale includes up to 30% off garage, closet, and laundry solutions to containers, shelving, baskets, and more.View Deal

Home Depot President's Day sale: save up to 50% on robot and upright vacuums
If you're looking to save on vacuums, Home Depot's Presidents' Day sale offers up to 50% off a wide range of vacuums, which include robot, upright, and cordless vacuums from brands like Dyson, Shark, Hoover, and Samsung.View Deal

Home Depot Presidents' Day sale: up to 25% off small appliances
Home Depot's Presidents' Day sale offers up to 25% off small appliances, including air fryers, coffee makers, toasters, and blenders from popular brands like Instant Pot, Keurig, KitchenAid, Vitamix, Cuisinart, and more. You can also save on bigger kitchen appliances that are only found at Home Depot, like ice makers, commercial-size griddles, and espresso makers. View Deal

Home Depot Presidents' Day sale: patio furniture deals starting at $299
You can gear up for spring with Home Depot's Presidents' Day sale, which includes a wide selection of patio furniture with prices starting at just $299. You can save on chairs, umbrellas, dining furniture, fire pits, decor, and more.View Deal

More of today's best Presidents' Day sales

• Amazon: TVs, robot vacs & air fryers from $12.99
• Apple: AirPods, iPads, MacBooks from $89.99
• Adidas: 40% off running shoes & clothing
• Best Buy: $1,000 off 4K TVs, laptops & headphones
• Casper: up to 35% off mattresses
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs at Best Buy from $69.99
• Cocoon by Sealy: 35% off mattresses + free accessories
• Dell: best-selling Inspiron & XPS laptops from $279.99
• Dreamcloud: mattress deals from $299 + free shipping
• Home Depot: 50% off tools, appliances & furniture
• Lowe's: organization, appliances & tools from $17.31
• Mattress Firm: Queens from $149.99
• Nectar: up to 50% off all mattresses
• Nordstrom: 46% off boots, coats, jeans & jewelry
• Purple: up to $600 off mattresses
• Saatva: up to $500 off luxury mattresses
• Samsung: $1,500+ off TVs, phones, watches & appliances
• Target: save on furniture, gifts, tech & clothing
• Walmart: cheap TVs, robot vacs, furniture & appliances
• Wayfair: deals on furniture, decor, rugs & outdoor

You can shop more early bargains with our Presidents' Day TV sales guide and our Presidents' Day laptop sales roundup.

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• Dynabook and NEC defy industry trends by bringing back optical drives
• Dynabook T series uses both Blu-ray Disc drive and DVD Super Multi-Drive
• NEC Lavie N16 opts for only DVD Super Multi-Drive

In somewhat surprising news, Dynabook has released its T series (originally in Japanese), with 13th-generation Intel processors, while NEC has introduced the Lavie N16 (also in Japanese), featuring a mix of AMD Ryzen 7 and Intel 12th-generation processors.

The startling part is that these business laptops, from the Year of Our Lord 2025, contain built-in optical drives. bucking the trend of manufacturers prioritising lightweight portability over physical media playback.

Dynabook T series

(Image credit: Mynavi)

All Dynabook T series laptops feature a 16-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a resolution of 1920×1200 pixels.

The series is available in four configurations: T5/Y, T6/Y, T7/Y, and T9/Y. That's a careful distinction; Dynabook T9/Y model includes a Blu-ray Disc drive, while the other models come with a DVD Super Multi-Drive.

The T9/Y and T7/Y models are powered by the Intel Core i7-1360P and i7-1355U processors, respectively, and are equipped with dual cooling fans.

Meanwhile, the T6/Y and T5/Y models feature the Intel Core i3-1305U and i5-1335U processors, respectively, relying on a single cooling fan.

The T series supports 16GB or 32GB of RAM and offers storage options ranging from 256GB to 1TB SSD, with the option to upgrade memory via a dedicated access door on the bottom panel.

The T series includes three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, one Thunderbolt 4 (USB4 Type-C) port, an HDMI output, a wired LAN port, and a microphone/audio jack. It also supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

The T series starts at approximately 160,000 yen (about $1,046) for the T5/Y model, with the top-tier T9/Y priced at around 280,000 yen (about $1,830).

NEC Lavie N16

(Image credit: Mynavi)

The Lavie N16, meanwhile, is available in three configurations: the N1675/JA, N1655/JA, and N1635/JA series. All models feature a 16-inch WUXGA IPS LCD with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a resolution of 1920×1200 pixels. Crucially, all contain a DVD Super Multi-Drive.

The top-tier N1675/JA model is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 7735U processor with a 512GB SSD. The mid-range N1655/JA and base N1635/JA models come with Intel Core i5-1235U and Intel Core i3-1215U processors, respectively, while both have large SSDs of 256GB.

The Lavie N16 includes a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, an HDMI output, a wired LAN port, a microphone/audio jack, and Wi-Fi 6E.

Pricing for Lavie N16 configurations range from 154,800 yen (about $1,013) up to 184,800 yen (about $1,209).

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For fans of high-fidelity audio, Spotify HiFi could be the Holy Grail. After unveiling its plans for lossless, CD-quality audio in 2021, audiophiles around the world have been patiently waiting for Spotify to bridge that gap to competitor services like Tidal and Apple Music. Though we still regard it as one of the best music streaming services, Spotify has yet to deliver its highly anticipated HiFi tier - and it's been almost five years.

When it comes to the hi-res audio game, Apple and Amazon are leaps and bounds ahead of Spotify. Since 2021 subscribers of both services have been able to reap the benefits of lossless audio quality at no extra cost, so what's gone wrong with Spotify? It's a question we're still asking ourselves to this day, though the more Spotify unveils about its new plans for new tiered subscriptions, the closer we get to having our hands on its lossless audio.

(Image credit: Spotify / Apple)

Unfortunately, even when Spotify HiFi does drop, we have reason to believe that it will only be available in “select markets” to start. And while Spotify hasn’t said exactly how much the service will cost just yet, we're confident that the Spotify HiFi tier will cost more than the current standard premium subscription which sits at $11.99/ £11.99/ AU$13.99 - and there’s no guarantee that every song in the entire Spotify catalog will have a HiFi version available.

In spite of this very clear downside, we have good reason to believe that Spotify HiFi songs will be available to save and download to your devices for offline listening, which means you should be able to take your new lossless music library with you anywhere.

Ready to make the leap to lossless? Here's everything we know about Spotify HiFi.

Spotify HiFi release date rumors

To cut a long story short, we don't have a specific date we can point to. It's been five years since Spotify unveiled its plans to introduce lossless audio to enhance music listening for its subscribers, which was expected to arrive in 2021. One of the first leaks we came across was back in 2021, when a user on Reddit shared a video with the caption 'Here's a sneak peek at the upcoming HiFi onboarding process from modifying the app', and appears to give prospective HiFi users a backstage tour of the service:

Here's a sneak peek at the upcoming HiFi onboarding process from modifying the app from r/truespotify

Despite sharing this in its Five Things to Know About Spotify HiFi blog post, and confirming that it would be available as an upgrade to Premium, there's still been no addition of HiFi audio.

In 2021 Spotify stated the following; "Beginning later this year, Premium subscribers in select markets will be able to upgrade their sound quality to Spotify HiFi and listen to their favorite songs the way artists intended,". However we've been waiting quite a while for another official update, and now that we've reached 2025, we really have no idea when Spotify HiFi will finally release. Even Spotify CEO Daniel Ek isn't certain, claiming that the delay in adding Spotify HiFi largely comes down to licensing issues.

Aside from licensing rights, the Spotify HiFi delay can be attributed to its undivided attention to its social features such as Spotify Wrapped, and its mission to bring more AI integrations to its user experience; its jarring AI DJ feature and generative Daylist feature (one which I frequent regularly) are two of its most popular AI tools. Recently, we reported on Spotify's plans to 'double down' on music in 2025 which we believe could go down one of two paths; either the long-awaited HiFi tier or more AI advancements.

Spotify's AI generated 'Daylist' feature was introduced in September 2023. (Image credit: Spotify)

It's also worth focusing on that select markets bit as it means we won’t see Spotify HiFi going live in every territory at the same time. Previously, when Spotify has rolled out new features it usually starts with the US and Europe, but now that the service is available in more than 180 markets, it’s hard to say which will be among the first to get the new service.

The other issue you’ll run into regarding Spotify HiFi’s release date – whenever it is eventually announced – is that it’s unlikely that every Spotify Connect device will get the upgrade at the same time – which means some speakers like, say, the Sonos One and PS5 might get it long before your slightly older AV receiver.

Spotify HiFi price predictions

As of right now, there’s no set price for Spotify HiFi so, for now, all we can do is speculate. We had reason to believe that Spotify HiFi would be introduced as a brand new subscription tier, but we've since learned that it may no longer be a standalone tier, nor a new Music Pro feature, but it could be a $5 add-on for the Premium Plan. Spotify Premium currently stands at a monthly cost of $11.99/ £11.99/ AU$13.99 therefore if the $5 add-on rumors are true, we'd venture a guess that Spotify HiFi could cost between $14.99 and $19.99 which feels like a safe bet.

What’s also influencing that guess is the competition: a Tidal subscription will run you $19.99 per month, while Hi-Res Audio streaming services like Qobuz and Deezer cost $14.99 and $11.99 per month. Amazon Music Unlimited and Apple Music are a bit cheaper and now include lossless streaming options, and it's possible Spotify HiFi could be around the same price if it ever launches.

Spotify HiFi audio quality

So, just how good will Spotify HiFi's lossless audio be? It will supposedly sound, at the very least, as good as a CD does – and maybe a bit better.

According to Spotify, Spotify HiFi will stream CD-quality lossless audio to your devices. Ideally, those devices will be connected to a network and capable of using Spotify Connect, otherwise, you’ll have to pipe it over Bluetooth which will likely diminish the quality.

In the absence of Spotify HiFi, you can amend your audio streaming quality in your account settings to add somewhat of an improvement to your listening experience. Just go to your Spotify settings, and tap 'Audio Quality'.

(Image credit: Future)

That’s a heck of a lot better than Spotify's current offering of 320kbps, and will likely bring the service's potential audio quality up to par with Tidal, Deezer, and maybe even Apple’s Digital Masters. Speaking of Apple Digital Masters, there’s always a chance that Spotify might also go above and beyond hi-fi with 96kHz / 24-bit audio, but we’re not holding our breath.

So what does that all mean? In a very practical sense, lossless audio formats have more details and data than their lossy counterparts. That means hearing new details in songs you’ve never heard before that otherwise might’ve been cut out when the data was compressed. It should also sound a bit wider and more immersive, though, a lot of it will depend on which headphones or speakers you use, too.

Spotify HiFi song catalog 

The murkiest detail of all for Spotify HiFi is how many – and which – songs from Spotify’s more than 100 million-song catalog will be included. The safest assumption we can make is that it won't support every song in Spotify's vast catalog, but millions of them should be.

Among those will likely be top hits from major record labels which already distribute the files to other services, while some music from smaller labels and older legacy titles likely won’t make the cut. We’ll keep our ears to the ground for more details on which songs will make the cut, but for now, it’s probably best to keep your CD collection right where it is until new details emerge.

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If you’re looking for a high-capacity hard drive, Seagate’s Exos range will definitely appeal to you. The largest internal drive you can buy in retail right now is Seagate's Exos 28TB HDD - when launched in 2024 it overtook the previous record holder, the Western Digital Gold, which maxes out at 24TB.

Seagate doesn’t disclose pricing for the Exos 28TB HDD, but we’ve noticed refurbished versions of the drive on sale for a fraction of what you might expect to pay. This isn’t the first time these cheaper CMR drives have appeared online, and the same warnings we issued about buying them before apply now.

The drives that you’ll find online at the likes of Amazon ($379.99), ServerPartDeals ($364.99), eBay in the UK (£578), as well as other third-party retailers, are all recertified models. That means they are either previously used or customer returns that have been inspected, tested, and restored to full working condition by either Seagate or an authorized third party. In other words, they aren’t brand new, but they have been verified to meet functional standards.

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In the case of Seagate's recertified Exos 28TB, it means you’re getting a tested and refurbished enterprise-grade HDD at a significant discount, but with potentially lower warranty coverage. The drives we’ve found on sale have “Factory Recertified” printed on them, so you know what you’re getting, and (depending on where you buy from) they could come with up to a two-year warranty. That’s interesting, as Seagate does offer an official data sheet for the recertified Exos 28TB drive, which states it only offers a limited six-month warranty.

There’s no question the recertified drives available to buy are attractively priced, and they should be absolutely fine, but if reliability is your top priority, you might be better off picking up a brand-new unit.

Quite where all these recertified drives have come from is something of a mystery, but it wouldn’t surprise us if at least some – if not most – of them originated in China.

Heise.de recently reported a number of its readers had purchased Seagate drives that were supposedly new but had, in fact, been used previously - potentially for thousands of hours. Further digging suggested at least some of the drives originated from Chinese cryptocurrency mining farms that used them to mine Chia several years ago. We’re not suggesting that the recertified Exos 28TB drives have been used for crypto mining, but it’s always a possibility.

When drives are refurbished and factory-certified by Seagate, the Field Accessible Reliability Metrics (FARM) usage time is reset to zero. Heise.de reports that some readers with recertified drives discovered their purchases had been used for at least 15,000 hours, which, as Tom’s Hardware points out, suggests “that these drives were used, refurbished by Seagate, used again, and then resold as freshly refurbished models.”

If you do decide to buy one of the recertified Exos 28TB HDDs, make sure you buy from a reputable reseller, even if it means paying a little extra.

Towards the end of January 2025, Seagate added the 36TB Exos M model to its growing family of data center hard disk drives, making it the largest HDD currently available, albeit not one that you'll be able to buy (for now). Seagate's CEO, Dave Mosley, also revealed at the time that the company had successfully trialed platter capacities of over 6TB, meaning 60TB drives could be on the horizon.

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• Spotify Music Pro is tipped to launch later in 2025
• Remixing tools and concert ticket access could feature
• The main draw will be lossless audio quality

It was back in February 2021 – four years ago – when Spotify HiFi was first announced, and we're still waiting for it to appear. Now a new report suggests a full launch could happen before the end of the year, while answering some outstanding questions about the service.

According to Bloomberg, the subscription will be called Spotify Music Pro, and will cost you an extra $6 on top of the $12-per-month Premium plan. That's a 50% hike, so would presumably cost an additional £6 in the UK and AU$7 in Australia.

As well as higher-quality audio – teased many times over the years – that extra cash will apparently get you access to bonus remixing tools (including some AI-powered features for mashing tracks together) and deals on concert tickets.

The "people familiar with the matter" who Bloomberg has spoken to say that Spotify execs think committed music fans will pay more for their subscription – potentially giving the streaming service some valuable additional revenue.

A long time coming

Other services, including Apple Music, already offer hi-res audio (Image credit: Brett Jordan / Unsplash)

As per the report, Spotify is exploring a variety of options for its Music Pro plan, and will test a number of them during 2025. The full experience is apparently going to roll out in phases, so subscribers won't necessarily get everything right away.

That fits with the leaks and rumors we've seen since 2021: it sounds as though Spotify isn't really sure what to offer or for how much. We've even seen multiple names for the subscription plan, including Spotify Supremium.

The Music Pro name did in fact show up last year, when it was spotted hidden away in Spotify app code. Another feature that got a reference was playlist filtering, which may well be part of the package when it finally does appear.

We've also previously heard that the new service would be available as an add-on to Premium, rather than something completely separate. Spotify has promised to "double down" on music in 2025, so let's hope the new tier is included in that plan.

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