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Today's NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Feb. 2

CNET News - Sun, 02/02/2025 - 01:06
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 2.
Categories: Technology

Mine's bigger than yours: Mysterious hyperscaler plans to build Europe's largest cloud and AI data center that will suck enough electricity to power 20,000 homes

TechRadar News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 23:03
  • Permission to build data center in Hertfordshire has been approved
  • Owner is likely to be a hyperscaler operator, though application was done by an obscure company
  • It is expected to draw 400MVA from the National Grid when it goes live in 2030

Who doesn’t enjoy a good whodunnit? Approval has been granted for a large data center to be built in Hertfordshire, UK, near London’s M25 motorway, but the identity of the future occupant, believed to be a major hyperscale operator (so potentially AWS, Microsoft, Google or Meta), is as yet unknown.

The planning application was submitted last year by DC01 UK Ltd, and approved by Hertsmere Borough Council shortly after the UK Government launched its AI Opportunities Action Plan, for which new AI data centers will play a major role.

Following the news, a spokesperson for DC01UK said, “We want to thank Hertsmere Borough Council for their open and pragmatic approach to DC01UK’s plans. They understand our ambition for both the project and the borough. It will bring huge benefits for local people through a stronger local economy, more skilled jobs and better opportunities. Our plans also include a raft of upgrades for local transport, including new and existing bus routes, expansion of the local cycle hire scheme and road improvements.”

Operational by 2030

DC01UK will be Europe’s largest cloud and AI data center, with up to two million square feet of space, and draw 400MVA (Megavolt-Amperes) of power from the National Grid, which is enough electricity to power 20,000 homes. 400MVA is the total power supplied, including both real power (MW) and reactive power (MVAR, which accounts for inefficiencies in the system). The location of the project, which is just East of South Mimms Services, places it close to the Elstree (Letchmore Heath) substation.

DC01UK claims “Economic projections estimate the construction value of the project at £3.75bn with a year-round generation of £21.4m in business rates once the data center is operational. The positive economic impact of the data center would also see the creation of 500 skilled on-site jobs during the construction phase, 200 permanent, skilled jobs once up and running and a further 13,740 indirect jobs, 10,900 of which would be in the South East. DC01UK is also estimated to generate approximately £1.1 billion per annum GVA (Gross Value Added) indirectly per year.”

The data center will be built in 85 acres of grounds (54 percent of which DC01UK says will be retained as green space) with construction planned to begin in 2027. The data center is expected to become operational three years later in 2030.

As to who that hyperscaler might be? The Register was told by a DC01UK spokesperson, "Since the announcement last September, we've received significant interest and there are active, ongoing discussions that will be finalized in the near future. We will make a further announcement in due course," which seems to suggest that DC01UK doesn’t know who will be moving into its data center just yet either.

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Categories: Technology

DOGE Staff Had Questions About the 'Resign' Email. Their New HR Chief Dodged Them

WIRED Top Stories - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 18:03
"I think the information that you’re going to have about this is available to you right now,” Stephanie Holmes told workers at Elon Musk's DOGE who pressed for detail on offers of “deferred resignation.”
Categories: Technology

NYT Strands today — my hints, answers and spangram for Sunday, February 2 (game #336)

TechRadar News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 18:02

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #336) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

Today's NYT Strands theme is… Album of the year

NYT Strands today (game #336) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

  • GRASS
  • DOWLE
  • MODE
  • WORN
  • NOSE
  • WINE
NYT Strands today (game #336) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

Presented by the Recording Academy

NYT Strands today (game #336) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: top, 1st column

Last side: bottom, 4th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #336) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #336, are…

  • SWIFT
  • WONDER
  • HILL
  • CROSS
  • STYLES
  • KING
  • JONES
  • SPANGRAM: GRAMMY WINNERS
  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

This collection of Album of the Year winners omits a few other artists whose names are also words – Beck, Plant (Robert) and Garland (Judy) failing to make the cut.

Meanwhile, JONES could refer to both Norah (who won a Grammy in 2003 for Come Away With Me) and Quincy (whose Back on the Block was a surprise success in 1991). Quincy Jones is also one of only three artists who have won Grammys as an artist and as a producer, the others being Lauryn HILL and Bruno Mars.

Taylor SWIFT holds the record for most Album of the Year victories with four and is among the nominees this year for The Tortured Poets Department.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, 1 February, game #335)
  • KESTREL
  • EAGLE
  • HAWK
  • CONDOR
  • FALCON
  • OSPREY
  • VULTURE
  • SPANGRAM: RAPTORS
What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Categories: Technology

Quordle today – my hints and answers for Sunday, February 2 (game #1105)

TechRadar News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 18:02

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1105) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1105) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1105) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1105) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1105) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• L

• P

• C

• S

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1105) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1105, are…

  • LOUSY
  • PENNE
  • CHUMP
  • SALVE

There’s no game like Quordle for feeling like you’re pulling rabbits out of hats getting unlikely words like PENNE. The truth is, it’s not really magic when you’ve only got a few options left, but it can feel like it.

I got SALVE pretty quickly too and I’m sure that’s because it’s cropped up before and is hardwired into my brain somehow.

After yesterday’s wipeout I’ve got my mojo back. For now.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1105) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1105, are…

  • LOUSY
  • GROSS
  • STINK
  • ESTER
Quordle answers: The past 20
  • Quordle #1104, Saturday 1 February: FACET, BLISS, FLUFF, FRANK
  • Quordle #1103, Friday 31 January: PARER, SYNOD, BRAWN, BANJO
  • Quordle #1102, Thursday 30 January: WEEDY, CHIRP, STALE, SUGAR
  • Quordle #1101, Wednesday 29 January: CROWN, SCENE, AGILE, CRANK
  • Quordle #1100, Tuesday 28 January: TOKEN, DAISY, INANE, PLIED
  • Quordle #1099, Monday 27 January: ANGEL, GLOBE, MAYOR, BRAVE
  • Quordle #1098, Sunday 26 January: WATER, ORBIT, BRIDE, TOUCH
  • Quordle #1097, Saturday 25 January: GIVER, GROOM, GUSTO, MAKER
  • Quordle #1096, Friday 24 January: GRIND, STOCK, SERVE, TOUCH
  • Quordle #1095, Thursday 23 January: RUGBY, SASSY, WORRY, BANAL
  • Quordle #1094, Wednesday 22 January: SLANT, TRUNK, WOOZY, EATEN
  • Quordle #1093, Tuesday 21 January: CHART, VIGOR, PRINT, SPAWN
  • Quordle #1092, Monday 20 January: SIXTY, THONG, TATTY, ROBIN
  • Quordle #1091, Sunday 19 January: WREST, RINSE, SCOUR, CANNY
  • Quordle #1090, Saturday 18 January: BLARE, ITCHY, BICEP, PIPER
  • Quordle #1089, Friday 17 January: CATCH, WEARY, SWOON, LATHE
  • Quordle #1088, Thursday 16 January: PARTY, BLUNT, TWEED, PLANT
  • Quordle #1087, Wednesday 15 January: RISEN, PLATE, RURAL, ENVOY
  • Quordle #1086, Tuesday 14 January: SWARM, SCRAP, ONION, BELCH
  • Quordle #1085, Monday 13 January: EYING, GIDDY, CHEAP, PETAL
Categories: Technology

NYT Connections today — my hints and answers for Sunday, February 2 (game #602)

TechRadar News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 18:02

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #602) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

  • SWISS
  • SWALLOW
  • SORRY
  • STREET
  • MUNSTER
  • MART
  • BLUE
  • HAWK
  • DUCK
  • DOWN
  • POP
  • PARTRIDGE
  • GRIFFIN
  • GROUSE
  • PICKLES
  • HANGDOG
NYT Connections today (game #602) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

  • YELLOW: Depressed 
  • GREEN: Winged words 
  • BLUE: A list missing the Simpsons 
  • PURPLE: Think of a letter

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #602) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

  • YELLOW: DEJECTED BLUE, DOWN, HANGDOG, SORRY
  • GREEN: BIRDS THAT ARE VERBS DUCK, GROUSE, HAWK, SWALLOW
  • BLUE: TV COMEDY FAMILIES GRIFFIN, MUNSTER, PARTRIDGE, PICKLES
  • PURPLE: WORDS AFTER "K" MART, POP, STREET, SWISS

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #602) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #602, are…

  • YELLOW: DEJECTED BLUE, DOWN, HANGDOG, SORRY
  • GREEN: BIRDS THAT ARE VERBS DUCK, GROUSE, HAWK, SWALLOW
  • BLUE: TV COMEDY FAMILIES GRIFFIN, MUNSTER, PARTRIDGE, PICKLES
  • PURPLE: WORDS AFTER "K" MART, POP, STREET, SWISS
  • My rating: Moderate
  • My score: 2 mistakes

As the owner of a hangdog expression (especially when my team loses), gathering together a bunch of words that mean DEJECTED was a relatively easy task. Less so was the TV COMEDY FAMILIES, which took a mistake to find – my very obvious error being to include SWISS (as in Family Robinson). PICKLES was a guess that I would never have got otherwise, merely based on the fact that I’ve got a friend whose surname is Pickles and I enjoy calling him Mr Pickles.

BIRDS THAT ARE VERBS was my other mistake, as I initially included PARTRIDGE before realising the error of my random ways.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, 1 February, game #601)
  • YELLOW: TINT HUE, SHADE, TINGE, TONE
  • GREEN: COMPONENTS OF A MYSTERY ALIBI, CLUE, DETECTIVE, SUSPECT
  • BLUE: TAKE ISSUE WITH CHALLENGE, CONTEST, DISPUTE, QUESTION
  • PURPLE: STRIKE A __ CHORD, DEAL, MATCH, POSE
What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Categories: Technology

US Government Websites Are Disappearing in Real Time

WIRED Top Stories - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 16:27
A growing number of US government websites have gone offline as of Saturday, including several related to USAID and others focused on youth programs, Africa, and more.
Categories: Technology

Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 2, #132

CNET News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 15:00
Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections: Sports Edition No. 132 for Feb. 2.
Categories: Technology

Today's NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 2, #336

CNET News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 15:00
Here are some hints -- and the answers -- for the Feb. 2 Strands puzzle, No. 336.
Categories: Technology

Today's NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 2, #602

CNET News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 15:00
Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections No. 602 for Feb. 2.
Categories: Technology

Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Feb. 2, #1324

CNET News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 15:00
Here are some hints and the answer for Wordle No. 1,324 for Feb. 2.
Categories: Technology

India's richest person wants to build the world's largest data center, five times the capacity of Microsoft's biggest site

TechRadar News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 12:33
  • Mukesh Ambani's Reliance touches the lives of nearly everyone in India
  • Reliance plans to build a 3GW data center in India, the largest in the world
  • Ambani has pledged to use green and renewable energy to power this giga data center

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group, one of India's largest and most influential conglomerates, is developing a large-scale data center in Jamnagar - a small town in Gujarat that’s already home to Reliance’s major oil refining and petrochemical operations.

Reports from Bloomberg claim the data center, which could become the world’s largest, is expected to reach a total capacity of 3 gigawatts, significantly boosting India’s current data center capacity, which is estimated at under 1 gigawatt.

That will make it five times the size of Microsoft’s 600 megawatts facility in Boydton, Virginia.

Operational by 2027

Nvidia will provide Reliance Group with the AI chips it needs for the project, which comes at a time when tech firms are investing heavily in AI infrastructure. In the US, OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle recently announced Project Stargate, a $500 billion investment venture, and Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Facebook that his company was earmarking a $65 billion capital expenditure spend in 2025 and “building a 2GW+ data center so large it would cover a significant part of Manhattan.”

Reliance reportedly plans to power the facility primarily with renewable energy, integrating it with its existing solar, wind, and green hydrogen projects. However, Bloomberg believes achieving a stable energy supply may require backup from fossil fuels or other sources.

Although a Reliance spokesperson declined to provide further details on the Jamnagar project they did point Bloomberg to previous remarks from Mukesh Ambani’s son Akash, CEO of Reliance Jio Infocomm, who claimed the company aims to complete the data center within 24 months.

Headquartered in Mumbai, Reliance was founded by Dhirubhai Ambani in 1966 as a small textile business. Over the decades, it expanded into petrochemicals, refining, and other industries, and following Dhirubhai’s death in 2002, Mukesh took control of the company and led its transformation into a global powerhouse.

Despite the conglomerate's success, it’s not clear how Reliance will fund the $20 billion to $30 billion the data center will reportedly cost. As Bloomberg notes, “Reliance Industries Ltd., the group’s primary listed entity, has the equivalent of about $26 billion on its balance sheet.”

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Categories: Technology

The Grammys 2025: How to Watch the Music Awards Show Without Cable

CNET News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 11:00
Just how many awards will Beyoncé win?
Categories: Technology

La Liga Soccer Livestream: How to Watch Espanyol vs. Real Madrid From Anywhere

CNET News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 11:00
Los Blancos take on the relegation-threatened Catalans at the RCDE Stadium.
Categories: Technology

OpenAI responds to the DeepSeek buzz by launching its latest o3-mini reasoning model for all users

TechRadar News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 10:30
  • OpenAI has pushed out o3-mini models to ChatGPT
  • The launch has previously been teased
  • OpenAI is facing increasing competition from China

As promised last week, OpenAI has now launched its latest o3-mini AI model to users on all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. The new model brings with it improved reasoning capabilities, especially in math, coding, and science.

The o3-mini release "advances the boundaries of what small models can achieve", OpenAI says, and it apparently responds 24% faster than the o1-mini model it's replacing. As per external testers, o3-mini answers are preferable to o1-mini answers 56% of the time, and include 39% fewer mistakes.

As with o1-mini, this reasoning AI model will show its workings above its responses – so you can check the 'thought' processes involved. You can also combine this reasoning with web searches if needed, though this integration is still in its early stages.

Of course, the release comes after a tumultuous week in AI, in which the models offered for free by China's DeepSeek have attracted millions of users with their speed and accuracy – and now OpenAI is trying to grab back some of the limelight (and traffic).

Try it yourself

OpenAI o3-mini is now available in ChatGPT and the API.Pro users will have unlimited access to o3-mini and Plus & Team users will have triple the rate limits (vs o1-mini).Free users can try o3-mini in ChatGPT by selecting the Reason button under the message composer.January 31, 2025

Free users can get at o3-mini by clicking the Reason button in the text input box. OpenAI hasn't specified what the limits on its use will be, but it's likely to be in line with current restrictions on GPT-4o use – so a handful of queries per hour.

For paying users, o3-mini can be selected from the model picker in the top left corner. If you're on a Plus or Team plan, you get 150 queries of o3-mini daily, and if you're on the Pro plan, access is unlimited – for a mere $200 (about £160 / AU$320) per month.

Paying ChatGPT users also get access to an o3-mini-high model that applies the same reasoning skills but takes longer to think and respond. It boosts performance even further, if you don't mind waiting a few extra seconds.

OpenAI has also highlighted the safety assessments that o3-mini has gone through before launched – it apparently "significantly surpasses" the GPT-4o model when it comes to assessing unsafe use and jailbreak attempts.

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Categories: Technology

Can Adults Really Increase Their Height? What to Know About Height Supplements

CNET News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 10:00
Can supplements really make you taller? Our experts dig into the science to find out whether height supplements can actually help you grow.
Categories: Technology

Yamaha TAG3 C Acoustic Guitar Review: Old Looks, New Tricks

WIRED Top Stories - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 09:32
This normal-looking acoustic guitar has Bluetooth and an innovative looping function that lets you jam to your own tune.
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America's No. 1 Silent Killer: What It Is and When to Get Screened

CNET News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 09:27
If you haven't already, now is a good time to get your annual physical on the books.
Categories: Technology

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge could mark a new era for smartphones – but I hope Samsung gets the balance right

TechRadar News - Sat, 02/01/2025 - 09:00

Galaxy Unpacked has been and gone, but we’re still basking in the glow of the Samsung Galaxy S25 lineup – check out our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S25 review, hands-on Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review, and full Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review for our first impressions of all three new devices.

There was, of course, a new addition to the three-phone lineup we’ve come to expect from Samsung – the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, which revives a moniker the company previously used for devices with edge-to-edge displays. Now, the 'Edge' designation is seemingly a reference to this new phone’s thinness.

And a thin phone it is. Though Samsung has yet to reveal any official specs about the Galaxy S25 Edge, the device is of such a svelte construction that its dual cameras have to rest on a raised protrusion – and then stick out further still – in order to fit onto the polished rear panel. The Galaxy S25 Edge is visibly slimmer than the already impressive S25 Plus, its closest sibling in the pre-existing lineup.

TechRadar’s Senior News Editor Mark Wilson isn't convinced about the new phone's design, writing in a recent feature that the Galaxy S25 Edge represents “the laziest interpretation of phone innovation." I, however, think the S25 Edge deserves a chance to prove itself – though I share some of my esteemed colleague’s hesitation.

Though we don't have official measurements, the S25 Edge is rumored to be just 6.4mm thick (Image credit: Future)

The S25 Edge will require some compromises. We simply cannot expect Samsung to fit the raw hardware power of its bulkier flagships into a phone that’s rumored to be just 6.4mm thick. All I’m really hoping for is that Samsung makes the right choices; that it focuses on efficiency so that the necessarily smaller battery isn’t too heavily taxed, ensures the durability holds up, and – this one’s a reach – opts for a telephoto camera for the second of the two rear-mounted snappers.

However, I’d be happy to see the S25 Edge make it to production with any combination of specs. The reason I’m already being so forgiving is that this new Galaxy phone reminds me of the very first Samsung Galaxy Fold in 2019, which launched the folding phone industry despite being visibly unpolished. I’m optimistically excited that Samsung might be about to launch another niche segment of the phone market with the S25 Edge.

Flashback, or full-on revival?

It might seem hard to believe in today’s world of bulky, heavy, powerful flagships like the S25 Ultra, iPhone 16 Pro Max, and OnePlus 13, but it wasn't long ago that thinness was a major priority for phone makers. The first smartphones were positively rotund by today’s standards, and in the first ten years of the industry’s lifespan, you’d find keynote speakers talking at length about the millimeters shaved with each subsequent release.

This wasn’t without its downsides, though – Apple famously overstepped with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which shipped with flimsy designs that bent easily, a phenomenon termed “bendgate” by the frenzied media. These thin phones couldn’t hold very large batteries, either, and had limited options for cooling.

I think we’re looking at a full-on revival of thin, ergonomically-led smartphones that exist in their own lane.

It’s no surprise that we saw a reversal of the trend in the following years, which accelerated into the 2020s as phone hardware began taking some real leaps in the power, longevity, and multitasking departments. The current design language of flagship phones supports this – boxy shapes with plenty of room for cutting-edge internals.

The S25 Edge could be a one-off callback to these earlier times, but as I mentioned in my recent look at the hinted Samsung multi-fold phone, Samsung is a giant tech brand that doesn’t tend to introduce single-generation products. Unless the S25 Edge bombs hard, we’re likely to see an S26 Edge and S27 Edge in the years to come.

And if the sage sources of the rumor mill are to be believed, Apple is also working on a slimmed-down version of the iPhone 17, tentatively titled the iPhone 17 Air. I think we’re looking at a full-on revival of thin, ergonomically-led smartphones that exist in their own lane, in an offshoot of the mainstream phone market similar to folding phones.

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Thin phones are good, actually

(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)

At this point, you may be wondering why this is a good thing – I think it comes down to two main factors. Firstly, modern phones are, in general, large and somewhat heavy devices, so it’s no bad thing to have a phone entering the market that has a large display, presumably modern internals, and is also focused on a thin-and-light design. Though large handsets like the iPhone 16 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra are lighter compared to their predecessors, they’re still noticeably hefty – the S25 Edge could offer some relief.

We could soon see a split between ergonomics and performance, with major gains made in both categories as a result.

Of course, some of the weight of modern flagships is in service of better performance, which leads to my second point. By spinning off ergonomics-focused phones into their own category, phone makers will be freer to specialize their flagships for power and slim phones for portability. We saw a similar thing happen with folding phones and multitasking – most slab devices don’t focus on the ability to run multiple apps despite having plenty of screen space, as this is handled better by booklet-style foldables. We could soon see a split between ergonomics and performance, with major gains made in both categories as a result.

The reasons I’ve explained above might mean more to the user experience, but I also commend Samsung for simply doing something different. From a personal perspective, I just like it when phone makers get weird. We’re in a time of design hegemony; each phone is a rounded rectangle with a great display, cameras, battery – the works. The S25 Edge harkens back to the days of the original Oppo Find X, with its pop-out camera, the swivel-screened LG Wing, or even the colorful iPhone 5c, by just being a bit unusual.

So, there we have it. The S25 Edge might be a little rough around the, well, edges when it launches, but with enough consumer support, I think it could springboard new innovations for the smartphone market. I’m not giving Samsung carte blanche to put out a lackluster phone – I’d rather see the Edge gain a place on our list of the best Samsung phones – but I’m willing to forgive a misstep or two if it means witnessing the start of something genuinely new.

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