Technology

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• Nick Clegg announces Meta departure in a Facebook post
• The news comes weeks ahead of President-elect Trump inauguration
• Clegg will assist with handover to former Republican Joel Kaplan for several months

Former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has confirmed he will be stepping down from his global affairs position at Meta after a six-year tenure.

“As a new year begins, I have come to the view that this is the right time for me to move on from my role as President, Global Affairs at Meta," Clegg wrote in a Facebook post to his profile.

Clegg’s deputy Joel Kaplan has been confirmed as his successor, with Kevin Martin taking over Kaplan’s role as VP for Global Policy.

Clegg steps down from Meta role

The news comes weeks before Trump takes office, with the President-elect a hostile opponent to Meta in the past.

Trump previously threatened Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg with imprisonment if he interfered with the election, and even called Meta an “enemy of the people” despite having ties to Elon Musk and his social networking platform, X.

In the Facebook post announcing his departure, Clegg described Zuckerberg as “one of the most consequential innovators and business leaders of our times.”

Clegg also highlighted a shift in the relationship between big tech and “the societal pressures manifested in new laws, institutions and norms” during his time with the company.

Prior to his role at Meta, Kaplan served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff under President George W Bush.

Clegg stated: “Joel is quite clearly the right person for the right job at the right time - ideally placed to shape the company’s strategy as societal and political expectations around technology continue to evolve.”

Clegg will continue to work with Meta for “a few months” in order to ensure a smooth transition.

Zuckerberg commented: “You've made an important impact advancing Meta's voice and values around the world.”

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• A royalty-free alternative to Dolby Atmos for TVs and soundbars
• Coming to all 2025 Samsung TVs and soundbars
• YouTube is the only big streamer currently committed to the format

Back in 2023, Samsung and Google announced that they would launch a new Dolby Atmos-rivalling immersive audio format in 2024. That launch was delayed, but not by much: it's going to be shown off at CES 2025, and will arrive in Samsung's 2025 TVs and be available on YouTube too.

The format was originally given the unmemorable name of IAMF, short for Immersive Audio Model and Formats. But the branding folks have been in, and the format is now called Eclipsa Audio, which is… well, it's a bit of an improvement.

As Samsung explains, the new format is coming to every one of its (currently unannounced) 2025 models "from the Crystal UHD series to the premium flagship Neo QLED 8K models". Samsung has a number of entries on our list of the best TVs and best soundbars, so we'd expect the same from its 2025 range.

A total Eclipsa for art

Eclipsa is part of a wider effort by Google and Samsung to take on Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision by using Eclipsa Audio and HDR10+ instead.

Dolby's technologies require paid licenses for manufacturers, but these audio and video tech options are intended to be royalty-free, and the underlying tech is open source, enabling others to freely use and modify it. Given the absolutely tiny profit margins in the TV manufacturing industry, you can see why royalty-free audio and video tech might be appealing to TV makers.

The hard bit isn't the tech, though. It's getting the world to adopt it. And for now, only some of the world can. For the time being, you'll only be able to experience Eclipsa on a 2025 Samsung device. And while Samsung is going to sell a lot of TVs and soundbars in 2025, the total number of Eclipsa-compatible devices is still going to be tiny compared to the number of Dolby Atmos ones.

The format also needs to be adopted by streaming firms. For now, the only one on board is YouTube – and the big follow-up question is whether production companies will start producing shows and movies in the new format even if streamers support it. It's all very chicken-and-egg.

It's a challenge, but Samsung is optimistic: in a press release it points out that "with the largest market share over 75 inches worldwide, Samsung TVs are poised to make this groundbreaking technology accessible to more consumers than ever before."

Samsung and Google will be demonstrating their new TV audio tech at CES next week and of course, we'll be there to tell you all about it.

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TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2025 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

• Apple has agreed to settle class-action lawsuit over Siri complaints
• Victims reported brands mentioned in private conversations later appearing in targeted advertisements on their Apple devices
• Tens of millions may be affected, but Apple didn't admit wrongdoing

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit after its device owners claimed Siri disclosed private conversations to advertisers.

Per Reuters, the case in the Oakland, California federal court, Lopez et al v. Apple Inc, revolves around unintentional activation of Siri during phone calls, resulting in Apple disclosing snippets of conversation to advertisers.

Despite voice assistants usually only activating with a wake word or phrase (think “Alexa” or, here, “Hey, Siri”), plaintiffs in the lawsuit claimed they had been served advertisements for brand name products in what they believed were confidential conversations.

Siri privacy lawsuit

The class action period ranges from September 17, 2014, the introduction of the “Hey, Siri” wake phrase, through to December 31, 2024. Tens of millions of people could receive up to $20 per Siri-equipped device, including iPhones and Apple Watches.

Apple was tight-lipped when approached for comment on the settlement, though it has explicitly denied wrongdoing in court.

Reuters notes $95 million is just nine hours worth of profit for Apple, making this latest class action against a big tech company yet another example of such actions being factored in as a business cost.

Elsewhere, a case against Google in relation to its own Voice Assistant is ongoing in the San Jose, California Federal Court, and it’s hard to imagine that the outcome won’t be similarly inconsequential.

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• The Call of Duty Squid Game event has arrived
• It features new modes and operator skins
• There is also an Event Pass with free skins to earn

A new Squid Game crossover event has arrived in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in collaboration with Netflix. It introduces new in-game multiplayer modes, free rewards, and plenty of cosmetic skins.

The highlight for me is the introduction of the Red Light, Green Light multiplayer mode which lets you recreate the iconic death game from the show. It’s divided into three rounds, with players attempting to reach a finish line under the watchful eye of the creepy Young-hee doll.

You can only move when the doll says ‘Green Light’, with unlucky players immediately executed if they fail. Interestingly, weapons are introduced in rounds two and three allowing you to speed up the game by eliminating other players yourself.

It’s not the only new mode, however, as there is also Pentathlon - which mixes Domination, Kill Confirmed, and Hardpoint with the all-new Piggy Bank Team Deathmach and Roulette. Piggy Bank Team Deathmatch sees each elimination contribute to a Mega Piggy Bank, which rewards a massive payout during the match.

Roulette rewards players for scoring eliminations with the Roulette Handgun, which has a small chance of killing you every time it is fired.

The Squid Game Moshpit seems to offer a more traditional multiplayer experience, though it does have some interesting twists. It includes Team Deathmatch, Domination, and Hardpoint but with new Squid Game inspired mechanics. This includes the Red Light, Green Light Scorestreak, a Piggy Bank which can drop on eliminations for added score, and the Roulette Handgun.

Zombies is also getting the Squid Game treatment with new Squid Game variants of Liberty Falls and Citadelle des Morts. These feature distinct Green Light and Red Light phases, with the latter draining Essence from players that move. There’s also a Dead Light phase, which spawns more powerful enemies.

Things are getting squiddy over in Call of Duty: Warzone too, with new Squid Game challenges for players to master.

(Image credit: Activision)

Earned XP across Black Ops 6 and Warzone contributes to the new Squid Game Event Pass, which is free for all players. There is also an optional Premium Track, which costs 1,100 COD Points. The free path contains two operator skins (the ‘Player 006’ skin for Niran and the ‘Player 115 Skin’ for Maya) in addition to a new melee weapon. Those who purchase the Premium Track can bag new weapon Blueprints, plus the exclusive Front Man operator.

Finally, three new Squid Game bundles are dropping in the in-game store. This includes the Squid Game 2: Pink Guards Tracer Pack, Squid Game 2: The VIPs Tracer Pack, and the Squid Game 2: Young-hee Tracer Pack. The latter gives you the seriously creepy Young-hee operator, plus a new finishing move and some other digital goodies.

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• Expect more improvements to the PlayStation Portal experience as Sony plans "incremental steps" to make game streaming better
• PlayStation Classics port studio Implicit Conversions appears to be researching PS3 emulation
• GTA 6 is predicted to be “one of the biggest entertainment launches in history"

• The Galaxy S25 is rumored to come with lots of new AI features
• Details of these features don't appear to have leaked yet
• Four new phones are due to launch later this month

We're patiently counting down the days to the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 – Wednesday, January 22 is rumored to be the big day – and a fresh leak around the handset suggests there are plenty more AI features arriving with the new phone.

This comes from @UniverseIce, who is right about mobile industry predictions more often than not. The tipster says the Galaxy S25 "will tell Apple what leading AI is" and that "many new AI functions of S25 have not been leaked so far".

Of course, it wouldn't come as a surprise if Samsung introduced new AI features at the same time as its flagship phones for 2025 – it's been busy pushing Galaxy AI for the past year, after launching a range of features alongside the Galaxy S24 handsets.

But the mention of a lot of as-yet-unrevealed AI features is intriguing. What could Samsung be planning to add to its handsets for 2025, on top of what we've already heard about (the upgraded version of Bixby, for example)?

Galaxy AI for 2025

Samsung Galaxy S25 will tell Apple what leading AI is.Many new AI functions of S25 have not been leaked so far, which is very surprising to me.January 3, 2025

Samsung has already covered a lot of the obvious ground when it comes to AI. You can already create AI images and get live translations between languages on the Samsung phones that are currently available, for example.

That makes it difficult to predict what this leak could be talking about – especially as it specifies that the Galaxy S25 rumors haven't previously covered it. More camera enhancements are a possibility, as are more text creation tools.

We could potentially get more AI agent features, in terms of tools that actually take control of your phone and do jobs for you – like queueing up a Spotify playlist or ordering an Uber. There may also be features to help you better manage your digital information.

Samsung has already said that One UI 7 (Samsung's take on Android 15) will be launching alongside the Galaxy S25 phones, which may well have some AI upgrades included – and which could eventually make their way to older handsets as well.

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A network of Facebook pages has been advertising “fuel filters” that are actually meant to be used as silencers, which are heavily regulated by US law. Even US military officials are concerned.

At $21, this two-in-one charger is sure to make your power needs that little bit easier to fulfil.

• Nvidia RTX 5090 and 5080 are rumored to have increased power usage
• RTX 5090 may demand 575W, slightly less than some previous rumors
• RTX 5080 could hit 360W, which unfortunately is slightly up from past speculation

Nvidia’s RTX 5090 and 5080 are expected to be revealed at CES 2025 – likely alongside RTX 5070 models, too – and we’ve just heard more about the possible power consumption of these next-gen GPUs.

VideoCardz noticed that two regular hardware leakers on X, Hongxing2020 and Kopite7kimi, have chimed in with purported power figures for these Blackwell GeForce graphics cards.

2025.1.3 updatenext gen 90 ->575WJanuary 3, 2025

Assuming their beliefs are on the money, the former leaker put forward the assertion that the RTX 5090 will demand 575W in terms of power consumption, and then Kopite7kimi replied with the claim that the recently spotted RTX 5080 is going to chug 360W of power.

No clarification is provided as to how big these GPUs might be, and whether the RTX 5090 will be kept down to a two-slot graphics card, which is the follow-up question that several denizens of X posed on the above thread.

(Image credit: Future) Analysis: Sizing up next-gen options

The reason folks are asking about the size of the next-gen flagship graphics card – apart from that it’s an obvious point of curiosity, anyway – is that previous buzz from the grapevine has suggested we might see a miraculously slim RTX 5090 kept down to two slots in size by Nvidia. (Whereas the RTX 4090 takes up three slots in a PC, at least – or four in many cases).

Essentially, with the mentioned 575W figure, folks are leaping to the conclusion that this won’t be a two-slot board as per that previous rumor. (Unless Nvidia really has worked some magic with a slim cooling solution to keep a power-hungry graphics card in check). So, this is why the question is being asked.

In fact, 575W is a slight drop in a previous prediction from the rumor mill that we’ll see the RTX 5090 use 600W, and in that respect, it’s a bit of positive news. Well, kind of – Kopite7kimi also hinted that the flagship’s power consumption would drop slightly in recent times – but clearly, this is still set to be a demanding GPU. From what we’ve heard elsewhere, it’s likely to be more targeted at professional usage than PC gaming, and could be extremely pricey – though as a GeForce model, it is still officially a consumer (gaming) card, in theory.

If all this pans out, of course, the RTX 5080 is looking hefty on the power side of the equation here, too. Indeed, Kopite7kimi has indicated that it could sit at around 350W in the past, so their prediction has been revised slightly upwards to 360W here.

That could be bad news for anyone using a PC power calculator to work out whether their power supply can cope with a new RTX 5080, as pushing closer to the 400W mark could mean that even a relatively beefy PSU could be driven closer to the borderline of whether it’ll work out or not.

It certainly would put the RTX 5080 out of reach of my 650W power supply, but I’m still hoping that the RTX 5070 is going to come in considerably leaner, and will be a good fit for an upgrade to my gaming PC – or the RTX 5070 Ti, with any luck. In all honesty, I’m not expecting the RTX 5080 to be within my price range anyway, especially given the rumors around the cost of these next-gen graphics cards – other options will be on the table from AMD in RDNA 4 launches, so there’s that to consider as well.

Whether all these forecasts turn out to be accurate or not, we’ll just have to see come Nvidia’s big reveal on January 6 – but whatever the case, everything from the rumor mill is suggesting that we will see increased power consumption for Blackwell graphics cards.

As well as next-gen desktop graphics cards at CES 2025, we may also be treated to the launch of mobile versions, and perhaps DLSS 4 to boot.

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• PlayStation Classics porters Implicit Conversions is "dreaming about" PS3 emulation - potentially for PS5
• That's according to the developer's roadmap
• PS3 games are currently only available via cloud streaming on PS5

Retro game port developer Implicit Conversions appears to be looking into proper PS3 emulation - likely for the PlayStation Classics collection available via PS Plus on PS5.

That's according to the developer's roadmap which was spotted over at the r/GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit (via VGC).

The Trello-esque roadmap has a section on the far left labeled 'Dreaming About' and this is where we see a card for the "Researching and prototyping the possibility of a PlayStation 3 emulator package for Syrup." Syrup being the developer's own emulation engine with which it brings classic games to modern hardware.

As it stands, PS3 games are playable on PS5, but only via cloud game streaming. This often leads to a less than optimal play experience especially for folk without speedy internet connections. At present, it is the only Sony console generation that doesn't have some form of native support on PS5, as PS4 and a collection of PS1 and PS2 games can be downloaded on the system.

It's a shame, too, as there's no shortage of excellent PS3 games that remain exclusive to the console without any form of re-release. That includes Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Motorstorm, Resistance: Fall of Man, Tokyo Jungle and - one of my personal faves - Ridge Racer 7.

Just to keep expectations in check, we shouldn't be expecting PS3 emulation on PS5 anytime soon. Implicit Conversions has it in a unique 'dreaming about' tab separate from an 'in progress' tab on its roadmap which means the tech likely isn't in active development.

Still, the fact the roadmap is available for public viewing is a bit of a silver lining in all this. It does at least show that those responsible for porting classic games to modern hardware do have PS3 emulation on the radar, and they're likely aware of the demand. It probably won't happen for a good few years, though.

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• GTA 6 is set to release this year
• It is expected to be one of the biggest entertainment launches ever
• It could generate $1 billion in pre-orders alone

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch of 2025.

The information comes from market research firm DFC Intelligence (via the Financial Times), which states that it is likely to generate more than $1 billion in pre-orders alone. DFC Intelligence predicts that the game will hit a total revenue of $3.2 billion in its first 12 months, which is roughly double what its predecessor Grand Theft Auto 5 achieved in the same time period.

Yoshio Osaki, CEO of IDF Consulting is also optimistic. “We think it’s going to be one of the biggest entertainment launches in history, not just in games but for all of media,” he said. As for why this could be the case, he suggested that the “pent-up demand is greater than anything we’ve seen before.”

The first trailer for GTA 6 debuted on December 4, 2023 and has since been watched over 231 million times on YouTube. The game will focus on the fictionalized state of Leonida, which contains the iconic Vice City featured in previous games. It follows protagonist Lucia and her partner as they go on the run from the law.

Developer and publisher Rockstar Games has confirmed that it will launch in 'fall 2025' though has not provided a firm release date. We do know that the game is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S, though.

Even aside from the release of GTA 6, 2025 is already shaping up to be a huge year for gaming. The long-awaited Nintendo Switch 2 is set to be revealed and is expected to sell well when it arrives. This is on top of a barrage of major releases like Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

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• Telegram’s new verification programme allows third-party consortiums to independently verify business accounts
• The move is aimed at “prevent[ing] scams” and “reduc[ing] misinformation”
• Additional changes to the platform for January 2025 include gift-to-NFT conversions and a search bar filter

Popular messaging platform Telegram has introduced a “decentralised” verification system, allowing large, already verified organizations to verify entities in their sector.

In a blog post, the company noted while accounts verified under the original system will retain their standard blue checkmark, those that have secured third-party verification will have a unique logo that reflects their respective industries (a fast food chain gets a carrot, for example) alongside a note as to what organization verified the account and why.

The move, which Telegram says sets a “new safety standard”, does, on paper, seem like a safer way of outsourcing verification than, say, X Premium, the introduction of which on the platform formerly known as Twitter notoriously removed centralised verification ticks in favour of being able to pay for one outright.

More Telegram updates

The flipside of decentralization is that it’s the core concept of electricity-guzzling, climate-heating technologies like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which gifts received on Telegram can now be turned into - head off fraud on your platform by introducing a means by which you could, theoretically, launder money.

“Collectible gifts have special attributes and can be transferred to other users or auctioned on NFT marketplaces,” says the blog post. “Collectibles also receive a random set of secondary traits [...] every collectible gift is a unique work of art - and that some will be more rare than others.” Anyway, it’s not interesting.

Elsewhere, you can now react to service messages, and the search bar lets you filter between chats, channels, media and more; which is, to be fair, useful.

Via TechCrunch

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• Some Google smart speakers recently stopped responding to questions
• Users reported the problem with a variety of different devices
• Google investigated, and says the issue should now be fixed for most users

If you've noticed that your Google Nest smart speaker or hub appears to be ignoring voice commands, you're not alone – but Google says it has identified the problem, and is rolling out a fix to stop your devices giving you the silent treatment.

The problem was highlighted by, among others, Rita El Khoury of Android Authority, who returned from her Christmas vacation to find that her Google Nest Hub and Google Nest Audio would no longer respond to requests to tell her the weather. She was able to use the speakers to control her smart home devices, but functions like setting timers were hit and miss.

She wasn't alone, and it seems those two devices weren't the only products affected. Several other device owners have reported similar problems on the company's support forums.

"All of my Nest speakers suddenly got dumb; all were working, but as of yesterday, they all freeze up when I [try] to get past 'Hey Google'." explained Thom Drewke, who found himself faced with a similar issue. "That is, 'Hey Google are you there' gets a response, but 'What's the weather' gets no response. All of my speakers did this at the same time. Bizarre!"

Another person explained that they had nine Google Home speakers – a Google Nest Hub Max display, and a mix of various first-generation devices – and all of them had stopped responding to questions.

"I have a lot of devices connected to Google Home and I can control all of them still, I just can't ask certain questions," they wrote. "I have tried rebooting the google home devices, I have tried rebooting the router a dozen times and still nothing."

Hey Google...

Google was quick to act, and told Android Authority via email that although its team was still investigating the root cause of the problem, it had resolved the problem "so all users should be up and running now".

That should come as a relief to anyone who's looking forward to the arrival of Gemini for Google Assistant, which should allow your existing smart speakers to give you more comprehensive answers – but only if they're willing to talk to you.

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• Unofficial renders of the iPhone SE 4 have emerged
• The phone is expected to look a lot like the iPhone 14
• Apple may decide to rebrand the device as the iPhone 16E

If the leaks are to be believed, Apple will be launching the iPhone SE 4 – or should that be the iPhone 16E? – in March, and we now have some unofficial renders of the handset to give us an idea of what it's likely to look like.

These come from concept renderer @kanedacane (via Android Headlines); they're not leaked images of the phone itself, but rather an educated imagining of how the iPhone SE 4 will look based on all the information that's leaked out so far.

To sum it up: this phone is expected to look more like the iPhone 14 than the iPhone SE 3 (both of which were launched in 2022). For the first time, the SE series is set to ditch the old Touch ID look and lose the home button.

It should make for a sleeker, more modern-looking smartphone, as these renders show. Reading about the changes to the iPhone SE 4 is one thing, but seeing them is quite another – and these renders are likely to be pretty accurate.

All change

How the iPhone SE 4 may look (Image credit: @kanedacane / Android Headlines)

As you can see from the unofficial renders above, the iPhone SE 4 is expected to come in white and black options, matching the shades that the current model is available in (there's also a Product Red version of the iPhone SE 3).

There's lots more to talk about when it comes to the iPhone SE 4 besides the redesign. The leaks suggest that the device will have a single rear camera, as well as a new Wi-Fi and 5G chip that's been manufactured by Apple (and which should mean better battery life).

We're also expecting to see the A18 chipset and 8GB of RAM inside the iPhone SE 4, making it powerful enough to cope with the demands of Apple Intelligence. What with the new materials and bumped-up specs, we might also see a modest price hike this time.

As for that rumored rebranding to the iPhone 16E, we'll have to wait and see. It sounds like a somewhat clumsy name, but it would bring the phone into line with the iPhone 16 series, and would mirror what Samsung has done with the Galaxy S24 FE.

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Meta is dreaming of its social platforms brimming with helpful AI-generated profiles and content fueled by the models underlying Meta AI, according to recent comments by Connor Hayes, vice-president of product for generative AI at Meta in an interview with the FT.

Of course, logging onto Facebook and seeing a "user" named Clara_ChefBot_9000 posting AI-generated pie recipes might sound like a great way to drive engagement to Facebook's bosses, but it isn't quite the same as scrolling through your Aunt Susan’s baking photos. Regardless, Meta's vision of a platform brimming with relatable AI personalities is already beginning to roll out and if that doesn’t make you want to power down your devices and take a walk outside, let's look closer at what this might actually entail.

The charm of social media has always been people. The whole point is seeing people sharing their lives. The oversharing, humble bragging, and dumb arguments about pineapple on pizza can irritate you, but at least you're rolling your eyes about real people. AI-generated profiles, no matter how sophisticated, will always lack that authenticity. Sure, Clara_ChefBot_9000 might be able to generate recipes, but she’ll never know the joy of burning her first batch of cookies or the embarrassment of a recipe flop posted to a very judgmental audience.

Then there’s the issue of trust. We’re already grappling with deepfakes and AI-generated misinformation, not to mention people sharing a curated view of their lives as artificial as any algorithm. Do we really need bots with profile pictures trying to convince us of their “personal” opinions? Imagine arguing with a bot about politics, sports, or the aforementioned pizza topping, only to realize it’s been programmed to needle you into buying a product.

Meta AI is expanding everywhere. (Image credit: Meta) AI optimism

When AI assists humans in creative efforts, it can pull off some amazing feats, but when AI tries to mimic human creativity, it rapidly becomes dull slop or simply nonsense. Do we really need our newsfeeds clogged with bots sharing AI-generated memes or supposedly relatable status updates? And that's if they don't just go off the rails with errors. Imagine a feed full of AI profiles posting “Happy Mother’s Day” in the middle of November.

Meta AI can be fun (especially once you know how to turn it off), and there's real value in an AI capable of entertaining you with conversation. Maybe Clara_ChefBot_9000 can offer you some cooking tips at midnight. That's not a real, human connection, though. A chatbot might tell you how to bake a souffle, but it won’t commiserate with you when it collapses.

Meta might argue that these bots could help users with practical tasks, but that doesn't mean there should be a million AI characters on the platforms. Social media platform SocialAI is attempting to sell people on that idea. Its mobile app connects each user only to AI chatbots they are supposed to interact with; they won't encounter other humans there. That might be okay in limited contexts, but it makes no sense for Facebook or Instagram.

Social media exploded because it was a fantastic way to connect with people and make friends. AI can’t completely replace that. Instead of filling the platform with fake users, Meta should focus on enhancing the experience for the real ones. Otherwise, they risk creating a digital ghost town.

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