Technology

This week we break down the new government committee being led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

• Disney Plus will offer HDR10+ streaming of movies and TV shows
• It joins Prime Video and Apple in offering support for the HDR format
• HDR10+ is supported on Samsung TVs in place of Dolby Vision

Disney Plus will support HDR10+ streaming on movies and TV shows in the future, as reported by Media Play News. There is currently no timeframe for when this will happen.

The announcement was made at a press conference at CES 2025 by a representative of Communication Research Inc

Disney Plus joins some of the best streaming services such as Prime Video, Apple TV Plus, Hulu, Paramount Plus, and YouTube in supporting the premium HDR format. Disney Plus will continue to offer Dolby Vision HDR streaming as well.

HDR10+ is a premium HDR format that allows for a more dynamic, brighter, and more contrast-rich picture than SDR and HDR10. It is not only supported on streaming but also on 4K Blu-ray as well.

Why is this good news for Samsung TV owners? Until now, Disney Plus has only offered Dolby Vision HDR quality, and as Samsung TVs don't support Dolby Vision, instead opting to support HDR10+, viewers couldn't get the most out of their hardware. With HDR10+ support coming to Disney Plus, Samsung TVs, some of the best TVs around, will now get an upgraded picture when watching the best Disney Plus shows.

Samsung TVs aren't the only TVs to support HDR10+. Hisense, TCL, Panasonic, as well as Philips in the UK, all offer models that support HDR10+ as well as Dolby Vision. LG and Sony however do not support HDR10+, not even on more premium sets such as the LG C4 OLED or Sony Bravia 9, instead opting for Dolby Vision HDR support only.

Great news for Samsung

The Samsung S95F (pictured here at CES 2025) will have another streaming service it can present in its best HDR picture. (Image credit: Future)

It has always seemed like an odd decision by Samsung to continuously forego support of Dolby Vision in its TVs; a decision that hasn't changed with its 2025 OLED TVs or its 2025 mini-LED TVs.

Many streaming services such as Netflix and Disney Plus originally opted to only support the Dolby Vision HDR format, meaning Samsung owners would miss out on the best possible picture quality on their TVs. A TV like the Samsung S95D for example, one of the best OLED TVs of 2024, deserves the best quality on a streaming service.

But this decision by Disney means that Samsung TV fans - and crucially potential customers - can now buy with a bit more confidence knowing another streaming service has joined the seemingly growing group of streaming sites to offer HDR10+ streaming.

Whether other streaming services will offer HDR10+ support (looking at you, Netflix and Max) remains to be seen, but until then, Samsung lovers now have one more service they can watch on the best Samsung TVs in the optimum quality.

You might also like

• Everything new on Disney Plus in January 2025
• The 24 best Prime Video movies to stream in January 2025 - another major service that supports HDR10+
• New Disney Plus movies: every new film to stream in January 2025

At this point it’s unusual for a major tech industry event to pass by without a new handful of handhelds – and while the Nintendo Switch 2 might still be just a twinkle in Nintendo’s eye, the PC gaming handheld market is booming.

The latest company to hop aboard this particular gravy train is Acer, bringing its budget Nitro gaming brand to the fore with the new Nitro Blaze 8 and Nitro Blaze 11, officially showcased at CES 2025 this week. Acer is somewhat late to the handheld PC party, with Valve’s Steam Deck ostensibly kicking off proceedings back in 2022 and other manufacturers already entering their second generation, such as Lenovo with the Lenovo Legion Go S, which was also revealed at this year’s CES.

I’ve been holding out hope for an Acer entry into the handheld PC hall of fame for a while now, partly just because I like Acer’s hardware; I’ve long been a fan of the Swift laptop line, and the Predator and Nitro gaming brands have a good track record when it comes to delivering strong performance at reasonable prices. But after seeing what Acer had on show at CES, I’m not entirely convinced…

A monster handheld

Now, we already knew Acer had a handheld in the works, but that was the Nitro Blaze 8 – the Blaze 11 was a CES surprise. The Blaze 8 (which, frankly, should be called the Blaze 9 since it has an 8.8-inch display) looks like Acer’s spin on the traditional gaming handheld formula, with specs that are broadly similar to competitors like the Lenovo Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally X.

In awe at the size of this lad. An absolute unit of a handheld gaming PC. (Image credit: Acer)

But the Blaze 11? That’s got a humungous 10.95-inch 1600p display and will cost you $1,099 (around £1,000 / AU$1,740) – a steep price of admission for a product in a market where the $500 mark seems to be the ideal price point.

An 11-inch display on a handheld is, quite frankly, a bit nuts. Just look at that press shot up top: does that really look comfortable to use? How heavy is it in the hands? Going from something like a Steam Deck or the featherweight Switch Lite to this chunky boy is certainly going to require some adjustment. And despite its massive screen, the Nitro Blaze 11 only packs a 55Whr battery (possibly to keep the overall weight down a bit), compared to the 80Whr battery in the ROG Ally X.

How big is too big?

11 inches is… pretty darn big. (You in the back, stop giggling.) That’s almost the screen size of the laptop I’m writing this review on (a 13-inch HP Spectre x360), and I don’t have to physically grip that by both sides to use it.

I'll concede that the Blaze 11 could offer the best 'detached' portable gaming experience (Image credit: Acer)

I will say this in Acer’s defense: like the Nintendo Switch or Lenovo Legion Go, the Blaze 11 has removable controllers (which I will refrain from calling ‘joy-cons’) that slot into place on either side of the main unit, which itself has a kickstand to let you use it as a sort of portable gaming display. While this is a feature I’ve largely snorted at in the past – I’ve literally never used my own first-gen Switch in this configuration – I’ll admit that it makes more sense with a bigger screen. As seen in Acer’s promo images, the Blaze 11 also comes with a separate connector that can transform those two not-joy-cons (sorry) into a singular gamepad for a better experience.

Still, with so large a screen and so high a price tag, I do have to seriously question the practicality of the Blaze 11 against simply buying a traditional gaming laptop. I’ll reserve my full judgment until I’m able to properly review this odd, beefy device myself; but right now I have to say that this might be the strangest design choice I’ve seen Acer make for a long time.

You might also like...

• Best handheld games consoles in 2025: the top systems we've tried
• Handheld gaming PCs are here to stay: here's why I'd recommend the Asus ROG Ally over a gaming laptop any day of the week
• Move over Steam Deck and forget the Switch 2 - the next-generation of handheld gaming PCs is almost here

CNET gaming experts list the top 15 PlayStation 5 games you can play right now. Astro Bot, God of War and Helldivers 2 make the list.

Gradient's advanced window unit can heat and cool 500 square feet, all without needing any fancy electrical work. I saw it at CES 2025.

A lot can change over the course of a year, especially your music taste - I know mine has. For me, 2024 was the year of fresh music discovery, and compared to January 2024, my new year moods are slightly different. I know this because Spotify’s Playlist in a Bottle is now available to unlock.

In January 2024, Playlist in a Bottle returned to one of the best music streaming services for a second year running, and if you’re a Spotify enthusiast like me then you’ll remember locking away three songs that resonated with you the most this time last year. Now the wait is over, and you can now open your music time capsule and unveil the songs that you had on your radar - but you have until January 31 to claim your Playlist in a Bottle from last year.

This is a pinnacle time of year for Spotify’s personalized features, and Playlist in a Bottle is a soft follow-up to Spotify Wrapped, which is categorically the platform's most anticipated feature. Since its inception in 2023, Playlist in a Bottle is a small but mighty feature that’s not only a fun and quirky in-app experience, but also offers a comparative insight to the shifts in the music that appealed to you at the start of last year. With that said, I’ve opened my 2024 Playlist in a Bottle twice, and it hasn’t given me the option to create one to open next year. Therefore, we can only assume that Playlist in a Bottle is no more, but we've asked Spotify to confirm if it's coming back this year and will update this story when we hear back.

As mentioned above, January 31 is the cut-off for you to open your Playlist in a Bottle capsule from 2024, and if you’re having issues with accessing it, we have you covered.

How to find and open your Spotify Playlist in a Bottle Go to Spotify on your mobile device

(Image: © Future)

You can go to spotify.com/playlistinabottle or open the Spotify app in your phone and use the search hub to look up ‘Playlist in a Bottle’.

Unlock your playlist from 2024

(Image: © Future)

Once you’ve found Playlist in a Bottle, select ‘Claim Your Playlist’ and Spotify will take you on an interactive journey to unveil the songs you locked away a year ago.

Save your 2024 Playlist in a Bottle

(Image: © Future)

After that, you can save, share, and listen to your new playlist - but only until January 31!

You might also like

• I changed this one small Spotify feature and it made my music sound dramatically better
• My top 5 tips to make more of your Spotify playlists – and trust me, I'm a playlist obsessive
• From pop girls to the growth of podcasts, here are 5 interesting things Spotify's 2024 listening report tells us

• Assassin's Creed Shadows has been delayed to March 2025
• It's the game's second delay after its original release date slipped from November 2024 to February
• Ubisoft makes the announcement as part of a wider strategic update

Ubisoft has delayed Assassin's Creed Shadows a second time, with the game's release slipping from February to March this year.

Originally scheduled to come out in November 2024, the game was delayed to February 14, 2025, to allow more time for extra polish, but has now received a second delay of nearly five weeks.

As part of a wider strategic update statement, a Ubisoft states that: "As part of the renewed focus on gameplay quality and engaging day one experiences, it has been decided to provide an additional month of development to Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

"This additional time will allow the team to better incorporate the player feedback gathered over the past three months and help create the best conditions for launch by continuing to engage closely with the increasingly positive Assassin’s Creed community."

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot added, "We are all behind our teams’ efforts to create the most ambitious Assassin’s Creed opus of the franchise and made the decision to provide an extra month of development to Shadows in order to better incorporate the player feedback gathered over the past three months that will enable us to fully deliver on the potential of the game and finish the year on a strong note."

Any extra time when developing a game is rarely a bad thing, and fans of the series will be hoping that these extra few valuable weeks will ensure Shadows has a terrific run at being added to the upper echelons of the internet's collective best Assassin's Creed games list.

You might also like...

• Assassin's Creed Shadows' new combat overview details how skills, offensive attacks, and weapons are tailored to its dual protagonists
• Naoe will be 'the fastest Assassin' in series history says Assassin's Creed Shadows creative director
• Assassin's Creed Shadows Summer Game Fest preview: a bold, beautiful, and brutal journey across Feudal Japan

Flint's flexible, rechargeable paper batteries could one day replace their lithium-ion counterparts in your smartwatch, phone and more.

Having established power over Republican politics in the US, the industrialist is now intervening in European politics—and is himself becoming a leader of the international far right.

Your new phone didn't come with a charger in the box but don't worry, this deal has your back.

At CES 2025, CNET's Antuan Goodwin takes a look at the Honda 0 SUV and Honda 0 Saloon. Both cars are moving beyond concept vehicles and will be going into production.

• Leaked GameStop Nintendo Switch 2 listings have appeared online
• The original post appears to show compatible Switch 2 accessories
• Accessories listed include a Joy-Con Charging Stand, carry cases and more

GameStop has reportedly uploaded a range of Nintendo Switch 2 accessory listings to its site.

Switch 2 leaks seem to be everywhere lately with the latest posted by Reddit user 'Opposite-Chemistry96' (via VGC), allegedly providing us with even more details about the upcoming handheld and its compatible accessories.

The apparent listings pictured in the attached image appear to show that the next Switch console will support MicroSD Express cards, a faster option compared to those currently supported on the Nintendo Switch.

The MicroSD Express cards listed are between 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB, costing $49.99, $84.99, and $149.99 respectively, suggesting that the Switch 2 will allow more storage this time around.

Switch 2 SKU’s found in system today!! from r/Switch

In addition to the MicroSD Express cards, the post also lists several other Switch accessories that could potentially be sold by either Nintendo or other third-party companies, including a Joy-Con Charging Stand, a "Switch 2 Carry Case", a "Switch 2 Deluxe Gaming Case", a tempered glass screen protector, and Thumb Grips.

It also seems like the Switch 2 will also offer a Joy-Con Charger Grip, like the original Nintendo Switch. From previous leaks, it's alleged that the upcoming console will feature magnetically attached Joy-Cons that can be locked onto the device using triggers.

This means that the new Charger Grip for the Switch 2 could be designed differently from the original model in some capacity, but we have yet to see official images of the accessory just yet.

Earlier today, another alleged look at the Nintendo Switch 2 was leaked online with a 360-degree render. The images and video were provided by OnLeaks, via 91mobiles, and gave us our best look at the unreleased console yet, showcasing an 8.4-inch display and a black design.

You might also like...

• The best Nintendo Switch games to play in 2025
• Nintendo Switch 2 accessories have reportedly appeared for sale online, but I've seen Bigfoot photos that are more believable
• Nvidia GeForce Now is coming to select VR headsets this month, but only Ultimate and Performance members can access RTX and DLSS-supported titles

It's not a Switch 2, but boy do I want one.

It's always good to file your taxes early. Here's what you need to get started for when the IRS starts accepting tax returns.

Make this the year that you meet your protein goals daily with these delicious options.

More than 130,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, with the fires—which are still uncontained—having been declared a major disaster by President Biden.

• Data center spend is up 34% year-over-year thanks to public cloud infrastructure
• Total market revenue is expected to reach $282 billion
• Investments continue despite sustainability concerns

Total data center hardware and software spend for 2024 grew hugely on previous years as the demand for AI hit a new high, new figures have claimed.

New research from Synergy Research Group estimates spend will grow 34% compared with 2023, thanks largely to a 48% rise in public cloud infrastructure spend – the sector accounts for more than half (55%) of the entire market.

More broadly, increasing demand for public cloud services has been credited with driving cloud infrastructure investments for 15 years, highlighting its significant impact on the industry.

Data center investments skyrocketed in 2024

Key to the 2024 boom, says Synergy, was Nvidia’s “explosive growth.” The chipmaker, now the second-most valuable company in the world with a value of $3.431 trillion, has seen share prices rise 2,193% over the past five years.

The company wrote: “Nvidia’s sales directly to hyperscale and enterprise clients catapulted it into the ranks of leading data center vendors.”

If Synergy’s fourth-quarter expectations ring true, based on real data from the first three quarters of the year, total data center infrastructure equipment revenues will reach $282 billion.

“GPUs and generative AI systems lit a fire under the market in 2024, resulting in record growth rates for the industry," noted Chief Analyst John Dinsdale.

However, some analysts are calling 2024’s growth unsustainable. Separately, Canalys Senior Director Rachel Brindley added: “Continued substantial expenditure will present new challenges, requiring cloud vendors to carefully balance their investments in AI with the cost discipline needed to fund these initiatives.”

Despite the warning, hyperscalers are continuing ti invest heavily in artificial intelligence. Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith recently said the company was preparing to invest $80 billion in AI data centers throughout its 2025 fiscal year.

Days later, US President-elect Donald Trump announced $20 billion in funding from Emirati billionaire and DAMAC founder Hussain Sajwani to support data center infrastructure across Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas, alluding to billions more in funding.

You might also like

• These are the best AI tools and best AI writers
• Amazon is spending billions on expanding its data centers in Georgia
• Consider accessing compute power through the best cloud computing services

Get cash from your credit card, when you need it, without getting slammed by high fees.

• Cuff-style design for people who don't like in-ear buds
• Bluetooth 5.4 and 12mm dynamic drivers
• $29.99 for early birds, $59.99 afterwards

If you're a fan of open earbuds but don't fancy the price tag of the Bose Open Ultra earbuds, Soundpeats would like a word in your ear: the company's new PearlClip Pro earbuds are a fraction of the price and have just been unveiled at CES 2025. And if you're quick, you can pick up a pair for one-tenth the price of Bose's open-fit earbuds, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds.

The new buds go on sale on January 20 at Amazon, but if you sign up on the Soundpeats website between January 9 and 19, the price drops from its recommended $59.99 to just $29.99.

So what do you get for such a ridiculously humble asking fee?

(Image credit: SOUNDPEATS) Soundpeats PearlClip Pro earbuds: key features

The PearlClip Pro earbuds are very light at just 5.85g and have a cuff-like design that Soundpeats says helps to prevent uncomfortable ears. Unlike ear-hook models (see the Shokz OpenFit Air or Oladance's option for what we mean), you don't need to hook them over the top of your ears to get a secure fit either.

The drivers here are 12mm dual-magnet dynamic drivers, and the buds have automatic left/right channel adaptation to deliver a consistent sound even if you haven't quite got the fit right. Bluetooth is 5.4 and the companion smartphone app enables you to customize the touch controls and EQ settings.

Battery life is a promised six hours from the buds and a further 18 hours via the charging case. You can recharge from flat in 10 minutes to get two hours of play time.

We've reviewed Soundpeats' earbuds in the past and found them impressive for their price tag – so for example, while the Soundpeats Air 4 Pro aren't quite up to the standards of the AirPods Pro 2 they're designed to rival, they're not bad when you consider that they're less than a third of the price of Apple's product. We'd expect a similar situation with these buds: the Bose models will no doubt sound better, but given the choice between £299 buds and £29 buds, the budget option looks awfully tempting…

The new Soundpeats PearlClip Pro are available for pre-order now at $29.99, and will be available at Amazon US for $59.99 from January 20. Pricing and availability for other markets hasn't yet been announced, but if you could bag that lower price tag where you are, it would make them around £23.99 or AU$48. And that's impressive, however you look at it.

You might also like

• Our pick of the best noise cancelling earbuds
• The best budget wireless earbuds
• Sony's latest LinkBuds are fun and funky with a speaker to match

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!

• Maria Bakalova wants to continue playing Princess Ilana in the DCU
• The Creature Commandos star says she "wants to see her exist" in another James Gunn project
• Bakalova's comments come after season 1's blood-soaked finale, which Ilana was involved in

Maria Bakalova has expressed her desire to continue playing Princess Ilana in the DC Universe (DCU), even though it's incredibly unlikely that the character will return.

Speaking exclusively to TechRadar ahead of Creature Commandos' season 1 finale, Bakalova admitted she wasn't ready to bid farewell to Pokolistan's monarch-in-waiting. However, given what transpires in season 1's seventh episode, titled 'A Very Funny Monster', Bakalova's desire to continue playing Ilana seems like a pipedream.

Full spoilers immediately follow for Creature Commandos season 1 episode 7!

Well, that's one way to confirm Ilana won't be seen again in the DCU... (Image credit: DC Studios/Max)

In the final few minutes of this season's final chapter, which you can read about in more detail in Creature Commandos season 1 ending explained article, Ilana is killed in cold blood by The Bride. Minutes earlier, Ilana had carried out her own murder, with the Pokolistani royal family member killing Nina Mazursky, aka one of the titular team's members and the closest thing that The Bride had to a friend. As Baklova told me, Ilana ended Nina's life "to protect herself" after Nina attempted to assassinate Ilana under ARGUS chief and Task Force M handler Amanda Waller's instructions.

Alright, but why was the eponymous group tasked with killing Ilana? Remember, in the Max series' fourth episode, Amazonian sorceress Circe warned Waller – by way of a premonition – that Ilana wanted to conquer planet Earth and turn Pokolistan into a tyrannical global superpower.

That plot twist in episode 4, which is also revealed the DCU's Justice League for the first time (albeit dead at the hands of Pokolistan's armed forces), completely changed viewers' perceptions of Ilana. It's a moment that Bakalova previously told me was "an interesting reveal" for Ilana's evolution as a character, which is an understated way of describing Ilana's heel-turn.

Circe's vision of the future showed Ilana sitting in the White House after conquering the world (Image credit: DC Studios/Max)

Unfortunately, it seems that we'll never know why Ilana had plans on world domination, nor what drove her to be such a diabolical individual. That said, characters in comic books and their multimedia adaptations – DC or otherwise – have a tendency of coming back to life in some form. There's no reason, then, why Ilana couldn't return, even if it's in a flashback sequence in the recently announced Creature Commandos season 2 or another DCU Chapter One project.

That's the hope that Bakalova is clinging onto. Indeed, when I asked the Borat 2 and Marvel star (she voiced Cosmo in Guardians of the Galaxy 3) if there was ever a situation – via an earlier script or a conversation with DC Studios co-head James Gunn – where her femme fatale turned wannabe dictator might have survived, Bakalova confirmed that wasn't the case. However, she's not given up hope on voicing Ilana again in the future.

Who would've thought that Ilana wasn't as sweet as she first appeared? (Image credit: Max/DC Studios)

"I'm going to be completely transparent," Bakalova said. "I do want her to exist in the future. As an actor, I want to continue playing this role, and I'm really interested in seeing how audiences react to that [Ilana's death]. If viewers want to see more of her, maybe that's a reason to talk about it [her return] and, if not, maybe I just need to sit tight! We make these shows for people, so it's important to listen to their opinions."

As for what Bakalova would like to explore if one of the best Max shows' most notable original character is brought back in some guise, the actor said: "I want to know how she ended up being who she is today, why she wants to destroy the world, and why she wants so much power. What pushes someone to have such evil dreams about world domination? What, in her early life, drove her to become such a monster?

"At the end of it all, she's the biggest monster of all in the show," she continued. "The Creature Commandos are monsters by circumstance or the way that they look. Ilana is this beautiful, seemingly innocent human who commits monstrous acts of violence. Why is that? I'd like to find out in the future so, if James ever asked me to return, whether it's for one episode, a whole season, or even just a cameo, I'd do it. I just want my badass princess to be back from the dead already!"

You might also like

• Creature Commandos' Frank Grillo reveals what's next for Rick Flag Sr in the DCU: 'He's on a mission – and it's really one-sided'
• Get the lowdown on everything we know about James Gunn's Superman movie
• Or learn more about Peacemaker season 2, which will be the next DCU TV show to debut on Max