Technology

• Retailers have leaked incoming laptops from Asus with RTX 5000 GPUs
• Nvidia RTX 5090, 5080 and 5070 Ti models have been spotted
• This is a hint that rumors of a desktop RTX 5070 Ti are on the money

Asus has some new gaming laptops incoming with Nvidia’s next-gen Blackwell mobile GPUs on board – and Intel Arrow Lake chips, too – with the details having been spilled by some leaks from online retailers.

VideoCardz was on the case here, noticing the leaks that reveal five different Asus laptops with Nvidia RTX 5000 graphics cards, including a really beefy-sounding ROG Strix notebook.

Add seasoning appropriately here as with any leak, and we should note upfront that the Nvidia Blackwell GPU models aren’t listed by their full name, such as RTX 5090. Instead, codenames are used – for example, GN22-X11 in the case of the flagship. We know what graphics cards those codenames correspond to based on a bunch of previous leaks, but still, we must be cautious about making too many assumptions.

In theory, then, the Asus ROG Strix G835 will have that RTX 5090 on board (with 16GB of VRAM) and an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (Arrow Lake) processor, backed with 64GB of DDR5 system memory. A power-packed set of components indeed, and the G835 will run with an 18-inch display sporting a 2048 x 1536 resolution, based on its leaked listing.

We can also see the Asus ROG Zephyrus GU605 which will apparently offer options on three Nvidia GPUs: the RTX 5090, 5080 and 5070 Ti. That notebook is set to use an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H CPU, again with 64GB of DDR5 system RAM, and a 16-inch screen.

Two Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 laptops, and a ROG Strix G16 model, have also had their specs spilled online, so three in total, running with RTX 5090, 5080 and 5070 Ti GPUs respectively.

(Image credit: Nvidia) Analysis: A raft of Blackwell launches at CES 2025?

This appears to back up some previous rumors which have suggested we will see RTX 5000 laptop GPUs at CES 2025, alongside Blackwell desktop graphics cards.

Based on this spillage, we’re going to see three mobile models on offer, in the form of the RTX 5090, 5080 and 5070 Ti, although there could be lower-tier models as well.

When Nvidia launched its current-gen of mobile GPUs back at CES 2023, we got a full house of the entire range presented to us: the RTX 4050, 4060, 4070, 4080 and 4090 GPUs. Note that they were all vanilla versions, so it’s interesting to see a purported mobile RTX 5070 Ti creeping in this time around.

On the desktop front, the grapevine reckons that of Nvidia’s next-gen offerings, we’ll see RTX 5090 and 5080 models at CES in January, and possibly one or other of the RTX 5070 or RTX 5070 Ti – maybe even both of those.

So, is the mobile RTX 5070 Ti popping up a sign that we’ll get this on the desktop, too? It could be, but whatever the case, we’re seemingly going to see a fair few Blackwell GeForce GPUs being revealed for both desktop PCs and gaming laptops at CES 2025. We might also see Nvidia DLSS 4, too.

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The unique five-piece system features Dolby Atmos and room calibration.

It's the last installment of the imaginative anthology series.

• Hisense announces a Dolby Atmos wireless speaker system
• 4.1.2 channels with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support
• Similar concept to the Sony Bravia Quad

Hisense has officially revealed the HT Saturn, a new speaker system to join its range of soundbars. Set for release in 2025, there is currently no specific release date or pricing info for the HT Saturn. It's been confirmed for US release and while there's no official confirmation for other regions, Hisense says it expects to have more news soon.

Initially shown at IFA 2024, the Hisense HT Saturn consists of four satellite speakers and a wireless subwoofer, comprising 4.1.2 channels in total, with two upfiring speakers providing Atmos height channels. During its initial announcement back in September, Hisense claimed the Saturn would have 720W of power, but didn't reference this in its specs during my more recent briefing. It supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. It has HDMI eARC for connection to the TV via a transmission box, which then sends the sound out to the speakers. For audio streaming, it supports Bluetooth 5.3, but there is no built-in Wi-Fi.

Hisense, which makes one of the best soundbars available in the form of the excellent-value Hisense AX5215H, seem to have taken inspiration from Sony's Bravia Theater Quad system, which similarly comprises four satellite speakers. However, the Quad is a 4.0.4-channel system, coming with two extra upfiring speakers, but lacking the dedicated subwoofer. When we tested the Sony Theater Quad here at TechRadar, we were impressed.

The Hisense HT Saturn also supports a room calibration feature, which Hisense says will allow users to place the HT Saturn speakers wherever they want and sound will adjust to fit the space and positioning, so it will still sound like an accurate surround sound system.

Hisense also announced its Hi-Concerto feature, which enables a compatible Hisense TV's speakers to be used in conjunction with not only the HT Saturn but also compatible Hisense soundbars, (though no specific models of TV or soundbar have been confirmed as of yet). This very reminiscent of Samsung's Q-Symphony feature, LG's WOW Orchestra feature, and Sony's Center Sync, all of which are featured on some of the best TVs available.

A potential Dolby Atmos hit

(Image credit: Hisense )

Hisense may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of home audio, but when I tested Hisense's 5.1.2ch Dolby Atmos soundbar, the Hisense AX5125H, I was amazed at just how good it was, establishing itself as one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars for such a budget price.

The Hisense HT Saturn is going up against the Sony Bravia Quad and already there are some key differences. The Saturn offers a subwoofer in-box whereas the Bravia Quad does not, with the Sony SA-SW5 and SA-SW3 wireless subwoofers supported as an optional extra. However, on the audio front, the Saturn is limited to Bluetooth whereas the Bravia Quad supports Wi-Fi for better-quality music streaming.

Where the Saturn will surely win the battle is price. At $2,499 / £1,999 / AU$3,699, the Bravia Quad is a pricey system that's more costly than the likes of the Samsung HW-Q990D, our choice for the best premium Dolby Atmos soundbar.

If Hisense can offer the Saturn for significantly cheaper than the Bravia Quad (which I strongly suspect it will) then Hisense could be onto a winner. Because I have little doubt about the sound side of things, thanks to what I've experienced with the Hisense AX5125H.

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• 72 directional fins move audio around
• Amps and processing are no longer external
• It'll cost "around" $20K if you don't want a fancy finish

Earlier this year, Danish high-end hi-fi expert Dynaudio unveiled its astonishing Symphony Opus One soundbar and everybody went "ooh", including us. And since then, its engineers have found ways to make it even better, and to make people go "oooooooooh".

It remains eye-wateringly expensive – final pricing hasn't been confirmed but Dynaudio says it'll cost "around $20,000 depending on the options chosen" as custom finishes will also be available. That'll be confirmed when the product actually launches, but for now there's going to be a new demo at the CES show in January.

(Image credit: Dynaudio) On the first day of CES my true love gave to me...

We got to experience the first Dynaudio Opus One demo demo when it was still a concept and far from production. To say we were impressed would be an understatement: it delivers genuinely room-filling Atmos sound from a soundbar that's fairly room-filling itself due to its large size. You're going to want one of the best 85-inch TVs if you want this to look like a normally sized soundbar.

It needs to be big because listing what's inside feels rather like singing the 12 days of Christmas: there are 72 wooden fins, six tweeters, 14 mid/bass drivers, FIVE GO-OLD RINGS, four dual-diaphragm force-cancelling subwoofers, 1500W of digital amplification, and a partridge in a pear tree. I'm lying about the rings and the tree; I suspect that wood isn't 'pear'.

The big difference in this new version of the design is that that amplification and processing is now inside; previously it was external. That makes for a more elegant appearance, and considerably less connecting when you're installing it. Or for whoever you're paying to install it, probably.

Sadly I won't be at CES to experience this or to try to stuff it into a comically large backpack, but TechRadar will have people there, so we'll aim to visit the behind-closed-doors CES demo. But if you're a big-spending fan of iconic design as well as intense audio, this could well be the soundbar you'll want to buy in 2025.

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When the current emoji options don't really express what you want, quickly make your own.

• Spotify is reportedly pushing "ghost artists" into many playlists
• Ghost artists are similar to muzak: it's music to be in the background
• Some employees have refused to take part

Who makes the music you're streaming? On some Spotify playlists it might not be who you think. A bombshell new report in Harper's magazine says that a program called Perfect Fit Content, PFC for short, is stuffing some playlists with cheaply produced content.

The report goes into great detail, but here's the short version: rather than give individual artists some much-needed exposure in some playlists, Spotify is buying in music from production companies who effectively make musical wallpaper. It's music that's designed specifically to sound quite like other people's music and to cost Spotify as little as possible. And then Spotify's own employees are giving that music undue prominence in playlists at the expense of other artists.

That's good for Spotify's bottom line, because it means even less money is going to musicians; many music production companies pay a small flat fee without major future royalty payments going to the musicians. But as the Harper's report argues, "it raises worrying questions for all of us who listen to music."

Where are the ghost musicians on Spotify?

The playlists are ones primarily designed to be listened to in the background; think "chill instrumental beats" and "lo-fi house". And the music is being pushed into those playlists to make each playlist more profitable, ie. to make it pay less to musicians. As Harpers' Liz Pelly puts it, the idea is simple: why pay full royalties if people are only half listening?

The problem with that is that Spotify's idea of what constitutes background music is what many of us would just call, well, music. Think ambient music, classical music, electronica, jazz, lo-fi beats… you get the idea.

The reason this is a problem is that there is already tons of ambient, classical, electronica, jazz, lo-fi beats and other music on Spotify. And if that's being pushed down the playlists in favor of music Spotify has bought in specifically because it's generic but cheaper, that's going to damage not just the careers of musicians in those genres but also the genres themselves.

Pelly explains it very well in her piece:

"Spotify had long marketed itself as the ultimate platform for discovery—and who was going to get excited about 'discovering' a bunch of stock music? Artists had been sold the idea that streaming was the ultimate meritocracy – that the best would rise to the top because users voted by listening. But the PFC program undermined all this."

Pelly adds, however, that "Spotify denies that staffers were encouraged to add PFC to playlists, and that playlist editors were discontented with the program." I recommend reading the full piece and the quotes from editors, as well as Spotify's responses to individual elements, to form your own opinion.

And now there's AI…

When you look at Spotify through this lens, its embrace of AI – Spotify boss Daniek Ek, whose net worth is higher than any musician who ever lived, is very excited about it – starts to look a lot less fun: is the goal of AI really to improve your listening experience, or is it to stream the musical equivalent of crappy AI images?

We know that many AI systems have been trained using what artists and artists' organisations would characterise as widespread and blatant copyright infringement in order to churn out copies of the same artists' work; it might not be as good, but it's a damn sight cheaper.

As I wrote last month, "Many years back, a music business expert told me that music companies didn't care about music; they'd sell Brillo pads full of custard if that's where the money was." Swap custard pads for ghost artists and it's the same deal.

As one former Spotify playlist editor told Pelly about AI pumping out audio much like the PFC program does, “I’m sure it’s something that AI could do now, which is kind of scary."

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• Virtavo, a company selling web cameras and other security solutions, was found exposing user data
• Researchers at Cybernews found a large database full of PII unprotected
• The archive has since been closed down

Home security solutions provider Virtavo has been accused of harvesting and exposing sensitive data on (possibly) hundreds of thousands of users.

Cybersecurity researchers from Cybernewsfound an exposed data server with 3GB of personal information and telemetry from iPhones. in the summer of 2023

All the information had one thing in common - it was generated from an app called Home V, which manages Virtavo security cameras. These cameras allow video streaming, playback, two-way communication, motion alerts, and more.

Hundreds of thousands of users

The database included people’s phone numbers, device identifiers, IP addresses, firmware versions, and other device, network, and user information. The researchers said the data could be used to identify camera owners, which is particularly concerning. Furthermore, the data was updated in real-time, which is the Holy Grail of data for all cybercriminals.

In total, the server held more than 8.7 million records. Not all of them were unique, and some identifiers appeared up to 50 times. This led the researchers to speculate that at least 100,000 users are affected by the leak.

Most are located in China, but there are plenty of users from other parts of the globe, as well.

“The detailed device identifiers, IP addresses, user phone numbers, and other personal information can be exploited by malicious actors for various purposes, including targeted attacks, unauthorized access, identity theft, and surveillance,” the researchers said. “Updates in real-time exacerbate the issue, as it allows for continuous collection of fresh data.”

The researchers reported their findings to both the company and the Chinese Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), and the server was subsequently shut down. However, it remains unclear if any malicious actors found it before.

Via Cybernews

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• IBM study finds 89% of companies are maintaining or increasing AI investments in 2025
• Many are already benefitting from open-source ecosystems
• Using managed cloud and hiring specialized talent can also help

New research from IBM has claimed open source software could help fuel innovation and increase ROI when it comes to AI tools, helping companies to get the most out of their artificial intelligence projects.

Until now, some companies have been throwing money at the problem to no avail, but while three in five (62%) are set to continue increasing their AI investments next year and a quarter (27%) will maintain investments, more businesses are beginning to recognize open source’s role.

Investments aren’t fizzling out, either, with two-fifths (39%) of those planning to increase investments planning to do so by 25-50%.

Open source and AI is a match made in heaven

The good news is that businesses are finally beginning to consider other aspects and organizational changes in a bid to maximize their outlay – using managed cloud services (51%), hiring specialized talent (48%) and utilizing open source (48%) were at the top of IT decision-makers’ agendas.

It’s not a case of talking the talk without walking the walk, either, with six in 10 already using open-source ecosystems as an AI tool source. Four in five also noted that at least a quarter of their AI solutions or platforms were based on open source.

Lopez Research’s Maribel Lopez commented: “Companies now recognize the value of defining specific use cases and optimizing AI projects. They are leveraging hybrid cloud strategies and open source to drive AI innovation and deliver financial returns.”

Looking ahead, IBM revealed that traditional cash-based ROI metrics are becoming less important to companies as they explore other measurements of success, such as the speed at which AI projects transition from pilot to full deployment, productivity time savings and faster software development.

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• Google seems to be testing a new Quick Edit feature for Google Photos
• It allows users to apply an enhancement or crop a photo before sharing it
• There's no release timeline for the new feature yet

Google is seemingly testing a new feature for the Google Photos app called Quick Edit, which allows users to apply a last-minute touch-up to images before sharing them with family, friends, and other contacts.

Android Authority reports that a user named Alex – who was using version 7.10.0 of the Google Photos app on a Google Pixel 6 Pro handset – noticed a new screen on their Google Photos app, suggesting Google may be A/B testing the new feature with a limited number of users. We don’t know how these users would have been selected.

Though developed by Google and included with Android, Google Photos is available on a wide range of devices – so this new feature could prove useful whether you're rocking a Google Pixel 9, Samsung Galaxy S24, or iPhone 16.

At the moment, it seems the screen only appears when selecting a single image. However, those hoping for deep image editing before sending their snaps may want to defer to another app, as the Quick Edit screen seems to only offer, well, very quick and light-touch edits.

The Quick Edit interface on a Google Pixel 6 Pro (Image credit: Android Authority)

According to screenshots shared by the Android Authority tipster (above), users are only able to use Quick Edit to apply a one-and-done enhancement to the image or apply a crop to the photo. This appears to be the same enhancement available in the app’s existing Edit screen.

Limited... but better than nothing

The editing options coming to Google Photos might seem a tad limited, but I’m personally happy to see this feature being trialed, given the amount of time I spend cropping screenshots and document scans to send to others.

However, it would be nice to at least see basic brightness, contrast, and saturation controls added to the Quick Edit screen by release, as I find one-shot ‘enhancements’ can have unpredictable effects on colors and lighting.

There’s a balance to be struck here, as speed is the name of the game, but I can’t see myself needing to enhance screenshots, document scans, or purely informational images like photos of signs.

And as for pics of friends and family, I’m unlikely to just throw on a blanket enhancement filter and call it a day – though if the touch-ups are subtle enough, I can see this being useful for people who are less bothered or less experienced with editing photos on a smartphone.

In any case, this is a feature I could see myself using, and I’m a fan of anything that gives users more options to use their device how they like. Google hasn’t issued a release date for this new feature yet, so be sure to keep up with our Android coverage for the latest updates.

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