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The Samsung Galaxy S25 was left home alone this year. In all the excitement over Galaxy AI, the redesigned Galaxy S25 Ultra, and ProScaler on the bigger phones, I think Samsung forgot something important: it forgot to bring the Galaxy S25 into 2025.

The Galaxy S25 looks a lot like last year's Galaxy S24, and the Galaxy S23 from the year before that. It's a bit thinner and a tad lighter, but not much else has changed.

It uses the same cameras as the Galaxy S23. This year's model comes with 12GB of RAM instead of 8GB, but it still starts at 128GB of storage, a paltry gallery space for all the AI images you'll create, surely.

The battery hasn't grown more than 3% larger over the past two years, though I surmise based on my time testing other Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite phones (like the OnePlus 13) that the Elite chipset inside this phone should prove a boon for battery life. Still, we couldn't have had a bigger cell? Or faster charging? Nope. Same, same.

Why not just sell the Galaxy S23 with a newer processor inside and call it a day? Shhhhh, I think that's pretty much what Samsung has done.

The Galaxy S25 Plus (left) and Galaxy S25 (right) with my favorite web site (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

I jest, and hopefully we'll see a bigger refresh next year, but this year is all about the software inside, and the AI that is totally, assuredly coming soon.

I don't mean the improved photo-editing tools, or the audio eraser AI for videos, or the better Bixby that can find settings using natural language questions. I'm talking about next-generation AI agents, so-called agentic AI.

The Galaxy S25 is going to gather information about you from everywhere. It will use your phone, your Galaxy Ring, your Galaxy Watch, and even your smart home devices, like your lights and your TV. It will learn about you, and keep everything it learns in a secure lockbox on your phone.

It will gather that info so that it can... um, actually I'm not sure. Samsung suggested it might turn off the TV when you fall asleep, or suggest better lighting for bed time, but most of what we heard so far is promises of what's to come. Not quite a preview, just a hint.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Look at how Samsung talks about this phone. In its official press release, Samsung MX Business President TM Roh says the Galaxy S25 "opens the door to an AI-integrated OS..." and the release says "It’s the starting point of a shared vision with Google..." This isn't a finished product. It's a start, an empty vessel, and you fill it with data about you.

I like the future that Samsung is building towards. It clearly understands that AI needs to make your phone easier to use and more accessible, and I think the best improvements we'll see in the Galaxy S25 will be Bixby's ability to help parse Samsung's wealth of features.

I like that Samsung is taking personal data so seriously with its Personal Data Engine. I'm very curious about what Samsung and my Galaxy S25 will do with all of my personal data, and if Galaxy AI will truly improve as it learns more about me and my habits. There's a lot of potential, but Samsung has only demonstrated a patchwork of possibilities, not a coherent whole.

I suspect this is a phone with a long, growing tail, so we'll have to review this phone and revisit it as Samsung keeps improving and evolving Galaxy AI.

Samsung Galaxy S25 hands-on review: Price and availability

Every blue shade of Galaxy S25 (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Samsung Galaxy S25 was unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked on January 22. It's available to pre-order now in a choice of four colors: Icyblue, Navy, Mint, and Silver Shadow. In normal parlance that's light blue, dark blue, light green, and silver.

The phone ships in either 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage configurations, depending on your region, and every variant comes with 12GB RAM.

The Galaxy S25 will begin shipping on February 7 for the following prices:

Samsung Galaxy S25 series: $900 instant trade-in credit and up to $300 credit at Samsung
Looking for an unlocked device? This right here is your best option by far. The official Samsung Store is offering an excellent trade-in rebate of up to $900 and $300 of store credit on the house for both carrier and unlocked devices today. The trade-in here is superb and the $300 credit is also a significant bonus that can be used to pick up any number of cheap accessories at the Samsung Store. Overall, a superb opening deal and one that's even better than I anticipated.View Deal

Samsung Galaxy S25 hands-on review: Specs

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Here's a look at the Samsung Galaxy S25's key specs:

Samsung Galaxy S25 hands-on review: design and display

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

I’m spending so much time talking about AI developments on the Samsung Galaxy S25 because otherwise this generation of Galaxy S is confoundingly unchanged from last year, and the year before. Except for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which now simply looks like an even bigger version of the Galaxy S25 Plus, the basic design will be recognizable, and a bit tired.

I don’t fault Samsung for not making huge changes this year. There are expensive new components inside, so a massive redesign would have driven the price higher. Samsung has laudably managed to keep the price stable with last year’s Galaxy S24 launch, which is a feat in itself, considering the rumors I've heard about sky-high prices for Qualcomm’s coveted Snapdragon 8 Elite chips.

More on those later; first the Galaxy S25’s design. To borrow a car analogy, the Galaxy S25 is like the Toyota Camry of the smartphone world, versus Apple’s Honda Accord. In other words, these phones look the same every year, and if you squint they kind of look like each other.

We’re long past the point of expecting a new look every year. We get minor changes, some flourishes and improvements, but most of the improvements happen under the hood.

Samsung Galaxy S25 hands-on review: cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Nothing to see here so far, at least on paper. I suspect we'll see actual improvements once we've had time to test the new Galaxy S24 cameras, thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which includes a new image processing pathway that has shown great results on competing Snapdragon phones.

The specs seem to be exactly the same as we've seen on Galaxy S phones for the last two years, at least the not-Ultra models. While the Ultra this year got a new 50MP camera to replace its old 12MP ultra-wide, the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus both retain the same 50MP main camera, 10MP 3x zoom, and 12MP ultra-wide lens.

Maybe Samsung wasn't paying attention, but phone makers have started to respect smaller phones by giving them better camera specs. The Apple iPhone 16 Pro and Google Pixel 9 Pro offer a smaller, less expensive option than the Pro Max and Pro XL models, without sacrificing megapixels or zoom.

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I wish we got the same on a smaller or less expensive Galaxy S25, but instead we get the mighty Ultra, and then the rest. Instead, Samsung has focused on improving photos through AI, both before and after you take the shot.

I got to try Samsung's improved photo-editing tools with generative AI, and they were very impressive. When the Gallery app removed someone from a photo, the wood floor beneath their feet was left unbroken, with clean wood plank lines.

Still, software seems like a poor substitute for better glass and more advanced sensors. With the cameras and in too many other ways, the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus seem like afterthoughts for Samsung this year.

Samsung Galaxy S25 hands-on review: performance and battery

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset is the real deal, and the Galaxy S25 continues Samsung’s three-year tradition of getting a slightly overclocked version of Qualcomm’s best chip. We’re not sure exactly what that means, but the last two 'Snapdragon for Galaxy' chipsets overclocked the big primary core by 5%. It's a minimal advantage that only matters in benchmarks, but somebody has to be #1, right? So Samsung gets the bragging rights.

Besides the overclocked Snapdragon for Galaxy, there’s more interesting hardware in this Galaxy than I expected to find. The Personal Data Engine is an actual hardware partition, governed by the on-chip Samsung Knox security that is good enough for most three-letter US Government agencies. The info that you feed your Galaxy AI will stay on the phone, keeping your data secure.

If you get a new phone, you can use Samsung Smart Switch to transfer that personal data, but if you lose your phone, all of the data you stored will be lost.

That’s kind of sad, because the promise of AI will be how much it can adapt to your needs as it gets to know you. I wonder if the Galaxy S25 will seem like a whole different animal once it has two, three, or even seven years of my personal data stored within its engine.

For charging, Samsung hasn't stepped into the modern age with faster wired or wireless charging, and the Galaxy S25 is stuck at around 45W while the OnePlus 13 can push 80W, with a 100W adapter on the way. The difference means missing out because you were waiting for your phone to wake up.

Samsung Galaxy S25 hands-on review: software

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Galaxy S25 is a phone that will get to know you… eventually. Samsung’s new flagship phone could be one of the best phones of 2025, but it’s hard to get too excited about it… yet. That’s because Samsung is handing us tabla rasa, a blank slate, waiting to be filled with our personal data.

If asking your smartphone to learn everything – from your sleep habits to your photo gallery to your entire messaging history – sounds frightening, Samsung is well aware of that, which is why the most interesting part of the Galaxy S25 is the so-called ‘personal data engine,’ a secure container for all of the personal data that the Galaxy S25 gathers about you.

What will it do with all of that information? It’s hard to say, because we haven't gotten that far. If the last generation of AI features seemed like party tricks, the next generation is going to work hard to get to know you, and then… yada yada, we’ve got AI!

Galaxy AI will gather information from more than just your phone. It will get info from your Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Ring, and it will compare that with data collected from your Samsung SmartThings smart-home devices.

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Samsung says, for example, that Galaxy AI might notice if you fall asleep better with certain lights turned on or off, and make suggestions. Your Galaxy Ring will notice that you're asleep, and it will tell your phone to tell your Samsung TV to shut down.

We’re still learning about everything that Galaxy AI might do, but this feels like the next step for mobile AI. This isn’t sleight-of-hand; it feels useful.

The Galaxy S25 uses Bixby to control Galaxy apps and smartphone settings, and Google’s Gemini for things like generating text in Messages, and Circle to Search, but Samsung is wisely keeping the names to itself. Users don’t need to know if they're engaging with Bixby or Gemini or Galaxy AI; it will just work, at least according to Samsung.

Unfortunately it doesn’t just work just yet, at least not in my brief hands-on time with the Galaxy S25. Many of the new AI features were not working on the pre-production demo units I got to try. Samsung reps had phones with more features, but I don’t think everything will be ready at launch.

Most of it will need a lot more data from you and me, after all.

The three flagship Android phones debut new ways to interact with Google’s Gemini and, yes, Samsung’s Bixby.

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The first Samsung Galaxy Unpacked of 2025 kicks off an exciting year ahead for Android phones and mobile AI. We're expecting a brand new Samsung Galaxy S25 family, with the premiere Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra leading the way. I've attended plenty of Unpacked events, so I'll be live blogging here as news breaks from Samsung's conference in San Jose, CA.

We haven't heard much about the Galaxy S25 that will make it stand out, even against the Galaxy S24 family, so we're expecting Galaxy AI to be star of today's show. There could be Bixby surprises and previews of what's to come in the months or even years ahead.

At the least, I'm expecting a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset for Galaxy, continuing Qualcomm's tradition of overclocking its chips for its biggest Android and foundry partner.

Will we see a preview of more than just phones? Maybe a hint about Project Moohan and Samsung's smart glasses? We'll know soon enough.

If you want to watch the event yourself, you can check out our guide on how to watch Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025. For all the news and rumors ahead of Unpacked, you're in the right place, so read on.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

We're 30 minutes from Galaxy Unpacked and your TechRadar editors are live on the scene at the SAP Center in San Jose, CA! Our Editor-at-Large Lance Ulanoff is covering the news as it happens, then going hands-on with all the new devices, while our video guru Viktoria Shillets captures live footage for all of our TechRadar channels. We'll keep this Live Blog going throughout the show, so stay tuned to this channel.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Ok Galaxy fans, today is your day. If you've been following the leaks and rumors about the upcoming Galaxy S25 family so far, you haven't seen a whole lot that's new. We're expecting a new look for the Galaxy S25 Ultra that brings it closer to the other Galaxy S25 family, with rounded corners and a smooth back, but we haven't seen many other new hardware features. Is Samsung hiding all the good stuff inside?

Undoubtedly, as Samsung will definitely be using a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, and it will probably be overclocked just for Samsung with a for Galaxy badge attached. That means the Galaxy S25 could the fastest phone ever, even faster than the iPhone 16 Pro. What will Samsung do with so much power? That's what we're waiting to find out.

Viktoria and Lance at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked in San Jose, CA (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

One of the biggest questions we have remaining today surrounds the mysterious, so-called Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim. Apple has been rumored to be working on a slimmer version of its iPhone, now presumably called the iPhone Air. Samsung could also be leading the charge with a slimmer Galaxy S25 today, a Galaxy S25 Slim.

Last minute rumors suggest that the slimmer Galaxy S phone may not appear today, but could show up later in the year, around May. The Galaxy S25 Slim may not come to the US, either, presumably because we don't like things that are Slim here? Who knows.

We'll keep a look out for any executives carrying incredibly slim Galaxy phones, but until we know for sure, keep following for the latest news and rumors.

(Image credit: Axel Metz / Future)

Samsung isn't just throwing a party in San Jose, today. Our reporters in the UK are also on the scene for a special hands-on opportunity with Samsung and the new phones. Clearly the 10am Samsung crowd in California is different from the 6pm Samsung crowd across the pond.

If you weren't sure that today's star would be Galaxy AI, even more than the Galaxy S25, just look at that drink! When the ice cube says AI, believe it.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Go go go! We are go for Galaxy Unpacked. The Live stream should start any minute, and I'm watching at Samsung.com.

I can also tell you now that I've gotten hands-on time with the entire new Galaxy S25 family, including the Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Read my hands-on look at the Galaxy S25 and the Galaxy S25 Plus, and Lance's hands-on with the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Samsung's President of the Mobile eXperience group, TM Roh, has taken the stage and immediately announced the Galaxy S25 family. Now Roh has handed off to Google to talk about Gemini and new features coming first to the Galaxy S25.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Roh is back on stage saying the Galaxy S25 will understand not only your commands, but also your intentions. You can talk the way you talk to your friend, and initiate multiple actions with one button press. Roh says it will anticipate your needs.

No specifics on how it will do all of this, but Roh is moving onto privacy. The Personal Data Engine on the Galaxy S25 will keep all of this personal data secure with Samsung's KNOX security, which is no joke. But what data will it store? We haven't heard specific examples yet.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Roh is saying today marks a beginning of a new reality. We're going to hear a lot of this sort of talk today. A new beginning, opening a door, starting something big. We're at the start of the new mobile AI phase, not in the middle. Samsung is going to start collecting what it needs to build a more robust Galaxy AI, but it isn't quite here yet.

That's fine, the phone is still going to be a top performer. Hopefully we'll see more about the features available today, instead of just talking about tomorrow.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung is showing off improvements to features we've seen before, like transcripts on calls, and other improved AI generative text and speech features.

Samsung's Drew Blackard is showing a preview of upcoming Galaxy AI, and we get to see the Now Brief and Now Bar, two new AI driven features that will deliver news and updates about your day.

(Image credit: Samsung)

The Now Brief will proactively share information tailored to you when it matters most, according to Blackard. It isn't all meetings and business, the Now Bar on the lock screen will give you sports updates. We're not seeing anything brand new, so we'll need to experience all the new software to determine if it's really responding to our daily routine.

To do this, Blackard is describing the Personal Data Engine, a partition in the Galaxy S25 that will privately store a wealth of information about you using knowledge graph technology. It will try to make connections about all of the different data it collects from your phone, your wearables, and even your smart home devices.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Blackard says the Galaxy S25 will provide tailored AI suggestions, but hasn't given us any concrete examples of what sort of suggestions it will provide.

We're now seeing a new update to the Samsung side bar tool, adding an AI Assist feature. In the past, you could use Drawing Assist to select and cut up parts of your screen, but AI Assist will understand what sort of content you're viewing, and it will offer you a variety of options based on what you see. You might cut up a video for a GIF, or add a date to your calendar, based on what AI Assist sees.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung is now talking up Circle to Search improvements, because apparently that's one AI feature people are actually using. In fact, Samsung says that Circle to Search fans use it quite extensively, almost every day on average.

Google is also improving its Gemini and Gemini Live features, and we're getting a preview of Gemini from Google's own AI execs.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Google is talking about new multi-modal context capabilities coming to Gemini Live on the Galaxy S25 first. You'll be able to ask Gemini Live, Google's conversational version of Gemini, to interact with the things you see on screen. Previously, Gemini Live, which again is only the conversational component of the Gemini AI, could only operate in its own app.

These seem like baby steps towards a true AI user interface, but we're getting closer. Google is asking Gemini Live to critique a photo taken of a pet retriever, and of course Live has something to say.

Google is offering 6 months of Gemini Advanced and 2TB of Google Cloud storage to all Galaxy S25 buyers. That's a nice start, I pay for that service on my own and it's worth the price for the storage alone, since you can share that space across all your Google accounts and apps.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Whoa, a hint about Project Meehan, Samsung's upcoming XR goggles. Samsung is saying that the XR experience will rely upon multi-modal AI, just like the features coming to Gemini Live on the Galaxy S25. We're not seeing anything specific, just a silhouette of the goggles, and apparently this executive is still talking about things that are not XR glasses, but I stopped listening. When are we getting Samsung XR glasses?! Tell us more, now!

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Here, Samsung presents in one slide all of the cool things that they are not going to show us today. We have a tri-fold phone, a set of XR goggles, and smart glasses that look like Meta Ray-Ban glasses.

Instead they are talking about more AI in the future and keeping data secure and blah blah blah. This isn't very fun. They can talk all they want about keeping data secure, but they haven't explained why I should hand over my data in the first place? What's the benefit? We shall see, eventually.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Okay, now we're hearing about the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which we already know is an incredibly powerful mobile platform with great power management skills. It should offer top-notch power and amazing battery life, if the Galaxy S25 performs like other Snapdragon 8 Elite phones I've reviewed and tested.

This should be a gaming powerhouse, and Samsung is showing off tons of in-game footage from a variety of Android games. Our own benchmarks have shown Qualcomm isn't lying about this chipset, it really is a major step forward. If you have an older phone, especially a phone that is a couple years old or more, you're going to see a big difference.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Galaxy S25 series comes in luminant shades of blue inspired by AI. Samsung just said that. AI is blue. It isn't just three stars, it's actually the color blue. And that blue is navy, icy, or mint green, if you check out the Galaxy S25 in person.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is not blue. It is serious titanium colors, because when you pay for a phone like the Ultra you don't want silly blue colors, you want serious metal colors.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung is talking about the camera, starting with the ProVisual engine inside. That's good, because we already know that the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus have been left behind when it comes to camera technology. The Galaxy S25 Ultra remains a superlative camera phone, but the other Galaxy S25 phones are using sensors and lenses that would have been advanced two or three years ago.

Samsung is demonstrating the new aperture control, but this is a bit misleading, because you have to download a separate Samsung app, Expert RAW, if you want this feature to work. And it isn't really giving you control over the aperture, it's simulating the depth of field using AI.

There are tons of improvements to the photo editing across the board, with more automatic removal tools if you have people who walk into your frame.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Now is the portion of Galaxy Unpacked where professional film makers with professional lighting and film crews show you the sort of professional footage they can capture using only the Galaxy S25 Ultra and their professional gear.

In fact, the SCUBA videography looks very impressive, and I'll be asking for more details about how this videographer pulled off amazing color underwater.

Samsung is also offering Log video recording on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which helps professionals set a constant color balance across a range of footage.

(Image credit: Samsung)

The only major hardware upgrade to the Galaxy S25 cameras is the 50-megapixel sensor on the ultra-wide camera on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The other specs remain completely the same across the entire range. I'm not sure if any of the underlying camera sensors have changed, but the resolution and focal lengths have stayed the same since last year.

There could be plenty more benefits from the improved image processing handled by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and Samsung's own improved image tooling. I'll have to spend plenty of time with this camera to see if it earns a spot on my list of the best camera phones.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Moving on from the cameras, Samsung is talking about how the Galaxy S25 will help us improve our health. Samsung Health app will get an update that takes advantage of more AI features and tailors an end-to-end experience, according to Samsung. That will include personalized insights and coaching, usually advice to get more sleep.

Your Galaxy devices will know when you fall asleep, and will check for patterns with your smart home equipment to determine if there is an ideal setting that helps you fall asleep better. It might also turn off your Samsung TV.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung is launching a number of new Samsung Health coaching and tracking features, including mindfulness features that will ask you about your mood. Frankly, it doesn't seem as intrusive as Apple's Journal app, which pesters me daily to write about mundane trips to the grocery store.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Drew Blackard is coming back, and he's important, so hopefully we'll hear more important news, not just Samsung app examples.

We're hearing about how the phone will connect with other Samsung devices around your home. I hope this doesn't require a brand new TV set, in addition to the latest Galaxy S phone. Also, we've only heard about gathering information about your home, and turning off the TV.

Samsung will now let you monitor your pets and help them watch more TV. You'll be able to connect with a vet in the US through Dr.Tail, an online vet service, using your Samsung phone.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Blackard just said 'Bixby,' so I think I got BINGO! This might be the first time we've heard Samsung use the name of its AI agent on device, while Google has spent plenty of Unpacked talking about Google Gemini advances.

Bixby is the AI that controls your phone, and possibly other Samsung smart devices. We haven't heard too much about the way Bixby has matured with AI, but hopefully we'll learn more.

Wait, there's ONE MORE THING! The Galaxy S25 EDGE!!!

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

What is this?! We see some internal components, and a brief silhouette from the side, and then the screen goes dark. Thankfully our diligent screenshot people caught that one. I think we'll learn more about this in a few months.

• Meta is reportedly working on multiple smart glasses
• Includes Oakley smart specs like its Ray-Bans, and glasses with a display
• Artemis, consumer versions of Orion, are tipped for 2027

We already knew Meta was working on improvements to its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses in the form of the Meta Orion AR glasses prototype, with leaks also pointing a display-equipped version of its Ray-Ban specs landing this year, but it reportedly has a few other tricks up its sleeve too, including Oakley-branded smart glasses designed for athletes and earbuds with cameras built-in.

This is according to details shared by Bloomberg (article behind a paywall), which are attributed to people familiar with the projects who have been asked to not be identified.

Starting with project “Hypernova” – the name given to those Ray-Ban specs with a display – Bloomberg’s report supports details we’ve heard previously that such smart glasses would be coming this year, with the earliest teaser of that coming from a leaked internal Meta roadmap The Verge shared back in 2023, though we’ve heard more recently that a 2025 launch is on the cards.

The Meta Orion smart glasses (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

We now might also know a bit more about Hypernova, with the Bloomberg leak revealing that the display will feature on the bottom of the right lens, and can show apps, notifications, and previews of images you’ve taken with the glasses – which sounds a lot closer to Orion’s capabilities than some were expecting (us included). Hypernova won’t be cheap though, with some suggesting it could cost around $1,000 (£800 / AU$1,600), which is three times pricier than the cheapest Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses.

The leaks also teases “Artemis”, which is set to drop in 2027 and will be the commercially available version of Orion. Artemis prototypes are said to already be more advanced and lighter than Orion, though weight, device cost and manufacturing at scale are apparently challenges Meta still needs to overcome before it settles on a final version of Artemis.

Oakley smart specs incoming?

If Ray-Bans aren’t your style, Meta is also rumored to be partnering with Oakley (which shares a parent company with Ray-Ban) to create glasses labelled “Supernova 2”, which are said to be based on Oakley’s Sphaera glasses. The specs of the glasses would seemingly be similar to the current model of Ray-Bans (ie camera, no display), but would shift the camera to the center of the glasses frame, and include features to appeal to cyclists and athletes.

Precisely what this means beyond the frame shape is yet to be seen, but as I’ve previously highlighted it’s important for wearables to not just be useful but look good and come in plenty of style varieties as fashion is an extension of who we are more so than typical gadgets – so i won’t be complaining if Supernova just ends up being effectively new styles of the pre-existing specs, if anything I’m all for it.

(Image credit: Oakley)

Lastly, we have a few weirder items. We’ve heard previously about Meta’s Camerasbuds, which add cameras to more typical looking earbuds – and apparently Samsung has similar plans – though they’re still likely some time away.

There’s also talk of a Meta smartwatch (which long-time readers will know is rumored to be cancelled/uncancelled every few months). Codenamed “Ceres”, this latest iteration is less of a watch and more a band for controlling Meta’s smart glasses. We’ve already seen a version of Ceres being used to control the Meta Orion smart glasses, and according to the leak Meta is weighing up including the wristband with Hypernova – the alternative would be relying solely on touch controls on the glasses’ frames (as we’ve seen from the current Ray-Ban smart glasses model).

While all of these new rumored details about Hypernova, Artemis, Supernova 2, and Ceres are consistent with previous leaks and official details, it’s still worth taking them with a pinch of salt. Until Meta makes its plans known in a proper setting, they could always change – especially projects like Artemis, which are still said to be at the prototype stage. To know what Meta really has up its sleeve.

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• Avengers: Doomsday won't feature Doctor Strange, according to the actor who plays him
• Benedict Cumberbatch accidentally revealed that he isn't part of the Marvel movie's ensemble
• Marvel hasn't officially commented on Cumberbatch's slip-up

Benedict Cumberbatch has accidentally revealed that he won't appear as Doctor Strange in Avengers: Doomsday.

Speaking to Variety, the British star let slip that he isn't involved in the highly anticipated Marvel movie, which is due out in May 2026. Cumberbatch, then, won't be lining up alongside many of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Avengers 5.

It's unclear what led to Cumberbatch's faux-pas but, after the Doctor Strange actor surprisingly revealed that he isn't part of the film's ensemble cast, he simply reacted by saying: "Is that a spoiler? F*** it!"

Fans of the Sorcerer Supreme shouldn't fret about his potential absence from Avengers: Secret Wars, which will cap the Marvel Multiverse Saga in May 2027. Indeed, Cumberbatch also told Variety that Stephen Strange is "in a lot" of Avengers 6, before adding: "He’s quite central to where things might go. He’s a very rich character to play. He’s a complex, contradictory, troubled human who’s got these extraordinary abilities, so there’s potent stuff to mess about with."

Marvel hasn't officially commented on Cumberbatch unexpectedly revealing that Strange won't be part of Avengers 5. Nonetheless, I've reached out to my Marvel contacts for a statement on the matter, and I'll report back if I receive a response.

Why isn't Doctor Strange going to be in Avengers: Doomsday?

Doctor Strange isn't likely to be based on Earth when Doctor Doom comes calling in Avengers 5 (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Apart from Cumberbatch telling Variety that "the character [does] not align with this part of the story [Avengers 5]", we don't know. However, given how his last solo movie – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – ended, we can speculate on his absence from the Marvel Phase 6 flick. You can read a detailed account of what happened in my Doctor Strange 2 ending explained piece, or read on for a full albeit abridged spoiler-filled explanation below.

Doctor Strange 2's ending hints at why he won't be around for Doomsday's events (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

At the end of Doctor Strange 2, the Master of the Mystic Arts took a walk on the cosmic and multiversal side (again) with fellow sorcerer Clea, who was briefly portrayed by Charlize Theron. She'd tracked him down on Earth to request his help in stopping an Incursion Event that he'd caused as part of events that play out in The Multiverse of Madness. Somewhat reluctantly, he agrees to aid her, with the pair stepping through a portal that seemingly leads to Dormammu's domain, which we last saw in 2015's Doctor Strange film.

If Strange and Clea are still trying to shut down whatever Incursion Event he created, it would explain why he won't be around to help his fellow Avengers in Marvel's next team-up movie. In it, they'll take on Doomsday's primary villain, who was revealed to be Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom at San Diego Comic Con 2024.

Still, while Cumberbatch won't be part of Doomsday's stacked cast roster, there are plenty of other big names attached to the project. The Fantastic Four's Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach were confirmed to be appearing by Marvel chief Kevin Feige last year. Expect Marvel's First Family to help try and defeat one of their most iconic foes, then, after starring in their first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie, which is titled The Fantastic Four: First Steps and arrives in theaters this July.

As for other individuals who may appear, Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson/Captain America and Tom Holland's Peter Parker/Spider-Man are among the many A-listers likely to show up. One actor who I didn't expect to see, though, is Chris Evans, with the Marvel alumnus reportedly returning for a mystery role in Avengers: Doomsday. With the movie set to start shooting sometime in early 2025, we should prepare for more cast announcements and rumors to appear online in the weeks and months ahead.

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• Cloudflare says it blocked a 5.6Tbps DDoS attack in October 2024
• The attack came from a Mirai botnet
• It included 13,000 IPs, and lasted 80 seconds

Cloudflare has claimed it recently blocked the largest Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack ever recorded.

In a blog post, the company said that in late October 2024, its defense mechanisms blocked a 5.6Tbps UDP (User Datagram Protocol) DDoS attack. To put things into perspective, the (now) second-largest DDoS attack ever was 3.8Tbps, also blocked by Cloudflare, also in October 2024.

The company said the attack was launched by a Mirai-variant botnet, and targeted an Internet Service Provider (ISP) from Eastern Asia.

Shorter but more violent

The attack lasted just over a minute (80 seconds), and involved more than 13,000 Internet-of-things (IoT) devices, it was said.

As attackers change their strategies to better adapt to an evolving DDoS threat landscape, the attacks have generally been getting shorter in duration but more intense and frequent.

Despite its destructive potential, the attack did no damage, Cloudflare said, since both detection and mitigation were fully autonomous.

“It required no human intervention, didn’t trigger any alerts, and didn’t cause any performance degradation,” Cloudflare said. “The systems worked as intended.”

The researchers also stressed that while the total number of unique source IP addresses was around 13,000, the average unique source IP addresses per second was 5,500. Each of the 13,000 IP addresses contributed less than 8 Gbps per second, while the average contribution of each IP address per second was around 1 Gbps (~0.012% of 5.6 Tbps).

Mirai is one of the most infamous botnets out there. Its source code leaked in 2017, after which different threat actors started building their own variants. Today, Mirai and its variants often make headlines, targeting different organizations with large-scale DDoS attacks. Just this week, security researchers observed two variants, ‘gayfemboy’, and ‘Murdoc Botnet’.

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• Nothing has posted a Pokémon image on its X account
• This particular character is Arcanine
• New phones are expected soon

Nothing is up to something. The firm is well know for its use of weird teaser images to generate excitement ahead of new product announcements, and the latest one has just dropped.

For the benefit of anyone who isn't familiar with the Pokémon codex, it's a pixelated image of Arcanine. It's surprising to see an image of a Pokémon, given the aggressively protective nature of The Pokémon Company and its partner, Nintendo – so perhaps this indicates an official tie-up between the two companies. The excellent Nothing Ear (a) are already available in a Pikachu-like yellow, so perhaps an Arcanine-like orange is coming.

Or perhaps what's more significant is either the number contained in Arcanine's name, or the number of its place in the Pokédex.

What do the internet detectives think of Nothing's teaser?

Over at GSM Arena, they're suggesting that the nine in Arcanine's name could suggest a product announcement on the 9th of February. Or perhaps its Pokédex number, 58, is the clue. The 58th day of the year would also be in February, albeit a bit later on February 27.

That's the possible whens. As for the what, the smart money appears to be on the Nothing Phone (3) or one of the other two Nothing phones expected to launch by mid-2025 – with or without Pokémon collaboration.

The (3) seems to be the most likely one. A leaked internal memo said that the firm was planning to launch a "landmark" AI-powered smartphone in the first quarter of 2025, which fits with a February announcement – although previously we'd expected a launch at MWC 2025 in March.

That's the thing about teasers. You can make them mean almost anything, but by their very nature they reveal nothing. Or in this case, nothing about Nothing.

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• MSI's new Claw 8 AI+ has limited availability with only some customers receiving orders
• The release date was set for January 15 in the US, and February 11 in the UK
• It's currently only available at Currys in the UK 

CES 2025 saw a range of upcoming handheld gaming PCs revealed, including Lenovo's Legion Go 2 prototype. While the Nintendo Switch 2's announcement came shortly after the tech event, it's hard to believe that it stands a chance against the new slate of handheld gaming PCs, notably MSI's Claw 8 AI+ – at least, if you can manage to find one in your region.

As reported by VideoCardz, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is suffering from limited availability at launch, with only a few users in the US getting their hands on the device despite its original 15 January launch date from MSI.

The same issue seems to apply to users in the UK. The release date was set for 11 February, but at time of writing there's only one preorder listing of the Claw 8 AI+ – at Currys, priced at £899. The fact that it's only available on one retailer site in the UK, and only a small number of users in the US have managed to get their hands on it, certainly suggests issues with availability.

The Claw 8 AI+ utilizes Intel's Lunar Lake Ultra 7 258V processor, for improved gaming performance over the previous Claw A1M model, thanks to the Intel Arc 140V integrated GPU. Based on multiple previews including my colleague John Loeffler's hands-on coverage, MSI's latest model looks set to outperform the Asus ROG Ally X and potentially even the currently-in-prototyping Legion Go 2 (powered by AMD's new Z2 Extreme APU).

While we're still awaiting official Nintendo Switch 2 specifications, the rumored internal specs are underwhelming, to say the least: it's supposedly set to use the Cortex-A78AE processor (reportedly using Nvidia's DLSS upscaling tech), and only 8GB of RAM. That doesn't stack up well against the AMD Z1 Extreme, with 16GB of RAM used in the original ROG Ally.

(Image credit: MSI) Will limited availability and price impact the MSI Claw 8 AI+'s success?

While we're only a month into 2025, we'll be seeing handheld gaming PC additions from both MSI and Lenovo with the Claw 8 AI+ and the upcoming Legion Go S, which we also demoed at CES. Considering the pricing of the Claw 8 ($899 / £899 / around AU$1,400), combined the limited availability, it may lose out to other handhelds that are already available, despite appearing to be the stronger performer on paper.

When it comes to handheld gaming PCs, affordability is what matters most. I'm sure the Core Ultra 7 258V will prove to be incredible for the Claw 8 AI+, alongside the hefty 80Whr battery, but its rather steep pricing could end up being a dealbreaker (especially if this limited availability continues).

I've stated it before with handheld PCs – just look at the likes of Acer's Nitro Blaze 11, with pricing of $1,099 (around £1000 / AU$1,740) that could well be its downfall. The same could apply here, even if it's slightly cheaper than Acer’s monster handheld. At those prices, if you don't already own a desktop gaming PC, it makes little sense to opt for a handheld. However, I'm hoping its Claw 7 AI+ counterpart could be a compromise, using the same processor but with a 54.5WH battery and 7-inch screen instead, at $799 / around £700 / around AU$1,245.

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• The new Polestar 7 SUV will launch in late 2026 or early 2027
• It won’t replace the Polestar 2, but will be an affordable entry to the brand
• Compact electric SUV will compete with Tesla, Audi and Volvo

Polestar has revealed that it will be adding a new member to its gang of stylish-yet-understated electric vehicles with the upcoming Polestar 7 SUV, which the company says will come before the much-hyped Polestar 6 sports car.

Although the Swedish manufacturer has been a single-model brand for a long time (offering just the Polestar 2 since 2019, which is also due a refresh), it has recently released the larger Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 crossover vehicles, while the upcoming Polestar 5, which will take on the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT, is slated for release later this year.

The recently-appointed CEO, Michael Lohscheller, has been talking to various media outlets about his plans to take the brand in a new direction, with the Polestar 7 embodying what he deems to be the perfect car for entering a hugely popular and contested market – one that many premium manufacturers have traditionally avoided.

Although Polestar 7 details are fairly scant, Lohscheller has promised that it will ride on an all-new platform (although he won’t say which of the Geely-owned companies will provide it) and boast “the latest technology”, which can be construed as 800V architecture and 350kW fast charging capabilities.

The new CEO also said that it would sit in-between the Volvo EX30 and EX40, which gives a good indication of size, while pricing will likely also sit between those two models, so between £40,000 and £45,000 in the UK. That will work out as $45,000 and $55,000 for the US market (or around AU$72,000-AU$87,000).

This is prime Tesla Model Y territory, which itself has just receive a long-awaited ‘Juniper’ refresh, but CNBC reports that the brand has recently shed $15 billion in value due, in part, to an aging line-up of vehicles.

During an interview with Car Magazine, the Polestar CEO revealed that the he wants his design team to be “more confident” in the next generation of vehicles. With the Polestar 5 and Polestar 6 already way beyond concept stage, it is up to the Polestar 7 to embody these changes.

“Polestar is sometimes a bit too modest, a bit too humble. In several markets, like in Scandinavia, this works but I would like a little bit more confidence. In the US the Americans don’t like too much understatement,’’ he said.

Analysis: Trump's America will be a tough nut to crack

Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller (Image credit: Polestar)

The Polestar chief believes that 2025 will be the strongest year in Polestar history, but the company faces numerous question marks over its ability to crack the US market.

Currently, the Polestar 2 and recently released Polestar 3 are available to buy in the US, with the latter built in the company’s Georgia plant. But the outgoing Biden administration has set the wheels in motion for an outright ban on any vehicle that features connected tech hailing from China.

This will adversely affect the Swedish marque, seeing as it is owned by Chinese company Geely and borrows much of its technology from the group. But Polestar’s new CEO says it will seek new suppliers to get around the ban, according to The Financial Times.

To compound matters, Trump’s recent signing of executive orders that could end numerous electric vehicle subsidies will no doubt force Polestar prices in the US up, leaving Tesla to rely on its vast EV economies of scale to offer the cheaper product.

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