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• An AMD spokesperson suggested that a future Steam Deck model would ship with a Ryzen Z2 Series processor
• A Valve employee has now refuted this claim
• We'll probably have to wait a lot longer for a new Steam Deck model

Ahead of CES 2025, an AMD spokesperson claimed that the brand’s new Ryzen Z2 Series processors would ship in future handheld gaming PCs including the Steam Deck. Now, a Valve employee has confirmed that this will not be the case.

According to PCGamer, the AMD spokesperson stated that the Z2 Series will be “coming to market from a number of partners” during a press briefing. This would allegedly include “the Legion Go, the ROG Ally, the Valve Steam Deck.”

"This really allows us to tap into what we see as an exciting and fast-growing portion of the market where many of our OEM partners are bringing some really cool and high-powered handheld solutions to market and delivering great battery life and performance,” the spokesperson continued.

An image of the Steam Deck was also included on a marketing slide, where it was placed alongside a breakdown of the AMD Ryzen Z2 Series and pictures of other handheld PCs. This led many to believe that a new model of the Steam Deck was in the pipeline featuring an AMD Ryzen Z2 Series processor.

“There is and will be no Z2 Steam Deck,” stated Valve employee and Steam Deck engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais in a recent post on Bluesky. Griffais added that “the slide was [likely] meant to say the series is meant for products like [the Steam Deck], not announcing anything specific.”

At the time of writing, the most recent Valve handheld is the Steam Deck OLED. It utilizes a custom AMD APU, which is paired with 16GB of DDR5 RAM, an NVMe SSD, and a 1280 x 800, 7.4-inch OLED touchscreen for a formidable handheld gaming experience.

Steam Deck designers Lawrence Yang and Yazan Aldehyyat have previously stated that Valve is planning “to wait for a generational leap in compute without sacrificing battery life before the real second generation of Steam Deck”, so we probably shouldn’t expect a new model any time soon.

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• Casio confirms 8.5k people lost their data in October 2024 ransomware attack
• Most are Casio employees, with partners and customers less affected
• The company says it did not pay the ransom demand

Personal data on 8,500 people, mostly Casio employees, was stolen during the October 2024 ransomware attack against the Japanese electronics manufacturer, the company confirmed in an announcement posted on its website.

The incident saw a threat actor from the Underground ransomware group gain access to the company’s IT infrastructure through a successful phishing attack. From there, they were able to disrupt the company’s network, steal sensitive information, and demand a ransom payment.

At the time, the company could not say exactly who was affected by the breach, or what kind of information was stolen - now, a subsequent investigation has shown the data mostly belongs to company employees, with a smaller amount belonging to business partners, and customers.

Employees, business partners, and customers

Overall, 6,456 employees lost their names, employee numbers, email addresses, affiliations, genders, dates of birth, family details, addresses, phone numbers, taxpayer ID numbers, and HQ system account information.

1,931 business partners also lost their names, email addresses, and phone numbers, but also company names, company addresses, and ID card information.

Finally, 91 customers lost their delivery addresses, names, phone numbers, dates of purchase, and product names.

Other leaked data includes internal documents such as invoices, contracts, and meeting materials. Credit card and other payment information was not taken.

Casio stressed that it did not negotiate with the attackers, and did not pay any ransom demand. All affected individuals have been alerted. Usually, when a threat actor steals sensitive information but does not receive a payment, they end up selling the data on the dark web, or using it in phishing, identity theft, or similar attacks.

So far, that doesn’t seem to have been the case, since Casio says there is no evidence of in-the-wild abuse yet.

Via BleepingComputer

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• A leaked specs list points to 25W wireless charging for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
• This would be faster than the 15W-capable Galaxy S24 Ultra, but there's reason to doubt the claim
• We've also heard more screen details

At this point, we have a fairly good idea of what specs to expect from the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, as this upcoming handset has leaked extensively. That said, a new specs list fills in a few gaps, and includes a higher wireless charging speed than we’d expected.

According to reliable leaker Roland Quandt, posting on Bluesky, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will be able to wirelessly charge at up to 25W, which would be a boost over the 15W-capable Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

We hadn’t yet heard anything specific about the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra’s wireless charging speeds, so this doesn’t conflict with previous leaks, but precisely because we haven’t heard this spec before, we’d still take it with a pinch of salt – especially since Quandt also mentions Qi2 magnetic wireless charging support, and that typically tops out at 15W.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future) A similar screen and a slimmer shell

That’s the most intriguing new detail in this spec list anyway, but there are also screen specs we haven’t previously heard, including a 2,600-nit peak brightness and support for HDR10+. However, that’s the same as you’ll find on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, so it’s no surprise.

The rest is largely stuff that we’ve heard before, including that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will apparently have a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, a 120Hz refresh rate, 45W wired charging, and that it will come in three configurations – one with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, one with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, and one with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

While 16GB of RAM has been mentioned before, one recent leak suggested that there would only be 12GB configurations of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, so it’s reassuring to hear 16GB mentioned again.

Finally, Quandt echoes a previous leak in saying that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will measure 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2mm and weigh 219g. For reference, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra measures 162.3 x 79 x 8.6mm and 232g, so that would make the S25 Ultra marginally taller, narrower, thinner, and lighter.

We should find out whether these details are accurate very soon, as the next Samsung Galaxy Unpacked is set for January 22, and we’re expecting to see the Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus, and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra unveiled at this event.

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Taking out a tax refund advance loan can be risky and may leave you in a more precarious financial situation.

As our week in Las Vegas winds to a close, here's a final look at the most clever, smart, and forward-looking tech at CES 2025.

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• 22 speakers and 1,800W of amplification
• Personalized audio for each individual passenger
• A full Dolby Atmos experience inside your EV

Don't let Denon's slightly bland PR photos fool you: its new in-car audio system is seriously exciting, but all the best bits are invisible.

The new Denon Car Audio Concept System for EVs packs a whopping 22 speakers and 1,800W of amplification into your vehicle, and that's not even the most interesting bit.

The concept also brings similar personalization tech to the system in Denon's PerL headphones to each passenger, tailoring the audio to each person's hearing profile. Denon's going big on it too, offering demos at CES and calling it "a glimpse into the future of personalized in-vehicle audio".

If you're not familiar with the PerL Pro headphones, they use a range of tests to analyze your ears and optimize the audio accordingly. We've experienced the results (which deploy exciting otoacoustic tech found initially in the NuraTrue Pro) and we were very impressed, so it'll be really interesting to see – or rather, hear – how well the tech works for optimizing in-car audio.

Denon has helpfully provided an image of a speaker grille, if you weren't sure what one of those looked like (Image credit: Denon) Smarter sound for every EV

There are a lot of big ideas here, including hidden audio exciters from Sonified. Exciters make audio tracks sound more expansive and lively, and in the concept Denon has hidden a whole bunch of Sonified's mid-range exciter speakers in the trim materials and headrests. Other speakers are by high-end audio designers Tymphany.

The concept also ensures that most of your audio stays in the car, which is bad news for boy racers and great news for everybody else. It's been designed to minimize external sound radiation to keep your neighbors sweet.

The heart of the concept system is a 1,800W Dirac-optimized Dolby Atmos system with up-firing speakers and headrest-integrated channels too. Despite that massive potential power output Denon promises "efficient power usage" as well as a relatively small footprint for the system.

If you're lucky enough to be at CES the demo car is in the west hall until January 11, but we'd expect it to go on tour after CES is done.

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!

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• Nanoleaf is turning its hand to health and wellness
• The smart-lighting maker has unveiled a new LED Light Therapy Face Mask
• It features seven treatment modes that can help heal your skin, targeting conditions like acne and uneven tones

Nanoleaf, maker of some of the best smart lights in the business, has unveiled a LED Light Therapy Face Mask at CES 2025, which promises seven treatment modes to target a variety of skin conditions.

Nanoleaf's LED Light Therapy Face Mask has been certified by the FDA, which regulates medical devices in the US, and the company says it heralds an "exciting evolution and expansion into the wellness industry."

It features Nanoleaf's own LED technology to provide seven different treatments, using both red and near-infrared light (NIR). Studies from as early as 2014 have found that red light can aid "skin rejuvenation and intradermal collagen increase." More recently, a 2021 study noted "A reasonable body of clinical trial evidence exists to support the role of low-energy red/near-infrared light as a safe and effective method of skin rejuvenation, treatment of acne vulgaris and alopecia."

Nanoleaf says its face mask features "exceptional irradiance" (the power density of the LEDs), and offers lower treatment times for optimal results. As noted, there are seven different treatment modes to target specific skin concerns.

Nanoleaf enters the LED therapy market

(Image credit: Nanoleaf)

To address the elephant in the room, the Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Face Mask does look ever-so-slightly nightmarish. However, a quick Google search will show you that there are no good answers when it comes to styling a glowing face mask made of medical-grade materials. Therabody's rival TheraFace Mask, for instance, looks like something you'd wear to storm a medieval castle at the behest of your liege lord.

Styling aside, the Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy face Mask has one surprising trick up its sleeve, and that's a very attractive price. The Nanoleaf mask is available to pre-order now in the US, where it costs $149.99, and there's a 10% discount coupon available at launch. There's no word on UK pricing yet, and the mask doesn't appear to be available in Australia, but UK customers can probably expect to pay no more than £150.

By contrast, the TheraFace Mask is £499 / $599 / $899, so the Nanoleaf is vastly cheaper. While it doesn't offer Therabody's massaging vibration therapy, it does have more lighting modes. Not only is the Nanoleaf cheaper than TheraFace, but it's also cheaper than pretty much every LED face mask from a reputable brand on the market, including Shark and CurrentBody.

On price point alone you can color us pretty impressed, and we're adding this one to our list of the best wearable and fitness tech of CES 2025.

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• Alien: Romulus will be released on Disney Plus on January 15
• The survival horror film's launch comes three months after its initial release on Hulu
• It's the third highest-rated Alien movie, beaten only by the first two movies

Alien: Romulus is finally coming to Disney Plus, and that's a great way to start 2025 if you ask me.

The sci-fi horror movie, which holds a 79% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes – a score beaten only by Alien and Aliens – initially debuted in theaters last August and, after a solid run at the box office, made its way to Hulu last November. Unfortunately, that meant it was only available to stream in the US, so it's hardly surprising we've been begging for an Alien: Romulus Disney Plus release in the weeks and months since.

Thankfully, we'll be able to watch Alien: Romulus from January 15 onwards. Given its largely positive reception, you can bet it'll earn a spot on our best Disney Plus movies when it arrives, too.

Alright, Alien: Romulus got a VHS release before it landed on one of the best streaming services, so it's technically been available to watch at home in non-US territories for a while. Nevertheless, I'm pleased it's finally coming to Disney's primary streaming platform.

What is Alien: Romulus about?

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Alien: Romulus follows six downtrodden space colonists who encounter hostile creatures while scavenging a derelict space station. It was directed by Fede Álvarez, who you might recognize as the filmmaker behind horror hits like Evil Dead and Don't Breathe.

The movie was mildly successful and, just yesterday (January 7), secured a BAFTA Rising Star nomination for David Jonsson, who plays Andy in one of the best horror movies of 2024. With a mostly imaginative plot, talented cast at the top of their game, and some fascinating and divisive call-backs to previous Alien films, I think fans new and old will get a kick out of it.

If you need more sci-fi horror recommendations, check out our guide on seven sci-fi horror movies on Hulu, Prime Video, and more that went live ahead of Halloween 2024. Hey, you can watch horror films all the year round!

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