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Next week, Samsung will reveal its next family of Galaxy phones. Not the foldables, no, but the traditional S series devices. Going on track record, we can expect to see three S25 devices: standard, Plus and Ultra.

There’s unlikely to be a huge change to aesthetics, but we expect some subtle differences — rounded corners, flatter edges and (of course) thinner bezels. Inside, at least in the US, the S25 series will probably be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite, designed for on-device generative AI. The chip promises 45 percent faster single- and multi-core performance while using 27 percent less power than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, so it could improve battery life too.

Some rumors suggest a Galaxy S25 Slim with a — you guessed it — slimmer design. It’s all very on trend. However, given the FCC certifications only appear to cover the usual trio of flagships, that device may not arrive until later in the year. (If at all.)

Expect an awful lot of AI razzle-dazzle too. One rumor suggests the Galaxy S25 series will include “an AI Agent that provides personalized clothing suggestions and transport information,” even though Google and myriad third-party apps already fully service the latter. I’d put money on a laborious bragging segment from Samsung and its AI tricks — many of which will fall by the wayside. A request: Please steal the Pixel’s Add Me photo feature.

We’ll be reporting live from Samsung’s first Unpacked event of 2025. Mark your calendar for January 22!

— Mat Smith

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iPhone Air rumors and an entry-level iPad

According to Bloomberg, the iPhone 17 Air will be 2mm thinner.

The rumored ultra-thin iPhone we’ve heard about for the last few months will get Apple’s Air branding. In his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said the iPhone 17 Air will be roughly 2 millimeters thinner than any other phone model.

“It will have a base-level A19 chip and a single-lens camera system,” Gurman notes, and will serve “as a testing ground for future technologies.” A single-lens camera could be an intriguing decision now three sensors is the standard for Apple’s most premium phones.

Now, how about a MacBook mini?

Continue reading.

Sonos CEO steps down after disastrous app launch

After eight years on the job.

Sonos

Sonos CEO Patrick Spence is leaving the company after last year’s disastrous app launch, in which its redesign was missing core features. Back in May 2024, the company rolled out a mobile app rife with bugs and missing features like alarms and sleep timers. Some customers even complained that entire speaker systems would no longer work after updating to the new app. Sonos’ stock price has fallen by around 13 percent since the app launched. Sonos laid off over 100 people in August as it tried to fix the software and revenue fell 16 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended on September 28.

Spence’s payout package includes $7,500 per month until June, a cash severance of $1.9 million and shares in Sonos. I aspire to screw up an app update.

Continue reading.

Meta deleted links to Instagram competitor Pixelfed

Sharing the Instagram alternative was briefly considered ‘spam.’

Meta appeared to block links to Pixelfed, a decentralized photo-sharing platform, on Facebook, according to users on both Bluesky and 404 Media. A small group of posts that linked to pixelfed.social was deleted, with Facebook’s Community Standards on spam used as a justification.

There’s a bigger impetus for users to jettison Instagram: Meta just announced dramatic changes to how it plans to moderate speech on its platforms. The company is ending both its third-party fact-checking program and made changes to its Hateful Conduct policy last week. A Meta spokesperson said removing the posts to Pixelfed was a mistake, and they’d be reinstated.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121522357.html?src=rss

Sonos CEO Patrick Spence is stepping down from the company after eight years on the job, according to reporting by Bloomberg. This follows last year’s disastrous app launch, in which a redesign was missing core features and was broken in nearly every major way.

The company has tasked Tom Conrad to steer the ship as interim CEO. Conrad is a current member of the Sonos board, but was a co-founder of Pandora, VP at Snap and product chief at, wait for it, the short-lived video streaming platform Quibi. He also reportedly has a Sonos tattoo. The board has hired a firm to find a new long-term leader.

“I think we’ll all agree that this year we’ve let far too many‬ people down,” Conrad wrote employees in a letter. “Getting back to basics is necessary, but clearly not enough to‬‭ unlock the future we all envision for Sonos.” He also suggested that he wants the company to expand “well beyond” home speakers and related gear.

As for Spence, he’ll be just fine. His payout package includes $7,500 per month until June, a cash severance of $1.9 million and his unvested shares in Sonos will vest. He was with Sonos for more than a decade.

The decision to swap leadership comes after months of turmoil at the company. It rolled out a mobile app back in May that was absolutely rife with bugs and missing key features like alarms and sleep timers. Some customers even complained that entire speaker systems would no longer work after updating to the new app. It was a whole thing.

Sonos tried to win back customer trust by extending the manufacturer warranty for home speaker products and creating an advisory board that would provide the company with “feedback and insights from a customer perspective to help shape and improve our software and products before they are launched.”

That didn’t ease the financial burden faced by the company. The stock price has fallen by around 13 percent since the app launched. Sonos laid off over 100 people in August as it tried to fix the software and revenue fell 16 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended on September 28. Analysts project an additional 15 percent decline throughout the holiday period.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/sonos-ceo-patrick-spence-falls-on-his-sword-after-horrible-app-launch-160704330.html?src=rss

Sonos CEO Patrick Spence is stepping down from the company after eight years on the job, according to reporting by Bloomberg. This follows last year’s disastrous app launch, in which a redesign was missing core features and was broken in nearly every major way.

The company has tasked Tom Conrad to steer the ship as interim CEO. Conrad is a current member of the Sonos board, but was a co-founder of Pandora, VP at Snap and product chief at, wait for it, the short-lived video streaming platform Quibi. He also reportedly has a Sonos tattoo. The board has hired a firm to find a new long-term leader.

“I think we’ll all agree that this year we’ve let far too many‬ people down,” Conrad wrote employees in a letter. “Getting back to basics is necessary, but clearly not enough to‬‭ unlock the future we all envision for Sonos.” He also suggested that he wants the company to expand “well beyond” home speakers and related gear.

As for Spence, he’ll be just fine. His payout package includes $7,500 per month until June, a cash severance of $1.9 million and his unvested shares in Sonos will vest. He was with Sonos for more than a decade.

The decision to swap leadership comes after months of turmoil at the company. It rolled out a mobile app back in May that was absolutely rife with bugs and missing key features like alarms and sleep timers. Some customers even complained that entire speaker systems would no longer work after updating to the new app. It was a whole thing.

Sonos tried to win back customer trust by extending the manufacturer warranty for home speaker products and creating an advisory board that would provide the company with “feedback and insights from a customer perspective to help shape and improve our software and products before they are launched.”

That didn’t ease the financial burden faced by the company. The stock price has fallen by around 13 percent since the app launched. Sonos laid off over 100 people in August as it tried to fix the software and revenue fell 16 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended on September 28. Analysts project an additional 15 percent decline throughout the holiday period.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/sonos-ceo-patrick-spence-falls-on-his-sword-after-horrible-app-launch-160704330.html?src=rss

With TikTok likely just days away from being banned in the US, the app’s users are pushing some previously little-known apps to the top of Apple and Google’s stores. The app that has so far seemed to benefit the most is a Chinese social media app called “RedNote” or Xiaohongshu, which translates to “little red book.” 

The TikTok-like app for shortform video is currently the number one app in Apple’s App Store and is in the 34th spot in Google’s Play Store. RedNote has been gaining popularity as many TikTok creators have begun posting about their experiences trying out the Chinese app. Meanwhile, over on RedNote, a number of creators have shared videos about welcoming “TikTok refugees” to the service.

The app is set up very much like TikTok, with the ability to vertically scroll through feeds of shortform videos based on your interests. Much of the app’s interface is in Chinese, so it can be a bit confusing to navigate, though there are some helpful videos on TikTok that explain how to change the app’s language to English.

While RedNote seems to have come out of nowhere, the app has been popular in China for years. CNBC reports that the more than decade-old app is seen as a challenger to ByteDance’s Douyin and e-commerce giant Alibaba, with about 300 million users.

RedNote isn’t the only app that’s been boosted by anxious TikTok users. Another ByteDance app, Lemon8, is also trending in both Apple and Google’s stores, where it’s in the second and first spot, respectively. But while TikTok itself has at times boosted the app, Lemon8 will likely face the same fate as TikTok should the Supreme Court side with the Biden Administration, which seems likely.

Another video app called Flip, which describes itself as “where social meets shopping,” is also trending in both app stores. The app, from Los Angeles-based Humans, Inc., features shortform videos and an in-app storefront. It’s currently ranked number 14 in Google’s store and number four in Apple’s. The company was valued at more than $1 billion last year, according to Crunchbase.

Another app that has seemingly benefited from the impending TikTok ban is something called “ReelShort.” While the app’s name sounds like a play on Instagram’s reels and YouTube Shorts — both of which are well established TikTok clones — the app seems to be less of a TikTok clone and more of a wannabe streaming platform. The app features bite-sized clips of longer “movies” with bizarre titles like “The Heiress Blacklisted her Husband” and “In Love with the Alpha.” ReelShort is number seven in the App Store number two in Google Play.

While it’s unlikely any of these apps will remain popular for long, the fact that so many relatively unknown apps have risen to the top of the app stores so quickly is yet another sign of how influential TikTok’s users and creators can be. It also highlights how banning TikTok alone won’t curb the influence of Chinese tech companies in the US.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/chinese-social-media-app-rednote-is-the-number-one-app-as-tiktok-ban-looms-235929802.html?src=rss

Alarmo, the most important hardware announcement Nintendo’s made in the last year, will soon be available to a lot more people. Nintendo says the motion-tracking alarm clock will be able to be purchased “in stores at participating retailers” in March, without the need for a Nintendo Switch Online subscription or a visit to a physical Nintendo store.

Nintendo’s alarm clock originally launched in October 2024. It combines beloved sound effects from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Pikmin 4 with motion sensors that can track your tossing and turning. This gives the Alarmo some rudimentary sleep tracking features, and morning alarms that can get louder the more you flop around, only stopping when you actually sit up.

As Engadget’s review found, Alarmo is pricey at $100, and not particularly great as a sleep tracker. The alarm clock can only track one person at a time, which keeps anyone who shares a bed from accessing its most charming feature. But if you’re weak to Nintendo nostalgia or have a child who’s already a fan, the clock is a cute way to start your morning routine.

In March, retailers will only have Alarmo “while supplies last,” but hopefully by then, die-hard Nintendo fans will already be saving up for their next big purchase.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/nintendos-goofy-alarm-clock-will-be-available-to-everyone-in-march-222912137.html?src=rss