Next week we have Samsung’s first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2025, but before we can get there, we’ve seen a week full of tech announcements.
Leaks for the event were a dime a dozen, but we also saw the long-awaited Nintendo Switch 2 announcement, game-breaking Windows 11 updates, and kept up with the latest TikTok ban news.
Here’s our roundup of the week’s biggest tech news in case you missed it. What a quick overview.
Once you’re done, feel free to check out our picks for the 7 new movies and TV shows to stream this weekend (January 17).
Nintendo switched things up
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After years of speculation, hype and rumors, the Nintendo Switch sequel finally broke cover with Nintendo releasing a Nintendo Switch 2 trailer. Creative name aside, the short teaser showed us plenty – it confirmed that the console and its screen are bigger than before (we’ve heard it’s now an 8-inch screen from leaks), showed us the new button on the right JoyCon and gave us a new support leg design for the console, along with clips of a new one Mario Kart title (while many call it Mario Kart 9if Nintendo counts Tour as a main game this would be Mario Kart 10).
While it’s light on the details, there’s a lot we’re still not sure about from this trailer alone; most importantly, it’s unclear how much the console will cost when it’s released and what its specs are.
For those details, we’ll have to watch this space and wait to see what Nintendo announces next.
TikTok faced its end… for now
TikTok’s US ban has been brewing for some time, but it came into focus this week as we approach January 19 – the day it will take full effect. Users afraid of losing the app turned to rival services, but not just Instagram’s Reels and YouTube’s Shorts. Chinese-made alternatives such as RedNote and also Lemon8 (which is owned by ByteDance, like TikTok) proved popular.
There was hope that the US Supreme Court would stop TikTok’s app store execution, but they haven’t, and at the time of writing there are reports that the US government may not enforce any fines related to the ban initially, which has not yet has been carried out. confirmed. The only thing TikTok fans have left to cling to is that when Donald Trump takes office on January 20, he could work to overturn the ban — a ban he has been a vocal opponent of despite that he is one of TikTok’s original opponents.
We’re not holding our breath, but maybe this time next week, we’ll all be back sharing dances on the watch app.
Samsung’s Unpacked messages leaked
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The Samsung Unpacked event (which takes place on Tuesday, January 22) may still be days away, but we may already know everything there is to know about the brand’s upcoming smartphone announcements thanks to leaks.
This includes the full specs and color options for the entire three-phone lineup (consisting of the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra), details on AI improvements, including a new morning card feature, and even the Samsung Galaxy S25’s jazzy new ringtone (which Samsung itself released early).
As with all leaks, we should take these details with a grain of salt until Samsung makes an official announcement, but since it’s quite a while, we won’t have to wait long to see what it has up its sleeve.
Apple’s roadmap for 2025 leaked
Speaking of leaks, Apple’s 2025 iPhone and iPad roadmap was teased by reporter and reputable tipster Mark Gurman this week (via a paywalled Bloomberg article), detailing what technology we’ll see in the next 12 months.
The first is the iPhone SE 4 with Apple Intelligence and Face ID, which will land in the 1st or 2nd quarter. So next to that, Gurman says we’ll get the iPad 11 with an A17 Pro chipset (just like the iPhone 15 Pro) and 8GB of RAM, which should mean it’s powerful enough to boast Apple Intelligence.
Sometime this spring, Gurman says we should get a new iPad Air with an M4 chipset to bring it in line with the latest iPad Pro models, and then round out the year with the magnificent iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the iPhone 17 Air (or possibly just the iPhone Air) will launch.
Windows 11 24H2 broke game
It’s the same story again for Microsoft’s Windows 11 and its 24H2 update causing problems for several users. This time, gamers are frustrated with the functionality of their games, especially Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Odysseyafter Valhalla and Origin received patches to fix constant crashes.
While it’s easy to point the finger at Ubisoft developers, the 24H2 update has been a long-term irritant to the user experience, with numerous bugs pushing some people away from operating systems (at least for now).
Valve announced that SteamOS will be coming to other gaming handhelds, giving gamers a great alternative. A native cloud image, Bazzite, running SteamOS (not affiliated with Valve) can also be used on desktop PCs, so Microsoft needs to get its act together before they potentially lose loads of users.
DJI launched a first of its kind drone
DJI unveiled the new and unique Flip, a multi-use drone for beginners unlike anything we’ve seen before. Its Star Wars spacecraft-like body has folding propellers with shields, meaning you can fly safely up close, armed with auto-tracking flight modes and 4K videos up to 60fps, plus slow-motion 100fps clips.
It’s ultimately like a bigger, more expensive and supercharged DJI Neo – although the latter offers FPV flight – so check out our DJI Flip vs DJI Neo article to discover the key differences. During our in-depth DJI Flip review, we found that you get better 4K video and 48MP photos than the Neo, with the quality approaching what you get from DJI’s Mini 4 Pro without quite reaching the same heights.
Ultimately, the most distinctive feature of the DJI Flip is its first folding design, which still falls within the category of 249g and lighter drones that are largely limitless.
OpenAI predicted AGI in 2025
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts that we will achieve AGI (artificial general intelligence, also known as superintelligence) “as we have traditionally understood it” by 2025 – a bold prediction for the year.
AGI is a type of AI that matches or even surpasses a human’s cognitive abilities across a wide range of cognitive tasks, compared to current AI models that can only attempt to match humans in a few specific areas. This is what sci-fi has trained us to imagine when we think of AI.
This would be a major advance in artificial intelligence, with many experts saying AGI will lead to a revolution unlike anything we’ve seen before. For now, we’ll have to take Sam Altman’s word that AGI is almost here, but we could be in for a wild 2025 if his prediction is correct.
