This week, Samsung not only debuted its new Galaxy S25 series smartphones (including a surprise Galaxy S25 Edge reveal), but we saw a slew of major tech news stories that you might have missed.
OpenAI teased its Operator agent, Netflix raised its prices (again), and TikTok was banned and unbanned – but its fate still hangs in the balance as its rivals move in. You can catch up on all this and more by scrolling down.
Once you’ve wrapped up this week’s ICYMI, check out our picks for the 7 new movies and TV shows to stream this weekend (January 24).
7. Samsung Galaxy Unpacked showcased the S25 series…
Another year, another Samsung Galaxy Unpacked to unpack (sorry!). This latest edition saw the Korean giant launch the Samsung Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra. At the same time, a fourth device – the Galaxy S25 Edge – was teased at the end of the presentation as ‘coming soon.’
So, what’s new? All three new smartphones boast the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, 12GB RAM, and a host of new Galaxy AI features, including Now Brief and Audio Eraser. The Ultra has enjoyed an iPhone-like redesign, and Samsung has added Galaxy Z Fold 6-style camera rings to every model in the lineup. The Galaxy S25 Edge, meanwhile, will be a super slim version of (we think) the 6.2-inch Galaxy S25, but Samsung hasn’t shared any official details about that phone just yet (apart from its name).
We were on the ground at Galaxy Unpacked and have already handled all three new S25 devices, so check out our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S25 review, hands-on Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review, and hands-on Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review for our first impressions.
6. … and game us new Galaxy AI goodies
The launch of the S25 range was really all about Galaxy AI, Samsung’s overarching name for all the AI features packed into these new, slim, futuristic phones. By detailing all the AI capabilities before the phones, Samsung seems to think that the AI features are more important than the actual phone specs, so what is the Korean company getting so excited about?
Now Brief and Now Bar are the two standout features of Galaxy AI, and they’re essentially like super-powered notifications. Because they link into all the other apps on your phone, not to mention all your other Samsung devices, you’ll find they can start suggesting things you should be doing before they need to be done or things you might need to be aware of, like heavy traffic on the way home.
Security is obviously a big issue with AI and Samsung is keen to emphasize the new Personal Data Engine. This keeps all your personal data on your device when AI is working its magic with it, so you don’t need to worry about it leaking out on the cloud.
5. Fitbit issued a warning about its batteries
A tough 2024 for Fitbit has paved the way for an even more beleaguered start to 2025. While you’d have hoped your best Fitbit could help power you through your New Year’s resolutions to kickstart January, the company is actually firefighting a serious battery overheating issue.
The company warned users that the Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 are both at risk and could pose a potential risk to users. The update is already rolling out, but it’s not all good news. Customers are being encouraged to check their device eligibility and will receive a notification telling them to update their firmware.
The update will reduce the risk of affected batteries overheating but comes at the cost of reduced capacity, meaning your device will need to be charged more often.
It’s not ideal, and Fitbit is offering $50 to affected customers as compensation. With Google sunsetting Fitbit in favor of the Pixel Watch line, maybe they should spend that money on a new smartwatch.
4. TikTok and other apps went dark, and returned
TikTok went offline for a day before being allowed to return to the US thanks to an executive order signed by Donald Trump, though questions remain on how long it’ll be sticking around. Plus, it wasn’t the only service to go dark.
Marvel Snap and CapCut went dark – alongside other ByteDance-owned ventures – despite some (like Marvel Snap’s own developers) believing their software would be exempt from the ban. This prompted a wave of reactions from the apps and their rivals – Marvel Snap is searching for a new publisher, and Instagram announced Edits (its own CapCut rival).
There’s still a question about what TikTok’s fate will be, but it seems plenty are preparing for it to get banned in the US again if a sale doesn’t go through, so you might want to get ready for that too.
3. Netflix got a price hike – again
Here we go again: Netflix is getting a price hike in the US effective immediately – yippee…
The standard plan with ads is going up $1 from $6.99 to $7.99 a month, the standard (no ads) plan is jumping to $17.99 from $15.49, and the premium plan will set you back $24.99 a month instead of $22.99.
Netflix said it “will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix” as a way to wave away criticism. While the increase isn’t massive (and hasn’t yet made its way to the UK or Australia), these slow and steady increases have made the service considerably more pricey over time, and it’s leading us to ask if we should just ditch the streaming service once and for all.
2. OpenAI’s first AI Agent arrived
AI Agents are going to be a big trend in 2025, and OpenAI is officially shipping its first one, dubbed ‘Operator’ as of January 23, 2025, as a research preview for ChatGPT Pro Subscribes. The gist here is that it is Computer Using Agent, basically an AI that can complete web tasks for you as it lives within a browser. It uses GPT-4o’s visual with advanced reasoning to let it browse the web and understand various elements.
Essentially, as seen in a shared demo, it can fill out forms for you, find a restaurant, and then book it for you on OpenTable. OpenAI even says that it can self-correct, though we’ll need to see what that looks like in practice. It’s early days, but Operator is exciting and OpenAI is also working on other AI Agents.
1. Oscar nominations received AI backlash
The Brutalist – up for 10 Oscars – and Netflix’s Emilia Pérez – up for a record-breaking 13 Oscars, the most for a foreign film ever – came under fire this week over their use of Respeecher, an AI voice-changing tool.
It was used to make The Brutalist actors such as Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones sound more genuinely Hungarian and to increase the singing range of the Emilia Pérez lead’s Karla Sofìa Gascón by combining her voice with French pop star Camille.
The films’ creative teams have argued that AI simply augments the incredible performances of these actors in the same way that traditional editing does and that while the AI was used to help speed up the editing process, it still required the care and attention of human editors. However, it’s left a sour taste in many people’s mouths, especially after the major 2023 Hollywood strike, which rebelled against AI’s use in films – with some calling for these films to be disqualified because they used AI.
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hamish.hector@futurenet.com (Hamish Hector)
