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Samsung Galaxy event
Gaming Gear

Fresh leaks hint at what to expect from the Galaxy S25 FE and Galaxy Tab S11 launch next week

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  • More Samsung Galaxy leaks have appeared online
  • New phones and tablets are expected next week
  • We now know almost everything about these devices

Samsung has booked in another Galaxy launch event for next Thursday, September 4, and we’re seeing plenty of leaks around what to expect in terms of devices – and specifically, the Galaxy S25 FE phone and Galaxy Tab S11 series of tablets.

We’ve got what look like official marketing images of the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra and Galaxy S25 FE from tipster Evan Blass, which were shared by Android Authority, giving us a good look at the design of both devices.

The Galaxy S25 FE is of course the successor to the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, and it doesn’t look as if we’re going to get much in the way of external changes – though the internals are certain to get a performance boost for 2025.


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As for the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, it’s the follow-up to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra that launched in October 2024. Again, it doesn’t seem as though much has changed in terms of the aesthetics, but we’ll have to wait for the details.

The leaks continue

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE launched last October (Image credit: Future)

Besides the official-looking imagery linked to above, we’ve also got a sneak preview of the Tab S11 series, courtesy of a couple of Polish retail outlets (via GSMArena). A standard Tab S11 and a Tab S11 Ultra are listed, so we can expect at least two new models.

We’ve also got even more promo shots of the Galaxy S25 FE courtesy of Android Headlines, and the pictures indicate four colors for the new mid-ranger: black, white, navy, and what looks like a pale lavender shade, so take your pick.

Add in the extensive series of leaks we’ve previously seen – covering everything from full specs sheets to display sizes and resolutions – and there isn’t much we don’t know about the phones and tablets that are on the way next week.

Everything gets underway on September 4 at 2.30am PT / 5.30am ET / 10.30am BST / 7.30pm AEST), ahead of the IFA 2025 tech show in Berlin. We’ll bring you all the announcements as they happen, and you’ll also be able to watch the event live.

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A Star Trek: Voyager survival strategy game (yes, Voyager) is coming that lets you 'what if?' the series
Gaming Gear

A Star Trek: Voyager survival strategy game (yes, Voyager) is coming that lets you ‘what if?’ the series

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Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown | Announcement Teaser – YouTube

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You probably couldn’t have predicted this one. Of all the things Star Trek that could be a game, it’s 24-years-gone series Star Trek: Voyager that’s getting the treatment with a game that’ll put you in charge of the lost ship’s journey home.

Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown is described as a “a story-driven survival strategy game.” Your job is to manage the ship, its resources, and its path through the far-off Delta Quadrant on a long trip back to home space.

You’ll choose which crew members do what tasks based on their special abilities and unique skills, find resources to repair the damaged Voyager, choose where the ship will travel, and research technologies that can strengthen your ship and boost chances of survival.


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“Did you ever wonder what would have happened had Captain Janeway decided differently? If an important crew member had followed a different path? Or what the outcome would have been had the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager embraced Borg technology to increase their chances of survival?,” says Across the Unknown’s Steam page.

That emphasis on “What If?” stories really makes this an interesting one. Will it rerun a ton of familiar plot beats from the series that fans already know, but let you change how things went by making different choices? That seems to be the implication.

“The game features rogue-like elements,” say the developers, “so in each run you will encounter different situations and even iconic characters might meet an early end if you don’t react accordingly.”

You can find Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown on Steam, where it’s “coming soon.”



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A Slim Gaming Powerhouse With a Trackpad That Drove Me Mad
Gaming Gear

A Slim Gaming Powerhouse With a Trackpad That Drove Me Mad

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There has to be a laptop that does it all and won’t break my back as I haul it around town. I’m sure every mobile-minded gamer has asked themselves that question and come away without a good answer. The one arena I keep coming back to is the 14-inch gaming laptop. Today’s tiny beasts have the performance necessary to keep up with 16- or 18-inch laptop without needing to lug around a huge chunk of aluminum. What’s not to like? Here’s the kicker: it’s only getting more expensive to achieve the perfect compact gaming laptop. The 2025 edition of the Razer Blade 14 is our latest and best example of how improved design is engendering ever-higher prices for already expensive products.

Today’s best compact gaming laptops now cost closer to what we used to spend for larger, hardier portable machines just a few years ago. Razer’s Blade 14 (2025) is the epitome of today’s tariffs-enabled price gouging. The laptop starts at $2,300 MSRP with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060. The model you want, with a GPU capable of maxing out some demanding games at the laptop’s peak resolution, demands $2,600. That’s $100 more than the starting price of the 2024 Blade 14. Currently, the Blade 14 (2025) is on sale through Razer’s website for closer to $2,300. It could stay at that price permanently, but I can only suspect that with Trump’s asinine tariff talk, gadgets can only ever get more expensive.

Razer Blade 14 (2025)

The Razer Blade 14 (2025) is so slim and still packs strong gaming/non-gaming performance. You’ll just have to get used to its odd trackpad first.

Pros

  • Performance for what you need
  • Slim body
  • Great thermal design
  • Nice I/O port selection
  • Nice screen and audio
  • Limited fan noise

Cons

  • Odd and off-putting trackpad
  • Screen isn’t the brightest
  • Ever-more expensive
  • Would love an option with better specs

The Razer Blade 14’s main competition is last year’s favorite, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop, now with Nvidia RTX 50-series GPUs. Last year’s version asked for around $2,000 with a GeForce RTX 4070. Today’s latest Zephyrus model will demand the same price for a better RTX 5070 Ti GPU and an AMD Ryzen AI 9 270. The two 14-inch gaming laptops are neck and neck, but the Blade 14 (2025) muscles space for itself in a crowded market due to a few quality-of-life features and excellent thermal management. We can have nice things and the Blade 14 (2025) proves that. We’ll just have to spend more and more every year to cling onto our quality computers. If you’re looking for something that may cost less, you could search for an Asus TUF Gaming A14 that could clock in at less than $2,000.

Despite the recent controversy with buggy hardware and software on the Razer Blade 16, I experienced little of the claimed performance issues with the Blade 14 (2025). However, I had noticed crashes when exiting games before I made sure to download the latest firmware. After that, the laptop was smooth sailing save for all the regular issues I have with Windows 11. There’s a part of me that wishes Razer would step out of its comfort zone. The gaming brand refuses to make another Blade Stealth with that calming pink tone, so we’re left with the company’s usual black box and its big, glowing Razer logo stenciled on the lid. Past 14-inch models like the 2021 design could pack up to an RTX 3080-level GPU (and those cost less than today’s RTX 5070 model). For such a slim design, the performance you get with the modern $2,300 model is exactly what you need for a device of this size.

The Blade 14 takes some getting used to

You’ll want a mouse nearby to avoid using the Blade 14 (2025)’s annoying trackpad. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

The new Razer Blade 14 is smaller than last year’s model, but by such a minimal degree you’d have to squint to tell the difference. It’s 0.66 inches at its thickest point. Slipping this laptop into a backpack is likely one of my greatest pleasures despite the fact you’ll still need to haul around the hefty 200W power brick if you plan to play your favorite games. Though the Blade 14 (2025) weighs in at 3.59 pounds, it will feel slightly heavier than many other thin-and-light laptop designs. That’s to be expected, and it’s a tradeoff I’d take with a smile on my face. The new Blade 14 is the kind of device that offers the mobility you can only dream of when trying to haul a 16-inch beast around.

The Blade 14 (2025)is a more subtle notebook than either the Razer Blade 16 or Blade 18. Yes, the rear panel and the triple-snake logo glow nuclear green during use, but without any bottom RGB you can get away with keeping it next to you in a crowded college auditorium so long as you remember to turn off the bright, per-key RGB lights. Using the Blade 14 (2025) would be smooth sailing after that if only Razer would spend more time paying attention to the overall feel of its personal computers. Like all its other anodized aluminum matte black laptops, the new Blade 14 is a smudge magnet. The lid and palm rests will be first to look grody with enough manhandling. The keys will soon develop unsightly smears, whether or not you dip your digits into the odd Fritos bag. At the very least, the Blade 14 (2025) comes with a great selection of I/O ports. Besides the proprietary charging port and headphone jack, you’ll get a USB 4 Type-C and USB-A on either side of the device. There’s an additional HDMI 2.1 and microSD card slot, which came in handy for on-the-go video editing.

© Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

It took me longer to get used to the feel of both the keyboard and trackpad. I had to give the laptop some leeway after fawning so hard for the Alienware 16 Area-51 and its full mechanical keyboard, but after enough time I could start to appreciate the Razer laptop’s thin keys even though I’d prefer something with more clacky sounds and travel. There’s a good deal of separation between each key to avoid any misclicks and I never felt like my fingers had to reorient to find the right key without looking. The keyboard has a small amount of feedback response with every key press—better than the squishy feel that turned me off the HP Omen Max 16. It’s enough to make the Blade 14 (2025) worth typing on—more than your average Apple Magic Keyboard. Those who want a thin, mobile device can’t ask for much better, even if I may dream of something more.

Compared to the keyboard, the new Blade 14’s trackpad is a hate-hate design. The large panel is flat and does a good job at palm rejection (a problem I’ve had on previous Razer Blade models). The issue is the interior of the trackpad is sloped toward the end facing the user. That means if you try to click toward the top of the pad, you won’t be able to register any depth outside capacitive touch. Scrolling to the top of a webpage will result in the odd sensation where you press into the trackpad to click, but then get no response. If you’re like me, and you want haptic feedback on your clicks, you’re forced to press down toward the bottom of the trackpad.

With enough time, I could find a rhythm that would make the Razer Blade 14 (2025) my main PC for work and pleasure. It’s in that mold that the refreshed gaming laptop hits its home run. The notebook can do everything I want and look good while doing it.

So slim and still surprisingly powerful

It took way too much time to remove smudges on the Blade 14. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

My edition of the Razer Blade 14 (2025) came packed an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 CPU along with 32GB of RAM (soldered to the device, so no upgrading, unfortunately). That processor is a 10-core, 20-thread CPU based on the chipmaker’s latest Strix Point Zen 5 microarchitecture. Suffice it to say, the Strix Point CPU series is built for smaller laptops with lower power demand. and it’s proved very effective in notebooks like last year’s Asus TUF Gaming A14 when paired with a discrete GPU. In the case of the Blade 14 (2025), that’s the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 running at 115W TGP, or total graphics power. This is a higher power draw than some laptops, such as the upcoming Framework Laptop 16, and it promises to eek out more performance than some competing designs.

After downloading the latest drivers and firmware through Razer Synapse (a must if you want to avoid any odd issues that would stall when exiting games), the Blade 14 (2025) performed as well as can be expected in synthetic benchmarks. It easily beats out the 2024 small frame competitors, especially in Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024 multi-core tests, but it can’t stand toe-to-toe with its larger cousins sporting higher-end gaming laptop CPUs like the Intel Core Ultra HX line. The Blade 14 (2025) didn’t even get into the same ballpark of a 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 in these tests. In multiple 3DMark, the new Blade 14 will sit a few thousand points below laptops with an RTX 5080. Instead, it proved an incredibly balanced machine capable of hitting high frame rates in multiple games I tested, better than 2024’s best examples of 14-inchers.

The Blade 14 (2025) will meet its match when you try pushing ray tracing settings. Games like Black Myth: Wukong survive ray tracing with their automatic DLSS settings picking up the slack. The sweet spot in a game like Cyberpunk 2077 is to stick ray tracing on low settings with DLSS on auto, which can net around 65 fps in benchmarks and a little less in gameplay. Without DLSS, you’ll get slightly more than 40 fps in those same scenarios, the same as if you set it to DLSS Ultra settings. A game such as Marvel’s Spider-Man 2—already a difficult game to run on most PCs—will struggle to achieve playable frame rates at the Blade 14’s max resolution. Even when relying on DLSS, you may need to supress the inclination to dial up graphics and ray tracing settings to high if you even hope to play at a minimum 30 fps.

All of that, plus the laptop rarely felt more than slightly warm under my palms. With a laser thermometer, the Blade 14 (2025) surface temperature near the screen read around 103 degrees Fahrenheit but only 85 degrees on the palm rest. Even during play, the gaming laptop didn’t make my fingers toasty, and it kept the heat away from the sides where I’d use a mouse (better to avoid the trackpad issues altogether).

Though I have not tried the version with an RTX 5060, that GPU will necessarily limit how hard you can push your games on the Blade 14. Gamers have a one track mind. The first and last thing they care about is whether a device can run the latest titles with all the fixings—all settings on Ultra and ray tracing turned up—and still maintain a 60 fps or higher frame rate. Inevitably, the Blade 14 (2025) will find its limits.

The real small all-rounder

The Blade 14 (2025) would make many graphics tasks easier at the cost of battery life. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

We’ve had enough months to settle in with Nvidia’s GPU lineup. Long gone is any talk that the desktop RTX 5070 would somehow be more powerful than the RTX 4090, the previous-gen flagship. The laptop variant of this GPU is designed for smaller devices such as the Blade 14 (2025) with its limited resolution and refresh rate. Even if you push a game to hit double-digit frame rates with 50-series exclusive multi-frame gen—which inserts AI generated frames between rendered frames to artificially increase performance—the Blade 14 (2025) isn’t going to represent them on-screen with a mere 120Hz display. Instead, Nvidia has tried to showcase other uses for its RTX 50-series GPUs beyond downloading yet another game from your overstuffed Steam library centering on the new Blade 14.

I normally run a Blender test with my laptops, where I guage how long it takes the program to render a scene with a car on both the CPU and GPU. Despite the strength of AMD’s Strix Point, the Blade 14 (2025) will still not be as fast as the M4 in a 14-inch MacBook Pro. A discrete GPU will render such scenes three times as fast as the latest MacBook’s GPU, though that’s a difference of 17 seconds versus 55. Nvidia’s latest GPU’s also support improved video encoding features on top of the normal rendering enhancements from a discrete GPU. All that sounds well and good for specific workflows, but you’ll have to wrestle with the battery issues common to all gaming laptops of this caliber. Relying on the Blade 14’s Strix Point integrated GPU to save on battery will leave you dissapointed. In our Blender test, the Blade 14 (2025) was barely a minute faster on the AMD Radeon 880 graphics than running directly on the CPU.

Past Razer Blade 14 models could support screens with higher refresh rates up to 165Hz. Compared to that, the Blade 14 (2025) may seem more humdrum. The new laptop packs an OLED display with 2,880 x 1,800 resolution and a max of 120Hz refresh rate. Some may look at the price and wonder why we couldn’t have better refresh rates, but the display manages to strike a balance between speeds and pretty visuals.

The Blade 14 (2025)’s OLED display is the kind of pretty that’s so standard now among higher-end devices. It’s a good thing then, that the display is so especially nice to look at. The added bonus is Razer pushed the side and top screen bezels farther to the edge, maximizing the space I use to bask in those deep blacks promised by organic light-emitting diode displays.

This screen type offers better blacks and contrast than other competing displays. The main drawback is they are normally dimmer than other screens with a backlight, like mini LED. I never had a situation where I couldn’t see the screen in a dark room or where a bright light drowned out what was happening. Instead, the screen is a little too reflective. When you load dark colors onto the screen, the Blade 14 (2025) is so mirror-like I could read my own shirt. The reflectivity never proved so bad it distracted me from work or gaming, but it could be a major hassle if your attention tends to stray.

This laptop is also a great machine for most of your streaming content. The Blade 14 (2025) has a six speakers with support for THX spatial audio. Sound from the laptop came through clear and accurate. I wasn’t left grabbing for the nearest pair of high-quality headphones even when watching YouTube videos or loading up a game with my favorite soundtrack. Listening to in-game sound is even better thanks to its very minimal fan noise. The new Blade 14’s secret weapon is not necessarily its components, but the fact that everything runs so smoothly without any obtrusive noise to distract you.

You’ll still need a plug nearby

The Blade 14 (2025) sports a lovely keyboard attached to a rage-enducing trackpad. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

Gaming laptops continue to have severe battery life issues. Even if you eschew any more hardcore programs and only use this laptop to browse the web, you’ll never achieve anything close to a full-day of battery life. The Blade 14 (2025) doesn’t break that trend, but it does better than most.

In practice, the laptop can maintain itself on the default balanced power settings off-plug for a little more than four hours. After that, the it was begging for a charger. That number was consistent over weeks using the new Blade 14. The laptop would much rather you work with a plug nearby. With the 200W power brick connected to the its proprietary charging port, I could go from near 20% to almost full in under 40 minutes. I prefer to travel light, in which case I sometimes left the charger at work just so I didn’t have to carry it around with me.

In the end, even the most mobile gaming laptops will still be limited in just how easy it is to bring them around. The Blade 14 (2025) is simply slightly better than most, and in that way it’s one of my favorite laptops of the year. Despite all my hangups with its trackpad and keyboard, it’s the kind of device I wish I could keep close by, though perhaps out of a sense of entitlement after paying well over $2,000 for it.



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Apple's iPhone 16
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Time to Save Up: iPhone 17 Pro Price Hike Appears Imminent, Says New Report

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The iPhone 16 series dropped last year with the same US prices as the iPhone 15 series. But the iPhone 17 might come with the first price increase in years.

James Martin/CNET

Apple will announce new iPhone 17 phones at its annual fall event on Sept. 9, showing off new features of iOS 26, possible camera updates and new case designs, all leading up to a dramatic price reveal. This year, that figure could be $50 higher for the iPhone 17 Pro models, based on a rumor that surfaced on the Chinese social media site Weibo, from a user named Instant Digital (Setsuna Digital).

The rumored price jump corroborates an earlier prediction from Jefferies analyst Edison Lee, who says that the iPhone 17 Air (17 Slim), 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max will get a $50 price increase to offset the higher costs of components and tariffs, as reported by Business Insider. He didn’t mention the regular iPhone 17 getting a price increase. If true, that would mean that the starting prices for the iPhone 17 series will be:

  • iPhone 17: $829
  • iPhone 17 Air: $979
  • iPhone 17 Pro: $1,049
  • iPhone 17 Pro Max: $1,249

Instant Digital also thinks that the baseline iPhone 17 Pro will come with 256GB of storage instead of 128GB like the iPhone 16 Pro.

Since what President Donald Trump touted as “Liberation Day,” the possible effect of tariffs on the iPhone’s price has been widely discussed. And yet iPhone prices have remained the same so far this year. 

This news follows a May report by The Wall Street Journal that Apple is considering a price spike and could attribute it to new and updated features instead of tariffs. In any case, the launch of the rumored iPhone 17 will likely come with a higher price, no matter what Trump says or does.

Apple is the third-largest company in the US, and most of its products are manufactured in China. The iPhone’s ubiquity has made it a symbol for the ongoing uncertainty of the US economy and politics. But even without higher component costs or tariffs, the iPhone has been overdue for a price increase. The last one was five years ago.

From left: the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. Regardless of everything that’s occurred in 2025, the price of the phones has remained the same.

James Martin/CNET

Historically, that makes it the longest stretch of time Apple has gone without a price increase since the five-year period between the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 7, which ended with a costlier iPhone 8. We can learn a lot by looking at how Apple has handled earlier price hikes (and a one-time drop) and what that means for the iPhone 17. 

To figure out the likelihood of a price increase, I grouped iPhone models into a few categories: the standard, the flagships and the behemoths. The standard includes models like the original iPhone, the iPhone 8, the iPhone XR and the iPhone 16. The flagships include variants like the iPhone X, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro. The behemoth’s designation is for phones like the iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone XS Max and iPhone 16 Pro Max. (Other versions that Apple sold, like the iPhone 5C, the SE series, the iPhone Mini line and the current iPhone Plus line, don’t factor into this analysis.) Also, I use the US starting price for each iPhone before any carrier discounts are applied. 

Let’s dive in.

Standard iPhone prices

The iPhone 16 launched in 2025 with a starting price of $829, the same as the iPhone 12 did in 2020.

James Martin/CNET

Since its debut in 2007, the standard iPhone has had four price increases and one correction. Many folks might remember paying $199 for the original iPhone, but in reality, the phone cost $499 off-contract. In 2008, Apple raised the price $100 with the launch of the iPhone 3G to $599, where it would stay for four years. Then, in 2012, the iPhone 5 was introduced with a taller, 4-inch screen and a higher $649 price tag.

Fast-forward to 2017, the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, and the iPhone 8 debuted at a cost of $699, a $50 increase. Every year between 2017 and 2019, the price for the standard iPhone changed. In 2018, the iPhone XR launched at $749. The following year, the iPhone 11 came out, and the price dropped back to $699. And what makes that drop interesting is that the iPhone 11 was the first standard Apple phone with two rear cameras: a wide-angle and ultrawide. Up till then, all other standard iPhone models had only a single rear camera. From 2007 to 2019, when Apple increased prices, it was in $50 increments, except between the first and second iPhone models.

Then 2020 happened. It was a wild year for the iPhone and everyone because of the pandemic. But Apple managed to launch the iPhone 12, which cost $829, marking the largest increase for the standard iPhone: $130. Subsequent models all had the same price: The iPhone 13, 14, 15 and 16 all cost $829.

If Apple follows its previous pattern, then the standard iPhone is due for a price increase. The last increase was in 2020, five years ago, and Apple has never gone six years without a price hike on the standard model. But will the company slowly increase the price over a few years, like it did between the iPhone 7, 8 and XR? Or will it go all in like it did with the iPhone 12?

Apple’s most popular product is the standard iPhone, and it’s safe to expect that the iPhone 17 will cost more (and would have even if Trump hadn’t been elected). Now, we just need to wonder how much tariffs and politics might drive the price up even more.

The flagship: iPhone Pro model prices

The iPhone 16 Pro came out in 2024 with a starting price of $999, the same as the 2017 iPhone X.

James Martin/CNET

Apple hasn’t always had an iPhone Pro variant, but it did starting in 2017 with the launch of the iPhone X, which had a starting price of $999. The phone debuted next to the $699 iPhone 8, making the 8’s $50 increase seem like nothing.

But here’s where things get interesting. Apple has never raised the price on the iPhone Pro model. The iPhone X, XS, 11 Pro, 12 Pro, 13 Pro, 14 Pro, 15 Pro and 16 Pro all cost $999. That’s eight years without a price increase!

What’s even more shocking is when you correct for inflation: the 2017 iPhone X’s $999 price would be $1,298 in 2025, according to the Consumer Price Index Inflation calculator. The iPhone Pro is overdue for a price hike, and I expect the iPhone 17 Pro to cost more.

The behemoths: iPhone Plus, Max and Pro Max prices

The iPhone 16 Pro (left) and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

James Martin/CNET

Since 2014, Apple has sold a big version of the iPhone. Some of these were nothing more than a larger version of the standard iPhone with a bigger screen and battery, as well as some minor differences, like the iPhone 6 Plus having optical image stabilization on its camera while the iPhone 6 didn’t. But beginning with the iPhone 7 Plus, the larger version started having “pro” features, like a second rear camera and portrait mode.

In terms of pricing, the iPhone 6 Plus debuted at $749, which was $100 more than the iPhone 6. And that $749 price stuck around for the iPhone 6S Plus and 7 Plus. In 2017, Apple had three iPhone models: the $699 iPhone 8, the $749 iPhone 8 Plus (a $50 increase from the 7 Plus) and the $999 iPhone X.

In 2018, Apple launched the $1,099 iPhone XS Max, which I consider the true successor to the initial iPhone Plus line. That means the big iPhone got a $350 increase in a single year, the largest Apple has ever made. I admit some people might not think the XS Max is a follow-up to the Plus and would deem it an entirely new iPhone variant. But this is my commentary.

Like the iPhone Pro, the Max and Pro Max would have the same price for years. In 2023, Apple raised the barrier of entry for the Pro Max model and didn’t offer a $1,099 version of the iPhone 15 Pro Max with 128GB of storage. Instead, you had to pay $1,199 for the 256GB variant, which technically cost the same as the iPhone 14 Pro Max with 256GB of storage.

The iPhone 17 and 17 Pro’s prices

No one knows how much the rumored iPhone 17 will cost, except Apple.

Apple/Viva Tung/CNET

Even without tariffs, it’s safe to assume that the iPhone 17 lineup’s prices will be higher for some models. But when you factor in everything that’s happened this year, it’s hard to gauge just how much the price will go up and whether that’ll affect just one or two models, or apply across the entire iPhone 17 line.

This year, Apple raised the price on its most affordable model. Although it lacks the SE branding of the previous low-cost iPhone, the iPhone 16E came with a $599 price tag, $170 more than the $429 iPhone SE (2022). 

Apple doesn’t talk about unreleased products or their prices. But we do have an unusual-for-Apple clue as to how these tariffs could affect the company.

“Assuming the current global tariff rates, policies and applications do not change for the balance of the quarter and no new tariffs are added, we estimate the impact to add $900 million to our costs,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said during a quarterly earnings call on May 1.

Obviously, that $900 million number wasn’t just for the iPhone but for all Apple products. And that was three weeks before Trump threatened another tariff aimed purely at the iPhone. But $900 million is a lot for any company to swallow, and eventually, that added cost will need to be recouped. That usually means higher prices, even if Trump pressures Apple to attribute the increase to “new designs and features.”

If there’s one thing for certain, we’ll know exactly what those prices will be when Apple launches the next generation of iPhone models at its September event.

Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.



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Antarctica Is Changing Rapidly. The Consequences Could Be Dire
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Antarctica Is Changing Rapidly. The Consequences Could Be Dire

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This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Seen from space, Antarctica looks so much simpler than the other continents—a great sheet of ice set in contrast to the dark waters of the encircling Southern Ocean. Get closer, though, and you’ll find not a simple cap of frozen water, but an extraordinarily complex interplay between the ocean, sea ice, and ice sheets and shelves.

That relationship is in serious peril. A new paper in the journal Nature catalogs how several “abrupt changes,” like the precipitous loss of sea ice over the last decade, are unfolding in Antarctica and its surrounding waters, reinforcing one another and threatening to send the continent past the point of no return—and flood coastal cities everywhere as the sea rises several feet.

“We’re seeing a whole range of abrupt and surprising changes developing across Antarctica, but these aren’t happening in isolation,” said climate scientist Nerilie Abram, lead author of the paper. (She conducted the research while at Australian National University but is now chief scientist at the Australian Antarctic Division.) “When we change one part of the system, that has knock-on effects that worsen the changes in other parts of the system. And we’re talking about changes that also have global consequences.”

Scientists define abrupt change as a bit of the environment changing much faster than expected. In Antarctica these can occur on a range of times scales, from days or weeks for an ice shelf collapse, and centuries and beyond for the ice sheets. Unfortunately, these abrupt changes can self-perpetuate and become unstoppable as humans continue to warm the planet. “It’s the choices that we’re making right now, and this decade and the next, for greenhouse gas emissions that will set in place those commitments to long-term change,” Abram said.

A major driver of Antarctica’s cascading crises is the loss of floating sea ice, which forms during winter. In 2014, it hit a peak extent (at least since satellite observations began in 1978) around Antarctica of 20.11 million square kilometers, or 7.76 million square miles. But since then, the coverage of sea ice has fallen not just precipitously, but almost unbelievably, contracting by 75 miles closer to the coast. During winters, when sea ice reaches its maximum coverage, it has declined 4.4 times faster around Antarctica than it has in the Arctic in the last decade.

Put another way: The loss of winter sea ice in Antarctica over just the past decade is similar to what the Arctic has lost over the last 46 years. “People always thought the Antarctic was not changing compared to the Arctic, and I think now we’re seeing signs that that’s no longer the case,” said climatologist Ryan Fogt, who studies Antarctica at Ohio University but wasn’t involved in the new paper. “We’re seeing just as rapid—and in many cases, more rapid—change in the Antarctic than the Arctic lately.”

While scientists need to collect more data to determine if this is the beginning of a fundamental shift in Antarctica, the signals so far are ominous. “We’re starting to see the pieces of the picture begin to emerge that we very well might be in this new state of dramatic loss of Antarctic sea ice,” said Zachary M. Labe, a climate scientist who studies the region at the research group Climate Central, which wasn’t involved in the new paper.



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Yooka-Laylee remaster comes to consoles and PC on October 9

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Yooka-Replaylee, the remaster of the platformer Yooka-Laylee, will be available on October 9. It’ll be playable on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and Switch 2. It’s getting both a digital and physical release, and preorders for the physical versions are up right now.

Speaking of physical copies, the Switch 2 version will include the full game on the cartridge and no game-key card. Nintendo has given developers the option to release cartridges that are basically empty shells, called game-key cards, that require an immediate download upon being slotted in the console. Collectors aren’t exactly keen on this practice, so an actual cartridge release for Yooka-Replaylee is a welcome bit of news.

This is a remade and enhanced version of Yooka-Laylee, which was itself an homage to 3D collectathon platformers like Banjo-Kazooie. Developer Playtonic is staffed with people who worked on Rare titles like the aforementioned Banjo and the Donkey Kong Country games.

Yooka-Replaylee brings some new features to the table, including updated challenges, a fully orchestral soundtrack and, of course, more stuff to collect. There’s also a bigger map, a refined story and enhanced graphics. It looks pretty nifty.

The digital version of the game will cost $30, while physical copies will cost $50. There’s a promotion going for long-time fans, as those who already own the game will get 30 percent off so long as they buy the remaster on the same platform family as the original. This means Switch to Switch 2, PS4 to PS5 and Xbox One to Xbox Series X/S.



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Microsoft’s next annual update for Windows 11 is in Release Preview testing
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Microsoft’s next annual update for Windows 11 is in Release Preview testing

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So, will you see new UI features or more AI tweaks included on your desktop with this update? Microsoft didn’t mention many specific features or changes in the update, other than confirming it shares the same new features and enhancements as the previous version, 24H2, which flips on new features throughout the year, along with some notes for IT:

Windows 11, version 25H2 also includes some feature removals such as PowerShell 2.0 and Windows Management Instrumentation command-line (WMIC). And for our commercial customers, Windows 11, version 25H2 includes the ability for IT admins to remove select pre-installed Microsoft Store apps via Group Policy/MDM CSP on Enterprise/EDU devices.

As Microsoft detailed in June, using its shared servicing branch means updating from the current 24H2 version to 25H2 takes a single restart, as new features are added in earlier updates but left disabled until the enablement package activates them.

To get the update, you can join the Release Preview channel and get Windows 11, version 25H2 (Build 26200.5074) now by going to the Windows Update section of settings and choosing to install it.



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European Union technical background
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Chat Control: The list of countries opposing the law grows, but support remains strong

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  • Opposition against the controversial child sexual abuse (CSAM) scanning bill is growing ahead of a crucial meeting on September 12
  • The Danish version of the so-called Chat Control bill could be adopted as early as October 2025 if an agreement is found
  • Experts are concerned about the negative impact the bill will have on citizens’ communications privacy and security

Opposition against the controversial child sexual abuse (CSAM) scanning bill is growing among EU state members, just days away from a crucial meeting.

On September 12, the EU Council is expected to share its final positions on the Danish version of the so-called Chat Control. The proposal, which has attracted strong criticism so far, aims to introduce new obligations for all messaging services operating in Europe to scan users’ chats, even if they’re encrypted.

Both the Czech Republic and Belgium have now reportedly passed from being undecided to opposing the proposed law, according to the latest data, with the latter deeming the bill as “a monster that invades your privacy and cannot be tamed.” They add to Austria, the Netherlands, and Poland in criticising the proposal’s mandatory detection and encryption provisions.


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The list of supporters is still much longer, though, counting 15 member states at the time of writing. These include crucial countries like France, alongside Italy, Spain, Sweden, Lithuania, Cyprus, Latvia, and Ireland.

Crucially, French MEPs said they could “basically support” the draft, a source with knowledge of the matter told TechRadar. While Germany, another decisive vote to either block or back the bill, may be considering abstaining from taking a position. This is something that will weaken the Danish mandate, “even if the Presidency gets the required votes to pass,” explains TechRadar’s source.

What’s at stake for European’s encrypted communications?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

First unveiled in 2022, the Chat Control proposal has never been so close to becoming law, with a vote set to take place on October 14, 2025, and the majority of EU member states currently being its supporters.

On a more practical level, this means that the EU could be scanning your chats by October 2025 – no matter if they are encrypted.

The major point of contention, in fact, is the provisions around encryption, which is the technology responsible for keeping our communications private and secure. The likes of WhatsApp, Signal, ProtonMail, and even the best VPN apps all use encryption to scramble the content of users’ messages into an unreadable form and prevent unauthorized access.

If the Danish Chat Control text passes, all the multimedia files and URLs you sent via WhatsApp and similar services would have to be mandatorily scanned in the lookout for CSAM materials. Crucially, government and military accounts will be exempt from the scanning.

While the proposal mentions that cybersecurity and encryption should be “protected in a comprehensive way,” a wealth of experts, including tech developers, cryptographers, and digital rights advocates, have been warning that, as it’s intended, mandatory scanning cannot be done without weakening encryption protections. This will also make everyone de facto more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

At the time of writing, only seven countries remain undecided, namely Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Romania, and Slovenia.

If you’re worried about this proposal and wish to put pressure on your country’s MEPs, this website helps you do so within a few clicks.

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Dune: Awakening diamondine dust locations - A masculine character with a thick beard and scraggy hair standing against a cliff.
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Auto-run is enough to get me to reinstall Dune: Awakening, but customization do-overs and trainer fashion sweeten the deal

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I will neither confirm nor deny that I was among those miffed that a powerplanning mistake got their base pillaged and destroyed in Dune: Awakening, but I will say auto-run sure could make the recovery process from such an error less painful. Funcom must’ve heard that complaint more than once too, as Dune: Awakening has a new auto-run toggle on the way.

The blessed new keybind was included in the latest version of Dune: Awakening’s public test client and outlined in the patch notes. Behold:

  • “Implemented auto-run toggle which automatically moves character/vehicle forward.”

But yeah, truthfully I did screw up the power on my smaller mining outpost and felt so annoyed by the whole ordeal I put my Arrakis adventuring on hiatus. Auto-run was one of the first things I looked for when I started playing to make a quick alt-tab in and out of the game less annoying, and little quality-of-life goes a long way—I’ve been wanting to get back into it.


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Of course the update doesn’t just center around auto-run. Dune: Awakening’s upcoming build also added new rewards for completing the Advanced Trainer Contracts with an “exclusive armor set specific to each trainer,” and players already done with those questlines get the goodies retroactively.

There’s also new quests for the journey storyline—remember you gotta find the Fremen and all that jazz—plus a Character Recustomizer for those of us who want a makeover without creating a whole new character. Funcom says they’re available in Harko Village and Arrakeen City along with new hairstyles and tattoos, though altering your appearance isn’t free. Can’t wait to skip out on my taxes after spending too much on tattoos.

A few other noteworthy highlights include:

  • Assault Ornithopters storage capacity increased to 20 slots/2,000 volume
  • A new Duraluminum-tier weapon, the Adept Missile Launcher
  • Easier organization from the Placeables and Vehicles menu with a new renaming function

The “improvements to mismatching and glitching building pieces” also has me itching to jump back in, but that could be such a small change I don’t even notice. It’s no secret I can be a bit of a base-building snob, but sometimes my building blocks misbehaved in some wild ways.

Anyone can try out the new patch through the Dune: Awakening Public Test Client, and Funcom is asking for player feedback before it pushes this update to the live build. If the patch keeps the same cadence as others, then I’m assuming it’ll be one or two weeks before I can auto-run my way straight into a big ol’ worm’s maw.

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Peek Inside the ‘Fallout’ Vault at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood
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Peek Inside the ‘Fallout’ Vault at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood

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Universal Studios is rolling out its houses of horror across the country—opening three major hubs that monster fans can make their Halloween season travel destinations—in this month’s theme park news.

io9 was invited by Universal to experience the very big bag of tricks and treats the theme park creatives are unleashing into the world for fandom fiends seeking thrilling frights. On the West Coast, Universal Studios Hollywood prepares to open the vault with the Fallout house inspired by the Prime Video series and Bethesda video game franchise, alongside its other horror property offerings, come September.

Meanwhile in Las Vegas, AREA15 has opened the gates of Universal Horror Unleashed, a desert warehouse that holds haunted gateways to chilling cinematic experiences. And of course things are already getting started at Halloween Horror Nights Orlando with Terrifier’s Art the Clown being set loose alongside the Five Nights at Freddy’s gang.

Universal Studios Hollywood Fallout lights on tour

© Gizmodo io9

HHN Hollywood creative director John Murdy walked through the Fallout house with press to explain the story guests would be experiencing nightly during the Halloween event’s run. “Going through the series, my initial reaction was, ‘Wow, this is a huge world,’ and there’s three different kinds of storylines going on with the show. There’s Lucy’s storyline where she’s searching for her father, there’s Maximus’ storyline with the Brotherhood of Steel, and then there’s the Ghoul and his storyline—kind of going from being a TV actor cowboy to his transformation into this bounty hunter character.”

“So what we decided ultimately to do is we would pretty much be following in Lucy’s footsteps,” he shared, as we saw the under-construction vault setting for the wedding leading to her eventual breakout through the vault door.

© Gizmodo io9

“So we’re gonna be taking you from the vault to the wasteland, meeting all the characters along the way,” Murdy continued, and elaborated that Hollywood’s version of the house will offer different set pieces than Orlando. One major difference is that the West Coast will get the mutated Yao Guai bear, whereas Florida will get the Gulper.

Murdy knew one thing for certain: “And then for us, when I saw the Super Duper Mart sequence, which is actually the fourth episode of Fallout, I was like, that is tailor-made for a finale to a Halloween horror house because it’s when all the ghouls are breaking out.”

Murdy acknowledged that the Fallout house would also include many Easter eggs for the show and the games, such as a final scare piece to hype up season two of the Prime Video series.

© Gizmodo io9

Murdy also discussed the making of the other major horror video game and now movie franchise Five Nights at Freddy’s with press on a more extensive and detailed BTS tour showcasing the Jim Henson’s Creature Shop puppets, which can be found here.

 

Universal Horror Unleashed at AREA15 Las Vegas

© Gizmodo io9

In Las Vegas, Universal’s year-round horror haven is now officially open with houses that feature The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the Universal Monsters, The Exorcist: Believer, and HHN West’s fan-favorite Scarecrow. The Sin City attraction, which io9 attended as a media guest, is the gem of AREA15 Zone 2; it aims to attract immersive-experience fans to a new side of the Strip that elevates experiential entertainment and dining.

Universal Horror Unleashed features spooky sips and eats in addition to live acts, including HHN East’s icons Jack the Clown and Chance—who perfectly suit the chaotic clownery of Vegas.

©Gizmodo io9

Many HHN fans will notice that neither Orlando nor Hollywood features a Universal Monsters house this year and that’s because of Universal Horror Unleashed. And when we say it’s the best one yet, we mean it mostly because it finally debuts the Creature From the Black Lagoon as part of the action.

There’s a whole under-the-sea sequence where you wade past seaweed to come face-to-face with the creature that is swimmingly well executed. On top of that you’ll encounter Frankenstein’s Monster, the Bride, the Phantom of the Opera, Quasimodo, the Wolf Man, and the Mummy—along with the Gill-man—in an all-out mash that you’ll want to go through over and over again. For ticket information visit here.

©Gizmodo io9

Universal Studios Orlando HHN and Epic Universe

While we haven’t yet visited HHN Orlando, the fun officially kicks off this weekend with the annual event’s opening. To celebrate, Art the Clown from Terrifier has taken over the social media account to show he’s taken Jack’s place as the resident clown at Universal Studios in Florida.

© Gizmodo io9

And of course, if you’re hoping to see the Universal Monsters while you travel to the East Coast, you can make a day of it at Epic Universe with a visit to Darkmoor and Frankenstein Manor for Monsters Unchained—and then of course go scream your face off at HHN. There’s also no telling what monsters you’ll run into; there could be an Invisible Man or a wild Ygor looking for the Frankenstein creations.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.



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