The first quarter of next year will see the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series. Leaks have revealed key details of the lineup, but there are still things yet to come to light. Meanwhile, the company seems optimistic about the sales expectations of its upcoming flagship mobile devices. Samsung seems to have particular faith in the Galaxy S25 Ultra, projecting that it will account for half of the series’ sales.

Every year, Galaxy S flagships are among the best-selling mobile devices. The popularity of the Galaxy S and Galaxy A sustains Samsung’s position as the leading brand in the smartphone market. There are rumors that Apple would overtake Samsung’s position next year thanks to a possible boost in sales of the iPhone 16 series and older models. However, the South Korean giant wants to make it difficult for the American company until the last moment.

Samsung expects the Galaxy S25 Ultra to account for half of the sales in the lineup

South Korean media reports healthy sales expectations for the Samsung Galaxy S25 series. According to estimates based on component orders, Samsung expects to ship about 22 million units of the Galaxy S25 lineup by the first half of 2025. Of those, 11 million units would be the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the most premium and expensive model. The Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+ would account for 6 million and 5 million units, respectively.

The strategy of launching Ultra models has paid off for the company. Galaxy S fans have made these devices the most popular and valuable. They also offer higher profit margins to Samsung. The upcoming Galaxy S25 Ultra is expected to feature an even larger display, reaching 6.9 inches. This puts it on par with the latest iPhone 16 Pro Max in terms of screen size. On the other hand, the base Galaxy S25 will remain a compact model, while the S25+ will be an intermediate variant with a bigger screen and battery than the vanilla one.

Samsung could discard the base Galaxy S26

Recent reports suggest that Samsung will be shaking up its launch policy for the Galaxy S series. The brand could ditch the base Galaxy S26 in 2026, although this will likely depend on the popularity of its equivalent model in the Galaxy S25 lineup. Samsung has already launched the Galaxy Tab S10 series without a base model, offering only Plus and Ultra models.

Robot vacuums across the country were hacked in the space of several days, according to reporting by ABC News. This allowed the attackers to not only control the robovacs, but use their speakers to hurl racial slurs and abusive comments at anyone nearby.

All of the affected robots were of the same make and model, the Chinese-made Ecovacs Deebot X2s. This particular robovac has developed a reputation for being easy to hack, thanks to a critical security flaw. ABC News, for instance, was able to get full control over one of the robots, including the camera.

One victim of this week’s hacks was a Minnesota lawyer named Daniel Swenson. He told ABC that he was watching TV when the robot started making weird noises, like “a broken-up radio signal or something.” Through the app, Swenson could tell that a stranger was accessing the live camera feed and the remote control feature.

He reset the password and rebooted the vacuum, but that’s when the weirdness really started. It immediately started moving again of its own accord and the speakers began emitting a human voice. This voice was yelling racist obscenities right in front of Swenson’s son.

“I got the impression it was a kid, maybe a teenager,” said Swenson. “Maybe they were just jumping from device to device messing with families.” Ultimately, he said it could have been worse, such as if the vacuum silently spied on his family for days on end.

Swenson’s device was hacked on May 24. That same day another Deebot X2s in Los Angeles began chasing around a dog. This vacuum’s speakers also shouted abusive comments. Five days later, a similar incident happened in El Paso. It remains unclear how many of the company’s devices have been hacked in total.

At the root of this issue is a security flaw that allows bad faith actors to bypass the required four-digit security PIN in order to gain control of the vacuum. This issue originally came to light in December 2023. The Bluetooth connector also has a flaw that allows for complete access from up to 300 feet away. However, the attacks occurred throughout the country, so the Bluetooth vulnerability is an unlikely culprit.

According to Gizmodo, the company has developed a patch to eliminate the aforementioned security flaw that’ll roll out sometime in November. We reached out to Ecovacs to get a confirmation on this.

The landscape of school funding has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, with technology emerging as the pivotal force in its evolution. Educational institutions across the nation are grappling with a perfect storm of financial challenges: budget cuts that strain resources, staff shortages that stretch existing faculty thin, and event costs that have skyrocketed to unprecedented levels.

Despite these hurdles, community expectations for quality education and enriching extracurricular activities have not only persisted but intensified. Operation costs for high school programs have increased year over year as inflation has risen, placing significant burden on athletic directors—just one example  of broad-scale pressures facing schools today. As the landscape continues to shift, the introduction of cutting-edge platforms and strategic collaborations are vital aspects in offering a lifeline to institutions navigating these treacherous waters. 

Financial burdens resulting from COVID-19 extend far beyond beloved extracurricular activities. These financial strains underscore the urgent need for more efficient and effective programming and fundraising methods, seamlessly allowing for HomeTown’s market growth. 

As school districts across the nation call for a solution to a seemingly intractable problem, two innovators have notably emerged to change the educational fundraising landscape. The collaboration between HomeTown and Schoolfundr transpired as a comprehensive solution for schools to outsource and easily manage both event ticketing and fundraising efforts. This integration, led by Hometown CEO Nick Mirisis and Schoolfundr CEO Dennis Levene allows schools to streamline their revenue generation and management processes under the shared goal of saving time and resources.

Founded in 2016, HomeTown modernized the way educational institutions and community organizations handle event ticketing and management. The rapidly growing platform provides a game-changing solution to schools struggling with outdated, labor-intensive methods of ticket sales and revenue management for various events, from athletic competitions to artistic performances and social gatherings. HomeTown is a leading online digital ticketing and event management service serving over 5,000 schools across 21 states.

Founded in 2022, Schoolfundr emerged as an education funding platform that addresses the fundraising challenges faced by school administrations to raise funds from their communities. Schoolfundr offers a unique no-fee model,  allowing schools to keep 100% of the funds they raise, minus only the standard ~3% credit card processing fee. This innovative approach starkly contrasts the traditional fundraising platforms that charge payment processing fees, which can range between 20% and as much as 30%. Schoolfundr’s innovative no-fee model represents a paradigm shift in school fundraising. Unlike competing platforms, Schoolfundr operates on a voluntary tipping system, allowing donors to contribute to the platform’s operational costs if they choose.

This approach has resonated strongly with donors who appreciate the transparency and the fact that their entire donation goes directly to the intended cause. According to Schoolfundr CEO Dennis Levene, donors are keen on “speaking with their wallets” to endorse Schoolfundr’s mission rather than just its product.

Despite widespread donor fatigue for school districts, Schoolfundr has seen overwhelming support through generous tips. Many donors, having experienced other platforms for years, have even rejected typical fundraising efforts in the past due to high fees. However, when educated about Schoolfundr’s transparent approach, they are motivated to donate and often choose to leave a tip. This model not only allows greater revenue collection for schools but also fosters trust and goodwill among donors, who appreciate that their contributions are being used more effectively to support students and educational programs.

Impressively, 60% of Schoolfundr’s donations come from outside the local area code, Levene said, demonstrating its ability to tap into broader networks of support, while thriving off of a no-fee model.

Both HomeTown and Schoolfundr have transformed previously manual processes based on shared trust and transparency values. These two power players recognized the clear value in digitizing two critical components of school event programming, allowing them to simultaneously disrupt the school programming landscape and maximize business benefits.

HomeTown’s extensive reach, having enabled thousands of schools to make the digital transformation post-COVID, provides a robust platform for Schoolfundr to amplify its message and solidify its impact. Just a few years ago, such a model seemed unimaginable, with schools relying heavily on traditional fundraising models like bake sales and labor-intensive car washes.

Now, building on HomeTown’s successful digital ticketing and event management transformation, schools can look forward to another game-changing shift in how they raise funds and manage events. This partnership not only simplifies fundraising but also guarantees that schools keep a significantly larger portion of the funds they raise, with Schoolfundr’s commitment to zero platform fees.

The adoption of digital fundraising platforms like Schoolfundr has a significant impact on schools’ ability to fund programs and initiatives. Schools have raised substantial amounts to support various activities. One example is Hough High School in North Carolina, which saw six teams raise over $42,000 for uniforms, equipment, and travel expenses, according to a case study on the relationship between Schoolfundr and Hough HS.

Even large school districts, like Charlotte Mecklenburg School District, are using Schoolfundr’s platform to manage and run campaigns for their districts, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to help students in reaching their full potential.

The partnership between Schoolfundr and HomeTown represents a powerful combination of fundraising and operational tools for schools. This partnership allows schools to streamline both their fundraising efforts and their event management, creating a more efficient and effective system overall. As CEO Nick Mirisis leads HomeTown through its expansion, the company is poised to further transform the event management landscape for educational institutions.

As the industry evolves,, it’s clear that the future of school fundraising and event management is digital. Platforms like Schoolfundr and HomeTown are leading the way, offering innovative solutions that align the interests of schools, donors, and technology providers. In doing so, they’re not just changing how schools raise money and manage events – they’re helping to ensure that every student has access to extracurricular resources, spirited events, and a community to remain a part of.

VentureBeat newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.

Startup Battlefield 200 is a major highlight at every Disrupt, and we’re thrilled to find out which of the thousands of startup applicants will get the chance to pitch to top-tier VCs at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. Join us at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 28–30 to witness the epic showdown where every contender is set to make a significant impact.

Get an insider’s view of what the judges look for in a viable company as they provide detailed feedback on their evaluation criteria. Don’t miss the chance to learn from their expert insights and discover the crucial traits that lead to startup success, only at Disrupt 2024.

We’re excited to introduce our next set of investors who will evaluate the startups and dive into each pitch with a thorough and probing Q&A session. Stay tuned for our last group of judges to be announced soon!

Galym Imanbayev, Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners

Galym Imanbayev is a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners where he focuses on health tech and services investments. Galym’s interest in health is rooted in his childhood experiences growing up in Kazakhstan following his father on rural medical trips. Galym serves as a board member or board observer on Abridge, Aledade, Ancora, Fathom, Soda Health, and Wheel. Galym also spent time as an investor at Martis Capital. He completed his BA, MD, and MBA degrees at Stanford University, where he served as the graduate representative on the Stanford University Board of Trustees.

Rohan Ganesh, Partner, Obvious Ventures

Rohan is a partner at Obvious Ventures, where he invests in companies at the intersection of science, technology, and healthcare. He supports several companies as a board director or observer, including Inceptive, Inato, Pi Health, Gandeeva Therapeutics, Anagenex, and LabGenius. Prior to joining Obvious, he led venture investments in healthcare technology, biotech, and diagnostics at Verily Life Sciences, a Google spinout, and at Northpond Ventures, a multi-billion-dollar science-driven venture firm. He worked as product manager for CompuGroup Medical (leading EMR company in Europe) and in Verily’s computer-aided disease detection and machine learning team.

Lisa Morales-Hellebo, Founder and Managing GP, REFASHIOND Ventures

Lisa has 28 years experience in tech, design and systems thinking, entrepreneurship, and community building, and has recently added VC to her list of titles as founder and co-managing GP at REFASHIOND Ventures: the Industrial Transformation Fund — a New York-based venture fund that invests as the first institutional check in early-stage startups refashioning industrial value chains across data and AI, advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, and next-generation logistics; defensible through economic moats. Lisa is catalyzing the paradigm shift to localized demand chains as CEO and founder of REFASHIOND OS (rOS), which is deploying a unified data layer and control tower across manufacturing value chains. She is also a founder of the Worldwide Supply Chain Federation, an organization that is changing how supply chain professionals learn about, collaborate, and adopt early-stage supply chain innovation around the world.

Andrew Schoen, Partner, NEA

Andrew Schoen joined NEA in 2014 and is currently a partner on the Technology Investing Team focused on AI/ML, fintech, frontier tech, infrastructure software, technically differentiated SaaS, and security. Andrew serves on the board of directors for Aigen, Clarifai, Dandelion, Super, ThreatQ, and Wispr; he also works closely with several other NEA portfolio companies and plays an integral role in the firm’s Asia investing practice. Prior to NEA, he was a member of Blackstone’s M&A Group. Prior to Blackstone, he founded Flicstart, a digital media startup that provided on-demand movie screenings.

Christopher Wan, Vice President, Bessemer Venture Partners

Christopher Wan is a vice president in the San Francisco office, where he focuses primarily on early-stage deep technologies. Before joining Bessemer, Chris was at In-Q-Tel and Tusk Ventures, investing in companies at the intersection of technology and government. Chris was also part of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, where he researched and wrote policy proposals on artificial intelligence. He began his career as a software engineer on Facebook’s News Credibility team.

Don’t miss the battle at Disrupt 2024!

The Startup Battlefield winner, who will walk away with a $100,000 equity-free prize, will be announced at Disrupt 2024 — the startup epicenter. Join 10,000 attendees to witness this groundbreaking moment and see the next wave of tech innovation.

Register here and secure your seat to witness this epic startup battle.