We’ve already heard plenty in the way of leaks and rumors about the Samsung Galaxy S25 so far, and the latest unconfirmed information to appear has given us some pointers about the colors that the Ultra model is going to be available in.
According to usually reliable tipster @UniverseIce, we’re going to see the Galaxy S25 Ultra show up in Black, Blue, Green, and Titanium. However it’s likely that a few more options will be offered through the Samsung website.
Read our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review and you’ll see it can be picked up in seven different colors in total: Titanium Violet, Titanium Gray, Titanium Black, Titanium Yellow, Titanium Blue, Titanium Green, and Titanium Orange.
If Titanium is being marketed as a separate color on next year’s model, it’s not clear why – it’s almost certain Samsung will keep titanium as the main frame material. It’s possible the Titanium mentioned in this leak is simply a natural titanium color, while the others are also titanium but don’t have that in the color name.
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The rumors so far
BREAKING!The Galaxy S25 Ultra will debut in four color options:Black, Green, Blue, TitaniumI I don’t know the online color scheme yet. pic.twitter.com/KNHZTC6lmaOctober 19, 2024
The same tipster has included a render supposedly showing the Galaxy S25 Ultra from the front: matching up with previous leaks, we can see the 2025 model has a more rounded frame, and bezels that are even thinner than the current phone. It’s also rumored to be making use of a redesigned frame.
As usual, we’re going to get performance increases across the board with the Galaxy S25 series, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra could well get a bump up to 16GB of RAM this time. The phone might even be called the Note 25, but that seems unlikely.
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If Samsung sticks to the same schedule that it did in 2024, then the next flagship Galaxy phones should break cover sometime in January 2025. Of course as soon as anything is made official, we’ll bring you the news here.
Apple products are usually among the most reliable on the market. However, that doesn’t exempt them from occasional problems, which in some cases can be serious. Fans of the brand have been able to test the iPhone 16 series since September, discovering new features and improvements, but also bugs. According to reports, some iPhone 16 Pro units are suddenly freezing and restarting with no apparent explanation.
A few days after the release of the iPhone 16 lineup, complaints about the problem flooded social platforms and support forums. Most of the reports about restarts and freezes come from owners of the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models, so those variants would be more prone to manifest them. Not all users experience the issue, but the number of complaints about it is enough to draw attention.
A bug is causing freezes and reboots on some iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max devices
Affected people claim that the screen of their iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max suddenly stops responding to touches. Soon after, the device will automatically reboot itself. There are also cases where phones suddenly reboot when in standby mode. The bug is present on iPhone 16 Pro models running iOS 18/iOS 18.0.1 stable and iOS 18.1 beta. So, it doesn’t seem to be the same case of the battery drain issue affecting more generations of iPhones where iOS 18 seems to be the cause.
The fact that the bug is only present on some units, regardless of their software version, may raise concerns about potential hardware-related issues. Anyway, there is nothing confirmed about it yet. Some of the affected customers claim to have managed to get a replacement device after resorting to their warranty. Sadly, in some cases, the issue was still present even on the replacement units.
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Also, not all affected phones are experiencing the issue in the same way. There are cases where the freezes and reboots are sporadic, while there are others where they happen up to 20 times a day.
There’s a workaround that could help
Some reports suggest that a factory reset without restoring your backup helps resolve things. This suggests that a potential bug during the restoration of iCloud backups could be the cause of the frustrating situation. However, the workaround will make the setup process for your new device more tedious.
There is still no official word from Apple regarding the cases of iPhone 16 models freezing and restarting. Hopefully it won’t take long for updates to emerge regarding the problem.
Amazon has given its basic Fire TV Stick what seems to be a rebranding and has even shaved off a few dollars from its pricing. When you visit its old listing on the website, you’ll see a note that says “There’s a newer model of this product,” which links to the new Fire TV Stick HD. We call it a “rebranding,” since its specs seem pretty much identical to the company’s old basic streamer. It can stream in full HD resolution, comes with HDR support and ships with an Alexa-powered remote control. You can press the Alexa button on its remote to search for shows and launch apps with just a voice command.
The device can run the most popular streaming apps, like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Peacock, and its remote comes with special buttons for Netflix and Prime Video. Unlike the old version that set you back $40, though, the new Fire TV Stick HD has a base price of $35. That’s only $5 more than the version that ships with a “lite” remote that has few buttons for control. If you want a streamer that’s capable of handing 4K shows and movies, though, this isn’t the model to go for. Amazon has several options to choose from, namely the Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Stick 4K Max with 16GB of storage and the Fire TV Cube that offers hands-free streaming with its built-in mic and speakers.
The games industry’s economic struggles are not exactly an unknown — by now, it’s been over a year since the layoffs, studio closures and game cancellations began in earnest. Somewhere in the midst of this, game companies have become somewhat more transparent about the goings-on behind the scenes. And recently, that’s taken the form of admitting when they’ve simply run out of money. Surgent Studios revealed today it’s put its staff on notice as it’s having trouble securing a publisher for its next game. This is after it’s already had a round of layoffs following the underperformance of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU.
Surgent is not the only studio that has gotten frank about its inability to secure stable funding. Earlier this month, Orphan Age developer Studio Black Flag revealed its deal with its publisher fell through, and the French government shut it down when its funding disappeared. It called itself “another casualty of the current downturn in the video game industry.” Similarly, Italic Pig, developers of Paleo Pines, said in a social media statement that it couldn’t find a production partner for its next game, and said the whole indie gaming scene was facing “a sudden drying up of publishing and investment opportunities.”
I feel that the first instance of a game company being so honest was last September, when Pieces Interactive delayed Alone in the Dark and flat-out admitted that it didn’t want to release the game in the already over-crowded month of October: “Horror games thrive on the eerie embrace of solitude, something that is impossible to achieve in a gaming month as busy as October.” But being honest about the reasons behind delays is one thing — being honest about money troubles is another level of sincerity.
In personal news, I’m ready to get properly spooky this season with the release of A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, which reminds me of Alien: Isolation in the best way. I’m not sure I’m up for replaying Until Dawn again — keeping those shrieking brats alive for one playthrough was difficult enough — but if I need a palate cleanser, Piranha Games just dropped MechWarrior 5: Clans. And if nothing else, there’s always the new Mario Party title, Super Mario Party Jamboree.
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What to play this week
What’s new:
Super Mario Party Jamboree
MechWarrior 5: Clans
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead
Neva
Just Dance 2025 Edition
Unknown 9: Awakening
Drove – Forsaken Kin
New World: Aeternum
Killing Time: Resurrected
RetroRealms: Ash vs. Evil Dead
RetroRealms: Halloween
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed
Arsene Lupin: Once a Thief
New on subscription services:
South Park: The Fractured but Whole (Xbox Game Pass)
Donut County (Xbox Game Pass)
Dead Island 2 (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
Two Point Campus (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
Gris (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
Return to Monkey Island (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
Firefighting Simulator The Squad (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
Overpass 2 (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
Tour de France 2023 (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
The Last Clockwinder (PlayStation Plus Premium)
Dino Crisis (PlayStation Plus Premium)
Siren (PlayStation Plus Premium)
R-Type Dimensions EX (PlayStation Plus Premium)
Mystery Box: Hidden Secrets (Prime Gaming)
Vlad Circus: Descend Into Madness (Prime Gaming)
Through the Darkest of Times (Prime Gaming)
Killing Floor 2 (Prime Gaming)
Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Ghoul Patrol (Prime Gaming)
Assassin’s Creed Mirage (GeForce Now)
Artisan TD (GeForce Now)
ASKA (GeForce Now)
Dungeon Tycoon (GeForce Now)
Spirit City: Lofi Sessions (GeForce Now)
Star Trucker (GeForce Now)
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What if I told you the Meta Quest 3S is in some ways just a more powerful Quest 2 with color passthrough? “Yes, of course it is,” someone who’s read our coverage might say, but iFixit shows just how true that is in the teardown video it published today.
The first hint of that is the headset’s Fresnel lenses, which iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari writes in a blog post are “100% compatible” with those used by the Quest 2. The headset has the older headset’s IPD adjustment mechanism, as well; and it shares the same single LCD panel, rather than using one panel per eye, like the Meta Quest 3.
This is what sits behind the faceplate of the Quest 3S.Screenshot: YouTube
Legacy parts aside, iFixit found that the 3S uses two IR sensors for depth mapping instead of a single depth sensor. That “rare iterative improvement over the Quest 3” performed “exceptionally well in unlit spaces,” Mokhtari writes in the blog. And of course, it uses the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 SoC as the Quest 3, and works with Meta’s newer Touch Plus controllers, which are sold separately.
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As iFixit notes, none of this should be considered a bad thing. The changes make the headset cheaper — the Quest 3S costs $299.99, while the Quest 3 is $499.99. It also means that if those reused parts break, it’s not hard to find replacements for them, since the Quest 2 has already been around for four years.
Behind the scenes of one of the biggest social media platforms has been an epic struggle with a valuable payout — user data. But not just any user data mind you. This struggle allegedly involves Nexon Korea Corporation, a South Korean video game maker, trying to obtain the data of copyright infringers on the Discord platform.
Nexon Korea Corporation is behind well-known video games such as MapleStory, MapleStory2, Sudden Attack, The Kingdom of the Winds, Dungeon & Fighter, Grand Chase, Dave the Diver, and Elsword. And it seems that Nexon has had multiple criminal copyright infringement complaints against other Korean servers that players use to run Nexon’s games, including one such culprit who is currently on the run and wanted by Interpol.
Needless to say, Nexon has no qualms about using the US court system to pursue copyright infringement suspects as well, but after delivering two such subpoenas to Discord, the online service provider has apparently had enough and is fighting back in the name of users’ privacy and free speech rights.
Discord and privacy
Discord hasn’t had the best relationship with user privacy in the past. Back in 2023, it was forced to walk back changes to its privacy policy when it first introduced AI integration into its servers including Clyde, AutoMod AI, Conversation Summarizes, Avatar Remix, and more.
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Originally it had removed language from a previous version of its policy, which then was added back to its current version as well as the following statement: “We may build features that help users engage with voice and video content, like create or send short recordings.”
Then it was found out in 2024 that four billion Discord chats, made by roughly 620 million users, logged into more than 14,000 servers had been harvested by a site called Spy.pet and set to be auctioned off to the highest bidders.
In a statement, Discord said that it would be investigating the matter to determine whether it violates its Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. However, considering there’s been no word since, we’re still not privy to the results of that investigation.
The battle for user data
Despite these privacy hiccups, Discord is now embroiled in a legal battle with Nexon Korea Corporation over the latter demanding the former continue to hand over data of users suspected of online copyright infringement.
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According to a report from TorrentFreak, the Korean company obtained a DMCA subpoena requiring Discord to hand over such information and is now claiming that it refuses to cooperate with the US federal government court order.
Discord, however, asserts that it’s already complied with a previous order made back in October 2023. While Discord initially resisted, both parties reached an agreement to confidentially disclose basic subscriber information concerning a total of 64 Discord user IDs.
Then Nexon returned in May 2024 with a new subpoena requiring Discord to disclose the information of roughly two dozen alleged copyright infringers related to the MapleStory game. Discord once again complied and sent over that data on June 13.
In July, however, Discord decided to draw a line and sent Nexon a letter from its attorneys, with the Texas law firm Haltom & Doan:
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“Now, you appear to be demanding additional information for yet more User IDs, which you allege infringe one of the same copyrights you have already asserted. You are attempting to renegotiate a deal that has already been struck and fulfilled. Your actions are improper. Discord is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the law, but acting as your copyright assertion partner is not one of them.”
It then made a list of twenty-two objections and reservations, with one being the desire to protect user privacy and their First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The letter further urged Nexon to withdraw its demands and to cease sending any similar subpoenas moving forward.
Instead, Nexon filed a motion to compel at a Texas federal court just last week, asking the court to enter an order requiring Discord to produce the requested user data. Discord is expected to file a formal motion against the subpoena in response to this request.
What does this mean for users and online service providers?
There are several things this whole legal battle means and the broader impact of such battles on future DMCA subpoena cases like this one.
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First, it’s a battle of how privy companies are to user data when it comes to copyright infringement allegations which, as stated above, boils down to whether such claims can be seen as a violation of privacy and First Amendment rights. The scope of such requests is especially important since it could greatly affect how much data is collected in the wake of such judgments, as well as what could constitute copyright infringement in the first place that would warrant a subpoena.
There’s also the impact that this could have on online service providers and their own compliance with such DMCA subpoena cases. This creates natural friction between providers and their users who may not feel secure using the online service after user data is disclosed under subpoena. Also, these online service providers being served DMCA subpoenas are forced to comply using their own time, money, and resources to do so, which cuts into those three aspects being used for the service itself.
As such, this is an incredibly complex issue and the results of this case have far-reaching consequences for what companies can demand of online service providers, how much or little will users actually be protected in these cases, and whether online service providers are required to comply with these demands.
Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve‘s return to Arrakis is coming sooner than anyone — including him — thought. The filmmaker stated several months ago that he planned to take a bit of a break between Dune: Part Two and its intended sequel, Dune: Messiah. However, coming off the immense success of Dune: Part Two earlier this year, which received rave reviews from both critics and casual moviegoers alike and earned over $700 million at the box office, it sounds like Villeneuve has thrown his original vacation plans out the window.
Speaking with Deadline, the French Canadian filmmaker revealed that he is going to go “back behind the camera faster” than he thought he would and that his “break” from Frank Herbert’s Dune world is already over. “I’m in the writing zone right now,” he said, referencing the script for Dune: Messiah. Villeneuve did not confirm the specific timeline he now has in mind for the sequel, but he did note that he is likely going to make Messiah much faster than he originally planned.
“Let’s say that I thought that after Part Two that I will take a break, that I will go back in the woods and stay in the woods for a while to recover. But the woods weren’t really suiting me, and I would go back behind the camera faster than I think,” Villeneuve explained. “That’s all I can say.”
The director didn’t reveal during his conversation with Deadline when he intends to actually start filming Dune: Messiah. “These movies take a lot of time to be made, so it’s best not to say out loud when I might shoot,” he noted. He did, however, reportedly react to a potential 2026 start date with a “perplexed” expression. Whether that means he intends to shoot the film before 2026 or at some point in that year remains to be seen. Earlier this year, Warner Bros. did, notably, set a Dec. 18, 2026 release date for Villeneuve’s next “event film.” Assuming that project is indeed Dune: Messiah, Villeneuve would have to start shooting it much earlier than 2026 to meet that date.
The filmmaker did confirm that most of Dune: Part Two‘s core cast members will return in Dune: Messiah, including Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Florence Pugh. Anya Taylor-Joy will also appear in the sequel after making a brief cameo as an adult version of Paul Atreides’ sister Alia in Dune: Part Two. The director went on to remark that Dune: Messiah, which he says will “finish the Paul Atreides arc,” will be “completely different” from its two predecessors.
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“The story takes place like 12 years after where we left the characters at the end of Part Two,” he teased. “Their journey, their story is different this time, and that’s why I always say that while it’s the same world it’s a new film with new circumstances.”
Dune: Messiah does not yet have an official release date. Both Dune: Part One and Part Two are available to stream now on Max.
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