What to Expect From Samsung's Galaxy S25 Unpacked Stream

Another year, another Samsung Galaxy Unpacked. The Android giant has gotten into a habit of hosting at least two of these events per year, one for foldables and one for pretty much everything else. With the foldables having gotten center stage last time, it’s likely time for the rest of its products, including the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, to get its turn. While only those under NDA know for sure what we’ll see, here’s what we’re expecting to see when the next Samsung Galaxy Unpacked streams on January 22 at 1 PM ET.

Samsung Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra

Samsung likes to kick off each year by announcing its latest non-folding phones, and there’s no reason to expect this year to be different. Typically, this means a standard variant, a larger screen “plus” size, and a more powerful “ultra” version. Given that Samsung has already registered three new model numbers with the FCC (thanks, 91Mobiles), that’s what we can expect this year, too (prior leaks had pointed at a "slim" model, although there's no FCC listing for it yet).

As for specs, that’s where it gets a bit interesting. The biggest tidbit from the FCC leaks is potential support for 45W fast charging, although Android Headlines claims to have pictures of the devices themselves. These show a move to rounded corners and thinner bezels, but the rest of the design looks largely untouched.

As for internals, leakers are expecting all S25 models to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which was revealed in October and stated to be coming to Samsung products. This tracks with prior Galaxy devices, which also used the same chip across all models, although details have differed from region to region before. Now, said regional differences are said to not be in play.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite promises improvements anywhere from 35 to 62% depending on the task at hand, with the biggest improvement being to web browsing—key for a mobile phone.

Samsung phones are also known for their cameras, although both Android Headlines and popular leaker Ice Universe claim only the Galaxy S25 Ultra will see an improvement here, and only to its ultra-wide lens, which will go from 12MP to 50MP.

Screens are unlikely to change from their current OLED setup, and as for software, the phones are set to use Samsung’s One UI 7, which is already in beta and runs over Android 15. Also expect a bunch of AI-centric announcements, although solid leaks have yet to emerge there.

There’s also potential accessory news on the horizon, as the Wireless Power Consortium has said that Samsung will support Qi2 wireless charging on its new phones. According to leaker chunvn8888, that doesn’t mean it’ll have built-in magnets (which Qi2 supports), but Samsung will sell a case with a built-in magnetic ring.

Galaxy Ring 2

News on the Galaxy Ring 2 is a bit less clear, but hit-or-miss Taiwanese publication DigiTimes says Samsung might tease it during the event. The publication is expecting two additional sizes, updated sensors, and new AI features, but given that the first model launched in July, it’ll likely be some time until you can buy a follow up. However, Korean leaker Lanzuk says Samsung might launch the wearable a bit earlier than expected.

Samsung AR and XR

Finally, it’s possible we’ll hear more about Samsung’s augmented and extended reality initiatives. Samsung has previously announced an Android-based extended reality headset alongside Google called Project Moohan, so it’s possible the company might demo it during Unpacked, but don’t expect it to be available right away. Google is still seeding developers with software and equipment for the new platform, although the company does say it expects Moohan to start selling by the end of the year.

On that note, also don’t expect to see anything substantive regarding Samsung’s previously confirmed AR glasses. DigiTimes says the glasses will look fairly unassuming, but given that they’ll also rely on Google tech, they’re probably still in the oven as well.

All the Apps ByteDance Operates in the US

TikTok's future in the United States is totally up in the air. Should the United States government get its way, the app will be banned starting Sunday—though there may be ways to still use it. The Supreme Court could step in to save it, as could Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, or even incoming president Donald Trump. The only thing absolutely certain is that Congress, in concert with the Biden administration, wanted TikTok sold to an American company, or out of Americans' hands.

The thing is, ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, owns and operates other apps within the U.S. None of these apps are currently in talks to be banned, but they all should, in theory, have many of the same concerns that caused the government to go after TikTok. ByteDance is based in China, and, as such, would be beholden to the Chinese government should the latter ask for the data of any American users.

In fact, the law that sets TikTok on the course to be banned on Sunday makes it clear no ByteDance app is safe. At the top of the law, it says the act's goal is, "To protect the national security of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary controlled applications, such as TikTok and any successor application or service and any other application or service developed or provided by ByteDance Ltd. or an entity under the control of ByteDance Ltd."

The following is every app ByteDance and its subsidiaries currently operate in the U.S. that I could find. As such, it is possible that each is in danger of a future ban, at least under the current law—though some are likely smaller targets than others.

TikTok

This is the big one: ByteDance, of course, owns TikTok, the app at the center of all this national security drama. You might be addicted to the app yourself.

What you might not know, however, is that the TikTok we know started out life not as a ByteDance property, nor as "TikTok" itself; rather, the app was originally called Musical.ly, and was designed for users to post short videos lip-syncing to popular songs. It amassed a large following, which caught ByteDance's attention, just as it had its sights set on expanding its short-form social media app, Douyin, globally. ByteDance went international with a new version of Douyin, TikTok, in 2017, and almost immediately after, acquired Musical.ly for nearly $1 billion.

The rest, of course, is history. TikTok has become a world-wide phenomenon, capturing the attentions of one billion users. 170 million of those users happen to be in the U.S., which makes you wonder how a looming ban of the app will affect TikTok's bottom line.

TikTok Lite

If you have an Android device, you might have seen TikTok Lite before. This app is TikTok, only a lighter, more streamlined version. Like other "lite" apps, this one is designed for phones with limited RAM, data, or unstable connections.

TikTok Lite is not that popular, especially when compared to TikTok proper. It only has 100,000 downloads compared to TikTok's more than one billion. It gets left out of the ban discussion, but if I had to guess, I would say ByteDance would cut service to TikTok Lite in addition to the main TikTok app.

TikTok Studio and TikTok Shop Seller

TikTok Studio isn't made for consumers. Rather, it's an app for TikTok creators to manage posts on their accounts. Similarly, there's TikTok Shop Seller Center, an app for users who sell products on TikTok to manage their digital shops.

These apps are likely convenient for these users now, but who would want to use them if TikTok itself is gone?

CapCut

In the past, if you wanted to get into video production, you need to spend quite a bit of money: You needed a camera, a computer, and editing software, none of which came cheap, and most of which required a good deal of technical know-how. These days, anyone with a smartphone can make videos. Many of us interested in doing so have turned to CapCut, which just so happens to be owned by none other than ByteDance.

To say CapCut is popular is a wild understatement. The app has over a billion downloads on Android alone, and is also available on iOS, Mac, Windows, and even on the web. Like other video editors, CapCut offers tools for chopping up your clips into content to post on your socials, but there are a number of extra features available as well. That includes templates to get a part of your video started, video effects, AI features, music integration, stock videos, and more.

All these features aside, the reason CapCut is so popular has likely just as much (if not more) to do with the fact that it is owned by the same parent company as TikTok. That means a few things: CapCut offers an easy workflow from editing to posting on TikTok; TikTokers use the app and promote it themselves; and ByteDance can advertise CapCut on TikTok as much as it wants.

Hypic

On the other side of the editing aisle, there's Hypic, ByteDance's photo editing tool. This app isn't nearly as big as CapCut, but it's still pretty large (over 10 million downloads on the Play Store). The app offers standard photo editing tools, but also other perks: There are AI-powered tools, such as cutouts, background removal, and filters; a feature that lets you add "trending" makeup to images; and other options, like stickers and templates.

Lemon8

In protest of the government's potential ban on TikTok, users are flocking to other Chinese-based social media apps in protest. One such app is Lemon8, a "lifestyle" social media platform. Like TikTok, Lemon8 also supports video sharing, but that's not its only focus. Users can also post images, including to carousels, offering an Instagram-like experience. Plus, you can engage with multiple types of content at the same time, akin to Pinterest. As Jessica Maddox, associate professor of digital media technology, tells NBC News, “If those three apps came together and had a baby, it would be Lemon8."

Marvel Snap

Marvel Snap is a popular mobile card game, incorporating character from the Marvel universe. Players draw decks of 12 cards, and play for control of three locations. Whichever player controls at least two locations after six turns wins. While Marvel itself might be an American property, the game is operated by Nuverse, a ByteDance subsidiary, which potentially places it in the crosshairs of the U.S. government.

Land of Empires

Land of Empires is another game owned by Nuverse. This title is a strategy game that pits you against an enemy army of demons. Like other strategy games, you fortify your lands, fight enemies in combat, and engage in large battles. It's not quite as popular as Marvel Snap, but it's not all that niche, either, sporting over a million downloads on the Play Store.

Lark

Chances are, you've never heard of Lark. (I certainly hadn't.) Lark offers a collection of business apps and services. The standalone Lark app for iOS and Android is described as a "team collaboration" app, which, for all intents and purposes, means its basically a Microsoft Teams or Slack competitor. Lark has features like in-app messaging and video calling, as well as collaborative document sharing.

This probably isn't something you'll ever use on your own, but rather a service you use through your company. Should the government's attention on ByteDance grow wider, however, your company may have to consider alternatives.

Tokopedia and Tokopedia START

Tokopedia is a shopping service based out of Indonesia, but it has apps available to users in the U.S. Also available from the company is Tokopedia START, an app that appears to have been made for a 2022 tech conference. Tokopedia, as you may have guessed, is a subsidiary of ByteDance

What the Leaks Got Right About the Switch 2

Early this morning, Nintendo finally revealed the Nintendo Switch 2 in a surprise video announcement. That itself wasn't necessarily that much of a surprise: Recent rumors had suggested the company would do as much, and sooner rather than later. But in a slightly unexpected move, Nintendo dropped the video on YouTube without much fanfare or hype. Aside from a complimentary post on X, the company basically said, "Well, here you go."

Perhaps it's due to the fact the Switch 2 itself has been leaked to death that the company is taking less pleasure in the announcement. After all, accessory maker Genki essentially showed the tech world the Switch 2's design at CES last week (though Nintendo says Genki's products were based on unofficial hardware, so it's possible Nintendo felt a drawn-out reveal wasn't necessary. Regardless, it you're really interested in the Switch 2, chances are you knew a lot about it already. Now, you've seen it for real.

This is the Switch 2

In the video announcement, Nintendo gives us a direct comparison between the original Switch (not the Switch OLED) and the new console. You can see how much larger the Switch 2's display and hardware is, as well as some subtle tweaks in I/O. The kickstand design is much different, and much more flexible, as you can bend the console back to a steeper degree.

But the biggest changes, at least aesthetically, seem to be to the Joy-Cons. Nintendo opted to make them larger, slightly change their shape, and bump up the size of the shoulder buttons. The company has also flipped the color scheme: Colorful Joy-Cons on the OG Switch had black accents on the rails, but the new Joy-Cons are almost entirely black, with the colors added as accents to the rails and under the joysticks. As expected, the Joy-Cons connect to the new Switch magnetically, instead of aligning the rails with the console and clicking into place.

The reveal doesn't offer a super close look at the dock, but it does appear similar to the Switch OLED's, but in black—save, of course, for the large "2" next to the Switch logo. The same goes for the Joy-Con grip: It looks like a larger, more refined version of the OG Switch's grip, though Nintendo did display how you can "pop" the Joy-Con out to the side, showing off its magnetic connection.

Did we get any news of Switch 2 exclusive games?

Yes! Although we don't know many details yet. In the trailer, we appear to get a glimpse of a new Mario Kart, as the character designs are definitely not the same as those in Mario Kart 8: Deluxe.

Credit: Nintendo of America/YouTube

Aside from that, there's no word on actual titles, available at launch or otherwise. However, Nintendo said Switch 2 will play both exclusive and original Switch games, and both physical and digital copies, so your existing cartridges should work with the new console. That said, some Switch games may not be supported by or fully compatible with Switch 2. Nintendo doesn't elaborate further, but this might be a situation where it makes sense to hold onto your original Switch, instead of trading it in for the new console.

Did the Switch 2 reveal include anything else?

Not really! Nintendo being Nintendo, this is just a sneak peak more or less confirming the massive amount of leaks and rumors we've already sifted through. Nintendo has longed promised a Switch 2 reveal in Q1 2025, and we got that. Now we wait for more information.

Nintendo points customers to a page on its website for more details about Switch 2, but as of this article, it's just hosting a link to the reveal video. Perhaps they'll update the site with more information over time. For now, this is the Switch 2. It may not be surprising, but after so much time and so many leaks, it's hard to believe it's finally official.

This Ultra-Portable JBL Speaker Is $25 Right Now

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If you’re looking for a compact Bluetooth speaker that’s as tough as it is portable, the JBL Go 3 (available in blue and camouflage), might be worth a look. Currently available on Woot for $24.95 (down from $49.95), this little speaker packs a surprising punch for its size. It also comes with a 90-day Woot limited warranty, with free shipping for Prime members. This deal lasts 19 days or until it sells out. That said, it doesn’t ship to Alaska, Hawaii, or PO boxes.

At just 2.7 by 3.4 by 1.6 inches and weighing 7.4 ounces, the Go 3 is small enough to toss into a bag (or even a pocket). Its rugged design, including a sporty lanyard and a cloth grille exterior, feels durable and ready for adventure. Additionally, its IP67 rating means it’s waterproof and dust-proof, so whether it’s by the pool or in the shower, you won’t have to worry about water damage. For controls, you’ve got the basics: buttons for play/pause, volume, power, and Bluetooth pairing. Double-tapping the play button skips forward a track, though you’ll miss having a backtrack option. There’s also no speakerphone functionality—a letdown, but forgivable at this price.

As for sound, the Go 3 is surprisingly well-rounded. It won’t shake the room with bass, but its mono 1.5-inch driver delivers clear mids and highs and avoids distortion even at high volumes, according to this PCMag review. Battery life is decent at around five hours, but your mileage may vary depending on volume levels.

Bluesky Is Getting Its Own Instagram (Sort Of)

If you are one of the millions who joined Bluesky in recent months, it's likely you're turned off by establishment social media platforms. You probably don't care for sites with predatory data privacy policies, or those that placate to incoming presidential administrations with a disdain for the truth. Maybe you enjoy an online space where people can share thoughts, content, and jokes in a way that doesn't explicit seek to anger or hurt anyone for profit.

Of course, Bluesky has you covered there, at least as a replacement for X. But if you enjoy sharing photos and videos with the wider internet, you're likely still tied to Instagram—like it or not. There are other options out there, like Pixelfed, a decentralized photo sharing platform that now has an official app. But if you're all-in on Bluesky, it'd be great if you could harness the same experience with the community you've started to build there.

That's why Flashes is one of the more interesting social media concepts I've seen recently. The app, developed by Sebastian Vogelsang, is based off of his earlier app Skeets, a subscription-optional Bluesky client with a emphasis on accessibility, among other features (if you want to be able to edit your posts, for example, Skeets uses a nifty workaround to do it). But for Flashses, Vogelsang's focus was to make an Instagram-like experience for photos and videos shared on Bluesky.

Credit: Sebastian Vogelsang

That's the thing: Flashes isn't really an Instagram competitor. There is no Flashes platform, you won't sign up for a Flashes account, and you won't post photos or videos to a dedicated Flashes feed. Instead, the app is a "photo viewing client" for Bluesky. It essentially pulls all of the photos and videos from your Bluesky feed and displays them in a UI reminiscent of Instagram. You can post photos and videos via Flashes, but you're really just posting them on Bluesky. Any posts to Flashes, as well as any comments on those posts, will appear on your Bluesky account as well.

If you're intrigued, unfortunately you'll have to wait a bit before you can try it: The official Flashes App Bluesky account only started posting today, and Vogelsang anticipates starting an open Testflight Beta next week for iOS users. But once the app officially launches, you'll be able to use it post four photos or videos at a time. (Videos can be up to one minute each.)

According to TechCrunch, Vogelsand also plans to launch a video-only version of Flashes, called Blue Screen. Perhaps that will be a valid TikTok alternative for truly passionate Bluesky users.

[image or embed]

— Flashes App 📱 (@flashesapp.bsky.social) January 15, 2025 at 2:51 AM

The news of Flashes comes at an uncertain time for legacy social media. Users have flown from X to alternatives like Bluesky; the United States government is on the verge of banning TikTok, prompting users to flee to other Chinese apps in protest; and Meta is repelling many of its users with its bizarre and frustrating decisions. We seem to be at an inflection point, and people are looking for new, alternative platforms. If you've already built-up your Bluesky follows, I don't see a better photo sharing solution than one that simply works with the app you're already so invested in.

I'm a Certified Personal Trainer, and These Are My Favorite Health and Fitness Apps

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I’ve tested tons of health and fitness apps over the years—some to write about, some because I was curious, and some because they are genuinely useful to me. Here is my Fitness App Hall of Fame: the fitness apps that I use the most, and the ones that I think are the most useful for everybody. All of these apps are available on both iOS and Android.

The best apps for tracking nutrition: Cronometer and Macrofactor

Credit: Beth Skwarecki/Cronometer

I’m including two apps here because one (Macrofactor) only works if you pay for a subscription. I’m a happy subscriber, but for those looking for a free option, I can wholeheartedly recommend Cronometer. 

Cronometer is a nutrition tracker that, unlike certain more popular apps (coughMFPcough), just does its job and stays out of your way. Don’t want to see a calorie goal on your main screen? You can hide it. Want to scan the barcodes on food packages? That’s a free feature. (There’s a premium tier that gives you even more features, of course, but none of the essentials are hidden behind it.)

By the way: Make sure to either follow my link or to check the spelling if you’re typing the name into the app store. There is at least one other app with a confusingly similar name.

Credit: Beth Skwarecki/MacroFactor

MacroFactor is a nutrition tracker, but it also does a clever thing that is incredibly valuable, yet underrated in the fitness world: It notices how many calories you’ve been eating lately, and whether your weight has been changing. Based on that, it estimates your total daily calorie burn, without you having to log any exercise or worry about how accurate your wearable is. If you’re eating 2,300 calories and your weight is steady, you know that your body burns 2,300 calories per day. 

MacroFactor costs $11.99 per month, or about $71.99 for a year. I learned a ton from tracking my calorie burn with MacroFactor, and I highly recommend it if you are OK with calorie tracking and are interested in gaining weight, losing weight, or fueling appropriately for exercise. 

The best app for tracking your runs: Strava

Credit: Beth Skwarecki/Strava

If you have a wearable you like, the matching app is probably the best one for the nuts and bolts of daily workout tracking. (That would be Garmin Connect if you have a Garmin watch, Fitbit if you have a Fitbit or a Pixel watch, and so on.) But Strava collects the data from any wearable (or none at all—you can enter runs manually) and shows you maps and statistics, plus lets you know what your friends have been up to. 

This recommendation comes with a caveat: If you want to maintain your privacy—and especially if you run in places where there aren’t many other runners—you’ll want to be aware of Strava’s privacy issues and lock down your settings if you aren’t comfortable with the defaults. Even with those caveats, Strava is still my pick for the best running app. There is a premium tier with extra mapping tools for planning your running routes, and extra analysis tools to see how much and how fast you've run. It costs $11.99/month or $79.99/year

The best app to keep you from getting bored on your runs: Nike Run Club

Credit: Beth Skwarecki/Nike Run Club

There are lots of ways to find workouts to follow along with, including getting workouts from a wearable like a Garmin, or subscribing to a service like Apple Fitness+ or Peloton. But the standout in this category is one that is simple, free, and well-produced. It is the venerable Nike Run Club, which doesn’t even require you to wear a watch. You just start a run from your phone, and soon you have Coach Bennett or one of the other friendly voices guiding you through. I love this app, and I’d gladly recommend it to anyone who is getting bored with their runs. 

The best app to track strength training: Hevy

Credit: Beth Skwarecki/Hevy

My caveat for this recommendation is that I don’t use a strength training app on the regular. I get workouts from my real-life coach through a coaching app that my gym uses, and I keep track of all the important stuff in a paper training journal. But I’ve experimented with enough strength training apps that I know which ones are out there, and I definitely have a favorite: It’s Hevy. 

When I tested the fitness-tracking abilities of the Pixel Watch 3, I found that the Hevy watch app was miles better than any of the watch’s native strength-training features. It won’t track your heart rate, which is a good thing. But it does give you a wrist-based interface to track the lifts you’re doing, and the watch app updates the phone app and vice versa. Hevy also works with the iPhone and Apple Watch, and of course you can use it just on a phone. 

Hevy lets you plan out your routine. It can time your rests, if you like. It will keep track of your progress and show you how you’ve gotten stronger over time. There’s even a desktop version so you can see your workouts on a computer screen for more detailed planning. 

The best app for monitoring injuries and health issues: Bearable

Credit: Beth Skwarecki/Bearable

Everybody hurts sometimes, as the philosophers R.E.M. once told us. Sometimes we get hurt while working out, or sometimes we get aches and pains out of nowhere and have to work around them when we exercise. In some cases, especially with back pain, how we feel may be dependent on all kinds of things in our daily life. Maybe your back pain is better on days you exercise, for example, and worse on days you have a lot of stress at work.

Keeping track of those factors in your head can be difficult, but I’ve found Bearable to be helpful. You can decide what you’d like to track each day—like how stressed you are, and whether you did your physical therapy exercises—and rate how much that sore back (or whatever) is bothering you. Patterns quickly emerge. When I was using it, I found it really encouraging to see that my pain wasn’t always so bad, and that there really were things in my control that helped me to feel better. It's not limited to injuries, either—you can use it to track chronic health issues or even mental health.

The New Google Pixel 9 Pro Is Already $150 Off

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The Pixel 9 Pro is the latest and most premium model in the Pixel lineup, and right now, the unlocked 128GB Google Pixel 9 Pro is discounted to $849 (originally $999). That's the lowest price it has ever been on Amazon, according to price-tracking tools. The 256GB version is also at its lowest price of $947.46 (originally $1,099), doubling your storage for less than $100, as is the 512GB version, currently $1,069 (originally $1,219).

Operating System: Android 14, CPU: Google Tensor G4, Dimensions: 6.0 by 2.8 by 0.3 inches.

Google Pixel 9 Pro, 128 GB

$849.00 at Amazon

$999.00 Save $150.00

$849.00 at Amazon

$999.00 Save $150.00

Operating System: Android 14, CPU: Google Tensor G4, Dimensions: 6.0 by 2.8 by 0.3 inches.

Google Pixel 9 Pro, 256 GB

$949.00 at Amazon

$1,099.00 Save $150.00

$949.00 at Amazon

$1,099.00 Save $150.00

Operating System: Android 14, CPU: Google Tensor G4, Dimensions: 6.0 by 2.8 by 0.3 inches.

Google Pixel 9 Pro, 512 GB

$1,069.00 at Amazon

$1,219.00 Save $150.00

$1,069.00 at Amazon

$1,219.00 Save $150.00

The Pixel 9 Pro is the middle-of-the-pack option, sandwiched between the cheaper Pixel 9 and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. (the Pixel 9 Pro XL is essentially the same phone, just bigger). The Pixel 9 Pro comes with 16GB of RAM, 128GB of memory storage, a maximum 120 HZ refresh rate, and the Android 14 operating system. As Lifehacker's associate tech editor Michelle Ehrhardt explained in her review of the Pixel 9 Pro, the phone's hardware is the best Google has made so far, but its AI features still have hiccups. However, AI features will keep improving over time; the most important thing to get right is the hardware.

The battery life can last around 18 hours and 40 minutes, according to Michelle's review (she watched YouTube videos the whole time). The main camera has a 50MP shooter, a 48MP ultra-wide camera with a 123-degree field of view, and a 48MP telephoto camera with a 30x Super Res Zoom.

If you have the Pixel 8 Pro, you might not notice a huge upgrade to this version. However, if you're upgrading from an older version or doing a switch from a non-Pixel phone, the 9 Pro has a lot to love. One of my favorite things about Pixel phones is the ongoing support for many years. My Pixel 6A still gets all of the updates and tons of AI features that make the phone feel fresh many years later, with the latest ones dropping last month. With the Pixel 9 Pro, you'll be getting a quality phone with software updates for a while (as long as seven years).