Tue. 05/13 – The Thin-Phone Era Is Here

13th, 2025. I'm Brian McCullough. Today Zenfone era is definitively with the Galaxy S25 Edge. Apple is working on a way to control your iPhone with your brain. For the first time ever, a flagship DJI drone is not available in the U.S., and flying drones are cool, but you know what else is cool? Submarine drones. Here's what you missed today in the world of tech.

Samsung has unveiled the $1,100 plus Galaxy S25 Edge, which is 5.8 millimeters thick and weighs 163 grams, making it 30% thinner and 25% lighter than the S25 Ultra. It's arriving on May 30th. I'm highlighting this first because this is the tip of the spear for the current and coming rage for super thin phones.

Quoting Bloomberg, the amount of weight we've pulled out of this device and the slimness of this device is just dramatic, Blake Gazer, the company's head of smartphone product management for the Americas, said in an interview. We've been hearing from our customers over the last few years that weight and hand feel is something very important to them.

As phones are getting bigger and heavier, they've really been looking for something that would just disappear in their pocket, end quote. The launch comes months ahead of Apple's slimmed-down iPhone 17 model. That device is expected to come in at around the same thickness as the Galaxy S25 Edge and is planned to have a single back camera.

compared with two on the new Edge handset. Gazer said he's very confident our customers and others will find the S25 Edge very compelling. Samsung teased the new phone in January without revealing its specifications, price, or release date. the phone has a 6.7 inch screen matching the screen size on the s25 plus as well as 12 gigabytes of memory and storage options of 256 and 512 gigabytes $1099. It's $100 more expensive than the Plus model and $200 cheaper than the S25 Ultra.

Samsung said it always intended to launch the handset at this price point and that tariffs weren't a consideration in this case. The company manufactures devices for the US market in South Korea, Vietnam, and India rather than in China, where Apple has long made the majority of its phones. Still, to make the device one of the thinnest in the industry, there are some trade-offs. The S25 Ultra has a larger 6.9-inch screen and supports the S Pen Stylus.

The S25 Edge also lacks a 1TB storage option and telephoto cameras for optical zoom. Users may not care too much about the camera specifications given they're probably buying this phone for the design, but they may be concerned about battery life. Having less space to include a larger battery pack could affect how long the device can be used on a single charge, though Samsung claims the S25 Edge is capable of all-day battery life. The internal battery is rated at 3,900.

milliamp hours that compares with 4000 as the capacity on the base s25 model and a 5000 milliamp hour pack inside the s25 ultra Samsung said AI optimizations are embedded in the software to make the battery last longer than last year's entry-level Galaxy S24, end quote. Alright, but is thinner and lighter worth it? quoting CNET, who got a hands-on,

The biggest question leading up to the release of the S25 Edge has been why would someone want a thinner phone anyway? After spending a little time with the device I began to see the appeal. While the S25 Edge's thickness may not be visually striking at first glance, getting your hands on the phone is a different story. Comparing how the S25 Edge's 5.8mm, 163g frame feels to the S25 and S25+. I registered just how much thinner and lighter it really is.

For reference, the baseline S25 is 7.2 millimeters thick and weighs 162 grams, but has a smaller 6.2 inch screen. the s25 plus has the same 6.7 inch display as the edge but it is 7.3 millimeters thick and weighs 190 grams it's a noticeable difference The moment of truth was applying some force to the phone to see if it gave at all. Impressively, it felt quite sturdy. If not, I'd probably have gotten myself into some trouble with Samsung.

It touts a Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 display along with a Gorilla Glass Victus 2 backing. My initial impression is that you shouldn't have to worry about accidentally turning the S25 Edge into a foldable. by keeping it in your back pocket, but that's certainly something I'll have to test in my review.

the s25 edge also maintains the same ip68 rating for dust and water resistance you'll find on the other s25 series phones the biggest trade-off at least on paper appears to be the battery capacity the galaxy s25 edges 3900 milliamp hour battery pales in comparison to what you'll get on the baseline s25 which is 4000 milliamp hours and the s25 plus 4900

Samsung isn't sharing how many hours you'll get out of the S25 Edge's battery other than stating it'll last you all day. That's something else I look forward to testing. The S25 Edge supports 25 watt wired charging and 15 watt wireless charging. With thinner phones, camera hardware can also be scaled back, but the S25 Edge boasts three cameras, a 200 megapixel wide, a 12 megapixel ultra-wide, and a 12 megapixel selfie camera. Megapixels aren't everything.

so I'm eager to see how that all translates into real-world photography. Samsung points to Galaxy AI for helping to boost camera quality and for powering photo editing features like generative edit, end quote. you

Grab bag of three different Apple stories here. First up, Apple has unveiled iOS and macOS accessibility features including App Store Accessibility, Nutrition Labels, Magnifier for Mac, Accessibility Reader, Braille Access, and more. But also... Gurman is reporting that Apple is planning an AI-powered battery management mode for iOS 19 that analyzes how a person uses their phone and makes adjustments to conserve energy.

Quote, to create the technology part of the Apple intelligence platform, the company is using battery data it has collected from users' devices to understand trends and make predictions for when it should lower the power draw of certain applications or features.

There also will be a lock screen indicator showing how long it will take to charge up the device, said the people. The driving force behind the battery feature is the company's upcoming slimmed-down iPhone 17, which will be offered as an alternative to the standard and pro models. Because of its thinner design, the new iPhone will have a much smaller battery and fewer hours of life than other models.

By optimizing battery life with AI, Apple is aiming to offset these physical constraints. Still, the battery function will be available for all iPhones that have iOS 19." But if that's not enough of a new feature for you, try this on for size. Apple is partnering with brain computer interface startup Synchron to explore letting iPhone users control the device using brain signals via a stent-like implant. Quoting the journal.

The device called the Stentrode has electrodes that read brain signals. It translates the signals into selecting icons on a screen. Apple took a similar step in 2014 when it launched a technology standard for hearing aids to communicate with iPhones via Bluetooth. A standard most hearing aids have since adopted. Mark Jackson, an early tester of the stentrode implant.

was able to peer over the ledge of a mountain in the Swiss Alps and feel his legs shake. Jackson can't stand up, and he wasn't in Switzerland. He was wearing an Apple virtual reality headset which was connected to his implant. Jackson can't travel from his home outside Pittsburgh because he has ALS. Still, he is learning how to control his iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro headset thanks to a connection between his stentrode implant and Apple's various operating systems.

The Synchron device effectively translates brainwaves, allowing a user to navigate around a screen and select an icon. It works with a feature inside Apple's operating system called Switch Control, which literally switches control to a new input device like a joystick, or in this case, a brain implant

Jackson cautioned that Synchron's technology is still early in its development. He can't use it to mimic moving a cursor with a mouse or a touchscreen with fingers, so navigation is more slower than normal interaction with a computer or smartphone. Today brain computer interface companies have to trick computers into thinking the signals coming from their implants are coming from a mouse

said Synchron chief executive Tom Oxley. More is possible with a standard built specifically for these implants, he said. Apple will release a new standard later this year for other developers, end quote.

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Chinese drone company DJI has unveiled the 2100 euro Mavic 4 Pro with a 360 degree rotating gimbal but says it won't be available in the U.S. at launch a first ever. for its drones. quoting The Verge. Today, DJI is officially announcing the Mavic 4 Pro, which could be the most versatile drone it's ever made. It's the first with a 360-degree rotating gimbal for footage that tilts, rolls, and offers true vertical filming.

It's the first Mavic to offer 51 minutes of battery life tied with the old Mini 3 and close to the longest flight times DJI has achieved. It's the first with a built-in 100 megapixel camera which can also record 60K 60fps HDR as part of its triple camera array. Another important distinction,

It's the first off-the-shelf DJI drone that won't launch in the United States. Today, it's going on sale in Canada, Mexico, and every other country where DJI sells drones, but the company tells The Verge it has no timeline on bringing it to the U.S. DJI won't honor its limited warranty if you cross the border to purchase one in Canada or Mexico. It's not even sending the drone to US-based technology reviewers. We don't have one, and we're not sure when we'll get one.

Why is the Chinese drone maker doing this? The company says Trump's tariffs were among the top reasons it chose to abandon a US launch. And there's also the fact that seven months later, US Customs is still holding up DJI's ability to import drones into the country. Last October, DJI said that a misunderstanding initially forced the company to abandon its plans to offer the Air 3S at retail. This time, DJI may not sell its new drone here at all.

While it only weighs about 3 ounces, 105 grams more than its triple camera predecessor, the 2.3 pound, 1.06 kilogram Mavic 4 Pro offers up eight more minutes of flight time from its new 95 watt hour pack, the most battery capacity DJI's ever put in a consumer drone and just shy of the typical limit for lithium batteries that you can bring on a plane.

All three of its cameras now offer 4K 120 frames per second modes, in addition to 4K 60 HDR, and the gimbal can tilt up twice as far, 70 degrees for upward shooting. Top speed is now nearly 56 miles per hour, 90 kilometers per hour, up from nearly 47 miles per hour or 75.6 kilometers per hour previously. And it can travel over 25 miles or 41 kilometers on a charge. up from its predecessor 17 miles or 28 kilometers.

Not that you can send it quite that far away as its maximum transmission range has merely doubled to 18.6 miles or 30 kilometers. Also, it can pull the same trick as the Air 3S where it can map its path using forward-facing LiDAR sensors, then return to home without needing GPS satellite signals. DJI is also touting its new for Mavic tracking abilities. Once tracking begins, Mavic 4 Pro can keep a subject in focus even if partially obscured by bushes or if they are standing on a bridge.

It also detects vehicles up to 200 meters with directional awareness, ideal for delivering professional-grade automotive cinematography, the company brags, end quote.

you Also in drone news, but very much from the defense tech file. German defense tech startup Helsing has unveiled an autonomous underwater drone fleet, the SG-1 Fathom, powered by its AI system LoRa to detect and classify sounds. Quoting the FT, the company said its autonomous glider SG-1 Fathom would be able to patrol underwater for up to three months at a time.

It will be equipped with an artificial intelligence system dubbed LoRa, which will be able to detect and classify sounds made by nearby ships and submarines faster and with greater accuracy than available alternatives, Helsing said. Gunbert Scherf, co-founder and co-chief executive of Helsing, said the LoRa platform would detect so our navies can deter.

Laura would be able to detect the so-called acoustic signatures of vessels up to 40 times faster than human operators, and at volumes 10 times quieter than other AI models, Helsing claimed. The company added a single operator would be able to monitor hundreds of SG-1 Fathom gliders receiving intelligence at just 10% of the cost of crewed anti-submarine warfare patrols. Helsing plans to deploy the system within the next 12 months.

The war in Ukraine has underlined a shift in modern warfare from the use of traditional hardware such as tanks, guns, and munitions to more technologically sophisticated alternatives, in particular autonomous systems. Western governments have meanwhile been scaling up their underwater reconnaissance capabilities amid rising attacks on subsea cables and other critical infrastructure on the ocean bed.

The UK Royal Navy earlier this year outlined plans to deploy a fleet of both crewed and uncrewed vehicles to provide an anti-submarine warfare capability. under the program known as Project Cabot. The Navy will work with defense contractors to use underwater drones to collect acoustic data which can then be processed using AI to detect potential threats.

In a second stage, the Royal Navy plans to conduct surveillance in the Atlantic Ocean using its own vessels, including unmanned naval drones, end quote. Get me a ping, Vasily. One ping only, please.

Finally today, Audible is partnering with U.S. publishers to convert print books and e-books into AI-narrated audiobooks with more than 100 AI voices in English, Spanish, French, and Italian, quoting Bloomberg. Every book deserves to be heard in audio, Bob Kerrigan, Chief Executive Officer of Audible, said in an interview.

audiobooks are the fastest growing format in publishing according to audible but only two to five percent of existing print and ebooks exist in audio form he said Our goal is to close that gap. Publishers can select from more than 100 AI-generated voices across English, Spanish, French, and Italian, including numerous accent and dialect options. Titles can be either created exclusively for Audible, with a more favorable royalty rate, or for distribution outside its platform.

Soon, Audible will also offer a translation feature that can convert text and audio into multiple languages in addition to the original. The opportunities to use AI to bring more storytelling to more people in more languages is a really exciting one, Kerrigan said.

Audible membership which costs $14.95 a month for audiobooks and podcasts is at an all-time high Kerrigan said late last year. It's launched in some new territories recently including Brazil and has been experimenting with new subscription tiers and royalty models

To keep its edge against Spotify, which most recently incorporated audiobook listening into its music streaming and podcasting app, the company generally doesn't allow publishers to upload AI-voiced audiobooks that were made using third-party tools. suggesting they'll have to work with Audible's technology to tap into its significant audience

Audible has been letting self-published authors in the U.S. employ these virtual voices to turn their e-books into audio books. More than 60,000 such titles are marked as narrated by these voices on Audible, up from 40,000 around this time last year, end quote. If you haven't watched the movie The Hunt for Red October in a while, it is definitely worth your time revisiting. Believe me, talk to you tomorrow.