Brian McCullough (0:02)

Welcome to the Techmeme ride home for Tuesday, May 13, 2025. I'm Brian McCullough. Today, the new thin phone era is definitively here 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 US 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 1100 Dollar 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. At $1,099, 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 six screen and supports the S Pen stylus. The S25 Edge also lacks a one terabyte 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 4,000 as the capacity on the base S25 model and a 5,000 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 all right, 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 app. 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 5.8 millimeter 163 gram frame feels to the S25 and S25 Plus, I register 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 got 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 S20 5 series phones. The biggest trade off, at least on paper, appears to be the battery capacity. The Galaxy S25 Edge's 3,900 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 for. 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 grab bag of three different Apple stories here. First up, Apple has unveiled iOS and iOS 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, end quote. 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 track 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 brain waves, 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 touch screen 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, it seems like we hear about a new round of layoffs every day. So what's the best way to dodge the next round? Get the skills that companies need so you make yourself indispensable. This podcast is sponsored by Udacity. Want to learn skills that command high salaries? Udacity is an online learning platform with courses in AI, data programming, and more. 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That's code RIDE50OFF@FACTOR meals.com Ride 50 off for 50% off plus free shipping 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 US 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 film. 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 60 frame per second 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 has 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 camera 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 mph 90 km per hour, up from nearly 47 mph or 75.6 km per hour previously. And it can travel over 25 miles or 41 km on a charge up from its predecessor 17 miles or 28 km. Not that you can send it quite that far away, as its maximum transmission range has merely doubled traveled 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. Quote 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 SG1 Fathom, powered by its AI system LoRa, to detect and classify sounds. Quoting the FT, the company said its autonomous glider SG1 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 Scherff, 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 SG1 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. 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 Give me a ping, Vasily. One ping only, please. Finally, today, Audible is partnering with US publishers to convert print books and ebooks 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 2 to 5% 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 apps. 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 US employ these virtual voices to turn their ebooks into Audiobooks. 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.