ICYMI: the week’s 7 biggest tech news stories, from TikTok’s impending ban to Nintendo’s Switch 2 reveal
Next week, we have Samsung‘s first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2025, but before we can get there, we’ve seen a week filled with tech announcements.
Leaks for the Samsung event were a dime a dozen, but we also saw the long-awaited Nintendo Switch 2 announcement, game-breaking Windows 11 updates, and kept up to date with the latest TikTok ban news.
Here’s our recap of the week’s biggest tech news in case you missed it. What a speedy overview.
When you’re done, feel free to check out our picks for the 7 new movies and TV shows to stream this weekend (January 17).
7. Windows 11 24H2 broke games
It’s the same story again for Microsoft’s Windows 11 and its 24H2 update, causing problems for multiple users. This time around, gamers are frustrated with the functionality of their games, notably Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, after Valhalla and Origins received patches to fix constant crashes.
While some may point the finger at Ubisoft developers, the 24H2 update has been a long-lasting irritant to the user experience, with numerous bugs pushing some people away from operating systems (at least for now).
Valve announced that SteamOS will be coming to other handheld gaming PCs, providing gamers with a great alternative. Also, a native cloud image, Bazzite, running SteamOS but not affiliated with Valve, can be used on desktop PCs, so Microsoft needs to get its act together before potentially losing plenty of users.
6. OpenAI predicted AGI in 2025
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts we’ll achieve AGI (artificial general intelligence, also known as superintelligence) “as we have traditionally understood it” in 2025 – a bold prediction for the year.
AGI is a type of AI that matches or even surpasses a human’s cognitive capabilities across a broad range of cognitive tasks compared to current AI models, which can only attempt to match people in a few specific areas. It’s what sci-fi has trained us to imagine when we think of AI.
This would be a major advancement in the AI field, with many experts saying AGI would lead to a revolution unlike anything we’ve seen so far. For now, we’ll have to take Sam Altman’s word that AGI is almost here, but we could be in for a wild 2025 if his prediction is correct.
5. Apple’s 2025 roadmap leaked
Speaking of leaks, Apple’s iPhone and iPad roadmap for 2025 was teased by reporter and reputable tipster Mark Gurman this week (via a paywalled Bloomberg article), with Gurman detailing what tech we should see in the next 12 months.
The first is the iPhone SE 4 with Apple Intelligence and Face ID, which will land in Q1 or early Q2. Then, alongside it, Gurman says we’ll get the iPad 11 with an A17 Pro chipset (just like the iPhone 15 Pro) and 8GB of RAM, which should mean it’s powerful enough to run Apple Intelligence.
Sometime in Spring, Gurman believes we will get a new iPad Air with an M4 chipset to bring it in line with the latest iPad Pro models, and then rounding out the year will be the blockbuster iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone 17 Air (or possibly just iPhone Air) launches.
4. DJI launched a first-of-its-kind drone
DJI unveiled the new and unique Flip, a multi-use drone for beginners unlike anything we’ve seen before. Its Star Wars spacecraft-like body features folding propellors with guards, meaning you can fly safely up close, armed with auto-tracking flight modes and 4K videos up to 60fps, plus slow motion 100fps clips.
It’s ultimately like a larger, pricier, and supercharged DJI Neo – although the latter offers FPV flight – so check out our DJI Flip vs DJI Neo article to discover the key differences. During testing for our in-depth DJI Flip review, we found that you get better 4K video and 48MP images than the Neo, with the quality approaching that of DJI’s Mini 4 Pro, but without quite hitting those same heights.
Ultimately, what’s most distinct about the DJI Flip is its first-of-kind folding design, which still falls within the 249g-and-lighter category of drones that’s largely restriction-free.
3. Samsung’s Unpacked announcements leaked
The first Samsung Unpacked event of 2025 might still be a couple of days away – it takes place on Wednesday (January 22) – but it looks like we already know everything there is to know about the phones that will be unveiled at the launch.
Multiple leaks – which feel like they’re been ongoing since about this time last year – have shed light on almost everything, including the full specs and color options for the entire three-phone lineup (made up of the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra), details of AI enhancements, including a new morning brief feature, and even the Samsung Galaxy S25’s jazzy new ringtone (which Samsung itself released early).
As with all leaks, we should take these details with a pinch of salt until Samsung makes an official announcement, but on the plus side we don’t now have long to wait until then.
2. TikTok faced its end… for now
TikTok’s US ban has been looming for some time, but it came into focus this week as we approach January 19 – the day it will supposedly come into full force. Users afraid of losing the app took to rival services, but not just Instagram’s Reels and YouTube’s Shorts. Chinese-made alternatives such as RedNote and also Lemon8 (which is owned by ByteDance, just like TikTok) proved popular.
There were hopes that the US Supreme Court would stop TikTok’s app store execution, but they have not, and while at the time of writing there are reports the US Government might not enforce any fines related to the ban at first, that has yet to be confirmed. All TikTok fans have left to hold on to is that when Donald Trump steps in as President on January 20, he could work to overturn the ban – a ban which he has been a vocal opponent of, despite being one of TikTok’s original detractors.
We’re not holding our breath, but perhaps this time next week, we’ll all be back to sharing dances on the clock app.
1. Nintendo Switched things ups
After years of speculation, hype, and rumors, the Nintendo Switch successor finally broke cover, with Nintendo releasing a Nintendo Switch 2 trailer. Unoriginal name aside, the short teaser showed us plenty – it confirmed the console and its screen are larger than before (we’ve heard it’s now an 8-inch display from leaks), showed us the new button on the right JoyCon, and gave us a new kickstand design for the console, alongside clips of what could be a new Mario Kart title (while many are calling it Mario Kart 9, if Nintendo counts Tour as a mainline game this would be Mario Kart 10).
It’s light on specifics, though, and there’s still a lot we aren’t certain about. For one, it’s unclear how much the console will cost when it is released and what its exact specs are.
For those details, we’ll have to watch this space and wait to see what Nintendo announces over the next few days and weeks.
Next week, we have Samsung‘s first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2025, but before we can get there, we’ve seen a week filled with tech announcements. Leaks for the Samsung event were a dime a dozen, but we also saw the long-awaited Nintendo Switch 2 announcement, game-breaking Windows 11 updates, and…
