ZDNET's key takeaways The OnePlus 13 is a snappy, nearly no-compromise phone that starts at $899. A Snapdragon 8 Elite, paired with a 6,000mAh battery and 80W fast charging, is a recipe for endurance success. IP69 is almost excessive, but you'll appreciate it when least expected. more buying choices It's not often that I review a smartphone in the first few weeks of January and feel confident in calling it a "Phone of the Year" contender. But the OnePlus 13 is almost as good as it gets. Whether Samsung launches an Ultra phone with a 300-megapixel camera at Unpacked later this month, or Apple releases a thinner iPhone in the fall, the OnePlus 13 will likely still be on my mind when the year-end nominations are due.Also: World's first 500W charger unveiled at CES 2025 - for all you super power usersThere's a lot going for the latest flagship phone, from the more secure (and reliable) ultrasonic fingerprint sensor to the IP69 rating to the 6,000mAh Silicon NanoStack battery. It's also one of the first phones in North America to feature Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which promises improvements to performance, efficiency, and AI workloads.Over the past few weeks, I've been testing the OnePlus 13 alongside my iPhone 16 Pro Max to see exactly how the new Android stacks up against one of the best phones from 2024. In a few ways, the OnePlus 13 falls short. In many ways, it puts the iPhone to shame. details View at OnePlus When I first unboxed the OnePlus 13 and held it in hand, my reaction was audible. Allow me to geek out here: The slightly curved glass, slimness of the phone, and overall appearance made my four-month-old iPhone look and feel outdated. It's as if OnePlus made the iPhone 17 Air before Apple did.However, what sells the OnePlus 13 design for me is the new Midnight Ocean colorway, which flaunts a vegan-leather backing that makes the phone visually distinctive and more comfortable to hold than its glass-only predecessors. The texture isn't as rough and grippy as actual leather though, so I'd be interested in seeing how it ages over the year. Kerry Wan/ZDNETIf you were hoping the first major Android phone of 2025 would feature Qi2 wireless charging, I have good news and bad news. While the OnePlus 13 doesn't have an in-body Qi2 charging coil, meaning MagSafe (and similar) accessories won't attach directly to the back of the device, OnePlus has embedded magnetic guides within its protective covers, enabling users to take advantage of the accessories so long as the OnePlus 13 is encased. It's a burdenless workaround, but one that hopefully won't be necessary with the next model.For years, one aspect that's held OnePlus phones back is the water and dust resistance rating or lack thereof. With the OnePlus 13, the company is finally taking a stronger stance on the endurance standard, certifying the phone with an IP69 rating. It's a step above the IP68 ratings we commonly see on competing devices, and allows the OnePlus 13 to withstand high-pressure, high-temperature water jets, and humidity changes.Also: One of the most innovative Android phones I've tested isn't made by Samsung or GoogleIn practice, this means the OnePlus 13 can function properly even if you leave it in your washer and dryer, dishwasher, or a pot of boiling soup. The IP69 rating feels very much like a flex, but it's a benefit that users will appreciate when they least expect it. Kerry Wan/ZDNETPowering the device is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip that, from my weeks of usage, has some noticeable strengths and weaknesses. For day-to-day usage, such as bouncing between productivity apps, definitely not scrolling through TikTok, and taking photos and videos, the processor handles tasks gracefully. It helps that OxygenOS 15, based on the latest version of Android, has some of the smoothest animations I've seen on a phone.Also: The best Android phones to buy in 2025But once you fire up graphics-intensive applications like Adobe Premiere Rush and Honkai Star Rail, you'll notice some stuttering as the higher heat development leads to throttling performance. This isn't a dealbreaker, per se, as the nerfs are only apparent when you're using the device for a prolonged time.I've actually been using the OnePlus 13 quite liberally, as the 6,000mAh Silicon NanoStack battery has kept my review unit running for at least a day and a half per charge. That's unseen with any other mainstream phone in the US market, and I fully expect more manufacturers to adopt silicon batteries for their greater energy density. If not that, copy the 80W fast charging or 50W wireless charging; they're quite the revelation. Kerry Wan/ZDNETOn the camera front, the OnePlus 13, with its triple camera setup (50MP wide, ultrawide, and telephoto), has been a reliable shooter throughout most of my days. While the Sony LYT-808 sensor isn't on par with the one-inch sensors I've tested on international phones, it does an excellent job of capturing details and finishing the output vividly. If you're a fan of sharp, bright, and slightly oversaturated imagery (read: more colorful than how the actual subject appears), then the OnePlus 13 will serve you well.Also: 5 hidden Android features that can simplify your lifeWhere the camera sensors fall short is in post-processing and AI-tuning features. For example, the phone leans heavily on computational photography to contextualize details when taking far-distance shots. This sometimes leads to images with an artificial, over-smoothening filter. But when the backend software works, it's able to reproduce details that you probably didn't think you'd capture in the first place.ZDNET's buying adviceFor a starting price of $899, the OnePlus 13 delivers some seriously good value -- possibly the best of all the major flagship phones I've tested lately. The company has improved the device in almost every way, from the design to the performance to its accessory ecosystem.I just wish OnePlus offered more extensive software support, as the OnePlus 13 will only receive four years of Android OS updates and six years of security updates. Samsung, Google, and Apple offer at least seven years of OS support.If you're interested in the OnePlus 13, the best deal I'm currently seeing is on the OnePlus website, as the company is offering a free OnePlus Watch 2 (valued at $299), a free storage upgrade (valued at $100), and at least $100 off when you trade in any phone in any condition.Featured reviews

It's not Flat Stanley stretchable yet, but the Samsung Display concept does open up some creative use cases for ambitious manufacturers.

In a strange move, another design from the end of Armored Core VI that most players havent seen is getting a Robot Damashii toy.The design is based on the Steel Haze Ortus, which Rusty piloted in the penultimate missions of Armored Core VI.Its also a beautiful design. Longtime Gundam mecha designer Takayuki Yanase crafted this sleek and complex mecha, which perfectly suits Rustys high-speed combat style. Yanase also started out his career at FromSoftware, so it was nice to see him return to do designs for them again.However, like the SOL 644 and HAL 826 toy releases, which were also both bosses from the end of the game, the Ortus is something that most players wont have seen.This is because, according to the achievements for Armored Core VI, only about 30% of players reached the end of the game.To be honest, this is a weird strategy from Bandai Spirits and not overly consistent with other mecha properties they handle.The upcoming Robot Damashii Steel Haze Ortus toy from 'Armored Core VI'.Bandai Spirits, From SoftwareMORE FOR YOUNormally, toys of the title mecha from the show are made for general release, with the later designs ending up as Premium Bandai items.This is typical for Gundam, Macross, and pretty much everything else Bandai Spirits handles, so changing that is definitely odd.To give some real-world context to this, both of the previous Armored Core VI Robot Damashii releases are still widely available across Tokyo. This is also normally a bad sign, as popular designs sell out almost straight away. The fact these havent is because most people probably dont know or recognize what they are.That said, I did pick up the Robot Damashii HAL 826 toy, and it is magnificent. The sculpt and detailing are some of the best Ive seen in a long while. Despite not being a Metal Robot Damashii release, the joints also use many diecast parts.Similarly, this new Ortus toy looks amazing, and I will definitely buy one when it goes on sale in Japan this July. Priced at 19,800 yen (or around $125) its also the most expensive release to date for the Armored Core VI Robot Damashii toys.Armored Core VI is available to play on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. Feel free to check out my review as well.Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently featured in the Giant Robots exhibition currently touring Japan.

Less than a month after iOS 18.2 delivered a huge swathe of new Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 16 series handsets plus the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, a much smaller update has arrived. There are no new features and no security fixes but the bug fixes included are likely to serve all the iPhones compatible with the latest iOS 18 software.Apple iPhone 16.Getty ImagesNote that Ill be updating this post over the coming days and will make a final assessment on Tuesday, Jan. 14.Who Is It For And How Do You Get It?Apple iOS 18.2.1 is compatible with all iPhones that can run iOS 18. This means all iPhones from the iPhone XS onwards, including the second- and third-generation iPhone SE models.What Its AboutBug fixes are the key to this update and while there havent been overwhelming issues introduced in iOS 18.2, there were plenty of little quirks experienced by smaller numbers of users. Which ones have been addressed here, well, we just dont know.Apple iOS 18.2.1 SecurityTheres almost certainly no need to install this update just for security purposes, which makes a change. Apple has not pointed to any security fixes at all and instead says that it recommends it for all users because of the important bug fixes it includes.MORE FOR YOUInitial ReactionsSo far, theres been a mixed response. Users who were suffering from visual lags when opening or closing apps, for instance, say it hasnt gone away. One iPhone owner said that things are getting worse not better citing Bluetooth problems with auto-connections not happening. Another said that the RCS update which lets messages from Android users look better, say, isnt working consistently (though this may be a carrier rather than an iPhone issue).Apple iOS 18.2.1 Initial Verdict: UpdateDespite the various issues some users have found, theres a pattern which suggests that these are not new problems, rather ones from before that havent yet been fixed. As such, though there are certainly areas for concern, as no new big issues seem to have been introduced, updating seems the best advice. It may be that exactly which bugs have been squished will become evident in the next few days.

Why it matters: It has long been speculated that Valve intends to expand the reach of its SteamOS Linux distribution beyond the Steam Deck, with Lenovo's upcoming Legion Go model potentially playing a significant role in those plans. Following Lenovo's announcements at CES, a clearer timeline for the general availability of SteamOS is now materializing, hinting at significant ramifications for the future of handheld gaming PCs. Starting in May, customers will be able to purchase Lenovo's newly announced Legion Go S handheld gaming PC with Valve's SteamOS operating system as an alternative to Windows. However, Valve has confirmed that it plans to release a SteamOS beta for other handhelds even earlier, likely in April.While the Steam Deck's hardware may be slower than competing devices from Lenovo, Asus, MSI, and GPD in terms of raw performance, its operating system is arguably its greatest asset. Unlike Windows, which can feel cumbersome on small screens, SteamOS is designed specifically for controller-based interfaces and includes optimizations to improve performance.Valve plans to allow owners of other handhelds to download and test SteamOS sometime between March and May, before the Legion Go S begins shipping with it pre-installed. The download will feature the same software image used for the Steam Deck, ensuring users receive the same patches and pre-compiled shaders that Valve regularly releases for its flagship handheld.Although other devices will have access to SteamOS before the Legion Go S launches, Lenovo's reduced pricing could make the handheld particularly attractive. The Windows 11 version of the Legion Go S will be available later this month starting at $729, with additional configurations arriving in May starting at $599. However, the Linux-based SteamOS edition will start at just $499, likely due to the lack of a Windows license.So far, Valve has not disclosed plans for other manufacturers to pre-install SteamOS on their devices, but such a development seems inevitable. If more manufacturers begin offering SteamOS configurations at lower prices for handhelds or other gaming PC form factors, it could pose a serious challenge to Windows in this market.Lenovo has positioned the Legion Go S as a smaller, more affordable variant of the handheld it released in 2023. This new model forgoes the detachable Switch-style controllers and makes minor concessions in display size, resolution, refresh rate, and performance. It features the Ryzen Z2 Go processor, which is likely based on AMD's mature Rembrandt architecture, with 12 RDNA 2 graphics cores.For those seeking a higher-end option, the standard form factor will return later this year with the Lenovo Legion Go 2, featuring an OLED screen, 32GB of 7500MHz LPDDR5X RAM, and a Zen 5-based Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU with 16 RDNA 3.5 cores. // Related Stories

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" Delta Air Lines has kicked off its centennial year with a bunch of attention-grabbing announcements at CES 2025.CEO Ed Bastian hit the stage in Las Vegas on Tuesday night to reveal plans for more premium offerings and personalized services aimed at enhancing the passenger experience.Recommended VideosFor starters, Delta Air Lines is launching an AI-powered assistant called Delta Concierge for its Fly Delta app, designed to give customers more control and confidence navigating their travel experience.Please enable Javascript to view this contentLike other AI-powered chatbots, youll be able to engage Delta Concierge using natural language text or voice input. You can even ask it to book a flight, just using your voice. In real-time, the tool will eventually have the ability to anticipate customers needs, provide contextualized guidance, and take actions on customers behalf. For example, itll let you know if your passport needs renewing, or if there any special entry requirements for an overseas trip that youre taking. Youll also gets tips on what to pack, according to the weather at your destination.The airline revealed a partnership with Uber, too, for deeper integration into its broader service, ensuring an Uber car is waiting for you when you walk out of the terminal building. And extra Sky Miles will be awarded via your Uber trips.Delta is also launching a first-of-its-kind, cloud-based in-flight entertainment system, with YouTube joining the Delta Sync experience to bring passengers fresh, ad-free content.Notably, beginning with select new aircraft deliveries in 2026, passengers will get to enjoy the next-gen Delta Sync experience, including 4K HDR QLED seatback displays. United Airlines made a similar announcement last year. With lousy seatback displays the bane of many a flight passenger, Deltas 4K QLED screens cant come soon enough. And the streaming experience will be powered up by a 96-terabyte storage system more than fifty times the average Delta inflight entertainment system capacity.Bluetooth capabilities are also coming to all cabins for easy pairing of wireless devices.Bastian also offered an update on its partnership with Joby, a leader in the field of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Delta Concierge will connect with Jobys promised air taxi service for hops to and from Deltas New York (LGA and JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX) hubs in the coming years, pending sign-off from federal and local authorities, Delta said.

NvidiaTable of ContentsTable of ContentsRTX 50-series: pricing and release dateRTX 50-series: specsRTX 50-series: mobile GPUsRTX 50-series: designRTX 50-series: architectureRTX 50-series: DLSS 4RTX 50-series: performanceNvidia has announced its new line of GPUs, the RTX 50-series. That includes four new graphics cards: the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070. Theyre nearly as insane in price and power as the rumors suggested. Nvidia is promising some huge leaps in performance, thanks to the new AI powers of DLSS 4.Heres everything we know so far.Recommended VideosNvidiaTo say there was speculation about the price of the RTX 50-series is a serious understatement. Well, the leaks and rumors can finally come to an end. Here are the prices of upcoming GPUs:RTX 5090: $1,999RTX 5080: $999RTX 5070 Ti: $749RTX 5070: $549Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming Thats a $400 increase on the top end, up from the $1,599 for the RTX 4090, which was already the most expensive Nvidia GPU ever made. That price jump is definitely an eyebrow-raiser, but further down the stack, the pricing actually isnt bad.RelatedThe RTX 5080 matches the price of the RTX 4080 (or RTX 4080 Super), for example. Meanwhile, the RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5070 are actually $50 cheaper than the RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 4070. Hows that for a surprise?The RTX 5090 and 5080 both launch on January 30. The RTX 5070 Ti and 5070, meanwhile, will follow sometime in February.RTX 5090RTX 5080RTX 5070 TiRTX 5070ArchitectureBlackwell GB202Blackwell GB203Blackwell GB203Blackwell GB205CUDA cores217601075289606140Tensor cores5th-gen 3352 TOPS5th-gen 1801 TOPS5th-gen 1406 TOPS5th-gen 988 TOPSRay tracing cores4th-gen 318 TFLOPS4th-gen 171 TFLOPS4th-gen 133 TFLOPS4th-gen 94 TFLOPSBoost clock (GHz)2.412.622.452.51Base clock (GHz)2.012.302.302.16Max resolution4K at 480Hz or 8K at 120Hz4K at 480Hz or 8K at 120Hz4K at 480Hz or 8K at 120Hz4K at 480Hz or 8K at 120HzMemory interface width512-bit256-bit256-bit192-bitMemory32GB GDDR716GB GDDR716GB GDDR712GB GDDR7Memory speed28Gbps30Gbps28Gbps28GbpsTOPS3,4001,8001,4001,000TGP (watts)575360300250Required system power (watts)1,000850750650Price$1,999$999$749$549Theres a lot to take in here. We also know that the cards will all use a 16-pin connector and DisplayPort 2.1, which is where the support for 8K resolutions at 120Hz comes from. The cards are also using the 12V-26 power connector. This can almost be considered overkill for most of the lineup, but the 575-watt RTX 5090 may not have a lot of overclocking headroom with a single 600-watt power connector.While we have the official specs, theres a few more details that we likely wont have confirmed until reviewers get their hands on the cards.The initial announcement didnt deliver some key information, including memory speed and process node, which Nvidia has since supplied. As a result, we know that the RTX 5080 will have faster memory modules than any of the other GPUs. This has long been a subject of speculation, and has now been confirmed by Nvidia.Overall, were looking at gains all across the board here in many specs, but not in all of them. Unsurprisingly, the RTX 5090 scores the biggest wins, with a huge memory increase (to a whopping 32GB, no less) and a boost to CUDA cores. The other cards cant enjoy the same kind of treatment, with all three retaining the same VRAM and bus configuration. However, the entirety of the RTX 50-series uses much faster GDDR7 memory, which is an upgrade in itself.How these specs translate to real-world performance will be revealed only once we get to review these GPUs ourselves.NvidiaSomewhat unexpectedly, Nvidias keynote wasnt solely focused on desktop GPUs. In fact, gaming laptops played a big part in the presentation, and theres a lot for notebook gamers to get excited about.Nvidia and its partners are readying up laptops with almost the full range of RTX 50-series cards, including the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and the RTX 5070. The RTX 5060 Ti, RTX 5060, and the RTX 5050 havent been mentioned yet, but in all likelihood, some (if not all) will be coming at a later date.The only thing we know about these new laptop GPUs is the AI tera operations per second (TOPS) count for each, starting with 1,850 TOPS for the RTX 5090 (which is comparable to the desktop RTX 5080) and ending with 800 AI TOPS for the RTX 5070. That laptop is meant to be mighty impressive, though, as Huang claims that itll rival the performance of an RTX 4090. Desktop or laptop version? Its unclear right now, but Im guessing laptop.Nvidia has also shared the starting prices for each laptop. The RTX 5070 models start at $1,299, followed by $1,599 and up for the RTX 5070 Ti and $2,199 for the RTX 5080. Laptops equipped with the RTX 5090 get really expensive, with the cheapest models priced at $2,899.Many of these laptops will become available in March. Nvidias partners, such as MSI, have already teased some of their upcoming offerings.NvidiaRTX 5090RTX 5080RTX 5070 TiRTX 5070Length304mm304mmVaries242mmWidth137mm137mmVaries112mmSlot2-slot2-slotVaries2-slotPower connector4x PCIe 8-pin cables or 1x 600 W PCIe Gen 5 cable3x PCIe 8-pin cables or 1x 450 W or greater PCIe Gen 5 cable2x PCIe 8-pin cables or 300 W or greater PCIe Gen 5 cable2x PCIe 8-pin cables or 300 W or greater PCIe Gen 5 cableThe Founders Edition RTX 5090 might be the biggest surprise with its 2-slot design. In fact, the RTX 5090 and 5080 are the exact same size, much like the bigger RTX 4080 and 4090. The new design still uses two fans, but theyre now on the same side, unlike the previous generation, which used a dual axial flow design.Like in prior years, there is no Founders Edition of the RTX 5070 Ti.Of course, board partners will no doubt make much larger versions of these cards that take up more than two slots. In fact, so far, the Founders Edition of the RTX 5090 is the only one thats ready for Nvidias SFF program, implying that partner cards are going to be significantly larger.We know for a fact that the follow-up to Ada Lovelace is called Blackwell, honoring American mathematician David Blackwell. The new consumer GPUs are manufactured based on TSMCs 4NP process, which is a 4nm node. Early leaks about the cards suggested that Nvidia would switch to a 3nm process, but that didnt pan out.The lineup includes chips starting from the high-end GB202 through the GB203, GB205, GB206, and entry-level GB207. We havent seen the GB207 yet, though. The RTX 5070 runs on the GB205 architecture, so presumably, the RTX 5060 will use GB207, but Nvidia has yet to announce the budget part of the lineup.The exact architecture of the Blackwell consumer GPUs is still a bit of an unknown. Although Nvidia shared the specs for each card and detailed what makes them better than the previous generation, not everything is crystal clear yet but it wont stay that way much longer. With the first two GPUs less than a month away, well learn more as the release date draws closer.However, Nvidia divulged some more information during CES 2025. As shared by Toms Hardware, the tech giant had to completely redefine the printed circuit board (PCB) to support the kind of power consumption (and just overall power, really) that the new architecture can provide. The GPU that Nvidia talked about was, of course, the RTX 5090 with the GB202 chip.The PCB is split into three parts, with the main PCB equipped with the massive 30-phase VRM, the copious amounts of VRAM, and the GB202 chip. This is the only part of the PCB that Nvidia unveiled during the presentation, which although small still houses a powerful 92-billion-transistor GPU. The missing pieces include display outputs, the PCIe grid, and power connectors for fans. Its truly a design we have never seen before.Considering that even the monstrous RTX 5090 is just a dual-slot card, Nvidia had to do more than just implement a new PCB design. It also gave the cooling system a bit of an overhaul, using a liquid metal thermal interface material (TIM) instead of thermal paste.Nvidia also introduced RTX Neural Shaders that bring AI to programmable shaders. This, in turn, will boost lighting and other quality-related features in games, all in real time.Although Blackwell is still so new, its already seen its fair share of troubles. A recent report from The Information tells us that Nvidias data center GPUs are running into problems with overheating, which has resulted in delays in the deployment of server racks used for AI training. Lets hope that with the wildly different form factor and the considerate approach to cooling, these problems will never make it to consumer GPUs.NvidiaJensen Huang says that Nvidias Deep Learning Super Sampling 4 can see into the future. Its a bold claim, but based on early information, the updated upscaling and frame generation tech sounds like itll play a large role in the success of this new generation of GPUs.DLSS 4, and its neural rendering capabilities, is how Huang can explain the fact that the $550 RTX 5070 can reportedly rival the $1,600 RTX 4090. During the keynote, Huang explained that most of the pixels are generated using Nvidias Tensor cores, and as a result, only the required pixels are rendered, while the majority is generated with AI.The future of computer graphics is neural rendering, Huang said.NvidiaDLSS 4 takes the frame generation weve grown to know (and mostly enjoy) with DLSS 3 and kicks it up a couple of notches. The latest update introduces Multi Frame Generation, which, as Nvidia says, will boost gaming performance by generating up to three frames for each rendered frame.This is said to boost frames per second (fps) by up to eight times, and Nvidias example benchmarks show that. The RTX 5090 is said to be able to hit an impressive 240 fps at 4K with full ray tracing, which presumably also includes path tracing.Nvidia first introduced frame generation with DLSS 3, but DLSS 4 comes with a new, significantly faster AI model that cuts back on the computational cost to deliver better performance. The model is said to be up to 40% faster while also being up to 30% less VRAM-intensive. Nvidia also got rid of the hardware-based optical flow weve seen in the RTX 40-series and replaced it with an AI model.DLSS 4 is still a taxing thing for the GPU to run, but Nvidia is tackling the challenge with hardware improvements, too. It introduced fifth-gen Tensor cores, which are said to deliver up to 2.5x the AI processing power of the previous generation. Theres also hardware Flip Metering and an improved display engine.Overall, DLSS 4 will generate 15 out of every 16 pixels.Set to come out with the new GPUs at the end of January, DLSS 4 will see decent adoption from the get-go. Around 75 games will support DLSS 4, and this includes some of the AAA titles that will benefit from it the most, such asIndiana Jones and the Great CircleandCyberpunk 2077.1 of 4Nvidia Image used with permission by copyright holder Image used with permission by copyright holder Image used with permission by copyright holder Nvidia made some significant claims about the performance of these new 50-series cards, saying they double the performance of their predecessors. As you can see in the slides above, that includes games, yes, but also AI and creative applications. The only direct comparison Nvidia made was for the RTX 5070, which it claims is now on par with the RTX 4090.That sounds like quite a leap, but remember: its done on the back of DLSS 4s multi-frame generation feature. Most of Nvidias performance claims and graphs include DLSS 4, so its difficult to know exactly what the performance delta is when it comes to pure rendering.Editors Recommendations

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" AMD barely touched on its new RDNA 4 graphics cards during its CES 2025 keynote, not even showing the new GPUs during its presentation. Instead, details about the new graphics cards have largely been shared by AMDs board partners. Its a strange move, and one that left some Team Red fans worried about the new cards.But dont worry. The RX 9070 XT is coming soon.Recommended VideosHow soon? Well AMDs Frank Azor says were talking about weeks before the graphics cards show up, saying, When we say Q1, you know, were not talking about March 31st.Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming Before I let speculation get out of hand, I need to point out that weeks is still pretty broad. We could be talking about late January, early February, or even some time in March. But Azor assured me that AMD has everything ready to properly launch its next generation of graphics cards, saying that they were largely left out of the presentation due to time constraints. And in fairness to AMD, it announced a lot, from the Ryzen 9 9950X3D to the new range of Ryzen Z2 chips for handhelds.RelatedConfirming some online speculation, Azor also said that AMD was waiting to see what Nvidia would do. We now know about the $2,000 RTX 5090, as well as three other cards from Nvidias RTX 50-series range, and it seems AMD wanted to see where its new GPU would fall in comparison to the green giant. That makes sense, as AMD has confirmed its ditching the flagship battle with Nvidia this generation in order to focus on cards in the midrange.Still, its not clear where AMDs new GPU lands. Nvidias performance charts dont share a lot of detail, and most of the performance is obfuscated by Nvidias new DLSS 4 multi-frame generation. While noting that he has immense respect for Nvidia, Azor said the performance charts are essentially worthless. And on that point, frankly, I agree. The charts are as vague as they come, and they certainly dont tell the full story about what PC gamers can expect out of Nvidias new graphics cards.AMD has already said that theres nothing wrong with the RDNA 4 range. Words are paper thin, but I saw both the RX 9070 XT and AMDs much-improved FSR 4 in the flesh. If there are serious troubles with AMDs new graphics cards, I highly doubt theyd be subjected to the horrors of the CES show floor.Editors Recommendations

The investment aims to meet the increased demand for advanced cloud infrastructure and compute power, driven by generative AI, it said.

teamwork makes the dream work Ants vs. humans: Solving the piano-mover puzzle "People stand out for individual cognitive abilities while ants excel in cooperation." Jennifer Ouellette Jan 7, 2025 2:20 pm | 34 Ants maneuvering a T-shaped load across a maze Credit: Weizmann Institute of Science Ants maneuvering a T-shaped load across a maze Credit: Weizmann Institute of Science Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn more Who is better at maneuvering a large load through a maze, ants or humans? The piano-mover puzzle involves trying to transport an oddly shaped load across a constricted environment with various obstructions. It's one of several variations on classic computational motion-planning problems, a key element in numerous robotics applications. But what would happen if you pitted human beings against ants in a competition to solve the piano-mover puzzle?According to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, humans have superior cognitive abilities and, hence, would be expected to outperform the ants. However, depriving people of verbal or nonverbal communication can level the playing field, with ants performing better in some trials. And while ants improved their cognitive performance when acting collectively as a group, the same did not hold true for humans.Co-author Ofer Feinerman of the Weizmann Institute of Science and colleagues saw an opportunity to use the piano-mover puzzle to shed light on group decision-making, as well as the question of whether it is better to cooperate as a group or maintain individuality. "It allows us to compare problem-solving skills and performances across group sizes and down to a single individual and also enables a comparison of collective problem-solving across species," the authors wrote.They decided to compare the performances of ants and humans because both species are social and can cooperate while transporting loads larger than themselves. In essence, "people stand out for individual cognitive abilities while ants excel in cooperation," the authors wrote.Feinerman et al. used crazy ants (Paratrechina longicornis) for their experiments, along with the human volunteers. They designed a physical version of the piano-movers puzzle involving a large t-shaped load that had to be maneuvered across a rectangular area divided into three chambers, connected via narrow slits. The load started in the first chamber on the left, and the ant and human subjects had to figure out how to transport it through the second chamber and into the third.This version of the puzzle intentionally posed challenges for both humans and ants and was designed to maintain a similar ratio of body size to load size. "People are challenged by the precise length assessments, mental rotations, and symmetry comprehension that are required to distinguish between viable moves and dead-ends," the authors wrote. As for the ants, "Their pheromone based communication takes neither load size versus door size nor load rotations into account, and thus deems a major part of their collective navigation strategy useless." The ants were manipulated into trying to solve the puzzle by making the t-shaped load resemble food.Collective cognition Humans maneuvering a T-shaped load across a maze. Credit: Weizmann Institute of Science The experiment was run multiple times with different variations: a single ant, a group of about seven ants, and a larger group of around 80 ants; and a single person, a group of six to nine people, and a larger group of 26 people. Humans were instructed to hold the load only by handles that were carefully placed to mimic how the object would be held by ants, and the handles had sensors for measuring the pulling force applied by each person. In some of the runs, humans were not allowed to communicate verbally or with gestures, and in some trials, they even wore masks and sunglasses to avoid nonverbal communication. Each trial run was videotaped for analysis.It should come as no surprise that humans had the edge as individuals, given their superior cognitive abilities; as communicating groups, they also easily beat the ants at finding the optimal solution. And large groups of ants performed much better than individual ants. However, the picture changed when humans were limited in their ability to communicate; large groups of ants often actually performed better than humans in several runs, thanks to their emergent collective memory that helped them avoid repeated mistakes and maintain a particular direction of motion.Humans, when told not to communicate, tended to "pull toward the lowest common denominator, the greedy option, as would a newly attached ant," the authors wrote. "Once the load starts moving, people in restricted communication groups simply align their pull with its motion. This abandonment of their individual cognitive abilities is reminiscent of the collective ant behavior." Communicating human groups, by contrast, were able to discuss and collectively decide on their next move.An ant colony is actually a family, said Feinerman. All the ants in the nest are sisters, and they have common interests. Its a tightly knit society in which cooperation greatly outweighs competition. Thats why an ant colony is sometimes referred to as a super-organism, sort of a living body composed of multiple cells that cooperate with one another. Our findings validate this vision. Weve shown that ants acting as a group are smarter, that for them the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In contrast, forming groups did not expand the cognitive abilities of humans. The famous wisdom of the crowd thats become so popular in the age of social networks didnt come to the fore in our experiments.PNAS, 2024. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2414274121 (About DOIs).Jennifer OuelletteSenior WriterJennifer OuelletteSenior Writer Jennifer is a senior reporter at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 34 Comments