📱 Samsung Galaxy S25, 🎮 PS5 Pro sales, 💍 Oura Ring 4, 🔥 Amazon Fire HD 8 deal

10 tech stories in the quickest format possible

Friday’s 10-story newsletter ends with discount codes below ⤵️
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👏 1. Samsung Galaxy S25 confirmed to launch with One UI 7 in 2025

Samsung’s One UI update will launch with Samsung Galaxy S25 next year (Image credit: Matt Swider / The Shortcut)

• 📱 Samsung Galaxy S25 will arrive alongside the One UI 7 update next year

• 🆕 Samsung says its One UI software will be simple, impactful, and emotive

• 🤖 One UI 7’s main focuses are ‘AI for All’ and wide device compatibility

• 🍱 Good Lock customizations will continue to expand UI personalization

• 📆 The Samsung Galaxy S25 series should launch in late January 2025

I went to the Samsung Developer Conference is San Jose this week, and it had a big focus on Samsung’s robust SmartThings platform and Galaxy AI. But there was one surprise I didn’t see coming: the company revealed One UI 7 will launch by the end of the year for beta developers and in 2025 for consumers.

One UI 7 will launch alongside the next Samsung Galaxy S phone, meaning the Galaxy S25 series (S24 Ultra image credit: Kevin Lee / The Shortcut)

One UI 7 will launch “with next Samsung Galaxy S phone,” which means two things: we finally have a release window for Samsung’s next operating system update (likely to be late January 2025), and this is the first time Samsung has mentioned the Galaxy S25 on stage – even if it didn’t mention it by that exact “S25” name.

We should see the Samsung Galaxy S25 and One UI 7 launch in late January 2025 with pre-order perks (S24 Ultra image credit: Kevin Lee / The Shortcut)

I’ll begin to track pre-order deals for you after CES 2025, just like I did in advance of my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review. Stay tuned, Samsung fans.

Ask Matt Swider on Twitter or Instagram for hand-picked deals from Walmart / Best Buy / Amazon / B&H / Samsung / Google / GameStop / Xbox / Microsoft Office (PC) deal / MS Office (Mac) deal

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🤏 2. Sony LinkBuds Fit hands-on : the smallest noise-canceling earbuds I’ve ever tried

The new LinksBuds Fit (Image credit: Kevin Lee / The Shortcut)

• 🎧 Sony announces the LinkBuds Fit as a replacement for the LinkBuds S

• 🔈 Features the same Dynamix Driver X and the Integrated Processor V2 from its flagship WF-1000XM5 earbuds (Amazon link)

• 😌 New Sound Connect app with an added Background Music effect for less in-your-face listening

• 🆕 Sony also replaces the original Linkbuds with the LinkBuds Open

• 📣 Features a larger design and bigger 11mm driver

Sony's tiny LinkBuds Fit replace LinkBuds S

Sony LinkBuds Open (Image credit: Kevin Lee / The Shortcut)

Sony LinkBuds Speaker (Image credit: Kevin Lee / The Shortcut)

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💍 3. What our Oura Ring 4 review will tell us: how we'll analyze the new smart ring

• 💍 The Shortcut is working on an Oura Ring 4 review with new benchmarks

• 🧪 We’ll test Oura’s claim Ring Gen 4 is more accurate and comfortable

• 🆚 It’s Oura Ring 4 vs Samsung Galaxy Ring as we compare the top smart rings

• 💰 The $349 Oura Ring 4 is a contender for best smart ring on October 15

• 🫰 But its $6/per month ($70/yr) subscription is a big turn-off for consumers

We’re already working on an Oura Ring 4 review at The Shortcut, drawing up new criteria to analyze the smart ring that was announced today. It’s a fairly new product category, so while I’ve reviewed smartphones for over a decade, smart rings require a fresh set of benchmarks before figuring our a final review score.

I can already tell you that the Oura Ring 4 will go head-to-head with the Samsung Galaxy Ring in our tests, and we’ll also compare it to the Oura Ring Gen 3. I’m sized up for Oura Ring 4 in size 11 and ready to go.

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🎮 4. PS5 30th Anniversary Edition and standard PS5 Pro pre-orders begin again on 10/10, but only one will sell out

• 🌟 Walmart will sell PS5 Slim 30th Anniversary & the standard PS5 Pro soon

• 🙅‍♂️ No PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary consoles will be sold on 10/10 as far we know

• 📆 Pre-orders will begin October 10 at 10am ET, but require Walmart+

• 🤔 The standard PS5 Pro still hasn’t sold out at PS Direct in the US and Europe

• 🚫 But PS5 Slim 30th Anniversary console did sell out quickly at Sony; expect it to go fast when Walmart pre-orders begin

• 💰 PS5 Pro’s $700 price and lack of a disc drive turned off consumers

• 👉 Flashback: the PS4 Pro also didn’t sell out even though it cost $399

You won’t be able to buy the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary console at Walmart and other US stores next week, but the coveted PS5 Slim 30th Anniversary console will be on sale. So far, it’s the only new Sony video game system in high demand.

In fact, it’s in such high demand, Walmart is requiring the paid version of Walmart+ to buy the PS5 Slim 30th Anniversary console. But that $12.95/mo barrier to entry may be a good thing – it’ll increase your chances of buying the limited-edition PS5.

Walmart will sell the PS5 Slim 30th Anniversary console on October 10 (Image credit: Walmart)

Surprisingly, the standard-looking PS5 Pro is still available at Sony’s PlayStation Direct store (it has a two-week exclusive before other US stores sell it). That doesn’t mean consumers have turned their noses up at Sony’s more powerful PS5. The PS4 Pro, despite costing $399.99, also didn’t sell out when it first launched.

🧠 My take: The PS5 Slim Anniversary console will sell out. Demand for PS5 Pro will be soft at first, but may increase closer to Black Friday – when all parents realize they don’t have “the big gift” for their kids (this is exactly what I saw when the PlayStation Portal pre-orders didn’t sell out last year and then it became utterly impossible to buy for almost six months).

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📱 5. iPhone 17 rumor hints at Pro-level screen upgrade

The current iPhone 16 colors at the Apple Store 5th Ave (Image credit: Kevin Lee / The Shortcut)

• 📱 Apple is rumored to add 120Hz to the iPhone 17 display next year

• 🧈 Expect buttery smooth performance like this year’s iPhone 16 Pro

• 🤳 The rumored ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air may also get the upgrade

• 📅 The iPhone 17 is expected to launch in September 2025

Max’s iPhone 16 Plus review just went live, and it’s a winner for people who want 1) a large 6.7-inch screen and 2) access to Apple Intelligence without breaking the bank. But he found it difficult to go back to a 60Hz screen.

Rumor has it that next year’s iPhone 17 delivery 120Hz screens across the board. 🤞

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🎶 6. This new Bose SoundLink Home Bluetooth speaker oozes vintage style

The best-looking Bluetooth speaker with a retro vibe (Image credit: Bose)

• 🔊 Bose announces a new SoundLink Home Bluetooth speaker

• 🔗 Connects over Bluetooth 5.3 and supports two devices with Multipoint

• 🫨 Promises size-defying sound and room-filling bass

• 🔋 Battery life for up to nine hours and four hours to recharge to full

• 🏷️ Available for purchase now for $219

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🔪 7. Silent Hill 2 remake review roundup: ‘a spectacular experience’

Silent Hill 2, the scariest game ever made, gets a remake. (Image credit: Konami)

• 👍 Silent Hill 2 has a Metacritic score of 87 after 49 critic reviews

• 🤩 The game has 86% positive reviews, 10% mixed and 0% negative

• 😱 Silent Hill 2 is a remake of Konami’s classic horror game

• 📆 The game is out on October 8 for PS5 and PC

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🤖 8. Amazon's new Fire HD 8 tablets are faster, powered by GenAI, and already on sale

New Amazon tablets launch right before Prime Day and Black Friday (Image credit: Amazon)

• 🔥 Amazon has revealed its new Fire HD 8 tablet

• 👍 The tablet features more RAM, an improved camera, and a tempting price point

• 📆 All three Fire HD 8 tablets are on sale until October 9

• 🤖 The Fire HD 8 also features generative AI to help you get things done

Amazon’s new range of Fire HD 8 tablets are on sale until October 9. You can save up to 50%, making this limited time deal a winner if you’re a fan of Amazon’s tablets. The new Fire HD 8 tablet is also a great choice for kids, with two options available.

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👀 9. Google Pixel 9a leaks suggest a dramatic redesign is on its way

The Google Pixel 9a may see a design change from the Google Pixel 8a seen here (Image credit: Max Buondonno / The Shortcut)

• 📱 The Google Pixel 9a just leaked in new renders

• 📸 Google might drop its signature camera bump on the back

• 🤖 Pixel 9a will reportedly include Android 15 out of the box

• 📅 The Pixel 9a release date is rumored to land sometime in early 2025

We loved this year’s Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but I get that not everyone can afford $1,099 and $1,799 smartphones. The Google Pixel 8a is a solid choice, but you might want to wait for the Google Pixel 9a at this point.

But, if these leaks are accurate, prep yourself for radical design changes.

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🏛️ 10. Nintendo Museum is now open, but you can’t raid the gift shop

The newly opened Nintendo Museum in Japan (Image credit: Nintendo)

• 🏛️ The Nintendo Museum has opened its doors to visitors

• 😣 However, Nintendo has had to place restrictions on which items people can buy in the gift shop

• 😡 Some items are limited to one per customer, as people have begun reselling purchases online

• 😔 Keychains, cushions, card sets, and magnets are some of the items with restrictions in place

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🔒 Bonus: $100 PS, $50 Nintendo & Xbox gift card deals; 50% off Game Pass

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• ❎ 50% off Xbox Game Pass for $26 (Microsoft’s MSRP is now $60 3 months)

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