Over the last year or so we've heard plenty about Apple Intelligence and how it's going to transform the way we use our Apple devices – and it seems the AI tech is also going to take up more internal storage on those devices too.
As spotted by 9to5Mac, the recently launched iOS 18.2 update needs 7GB of free local storage to install Apple Intelligence, according to Apple's website. When the AI features started appearing in iOS 18.1, the requirement was 4GB.
It's no surprise that the iOS 18.2 update requires so much more space on your device: it includes a wealth of new AI tricks, including the integration of ChatGPT with the Siri smart assistant, Genmoji, and Visual Intelligence.
The first batch of Apple Intelligence features that showed up with iOS 18.1 back in October included Writing Tools and Notification Summaries. These upgrades are going to continue to show up gradually as we make our way towards iOS 19 next year.
More to come
Apple Intelligence is an optional extra(Image credit: Apple)
Apple likes as much of its AI to run locally as possible: not relying on the cloud means faster response times and improved user privacy. As we're now seeing though, there is a cost in terms of storage space.
You can turn off Apple Intelligence if you want to: the setting is under Apple Intelligence & Siri on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. You can also choose to not install it in the first place, because it's not enabled by default on these devices.
However, you can't pick and choose the AI features you want: It's all or nothing. If you're running low on storage space on your device, then you may have to think twice about having Apple Intelligence enabled (or buy some more iCloud storage space, of course).
And it's likely that Apple Intelligence will demand even more storage space as we go through 2025: it's expected that iOS 18.4 will bring with it a host of new AI updates, including smarter features for Siri.
Pandora is a 'mini AI hardware' stuck in a mini PC form factor
It uses Nvidia's Jetson Orin NX Super platform
Comes with 128GB SSD and a Ubuntu OS, in a chassis under 500g
Nvidia’s largest add-in-board partner, Palit, has been a key supplier in the global video card market for over 30 years. Best known for its range of Nvidia GeForce graphics cards, the company is now branching into AI with Pandora, a compact mini PC device built for edge AI computing.
Pandora (announced in a YouTube video spotted by Videocardz) measures just 121mm x 145mm x 66mm and weighs 470g. Although it resembles a mini PC, the new device is described as "mini AI hardware" and is designed specifically for tasks like AI inference, machine learning acceleration, and robotics.
Powered by the Nvidia Jetson Orin NX Super platform, Pandora is available in two versions with 8GB or 16GB of RAM, delivering 117 and 157 AI TOPS respectively. The device comes pre-installed with a 128GB SSD, Ubuntu Linux, and JetPack SDK 6.1.1, and features an active cooling system to maintain performance under load.
Good selection of ports
Pandora sports two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports, one USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C/OTC port, and two USB 2.0 Type-A ports for peripherals and legacy devices. It also includes dual Ethernet ports (2 x RJ45, 1G) and an HDMI 2.0 port. For audio, there are both Line Out/Line In options via a 3.5mm jack or pin header.
Through its M.2 slots, users can add SSDs, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 5G/LTE modules. One of Pandora’s standout features is its support for 3D-printed expansions via customizable casing shells, allowing users to extend the device’s capabilities - a handy option for developers in need of adaptable hardware.
(Image credit: Palit)
Palit suggests several use cases for Pandora. In smart retail, the device can analyze customer demographics to deliver real-time personalized advertisements through digital signage.
In education, it supports interactive teaching tools using object recognition and text-to-speech technology, and for robotics and automation, it provides extensive I/O options and compatibility with Nvidia Isaac and ROS2. It can also handle demanding generative AI tasks such as natural language processing and content creation.
Pricing and release details for Pandora have yet to be announced, but we should know more soon.
Huawei has won a number of court rulings in its legal wrangles with Netgear
The patents involved are crucial to WiFi 6 technology used in Netgear's wireless routers
Netgear produces the popular Nighthawk and Orbi family of products
Huawei has won a series of legal victories against Netgear in its ongoing patent disputes over WiFi 6 technology, with the latest development potentially having far-reaching implications for Netgear’s operations across Europe.
As reported by intellectual property activist Florian Mueller, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) recently granted Huawei a multi-country injunction against Netgear, following a ruling in its Munich Local Division.
This decision, centered on a WiFi 6 standard-essential patent (SEP), applies to seven countries, including Germany, France, and Italy. Mueller says it marks one of the most commercially impactful rulings in the UPC's history regarding SEPs.
Netgear facing a tough choice
Netgear, a major US router brand best known for its Nighthawk and Orbi products, has been defending itself against Huawei’s claims, but faces mounting challenges. A new ruling from the Munich I Regional Court, expected on January 9, 2025, could further complicate matters. In this case, Huawei is asserting another WiFi 6 SEP, which appears likely to be deemed valid and infringed, based on court proceedings.
Netgear’s defenses hinge on arguments related to FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory) licensing obligations and patent exhaustion. However, Mueller says the court has historically been skeptical of such defenses unless supported by strong evidence. Patent exhaustion, which Netgear hoped would protect devices using Qualcomm chips, has limited applicability. According to the UPC ruling, the exhaustion defense only applies if Qualcomm chips were first sold within the European Union, creating logistical and manufacturing hurdles for Netgear.
The ramifications extend beyond Netgear, as the decision reinforces the UPC's stance on SEPs and FRAND obligations. The court has emphasized that implementers must engage constructively in licensing negotiations and, in some cases, accept pool license offers. Netgear’s rejection of a pool license, combined with its litigation strategies, has not helped its position.
With enforcement of the injunction imminent, Mueller says Netgear faces a tough choice: negotiate a license or risk further legal and operational setbacks. This case not only highlights the complexities of SEP enforcement in Europe it also sets a precedent for similar disputes in the future.
It got tested by TweakTown against a number of enterprise SSDs including Solidigm's 61.44TB
This Gen4 SSD is read-biased and is available in 2.5-inch U2FF
This is a common strategy amongst SSD vendors to optimize their models to certain workloads
It was always only going to be a matter of time, but Solidigm's 61.44TB SSD is finally beginning to get a number of competitors that can match it for size.
The company’s South Korean parent company, SK Hynix, has launched a 61.44TB model (developed with Solidigm's expertise), and TweakTown has just reviewed the DapuStor J5060 61.44TB U.2 Enterprise SSD and come away massively impressed.
DapuStor is a Chinese technology company specializing in the development and manufacturing of enterprise-grade SSDs. Its 61.44TB J5060 SSD (a 122.88TB version is planned for release in 2025) is designed specifically for read-intensive applications, targeting growing storage demands in sectors such as AI, cloud storage, IT, finance, telecom, big data, and intelligent manufacturing.
Superior read performance
The J5060 is marketed as cost-effective, reliable, and scalable solution for enterprises seeking efficient data management within tight budgets. It’s the second 61.44TB SSD TweakTown has tested, with the first of course being Solidigm’s drive which it reviewed in August 2023.
The standout feature of the J5060 is unquestionably its superior read performance. Testing shows the drive achieves up to 1.7 million 4K random IOPS, a 70% improvement over Intel’s P5336. It also boasts sequential read throughput exceeding 7,500 MB/s, making it an exceptional option for read-heavy workloads.
The SSD features a PCIe Gen4 x4 interface, a U.2 form factor, sequential bandwidth of up to 7,400 MB/s, and random IOPS of up to 1.5 million. While its read performance is unmatched, the drive did lag behind competitors like Solidigm when write operations were considered.
The site sums up its findings, saying, “DapuStor's J5060 61.44TB is, without a doubt, the most read-centric SSD we've ever encountered. This is not surprising in the least, considering the drive is meant to write infrequently and read frequently. We are of the opinion that for heavily read-centric applications, it is likely the most efficient SSD of its capacity point currently in circulation.”
It further adds, “You can't do any better than DapuStor's J5060 61.44TB when it comes to TCO for read-intensive applications.”
U7inh instance has 1,920 virtual CPUs and 32TB of memory, and you can run 4 of these
Need to sustain SAP workloads is what encouraged HPE to work with AWS
However, there's also the fact HPE may be helping AWS get newer, lucrative leads
As businesses face relentless data growth, challenges like data silos and outdated legacy systems, such as Unix-based servers, increasingly stand in the way of progress.
HPE has positioned its Compute Scale-up Server 3200, which it launched in 2023, as the answer to these challenges, promising scalability and performance for mission-critical applications.
The server supports workloads like SAP HANA and ERP with up to 16 sockets and 32TB of shared memory, enabling seamless scalability and reduced server sprawl. Powered by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors (Sapphire Rapids), it doubles core counts, integrates AI accelerators, and features DDR5 memory with PCIe 5.0 for enhanced performance and bandwidth, ideal for data-intensive applications.
Eroding on-premises market share?
AWS has now announced the general availability of a new Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) U7inh-32tb.480xlarge instance which runs on the 16-socket HPE Compute Scale-up Server 3200 and is built on the AWS Nitro System.
While that sounds like a positive move for HPE customers, it does raise concerns about the strategic implications.
AWS’s new U7inh instance features 1,920 vCPUs, 32TB of DDR5 memory, 160 Gbps of EBS bandwidth, and 200 Gbps of network bandwidth. AWS says, “You can run your largest in-memory database workloads like SAP HANA or seamlessly migrate workloads running on HPE hardware to AWS.”
As The Register notes, however, AWS’s announcement of the new offering mentions "customers that currently run on-premises with HPE servers have also asked how we can help them migrate to AWS to take advantage of cloud benefits while continuing to use HPE hardware."
By partnering with AWS, HPE potentially opens the door for the cloud giant to gain access to customers running critical workloads on-premises who may be considering cloud migration.
This partnership could inadvertently help AWS capture more enterprise leads, potentially eroding HPE’s on-premises market share. The timing is particularly striking, as AWS has acknowledged a growing trend of customers revisiting on-prem solutions.
New year's resolutions are just the kind of chore you don't need after a week of relaxing excess – so this year we're committing to 'tech resolutions' instead.
These friendlier, less intimidating commitments involve using gadgets or apps to nudge your life in the right direction. Or they can simply help you survive the brutal month that is January. Best of all, they all involve tech.
The tech resolutions below don't involve giving up indulgences or hitting gyms. Instead, they're a mix of ideas from the TechRadar team on how they'll be using gadgets, apps or a mix of the two to try new hobbies, save money or just have a blast with new board game discoveries in early 2025.
There are guides on how to slash your streaming bills, set up your iPhone 16 to take better photos in 2025, and use Notion to plan your new year. But there are also fun side quests, like how to rediscover the joy of CDs and one writer's advice on the best cheap gadgets to raise your bread-making game.
Whichever part of your tech life needs a shot of new year's enthusiasm, you'll find some valuable nuggets of advice below. And if it inevitably all goes wrong, you can always blame the gadgets...
(Image credit: Netflix / Disney+ / Amazon Prime Video)
Our streaming bills have quickly become bigger than Elon Musk's ego – it's time to take action. TechRadar contributor Esat Dedezade has broken down how he's embracing 'subscription hopping' in 2025 to save hundreds on his bills.
The tactic involves a little planning, but fortunately we've done all of that for you – including a 'cheat sheet' that shows all of the biggest shows landing on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus and more in the first few months of 2025, so you can quickly create your own plan. Trust us, you'll feel extremely smug afterwards.
Owning an EV can be an expensive business, not least because of pesky depreciation. But whether you've bought new or second-hand, there is one thing you can control – charging costs.
TechRadar's EV expert Leon Poultney, who spends roughly 72% of his life on the road in electric cars, has broken down all of his top tips for saving cash on EV charging in 2025. And no, it doesn't involve buying a solar farm.
YouTube Premium has so many hidden benefits that it may well be the best-value streaming subscription out there. That's the compelling argument made by TechRadar contributor David Nield, who describes why it's the only digital subscription he's keeping for the whole of 2025.
As he describes, YouTube Premium isn't just about getting respite from ads (although that is one major benefit). It also brings a host of bonus, like YouTube Music – which could convince you to ditch a separate music streaming service.
(Image credit: Sony / Shutterstock / Skrypnykov Dmytro)
Our PS5 Pro review was enough to convince TechRadar contributor Darren Allan to skip the console and make a different gaming plan for 2025 – and it involves cables.
That's because this particular Plan B is built around hooking up a gaming PC in another room to a living room TV. A not inconsiderable task, but one that means saving lots of cash on a PS5 Pro – and ultimately creating a better gaming setup.
Do you have a tower of dusty CDs at home that audibly grumble every time you open Spotify? So does TechRadar contributor and CD hoarder Tom Wiggins, but he has a plan to put that right in 2025.
The Fiio DM13, a modern Discman tribute act, is the key to this particular tech resolution. And it means riding the mid-90s comeback and living like it's the height of Britpop, with even better sound quality.
Looking to take better photos with your iPhone in 2025? This guide from TechRadar's former cameras editor will help set you up.
While it's mainly focused on the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro (including their new Camera Control button), a lot of the tips also apply to older iPhones that are running iOS 18.
It's now possible to get the experience and results of a traditional compact camera from your iPhone – here's how to do it.
Yes, it's finally time – Windows 11 might be a magnet for online criticism (justifiably so, in many cases), but TechRadar computing writer Darren Allan explains why he's going to be upgrading to Microsoft's OS as the new year begins.
And no, it isn't just because the sands of time are running out for Windows 10 – there are also now positive reasons to upgrade, including some much-needed interface improvements.
I used to own a lot of CDs. And by “a lot”, I mean a lot. Since I was a teenager in the late ‘90s a significant chunk of my disposable income went on music, but when Spotify launched in 2009 that began to slow down, until on July 29 2016 I ordered my final CD from Amazon (Drive Like Jehu’s self-titled album, if you’re interested).
I’ve been pretty much streaming-only ever since, and while I’ve purged a lot of CDs in recent years (mainly the albums I couldn't name a single song from without looking at the track-listing) there are a couple of hundred I can’t bring myself to get rid of.
Without a means to play any of them – I’d streamlined my hi-fi setup to include just a pair of Ruark MR1 Mk 2 speakers and an iFi Uno DAC connected to my disc-less MacBook Air when I moved out of London a few years ago – that seemed stupid.
But I spent a good chunk of my young adult life accumulating these shiny silver discs, some of which were acquired at gigs by obscure math-rock bands of the mid-2000s and certainly won’t be found on Spotify or Apple Music.
Even if they do now live in boxes under the stairs, existing as little more than a back-up archive to a hard drive full of ripped MP3s, they’re still part of my identity. And then one day the perfect solution dropped into my inbox.
What's in a name?
(Image credit: Future)
Try to buy a small, affordable CD player these days and you’ll mainly find cheap, plastic all-in-one systems made by companies called things like Pjlopj, Lvcdodvd and Gelielim (I actually made one of those up but I bet you don’t know which one).
Why was I choosing to listen to audibly inferior versions of stuff I’d spent so much time and money collecting?
In all honesty, the name FiiO isn’t much better, but the company at least has some recent pedigree when it comes to making hi-fi gear, with a number of its products earning five-star reviews right here on TechRadar. So news of its new $139 / £139 (around AU$275) DM13 CD player was music to my ears.
Here was a battery-powered CD player that’s barely any bigger than an old Sony Discman – not quite pocket-sized, but small enough to stash in a drawer when not in use – that has Bluetooth onboard so you can connect a pair of headphones, load up a copy of OK Computer and hit the streets like it’s 1997 all over again.
Mine arrived in the post just before Christmas, and its brushed metal chassis makes it vaguely reminiscent of Apple’s old Superdrive (RIP), particularly if you opt for the silver version. It can even convert CDs into MP3s if you hook it up to a computer.
I attempted to pair it with my Ruarks over Bluetooth but with its limited single-line display and very basic instruction manual, getting the two to talk to each other was like trying to change the clock on a microwave using only morse code.
Fortunately, it has standard aux and optical outputs as well, so I just dug out my box of miscellaneous cables (we’ve all got one) and went wired instead. I had created the perfect hi-fi setup for a millennial with limited space.
Don't look back in anger
(Image credit: Future)
Top tips for CD revivalists
1. Check Ebay for CD bargains A copy of Oasis’s debut album Definitely Maybe will set you back the best part of $35 / £30 on vinyl, but resellers such as Music Magpie (or Discogs in the US) have eBay shops where you can pick up a CD copy for far less. Try your local charity shops, too.
2. Only buy stuff you really love If you start buying everything on CD you’ll quickly end up with a collection that’s hard to manage and you’ll be forced to purge some of it. Spotify and the other streaming services are the perfect tool for quality control, allowing you to try before you buy.
3. Keep your CDs out of the sun My CD collection spent over a decade of its life by a window where it would catch the evening sun. As a result a good chunk has severely faded spines and partially bleached back covers, which bothers me from a sentimental perspective rather than a resale one. Try to look after yours better.
It’s not just because I’m a hoarder who can’t let go of the past that I’m planning to spend 2025 like it’s the height of Britpop all over again (and the Oasis reunion has nothing to do with it either).
Spotify’s refusal to increase its streaming quality has been bothering me for some time, but it was only when I was listening to some of those old MP3s that I realised just how noticeable it is. Why was I choosing to listen to audibly inferior versions of stuff I’d spent so much time and money collecting?
I also rarely listen to a full album from start to finish anymore, so rather than just switching to a different digital format I figured a CD player would be the perfect way to reconnect with music all over again.
I’m not the only one who’s plotting a physical-media renaissance. Sales of CDs rose 2% in 2023 and were up again 3.2% in the first half of 2024. That small upward trend is partially down to younger generations developing an interest in owning tangible formats but not having the disposable income to spend on vinyl (apparently it all goes on snozzberry vapes).
I get that. I bought a lot of my CDs for £7 or less in shops like Fopp or Rounder Records (another RIP) in Brighton, UK and the thought of spending over £20 on just one album back then would’ve horrified me. What if it was rubbish? (Which, considering a proportion of it was mid-noughties math-rock, was fairly likely.)
With people like me offloading hordes of old CDs there are bargains to be found – and while the format isn’t as indestructible as was once claimed, the discs are often in decent nick, even if the cases and liner notes aren’t.
You can connect a pair of headphones, load up a copy of OK Computer and hit the streets like it’s 1997 all over again.
I probably won’t ditch Spotify completely. As portable as the FiiO DM13 is – connecting a pair of Bluetooth headphones presented fewer issues and it does have skip protection – my pockets are only big enough for my iPhone 16 Pro. Streaming is also unbeatable when it comes to discovering new stuff, plus I don’t have space to add significantly to my existing CD collection. My bank balance wouldn’t thank me either.
But the contents of those boxes under the stairs is going to get a chance to shine again in 2025 – and it’s all down to another little black box with a silly name.
