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A seemingly accidental post by a Danish tech store has revealed the price of the Asus ROG Phone 9.

Danish pricing for the upcoming Asus ROG Phone 9 has seemingly leakedThe phone could cost around $1,400, but we’ve only seen one model listedBoth the ROG Phone 9 and its Pro variant are due to launch on November 19

The Asus ROG Phone 9 gaming phone is due to launch on November 19, but we may already have a fair idea of how much the phone will cost thanks to a new leak.

As Android Headlines reports, a Danish retailer was spotted listing the phone for 9,838 Danish Kroner, or around $1,400 / £1,100 / AU$2,150. That’s for the model with 12GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and the Storm White color option.

That’s quite a lot more than the base model ROG Phone 8, which started at $1,099 / £949 at launch, and around as much as the ROG Phone 8 Pro, which started at $1,199 / £1,099. It’s possible, given the list price, that the retailer has erroneously labeled the Pro model as the standard, or maybe we’re simply seeing a price hike this year. Of course, price conversions aren’t always accurate.

For what it’s worth, the listed model carries the model number AI2501-12G512G-WH.

As spotted by 91 Mobiles Indonesia (via Android Headlines), the upcoming phone’s power certification was also listed publicly by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) well before launch day. The WPC listing notes that the phone received certification on November 11.

The listing includes a rendered image of the front of the phone, too, which displays the phone’s home screen and looks much the same as it did during our hands-on time with the ROG Phone 9 at Snapdragon Sumit.

Though the ROG Phone 9 might not look much different than the previous generation ROG Phone 8, we’ve heard a steady flow of rumors suggesting the new phone will receive major upgrades in the performance department.

We previously reported that the ROG Phone 9 is tipped to best the Galaxy S25 in performance benchmarks, and that its Pro counterpart is rumored to launch with a blisteringly-fast 185Hz display.

Other leaks have pointed to the vanilla ROG Phone 9 sporting the same ultra-high refresh rate display. And Asus has itself confirmed that the phone will come equipped with the new flagship Qualcomm chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

It’s likely that we’ll see the ROG Phone 9, the ROG Phone 9 Pro, or even both make it onto our list of the best gaming phones.

Asus is due to officially reveal both phones on November 19, so we don’t have long to wait for official details on the new devices. For the latest official updates as we hear them, be sure to check out our Asus phones coverage – and for the latest mobile gaming news, head on over to TRG.

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The data was public to begin with, but the size of the cache is still alarming.

Hacker found selling a database of 180+million emails on the dark webThe archive was stolen from a data brokerThe data broker confirmed the information was scraped from public sources

A hacker is selling a database containing 183 million records of people’s contact details, including email addresses, stolen from a data broker who, in turn, generated it by scraping publicly available data.

One might say, no harm – no foul, but still, whoever buys this database will get the chance to annoy millions of people with spam, and possibly even target them with phishing, malware, and business email compromise (BEC).

The database, which includes people’s business email addresses, postal addresses, phone numbers, employer names, job titles, and links to various social media, is being sold by a threat actor alias ‘KryptonZambie’, for $6,000.

Decommissioned legacy systems

The archive was stolen from a data broker company called DemandScience (previously known as Pure Incubation) who has confirmed the data was publicly available to start with.

“It is also important to note that we process publicly available business contact information, and do not collect, store, or process consumer data or any type of credential information or sensitive personal information including accounts, passwords, home addresses or other personal, non-business information,” a DemandScience spokesperson said in an email.

HaveIBeenPwned?, a website that tracks email addresses compromised in various data breaches, reports that the archive was pulled from a “decommissioned legacy system: “In early 2024, a large corpus of data from DemandScience (a company owned by Pure Incubation), appeared for sale on a popular hacking forum. Later attributed to a leak from a decommissioned legacy system, the breach contained extensive data that was largely business contact information aggregated from public sources.”

We don’t know if the hacker managed to sell the database already, or if there were multiple buyers. At press time, there was no information of in-the-wild abuse.

Via The Register

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The latest Project Aria update showcases some incredible uses for AI and AR glasses.

Researchers have shared their impressive Meta Aria projectsAria is a research kit to help developers better understand AR and AIThese projects could become Meta Orion features if we’re lucky

Meta has just shared an update on its Aria AR glasses research project collaborations, and they reveal some exciting potential ways that the publicly available versions of its Meta Orion AR Glasses could shape our real-world lives when they launch.

Project Aria’s goal is to help software developers and researchers “better understand how to build the software and hardware necessary for future AR and AI-powered glasses.” Initially an internal undertaking, Meta expanded Aria access to partners like BMW and various universities across the globe – and what they’ve created so far highlights some awesome use cases for AR glasses.

It’s worth noting that all of these tools are still at the research stage, so we’re likely still years from them being packaged into a consumer usable app – something which may not even happen with any of these projects. But they highlight some of the ways Orion could be used, and who knows? With Orion likely years away there’s still plenty of time to turn these projects into the world’s best AR apps before they launch.

1. Learning from the experts

The Matrix series is not a dystopian setting anyone wants to live in, but there’s one aspect of that world I’m sure most of us would want to bring into our real one: the ability to download any skill we could need.

While the Orion glasses might not instantly make you a master of kung fu, or teach you how to fly a helicopter in seconds, they could help us gradually improve our skills with feedback it has learned from experts.

For its Project Aria research, the University of Bristol has been capturing data from highly skilled people – from chefs, to musicians, to athletes, to mechanics – tracking their movements and how they move objects to learn more about how they “interact with and change the world to achieve their goals.”

With this understanding it’s easy to see how Orion could offer AR lessons about how to repair a bike or cook a delicious meal, going so far as to highlight the real-world object you need to use and showing you how to use it in real-time.

2. Driving more safely

Researchers at IIIT Hyderabad have used Project Aria to develop its Driver Intent Prediction Project. Using the AI glasses’ outward cameras, and their inward eye-tracking cams – as well as various other car sensors – the team is able to tell where drivers are looking and importantly where they aren’t.

If a pedestrian mindlessly steps into the street while you’re looking in your mirrors, the glasses can detect that you haven’t seen them yet and warn you – allowing you to take action. The project’s goal is to reduce traffic accidents and it’s easy to see how this tool could help make us safer drivers if Orion were to launch with a version of it.

3. Maximizing accessibility

The last two Aria projects demonstrate the glasses’ accessibility credentials. University of Iowa researchers are using Aria to help people with hearing loss by using the specs’ microphone array to help determine the direction sound is coming from. This could then be combined with prompts on an AR glasses’ display, or used in conjunction with traditional hearing aids to improve its effectiveness.

Meanwhile, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have used the glasses to help people with visual impairments. Using the glasses’ sensors (and some external beacons) Aria could help people more easily navigate unfamiliar environments with real-time guidance.

These kinds of accessibility features and more are exactly how technological advancements like Meta Orion could (and should) be put to use.

As more people get their hands on Aria research kits I’m excited to see what other projects they work on, especially as that hopefully means that Orion will have some awesome tools when it eventually releases to the public.

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Xbox boss Phil Spencer has confirmed Microsoft is currently working on handheld prototypes.

Microsoft’s gaming CEO says it is working on handheld prototypesSpencer says an actual handheld console is years away from releaseA handheld device has been rumored to be in the works for some time

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has revealed that Microsoft is currently working on handheld prototypes.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Spencer said that the “expectation is that we would do something” in the handheld device category and that Microsoft is now working on prototypes while still considering what it might do.

The Microsoft Gaming CEO said he has asked his team to look at the current market to develop its vision of a handheld based on what it learns.

Spencer also set expectations and confirmed an actual console is at least a few years away.

During Summer Game Fest 2024, Spencer was asked to comment on rumors of an Xbox handheld amid Microsoft’s business strategy to follow users where they are playing.

Although the Xbox boss couldn’t verify a device was in development at the time, he did say, “So we should have a handheld? I think we should have a handheld too”, but couldn’t say anything further.

In the same Bloomberg interview, Spencer also discussed Microsoft’s ongoing multiplatform push, which kicked off earlier this year, and confirmed that there are no “red lines” regarding the release of more Xbox games on PlayStation.

“I think the ball is moving in the right direction. I think this idea of open platforms, where users have more choice, creators have more choice, you see the momentum, right?”

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Have you got a fraudster on the line? Pixel phones can now use AI to listen out for the tell-tale signs of a scam.

AI-powered Scam Detection feature rolling out for Pixel Phone appFeature scans audio from incoming calls and sends scam alertsCurrently only available in the beta version of the app for US users

Having announced the feature back at Google I/O 2024 in May, Google is now rolling out its AI-powered Scam Detection feature for the Pixel Phone app – though for now it’s only available in the beta version for US users.

The rollout was announced by Google in a blog post (via 9to5Google), with the promise that they’ll be appearing on other Android devices besides Pixels in the future. For now, the Pixel 6 from 2021 and all later Pixels are eligible for the update.

As we previously reported, the feature uses on-board AI to scan the audio from your incoming calls. If the algorithms detect that you might be getting scammed, you’ll see an alert to that effect on the Phone app screen.

“For example, if a caller claims to be from your bank and asks you to urgently transfer funds due to an alleged account breach, Scam Detection will process the call to determine whether the call is likely spam and, if so, can provide an audio and haptic alert and visual warning that the call may be a scam,” explains Google.

Local processing

The feature is available on all Pixels from the Pixel 6 onwards, including the Pixel 7a (Image credit: Future / James Ide )

While the thought of AI listening to your calls is a little unnerving, this is all handled locally, with no data sent back to the cloud: the Pixel 9 phones use the built-in Gemini Nano, and older Pixels use “other robust Google on-device machine learning models”.

While the rise of generative AI certainly has its benefits, it’s also proving to be something of a headache in terms of digital security. Fraudsters are making use of the tech to create scam calls, while the good guys are fighting back with their own AI operators.

The new feature adds to the suite of security protections already available in the Phone app for Pixels. Those protections include Call Screen, which can answer calls with a bot to see what the caller wants before you get involved.

In this early form inside the beta app, Scam Detection isn’t on by default: you have to go to the app settings (via the three-dot button in the top right corner) to enable it. Google is also asking early adopters for feedback on the feature, and how well it works, before rolling it out more widely.

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Apple has been accused of forcing its customers to stick with iCloud instead of giving them a choice of cloud storage providers.

Which? argues that Apple is blocking consumers from cheaper alternativesApple offers 5GB of iCloud space for free, but you must pay for moreUK brand Which? is seeking £3bn ($3.8bn) in damages from Apple

Apple has long been accused of being miserly with its iCloud online storage tiers, but things have rarely move beyond the realm of truculent grumbling. That’s all changing now, though, as British consumer advocacy brand Which? has launched a £3bn ($3.8bn) lawsuit accusing Apple of ripping off its customers by locking them into expensive iCloud tiers.

When you buy an Apple device, you are given 5GB of iCloud storage for free. If you want to upgrade, you can choose from a range of paid-for iCloud options. However, Which? says that users are not offered a choice of rival cloud storage services, and instead have to use iCloud because Apple blocks certain data on your device from being uploaded to competitors’ services.

A separate lawsuit from March 2024 claims that Apple “arbitrarily sequesters” essential app data and device settings that would be required for a full device backup.

According to the legal action from Which?, “Apple iPhone and iPad iOS users have had little choice but to use Apple’s own iCloud service, and therefore Apple can charge users more than if it had to compete with rival cloud storage services.”

The Which? lawsuit is seeking damages of £3bn (around $3.8bn) for around 40 million UK customers, which would mean a payout of about £70 (about $90) for each British person who has used iCloud services since October 1, 2015. Even for a company of Apple’s size and wealth, that would be a sizable payout.

Analysis: We’ve been here before

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Primakov)

The argument from Which? is essentially that Apple is unlawfully steering users towards its own services instead of giving them a choice.

Apple has found itself in hot water over similar issues in the past, having been sued by Epic Games for, among other things, preventing developers from directing customers to other services that might save them money. In that case, the judge found against Apple and forced it to change its anti-steering practices, so Which? might be hopeful of a similar ruling in its own lawsuit.

Apple will likely say that it prevents some essential files from being backed up to competitors’ services because they contain important information whose security Apple cannot guarantee if they fall outside its control. Whether that argument is enough to win the case against Which? remains to be seen.

Apple could easily allay consumer discontent by offering more than a measly 5GB of iCloud storage for free. Granted, upgrading to the next iCloud tier (50GB) is cheap at $0.99 a month, but with many of the best phones and computers offering much more in the way of free storage, Apple fans shouldn’t have to pay to get more than 5GB of online drive space.

Ultimately, though, Apple is not forcing anyone to upgrade to more expensive iCloud tiers – you can buy a device with more storage space or perform a full back up using a desktop app like iMazing, for example. But if the lawsuit from Which? compels Apple to be more generous with its free iCloud offering, that itself would be a win for consumers.

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After a busy run promoting Joker: Folie à Deux, Lady Gaga is reported to have a cameo in Wednesday season 2 on Netflix.

As it stands, there’s no one in the entertainment world that’s working quite as hard as Lady Gaga, and sources have reported that the singer will have a featured cameo in Netflix’s Wednesday season 2, which is set to arrive on the best streaming service sometime in 2025.

First reported by Entertainment Weekly, information around Gaga’s upcoming role in one of the best Netflix series is being kept under wraps, so we don’t know what character she’ll be stepping into or how significant they’ll be to the story of season 2. But according to reports, Gaga is currently filming for Wednesday season 2 in Europe, most likely in Ireland where principal photography for the show began in May.

Not only is there little insight to the nature of Gaga’s upcoming role, but the premise of Wednesday season 2 is just as hush-hush with Netflix previously hinting in its announcement video (see below) that the next installment will be “bigger and more twisted”. At Netflix Tudum 2023, which took place in June last year, Jenna Ortega (who plays the titular role) discussed some of the best fan theories around the direction the show’s second season could take, including an interesting take on Crackstone’s ring.

The choice of Lady Gaga for a role in Wednesday season 2 comes as no surprise after her 2011 song Bloody Mary from her album Born This Way went viral online among fans Wednesday. Referring to that iconic dance scene from the show, users recreated dance moves enacted by Ortega in short-form videos with a sped-up version of Gaga’s song layered on top.

The announcement of Gaga’s addition to the cast feels like a full-circle moment. At the time of the 2023 Golden Globes, where the show was nominated for two awards, Ortega revealed that she wanted Gaga to be part of the show. In an interview with Variety, Ortega stated: “I’m sure Netflix would love that”, when asked about the possibility of Gaga landing a role.

Like all the best pop stars out there, Lady Gaga’s calendar has been stacked for the past year or so, having just finished promoting her latest acting role as Lee Quinzel in Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux starring alongside Joaquin Phoenix. On October 25 this year, she dropped the lead single Disease from her upcoming seventh studio album, which is one of the most-anticipated pop music comebacks for next year.

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It’s all about making these video apps work better for you

Final Cut Pro 11 for Mac and Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.1 are available nowThe anticipated auto captions features is now on the MacUpgrades include AI boosts plus a new version of Final Cut Camera

Alongside brand new versions of Logic Pro for the Mac and iPad – and a few weeks after Apple dropped new Macs and teased a forthcoming version of its pro video editor – the technology giant has officially dropped Final Cut Pro 11, Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.1, plus some major updates to Final Cut Camera.

Much like Logic Pro for iPad’s major update in May 2024 and the rollout of Apple Intelligence, these latest updates circle around AI. Well, AI and delivering on many features requested from users. We have a hunch that many of these will make Final Cut Pro fans – either on the Mac or iPad – plenty happy.

Final Cut Pro 11 on the Mac is ushering in a number of AI-powered features that use Apple’s own on-device language model and the Neural Engine of M1, M2, M3, and M4-powered Macs.

One of the most anticipated after a tease when Apple unveiled the Mac mini is Transcribe to Captions, which, as the name suggests, lets you automatically create accurate captions in an instant. Closed captions will appear after processing the video, and Final Cut Pro does this on-device with Apple’s language model.

(Image credit: Apple)

Transcribe to Captions joins Magic Mask, which can automatically select and highlight people or objects. This might eliminate the need for rotoscoping or setting up a green screen, among other more time-consuming edits like color correction.

If you have an Apple Vision Pro or dream of producing a film for the wearable spatial computer, Final Cut Pro can now edit spatial videos. While this was first teased back at WWDC 2024, the ability to edit and create Spatial Videos for playback on Apple Vision Pro is now shipping with Final Cut Pro 11.

You’ll be able to import footage from an iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max, as well as a Canon EOS R7 with Canon’s RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens.

(Image credit: Apple)

On the iPad, Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.1 brings four new tools to one of the most unique experiences for the touch-first video editing solution. Live Drawing, which lets you easily create video animations with an Apple Pencil, has new watercolor, crayon, fountain, and monoline pen options to express yourself better. Additionally, like on the Mac, there are new transitions, title cards, color presets, sound effects, and video effects within Final Cut.

When adding clips to the timeline or browsing it, you can now pinch-to-zoom with your fingers to adjust the clip height. With an Apple Pencil Pro, you’ll now feel haptics based on whatever you’re adjusting – this is long-awaited, especially if you invested in Apple’s flagship stylus.

Last but not least, Final Cut Camera is getting some long-request features. For starters, it now has a level with roll and tilt indicators to ensure you get the best shot possible from any angle. Plus, if you’re using this to capture footage on an iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max, you can now record at up to 4K resolution at 120 frames per second.

(Image credit: Apple)

This latest update also allows you to record Log-encoded HEVC video when shooting with just one or multiple devices, and you can enable a LUT – lookup table – preview simultaneously.

While not a complete redesign or major change to Final Cut Pro, these updates across Final Cut Pro for Mac and iPad and Final Cut Camera for iPhone will likely make a big difference. They seek to help folks speed up workflows and edits and answer the call for some directly requested features.

You’ll get these updates for free if you already have Final Cut Pro for Mac or iPad. However, if you’re new, you must pay or subscribe. Final Cut Pro 11 for the Mac is $299; on the iPad, it’s $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year. Final Cut Camera is still a free app for the iPhone.

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A new report offers some more details about the rumored Samsung tri-fold device and its form factor.

Samsung is rumored to be working on a tri-fold It could take on an ‘infolding’ form factorA screen size of 9-10 inches has been predicted

The Huawei Mate XT foldable has attracted a lot of attention for its triple-folding mechanism, and its very high price – and a new leak suggests Samsung’s own rival tri-fold is going to take a different approach to the form factor.

As per ET News (via @Jukanlosreve), Samsung’s effort is going to be launching in 2025, with the design finalized by the end of this month. That design is expected to be an ‘infolding’ one, with both ‘side’ screens folding inwards.

The three screens on the Huawei Mate XT fold back on each other, so the far left screen acts as the main display when the device is folded shut. In the Samsung model, there would need to be an additional screen on the back somewhere.

That’s the case with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, and other foldables like the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, where one panel has displays on both the front and back. A similar trick would be needed on the new tri-fold, when it appears.

Keep on folding

Part of Samsung’s thinking is that having an infolding device protects the main screen from scratches and other damage, according to the report. If Samsung does take this route though, one of the hinges will need to be bigger than the other.

We do have a few more details from the ET News report, based on industry sources. The new Samsung foldable is said to be coming with a screen size of around 9-10 inches when unfolded (the main screen on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is 7.6 inches).

The article also adds that Samsung is hoping to boost demand for foldables and protect itself against its competitors with the new device, which is no surprise – the Huawei Mate XT is only available in China, but has grabbed a lot of headlines and interest.

We will still see the standard Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 next year however, and rumors of a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip FE are refusing to go away. With Apple circling too, 2025 is likely to be the biggest year for foldables yet.

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In order to focus on AI and data centers, AMD is laying off 1,000 workers.

Chipmaking giant AMD is laying off 1,000 of its 26,000 workersThe company wants to focus on artificial intelligence and data centersData center revenue accounted for 51% of AMD’s entire revenue last quarter

AMD has confirmed it will be laying off around 1,000 workers, or 4% of its headcount, as it looks to shift its internal focus towards AI.

The chipmaker believes that by losing the 1,000 workers, it will be able to focus more on areas of its business with significant growth potential, such as AI servers and data center hardware.

“As part of aligning our resources with our largest growth opportunities, we are taking a number of targeted steps that will unfortunately result in reducing our global workforce by approximately 4%,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “We are committed to treating impacted employees with respect and helping them through this transition.”

AMD to lay off 1,000 workers

Given its strong financial performance last quarter, the change it seen more as a strategic shift rather than a reaction to financial worries, unlike key rival Intel.

AMD had doubled its headcount in recent years to tackle the surge in demand for high-performance processors used in AI data centers, however its revenue has only climbed 23%. Although recent figures suggest growth is strong, it’s likely that the company overestimated its human resource requirements, hence the adjustment.

Two weeks ago, AMD confirmed a third-quarter revenue of $6.82 billion, up 18% year-over-year and up 17% compared with the previous quarter. It also boasted of a record data center segment revenue, up 122% year-over-year and 25% quarter-over-quarter to $3.5 billion, or more than half (51%) of its entire revenue.

Despite strong figures, AMD’s market cap has fluctuated over the past year with several peaks and troughs. Share prices are up 16.2% in 12 months, compared with a 194.5% rise in Nvidia share prices during the same period. Intel shares are down 36.8%.

In the most recent quarterly report, AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su said: “Looking forward, we see significant growth opportunities across our data center, client and embedded businesses driven by the insatiable demand for more compute.”

AMD isn’t the only company making adjustments to staffing – a few months ago, Intel confirmed it would be laying off 15,000 workers, or 15% of its headcount, in relation to poor financial performance.

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