Month: January 2025

Switch 2 leaks point to controllers that work like computer mice

Circumstantial rumors suggest a new hybrid hardware gimmick might be in the works.

Here at Ars, we're judicious about which of the many, many Switch 2 rumors we decide to highlight on this page. For every report on hardware power or magnetic Joy-Cons that we share, there are probably five others we see and decide are too lightly sourced, too unlikely, or just too plain obscure to spread here.

But when we started hearing reports that the Switch 2's Joy-Cons could be cradled on their sides and manipulated like a full-fledged gaming mouse, we knew the concept was one you'd want to hear about.

The rumors of mouse-like functionality on the Switch 2's included controllers got supercharged over the weekend when a Reddit poster shared detailed photos of purported Switch 2 Joy-Cons, sourced from an unnamed Chinese social media user. In between the longer shoulder buttons along the Joy-Con's inner edge (SL and SR) and a new central connector port, eagle-eyed viewers noticed what looks suspiciously like the optical sensor that sits on the bottom of practically every mouse these days.

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Asus ROG NUC (2025) is a 3.5 liter mini PC with Intel Arrow Lake and NVIDIA RTX 50 Series graphics

The Asus ROG NUC (2025) is a compact gaming PC that’s set to arrive during the first quarter of 2025. In most ways, it picks up where the first ROG NUC left off: like last year’s model, this computer essentially takes the guts of a high-per…

The Asus ROG NUC (2025) is a compact gaming PC that’s set to arrive during the first quarter of 2025. In most ways, it picks up where the first ROG NUC left off: like last year’s model, this computer essentially takes the guts of a high-performance gaming laptop and stuffs them into a small desktop computer, giving […]

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Google Pixel 4a gets an unexpected update: Lower battery life

It’s intentional, and eligible users can get cash or free battery replacements.

The Pixel 4a, a well-regarded release in Google's line of budget-minded phones with nice cameras and decent stock software, was not supposed to get any more updates. This week, it will receive a rather uncommon one—one that intends to lower its reported battery life.

The Pixel 4a, released in the summer of 2020, was discontinued at the end of 2022. It received its last official software update in the summer of 2023, followed by a surprise security update in November 2023. Throughout 2024, there were no updates. This week, owners of the 4a (and likely many former owners) are getting a new update, along with an email titled "Changes coming to your Pixel 4a."

The email addresses "an upcoming software update for your Pixel 4a that will affect the overall performance and stability of its battery." The automatic software update to Android 13 "introduces new battery management features to improve the stability of your device," which will "reduce your battery's runtime and charging performance."

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Good news, bad news: Pixel 4a getting an update, but it’s reduced battery life

It’s intentional, and eligible users can get cash or free battery replacements.

The Pixel 4a, a well-regarded release in Google's line of budget-minded phones with nice cameras and decent stock software, was not supposed to get any more updates. This week, it will receive a rather uncommon one—one that intends to lower its reported battery life.

The Pixel 4a, released in the summer of 2020, was discontinued at the end of 2022. It received its last official software update in the summer of 2023, followed by a surprise security update in November 2023. Throughout 2024, there were no updates. This week, owners of the 4a (and likely many former owners) are getting a new update, along with an email titled "Changes coming to your Pixel 4a."

The email addresses "an upcoming software update for your Pixel 4a that will affect the overall performance and stability of its battery." The automatic software update to Android 13 "introduces new battery management features to improve the stability of your device," which will "reduce your battery's runtime and charging performance."

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Nvidia unveils $3,000 desktop AI computer for home researchers

Project DIGITS can run a local chatbot or other AI models up to 200B parameters in size.

On Monday, Nvidia announced Project DIGITS, a small desktop computer aimed at researchers, data scientists, and students who want to experiment with AI models—such as chatbots like ChatGPT and image generators—at home. The $3,000 device, which contains Nvidia's new GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, debuted at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. It will launch in May and can operate as a standalone PC or connect to a Windows or Mac machine.

At CES on Monday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described the new system as "a cloud computing platform that sits on your desk." The company also designed Project DIGITS as a bridge between desktop development and cloud deployment. Developers can create and test AI applications locally on Project DIGITS, then move them to cloud services or data centers that use similar Nvidia hardware.

The GB10 chip inside the Project DIGITS computer combines an Nvidia Blackwell GPU with a 20-core Grace CPU based on Arm architecture. Nvidia developed the chip in partnership with MediaTek, and it connects to 128GB of memory and up to 4TB of storage inside the Project DIGITS enclosure.

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We have a new teaser for The Last of Us S2

Abby: “It doesn’t matter if you have a code like me. There are just some things everyone agrees are just wrong.”

The second season of The Last of Us will hit HBO and Max in April.

HBO released a new one-minute teaser for the second season of its post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us during CES last night, along with a release date of April 2025. Based on developer Naughty Dog's hugely popular video game franchise, S2 is set five years after the events of the first season and finds the bond beginning to fray between plucky survivors Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) while introducing several new characters.

(Spoilers for S1 below.)

The series takes place in the 20-year aftermath of a deadly outbreak of mutant fungus (Cordyceps) that turns humans into monstrous zombie-like creatures (the Infected, or Clickers). The world has become a series of separate totalitarian quarantine zones and independent settlements, with a thriving black market and a rebel militia known as the Fireflies making life complicated for the survivors. Joel is a hardened smuggler tasked with escorting the teenage Ellie across the devastated US, battling hostile forces and hordes of zombies, to a Fireflies unit outside the quarantine zone. Ellie is special: She is immune to the deadly fungus, and the hope is that her immunity holds the key to beating the disease.

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Gigabyte introduces BRIX mini PCs with Intel Twin Lake, Arrow Lake chips

Earlier this year Gigabyte expanded its BRIX line of mini PCs with two new models featuring Intel chips. The Gigabyte BRIX GB-BTIP-N150 is powered by a  6-watt, quad-core Intel N150 “Twin Lake” processor and features support for up to three…

Earlier this year Gigabyte expanded its BRIX line of mini PCs with two new models featuring Intel chips. The Gigabyte BRIX GB-BTIP-N150 is powered by a  6-watt, quad-core Intel N150 “Twin Lake” processor and features support for up to three displays and two storage devices, while the new BRIX GB-BRU7-255H is a higher-performance model with a 28-watt, […]

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