Technologies

Galaxy S25 Ultra Makes Surprise Appearance Shooting the Snapdragon Summit 2025

During Qualcomm’s event showing off new processors, at least one camera offstage was just as interesting as the announcements being made in the spotlight.

Companies use big tech events to reveal their new products, but increasingly they’re also making a point of showing off how they’re doing it. At Wednesday’s Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit 2025, the livestreamed keynote included a prominent Shot on Snapdragon badge during some of the wider camera angles inside the Monarch Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Maui, Hawaii.

Recording an event like this with a smartphone isn’t new, but it’s still novel. The last several Apple keynotes, all pre-recorded and edited before being delivered, were captured entirely using the latest iPhone Pro models at that time; Apple created a short documentary about using the iPhone 16 Pro to shoot last year’s event. It’s a flex not only of a company using its own tools to make its content, but to show other video professionals how it can be done.

Qualcomm’s event looked to be a mix of cameras, since Shot on Snapdragon appeared only from some moving camera angles within the venue. CNET senior reporter David Lumb snapped a photo of a cameraman pushing in during the event using a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (which is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite) mounted in what looked to be a DJI Ronin 2 gimbal on a long boom arm. It’s not clear which other cameras were used for other angles. But it’s worth noting that a consumer phone camera was intermingled with no doubt more capable and professional cameras to capture live footage, share it globally and maintain the same color and image quality.

Not too long ago, shooting video with a smartphone would have been impractical, particularly in such a dark environment. But despite the relatively small sizes of the camera sensors, video quality has improved a lot over the years. If you want to put it up against the big dogs in Hollywood, it’s held its own, such as last year’s movie 28 Years Later, which was shot entirely on iPhones using an assortment of rigs, lens adapters and even a telescope grafted to the devices.

Shooting with the Galaxy S25 Ultra in this context was also important to Qualcomm because it announced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, which supports the new Advanced Professional Video codec that enables a fully computational video pipeline and near lossless-quality footage. For events like this and for producers who need fast turnaround without extensive (and expensive) toning and color grading, a high-end smartphone that’s priced at a movie-friendly budget of just $1,300 could be just what’s needed.

Technologies

Apple to Build the Mac Mini in the United States for the First Time

Apple will begin manufacturing the wee desktop computer in Houston later this year.

Houston, we have some production. Apple announced Tuesday that it will be making its Mac Mini desktop computer in the US for the first time, shifting some manufacturing from its Asian plants, and will also increase AI server production at its existing Houston facility.

The California-based tech giant also said it will open the Advanced Manufacturing Center, a 20,000-square-foot facility where students, supplier employees and businesses will receive hands-on training in making Apple products, in the same city.

In its statement, Apple said the new Mac Mini production and increased AI server production will create thousands of jobs.

The Mac Mini will be manufactured at a 220,000-square-foot facility in North Houston. The other main building at that site is where Apple makes AI servers. The new Advanced Manufacturing Center will also be built at that location. The buildings are owned by Foxconn, the Chinese manufacturing giant that Apple initially partnered with in 2000 to produce the iMac.

Sabih Khan, Apple’s chief operating officer, said there will still be Mac Mini production in Asia after the Houston plant is up and running, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

By beginning Mac Mini production in the US, Apple is furthering its pledge to invest $600 billion in the US over four years. That promise, made last August, was in response to pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration to increase manufacturing in the US and to avoid Trump-imposed tariffs.

Apple also said it is sourcing more than 20 billion chips from 24 US factories, and that, by the end of 2026, every new iPhone and Apple Watch will have cover glass made at Corning’s facility in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.

CEO Tim Cook said his company is «deeply committed to the future of American manufacturing,» with production of the Mac Mini marking one step toward that commitment.

The Mac Mini, which initially went on sale in 2005 — CNET was there from the beginning — is the cheapest of the Apple desktops ($599 at the Apple store). It’s known as a BYODKM, an acronym coined by the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs that stands for «Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard, Mouse.» In other words, the Mac Mini — only 5 inches long and 5 inches wide — comes without those peripherals, making it cheaper for those who already have them.

«The Mini can fit in your hand and be everything from an everyday home office computer to a full-on professional content-creation machine,» CNET’s Joshua Goldman wrote in his review of the latest model in 2024.

Goldman also said the Mac Mini is a «perfect pairing» with Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI system that is integrated with iPhones, iPads and Macs.

Market research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates that the Mini accounts for less than 5% of its global Mac sales, according to the WSJ report.

Apple will also ramp up production of its AI servers. The company said manufacturing is ahead of schedule, months after beginning production in October. The servers are used in Apple data centers around the US.

Technologies

Waymo’s Autonomous Ride Service Expands to 4 New Cities

The company has doubled its operating area for robotaxi services over the past several months.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 25, #990

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Feb. 25 #990.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. That purple category, once again, expects you to spot hidden words that are related to each other within four of the grid words. It’s fun once you see the answer, but tough to figure out on your own. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: What a parent should do for a child.

Green group hint: «____ my dear Watson.»

Blue group hint: Some go by Jim.

Purple group hint: Look for hidden words.