A couple of major announcements came this week and they are the two phones topping our trending chart. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge with its svelte body ended up ahead of the Sony Xperia 1 VII, but both phones got a lot of attention from you guys.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge

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Samsung Galaxy A56 rounded up the podium, while the company’s Galaxy S25 Ultra flagship came in fourth.

Redmi Turbo 4 Pro slid to fifth, while the upcoming Civi 5 Pro came in right behind it.

Poco X7 Pro in seventh makes it three Xiaomi phones in a row, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max retained its eighth position.

In ninth we have the Tecno Camon 40 Pro, while the OnePlus 13T completes this edition of the trending chart.

A new leak coming straight from Apple’s supply chain has confirmed the upcoming iPhone 17 Air’s 5.5mm thickness and reveals the battery capacity, which almost sounds like a crime in 2025.

According to the rumor, the Air will feature a 2,800 mAh battery, which is far less than the 3,900 mAh unit in the similarly-sized Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge. However, there’s a possibility that Apple might use high-density battery tech to increase the capacity by 15-20%.

Additionally, the leak gives away the weight too – 145 grams. That’s also less than the Galaxy S25 Edge, despite the bigger screen.

According to one conspiracy theory, Apple is purposely skimming on the battery to sell more battery cases. Another recent report, on the other hand, suggests the company is working on an AI-powered battery-saving feature that would compensate and deliver acceptable battery life.

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A recent report based on a leaked source code suggests that Google is preparing a desktop mode feature similar to Samsung’s DeX and Motorola’s Smart Connect big-screen interface. Actually, the first traces of a desktop mode were found back in 2023, but it appears that Google is getting close to releasing the feature.

Reportedly, the UI needs more polishing, and it’s unlikely to arrive with Android 16. We will most likely see it launch with Android 17 on the next-generation Pixels.

The feature is labeled as “Android Desktop Mode” and offers several cool features such as multitasking capabilities with resizable windows, traditional desktop-like navigation elements, app management system similar to a desktop OS like Windows or Chrome OS, seamless transition between mobile and a desktop interface, etc.

The feature will work when you connect the phone to an external display using the USB-C port, but we suspect a wireless connection will also be possible, although it’s too early to tell. Samsung and Motorola, for example, offer wireless connection options with their desktop modes. And if we had to guess, the feature will be exclusive to Pixel phones at first before reaching other Android phones.

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Inventor and physicist Thomas Senkel created an Internet sensation with the October 2011 video of his maiden—and only—test flight of a spidery proof-of-concept 16-rotor helicopter dubbed Multicopter 1. Now the maker of the experimental personal aviation craft, the European start-up e-volo, is back with a revised “volocopter” design that adds two more rotors, a serial hybrid drive and long-term plans for going to 100 percent battery power.

The new design calls for 1.8-meter, 0.5-kilogram carbon-fiber blades, each paired with a motor. They are arrayed around a hub in two concentric circles over a boxy one- or two-person cockpit.

After awarding the volocopter concept a Lindbergh Prize for Innovation in April, Yolanka Wulff, executive director of The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation, admitted the idea of the multi-blade chopper at first seems “nutty.” Looking beyond the novel appearance, however, she says, e-volo’s concept excels in safety, energy efficiency and simplicity, which were the bases of the prize.

All three attributes arrive thanks largely to evolo’s removal of classic helicopter elements. First, the energy-robbing high-mass main rotor, transmission, tail boom and tail rotor are gone. The enormous blades over a normal chopper’s cabin create lift, but their mass creates a high degree of stress and wear on the craft. And the small tail rotor, perched vertically out on a boom behind the cabin, keeps the helicopter’s body from spinning in the opposite direction as the main blades, but it also eats up about 30 percent of a helicopter’s power.

The volocopter’s multiple rotor blades individually would not create the torque that a single large rotor produces, and they offer redundancy for safety. Hypothetically, the volocopter could fly with a few as 12 functioning rotors, as long as those rotors were not all clustered together on one side, says Senkel, the aircraft’s co-inventor and e-volo’s lead construction engineer.

Without the iconic two-prop configuration, the craft would be lighter, making it more fuel efficient and reducing the physical complexity of delivering power to the top and rear blades from a single engine. Nor would the volocopter need an energy-hungry transmission. In fact, “there will be no mechanical connection between the gas engine and the blades,” Senkel says. That means fewer points of energy loss and more redundancy for safety.

E-volo’s design eliminates the dependence on a single source of power to the blades. As a serial-hybrid vehicle, the volocopter would have a gas-fueled engine, in this case an engine capable of generating 50- to 75 kilowatts, typical of ultralight aircraft. Rather than mechanically drive the rotors, the engine would generate power for electric motors as well as charge onboard lithium batteries. Should it fail, the batteries are expected to provide enough backup power so the craft could make a controlled landing.

Whereas helicopters navigate by changing the pitch of the main and tail rotor blades, the volocopter’s maneuverability will depend on changing the speed of individual rotors. Although more complex, it is more precise in principle to control a craft using three to six redundant microcontrollers (in case one or more fails) interpreting instructions from a pilot using a game console–like joystick—instead of rudder pedals, a control stick and a throttle.

Wulff’s first impression about the volocopter’s design is not uncommon. E-volo’s computer-animated promotional videos of a gleaming white, carbon-fiber and fiberglass craft beneath a thatch of blades recall the many-winged would-be flying machines of the late 19th century. This point is not lost on Senkel.

“I understand these skeptical opinions,” he says. “The design concept looks like a blender. But we really are making a safe flying machine.”

That would be progress in itself. Multicopter 1 looked like something from an especially iffy episode of MacGyver, complete with landing gear that involved a silver yoga ball. Senkel rode seated amid all those rotors powered only by lithium batteries. Multicopter 1 generated an average of 20 kilowatts for hovering and was aloft for just a few minutes.

There’s a reason why the experimental craft flew briefly and only once.Senkel describes that first craft as “glued and screwed together.” Seated on the same platform as the spinning blades, he says, “I was aware of the fact that I will be dead, maybe. Besides, we showed that the concept works. What do we win if we fly it twice?” he asks rhetorically.

Other than putting the pilot safely below the blades, the revised volocopter design would operate largely the same as the initial prototype. The design calls for three to six redundant accelerometers and gyroscopes to measure the volocopter’s position and orientation, creating a feedback loop that gives the craft stability and makes it easier to fly, Senkel says.

The volocopter’s revised prototype under construction could debut as soon as next spring. The first production models, available in perhaps three years, are expected to fly for at least an hour at speeds exceeding 100 kilometers per hour and a minimum altitude of about 2,000 meters, still far shy of standard helicopter’s normal operating altitude of about 3,000 meters. “This could change our lives, but I don’t expect anything like that for 10 years,” Senkel adds.

Given that most of the technology needed to build the volocopter is already available, “this idea is fairly easy to realize,” says Carl Kühn, managing director of e-volo partner Smoto GmbH, a company that integrates electric drive systems and related components.

Like Senkel, Kühn has modest short-term expectations despite his repeated emphasis on the standard nature of the technology involved. “I guess that e-volo will have [a prototype] aircraft in three years that can do the job—that it will lift one or two persons from one point to another,” he says.

The biggest immediate limitations appear to be regulatory. For instance, European aviation regulators consider any electrical system greater than 60 volts to be high voltage and regulate such systems more aggressively, Kühn says. As a result, the volocopter will operate below that threshold. The craft will also need to weigh no more than 450 kilograms to remain in the ultralight category, which is likewise subject to fewer government aviation regulations, according to Senkel.

The Lindbergh Foundation’s Wulff says the organization’s judges felt e-volo had “a greater than 50 percent chance of succeeding, or they wouldn’t have given them the innovation award.” Asked if she would line up to fly one someday, she says, “I sure would. It looks very compelling to me.”

Last summer’s season of Love Island USA was a reality TV obsession for many. The follow-up to that extremely popular season of the show is drawing near.

In a teaser for upcoming season 7, Love Island USA host Ariana Madix and narrator Iain Stirling peer into the future and see flying sparks, with Madix making fabulous entrances and bombshells doing their duty of stirring things up. The new round of participants have yet to be revealed, but twists, drama and the return of Casa Amor are guaranteed as singles look for love and couple up in Fiji.

According to Peacock, season 6 of Love Island USA was its most-watched original reality competition series ever. The streaming service will continue to follow its cast in a spin-off series called Love Island: Beyond the Villa, which debuts on a yet to be revealed date this summer. Season 7 of Love Island USA premieres in early June. Regardless of whether you have lots of love for the show or if you want to check it out for the first time, here’s your guide to watching.

Read more: Hallmark and Peacock Call It Quits. How to Get Your Romance Fix for Free

When to watch Love Island USA season 7

Season 7 of Love Island USA premieres on Peacock on Tuesday, June 3 at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT). You can tune into the rest of the season on an almost daily basis, as episodes drop every day outside of Wednesdays. The last season had a total of 37 episodes.

Peacock offers a subscription with ads called Peacock Premium and a mostly ad-free version called Premium Plus. Peacock Premium runs $8 a month or $80 a year paid in full and Premium Plus runs $14 a month or $140 a year. paid in full The ability to download titles and watch your local NBC channel are perks that are exclusive to Premium Plus.

Read more: Stream a Whole Year of Peacock for $25 Right Now

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S25 Edge – measuring only 5.8mm, it is the thinnest smartphone in years. In fact, no other phone released in the 2020s has dipped under 6mm thick. This doesn’t come cheap, of course – here’s a detailed price breakdown. Is the Edge just the phone you’ve been waiting for or is Samsung trying to force a gimmick that won’t catch on?

If you’re leaning towards the former, you’ll be glad to hear that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge impresses with more than just being thin – it’s also very light. It weighs a single gram more than the vanilla Galaxy S25, despite the large disparity in screen size (6.7” vs. 6.2”). And it packs a 200MP sensor in the main camera, something previously exclusive to Ultra models.

There are downsides, of course, like the battery capacity – it’s smaller than the vanilla S25 (3,900mAh vs. 4,000mAh). And it has the same slow charging (25W wired, 15W wireless). There’s no telephoto camera, it relies on the 200MP unit for zooming in. And finally, it is expensive. Samsung.com offers a free storage upgrade, as does Amazon – Amazon also adds a $50 gift card.

As usual, offers on older models dry up for a week or two when a new model launches. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra can be found with a free storage upgrade to 512GB from Samsung.com, Amazon has the lower price by about $100. The Ultra is chunkier (8.2mm, 218g vs. 5.8mm, 163g), but it also has a larger display (6.9”) and battery (5,000mAh) with faster wired charging (45W).

And the 200MP camera isn’t alone when it comes to zooming in – there’s a 10MP 3x (67mm) medium tele and a 50MP 5x (111mm) long tele. It also has a 50MP ultra-wide camera, while the Edge has a basic 12MP unit like the vanilla and plus models.

There’s talk that the Edge will replace the Plus model in the Galaxy S lineup next year. This year, however, the Galaxy S25+ is a bit cheaper – even without a discount. If you want an S25+, we’d advise you to wait a week or two. The phone is bigger (7.3mm, 190g vs. 5.8mm, 163g) despite having the same screen size. However, it has a 1,000mAh bigger battery (4,900mAh) and faster 45W wired charging. Instead of a 200MP camera, it has a 50MP main and a 10MP 3x (67mm) telephoto.

While it’s razor thin, the S25 Edge is still 75.6mm wide. The vanilla Samsung Galaxy S25 is 70.5mm wide and weighs the same. Which phone is “smaller” in your mind? If it’s the S25, you get pretty much the same hardware as the S25+, except for the 6.2” display and the 4,000mAh battery (essentially the same size as Edge).

Looking at other brands, the OnePlus 13 is close in size to the Ultra. But it packs a large 6.82” display and a 6,000mAh battery – Samsung still hasn’t gotten above 5,000mAh. And this is with fast 80W wired and 50W wireless charging too. The cameras are a 50MP main, backed by a 50MP 3x (73mm) and 50MP ultra-wide, all for over $100 less than the Edge.

There’s also the more affordable OnePlus 13R – it uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip instead of the 8 Elite, its tele camera has a 2x lens (47mm) and the ultra-wide is only an 8MP unit. There are a few other downgrades, but you still get a 6.78” LTPO panel (1264p+ vs. 1440p+) and a 6,000mAh battery (80W wired-only charging). More details in our OnePlus 13 vs. 13R comparison article. All this for half the price of the Edge – as long as you are okay with the 8mm and 206g dimensions, of course.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is another phone that competes with the Ultra rather than the Edge. It measures 8.5mm thick and weighs 221g with a 6.8” display and a 5,060mAh battery (37W/23W charging). It has a 50MP main, 48MP 5x (113mm) and 48MP ultra-wide cameras.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro is 72mm wide – not as small as the S25 and quite heavy too at 199g. But you get the same hardware as the Pro XL, except for the 6.3” display and 4,700mAh battery (27W/21W).

The RedMagic 10 Air launched a month ago and it’s in the same price bracket as the OnePlus 13R. It uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, without the active cooling fan that is a trademark for the brand. Its 6.8” display is not an LTPO panel and the 50+50MP cameras are wide and ultra-wide, there’s no telephoto on board. You get the same battery (6,000mAh, 80W wired-only charging) in a body that’s a bit bigger.

The RedMagic 10 Pro is $150 more than the Air, but you get the Snapdragon 8 Elite with active cooling and a larger 7,050mAh battery. Also, the USB-C port is USB 3.2 with DisplayPort and you get a 3.5mm headphone jack if you like using external displays and/or wired headphones. The fan and battery do add some bulk, though, the Pro measures 8.9mm and 229g.

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This week, Sony and Samsung unveiled their anticipated premium phones – the Xperia 1 VII and the Galaxy S25 Edge.

The Xperia 1 VII is very much a refinement of a familiar formula Sony obviously likes – it has a 6.5-inch display, a triple camera on the back, and a 5,000mAh battery built-in. It also still has a 3.5mm audio jack (a high-end one) and a microSD slot. The Xperia 1 VII will ship in June, price is £1,399/€1,499.

The Galaxy S25 Edge is 5.8mm thin, weighs 163g, yet has a 6.7-inch QHD+ display. The catch? It has a smaller 3,900mAh battery (compared to the S25+, which has a 6.7-inch screen and a 4,900mAh battery) and only two cameras on the back – the 200MP main unit, and an ultrawide. The Galaxy S25 Edge will ship on May 30, priced from €1,250.

Speaking of prices, Nothing CEO Carl Pei revealed that the Phone (3) will cost around £800 – That’s approximately €951, $1,063, and INR 90,500 at the current exchange rates.

The international Realme GT 7 will have a 7,000mAh battery (not the 7,200mAh of the Chinese model), and will charge at 120W (100W on the Chinese model).

The OnePlus Pad 2 Pro is now official – it has a 13.2-inch 144Hz LCD, a 12,140mAh battery with 67W charging, and a Snapdragon 8 Elite with up to 16GB of RAM. It’s on sale in China for now.

MediaTek unveiled the Dimensity 9400e, which will power the Realme GT 7. The 9400e sits below the 9400 and the 9400+ models, and is essentially a rebranded 9300+ from last year with minor changes.

The Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro, launching soon in China, was rumored to have the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC at the helm. Well, that rumor has turned out to be true since Xiaomi has confirmed that the Civi 5 Pro will be powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip.

Additionally, Xiaomi confirmed that the Civi 5 Pro will be fueled by a 6,000 mAh battery and pack a 6.55″ screen. Xiaomi said the Civi 5 Pro will be 7.45mm thin, but didn’t reveal its weight.

Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro’s processor, battery capacity, and screen size confirmed

Previously, Xiaomi confirmed that the Civi 5 Pro would feature a trio of Leica-powered 50MP cameras on the rear.

Xiaomi hasn’t announced the Civi 5 Pro’s launch date yet, but expect the brand to reveal that and a few more features of the smartphone in the coming days.

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