Apple sold seven of the ten best-selling smartphones globally in 2025, a lopsided dominance that underscores how thoroughly the company controls the premium end of the mobile market.

The iPhone 16 was the single best-selling phone worldwide, and Apple’s presence extended all the way down to the tenth spot where the iPhone 16e — its newest budget-friendly option — found consistent demand in Japan and the U.S., according to Counterpoint.

Samsung accounted for the remaining three positions, led by the Galaxy A16 5G as the best-selling Android device of the year. The Galaxy S25 Ultra also made the cut, marking the second straight year a Samsung flagship cracked the top ten. Together these ten phones from just two companies represented 19% of all smartphones sold during the year, continuing a four-year streak of Apple-Samsung exclusivity at the top.

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Yesterday afternoon, following the end of trading on Wall Street for the day, Tesla published its financial results for 2025. They weren’t particularly good: Profits were almost halved, and revenues declined year on year for the first time in the company’s history. The reasons for the company’s troubles are myriad. CEO Elon Musk’s bankrolling of right-wing politics and promotion of AI-generated revenge porn deepfakes and CSAM has alienated plenty of potential customers. For those who either don’t know or don’t care about that stuff, there’s still the problem of a tiny and aging model line-up, with large question marks over safety and reliability. Soon, that tiny line-up will be even smaller.

The news emerged during Tesla’s call with investors last night. As Ars and others have observed, in recent years Musk appears to have grown bored with the prosaic business of running a profitable car company. Silicon Valley stopped finding that stuff sexy years ago, and no other electric vehicle startup has been able to generate a value within an order of magnitude of the amount that Tesla has been determined to be worth by investors.

Musk’s attention first turned away from building and selling cars to the goal of autonomous driving, spurred on at the time by splashy headlines garnered by Google spinoff Waymo. Combined with ride-hailing—a huge IPO by Uber took the spotlight off Tesla long enough for it to become a new business focus for the automaker too—Musk told adoring fans and investors that soon their cars would become appreciating assets that earned money for them at night. And as intermediary, Tesla would take a hefty cut for connecting rider and ridee.

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A 77-inch OLED dipping below $1,500 doesn’t happen often. Seeing it at $1,419.99 is even rarer. That price beats the lowest tracked deal for the Samsung S85F and lands well under Amazon’s current $1,597.99 listing. This Woot deal is for a factory-reconditioned unit. In exchange, you get a 90-day Samsung warranty and free standard shipping if you’re a Prime member, while non-members pay an extra $6. The deal is live for two days or until stock runs out.

Samsung OLED S85F 4K Samsung Vision AI Smart TV

$1,419.99
at Woot

$1,597.99
Save $178.00

$1,419.99
at Woot

$1,597.99
Save $178.00

The Samsung S85F is positioned as the company’s entry-level OLED, replacing the 2024 S85D and sitting just below the S90F and S95F in the lineup. It skips the newer AI-powered processor used in pricier models (which mostly affects how aggressively it handles upscaling and HDR tone mapping), but you’re still getting Samsung’s 2025 Tizen OS with all the essentials—built-in voice assistant, casting support, and a responsive UI. As for connectivity, all four HDMI ports support 4K at 120Hz with Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), making this a legitimate option for PS5 and Xbox Series X users. It doesn’t support Dolby Vision HDR, as is typical of a Samsung TV, but it does handle HDR10+, which offers similar dynamic range improvements.

The WOLED panel plays to OLED’s strengths in darker rooms. Blacks look genuinely black, colors pop without looking artificial, and the viewing angle stays consistent even when you’re sitting off to the side. Reflection handling is solid, so overhead lights aren’t a dealbreaker, though black levels lift noticeably in brighter spaces. For mixed use, like movies at night, gaming sessions, and casual daytime watching, it performs well. If you’re comfortable with the reconditioned aspect and don’t need extreme brightness, this is a practical way to get a massive OLED without the usual price shock.

Illinois lawmakers plan to introduce a climate change superfund bill in the state legislature this session, the latest in a growing number of states seeking to make fossil fuel companies pay up for the fast-growing financial fallout of climate change.

As the costs of global warming rise—in the form of home insurance premiums, utility bills, health expenses, and record-breaking damages from extreme weather—local advocates are increasingly pushing states to require that fossil fuel companies contribute to climate “superfunds” that would support mitigation and adaptation.

Illinois State Rep. Robyn Gabel, who will introduce the bill in the House, said she is motivated by the growing threat of flooding and heat waves in the state.

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The JBL Flip 7 is currently $84.95 at Woot, down from its usual $149.95. That undercuts the previous low of $99.95 and, according to price trackers, makes this the cheapest it has ever been. This deal runs for the next two days or until it’s sold out, whichever comes first. Prime members get free standard shipping, while non-members pay $6.

JBL Flip 7 speaker

$84.95
at Woot

$149.95
Save $65.00

$84.95
at Woot

$149.95
Save $65.00

The Flip line has always been about portable, durable speakers that are easy to toss in a bag and good enough for everyday listening, and the Flip 7 sticks to that formula. It doesn’t look all that different from its predecessor, with the same compact, water-bottle shape, but the build quality has been beefed up. You now get a tougher rubber bumper system that can survive a one-meter drop onto concrete, and the IP68 rating makes it completely dust-proof and safe to dunk in water. The old loop has also been replaced with a built-in carabiner, which feels like a small but meaningful fix if you’re outdoorsy. JBL’s added flexibility under the hood, too. You get Bluetooth 5.4, Auracast support, and USB-C audio input (if you don’t want to rely solely on Bluetooth) for high-res streaming. That said, there’s no microphone for calls and no auxiliary input, and Bluetooth is limited to the basic SBC codec. 

Sound-wise, the Flip 7 holds up well for a portable speaker this size, with a 25W woofer and 10W tweeter delivering surprisingly full audio. It won’t blow out a backyard party, and if you push the volume past 70%, it gets noticeably sharp, as highlighted by this PCMag review. You’ll want to stick to moderate volume or pair it with another speaker for a more balanced, less fatiguing listening experience. Battery life is rated at 14 hours, or up to 16 with Playtime Boost enabled (though you’ll lose some bass in exchange for the extra juice). For anyone after a rugged, great-sounding, truly portable speaker at a steep discount, this is a tough package to beat.

Android smartphone maker Nothing won’t release a Phone 4 this year, the company’s founder and chief executive said, and that the 2025 Phone 3 will remain the brand’s flagship device throughout 2026.

“We’re not just going to churn out a new flagship every year for the sake of it, we want every upgrade to feel significant,” Carl Pei said in a video. “Just because the rest of the industry does things a certain way it doesn’t mean we will do the same.”

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