STACK #244 February 2025

CONTENTS

ISSUE 244 FEB

TECH 6 Tech tips 8-9 Samsung's S25 smartphone series unpacked 10 Slip on the Samsung Galaxy Ring 12 Back to uni shopping tips 14-16 Back to Uni: Laptops 18 Back to Uni: Microsoft 365 Copilot 20 Back to Uni: Chromebooks 22 Back to Uni: Tablets 24 Back to Uni: Portable monitors 26-28 Back to Uni: Essential accessories 30 Back to Uni: Party speakers 32-34 Portable payment solutions 36 DJI Flip drone review 38-44 The best and weirdest new tech at CES 2025 46 Curling made easy with the Dyson Airwrap i.d. 48 New tech at JB this month FLIP MAG AND READ FROM BACK 4 Take 5/Chart/Q5/ Wham, bam, game exam! 6 Let's Go! Checking out the Lenovo Legion Go S 8 Kingdom Come: Deliverance II interview 10 Civilization VII Q+A 12 Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii/ Monster Hunter Wilds 14-16 New games heading our way in 2025 18 Out this month/Editor's pick MOVIES & TV 20 Intro/Take 5/Filmmaker’s Signature 21 Merch of the Month/Charts/Socials 22 Wicked : Something Wicked this way comes 24 Saturday Night / The Last Breath 26 Smile 2 / Venom: The Last Dance 28 Juror #2 / Megalopolis 30 Piece by Piece / The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon - Season 2 31 Heretic : Hugh Grant’s villain era 32 Bob J: Looking back at Spielberg’s Duel 34 New from Imprint Films/New to 4K 36 Out this month/Editor’s pick 37 The latest anime MUSIC 38 My first album/ STACK Exchange 40 GNX is Kendrick Lamar’s latest long player and The Weeknd returns with Hurry Up Tomorrow . 42 New music from Tate McRae and Inhaler. 44 Sharon Van Etten releases her seventh studio album, while UK rocker Sam Fender is back with People Watching . 46-47 What’s gracing the shelves this month at JB 48 Vital Vinyl – Two early Capitol Records Beatles albums and Skyhooks' classic, Living in the 70’s . 50 Rock ‘n’ roll stories with Stuart Coupe. GAMING

2025

Samsung Unpacked is one of the major events on the tech calendar, with smartphone enthusiasts champing at the bit to get their hands on the South Korean electronics giant’s latest offerings. The first Unpacked for 2025 didn’t disappoint them, with the unveiling of the much-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S25 series raising the bar for premium smartphones. AI is the current tech buzzword, so it wasn’t surprising that exciting upgrades to Samsung’s Galaxy AI would be on the agenda, namely creating a more personalised experience for its users. The Galaxy S25 series is more than just a smartphone upgrade – it ushers in the future of AI, and Samsung’s partnership with Google’s Gemini could well redefine mobile computing as we know it. February is certainly a massive month for all things Samsung, with the long awaited launch of its new fitness wearable, the Galaxy Ring. Packed with all the health and sleep tracking features you expect from a smartwatch, the point of difference here is its more discreet form factor, providing accurate 24/7 monitoring literally at your fingertip. Paul Jones, Editor-in-Chief

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Founder Nic Short Editor-in-Chief Paul Jones Tech Editor Scott Hocking

Music Consultant Mike Glynn Marketing Manager Fleur Parker Chief Contributors Gill Pringle, Bob Jones Contributors Jeff Jenkins, Billy Pinnell, Bec Summer, Dan Nicholson, Michael Irving, Stuart Coupe, Trista McConville, James O’Connor, Michael Caverzan

Social Media Manager Glenn Cochrane Production Manager Craig Patterson

Games & Online Editor Amy Flower Movie & TV Editor Glenn Cochrane Creative Director Gary Siewert Movies Consultant Kerrie Taylor Games Consultant Sachi Fernando

Correspondence STACK editor@stack.com.au

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General

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FEBRUARY 2025

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