TechRadar News

• Firmware 2.0 for Nikon's Zf full-frame mirrorless is now available for download
• Adds a raft of free improvements including bird subject detection for autofocus
• We called Zf a "retro delight" in our September 2023 review

Nikon has unleashed its first major firmware update for the Nikon Zf full-frame mirrorless camera, adding new functions inherited from other models like the Nikon Z9 flagship and Nikon Z6 III.

The 2.0 firmware update ushers in four major features. The first is a new dedicated bird subject recognition mode for autofocus. Previously, users attempting to shoot birds would have to rely on the Zf’s Animal or Auto modes, and the new mode should vastly improve accuracy and speed of autofocus and tracking performance compared to these.

While we don’t think many dedicated wildlife photographers would have bought the retro-styled Zf with bird shooting prominent in their plans (it’s more suited to travel or street photography, perhaps) it’s definitely a handy feature to have in its locker.

The second major upgrade is added support for Nikon’s Hi-Res Zoom video mode. Introduced with the Nikon Z9, this mode is available when shooting 1080p video, and allows users to zoom in by up to 2x on a subject digitally with no loss of resolution – because a full 1080p resolution section of the image sensor is still being used. It’s definitely an upgrade on standard, lossy digital zoom.

(Image credit: Future) A boost for manual focus users

Thirdly, there’s a treat for those who like using manual focus lenses with their Zf: an improvement of the focus magnification feature. Its maximum magnification has been increased to 400% from its previous 200% limit and users can now remove it from the display or viewfinder by half-pressing the shutter button, which will allow them to see the entire composition of their shot.

Those using manual shooting will now also be able to adjust ISO and exposure compensation using the command dials, and manually record the aperture setting when using a lens that won’t ordinarily communicate with the Zf.

Finally, there’s now support for Nikon Imaging Cloud, which means Zf users will now be able to automatically upload images directly from the camera to the company’s cloud storage via Wi-Fi. It’ll even work with third-party cloud services such as Lightroom or Google Drive, pushing uploads directly and automatically to your preferred platform. Additionally, Nikon Imaging Cloud can be used to keep firmware updated to the latest version and to access and download extra color profiles, including creator recipes.

The 2.0 firmware update all sounds like a potential game-changing set of features for users of the Zf, and it’s available to download for free right now from Nikon’s website. Have you tried it yet? If so, we’re eager to know your thoughts in the comments below.

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• Russia's Roskomnadzor issued 212 VPN blocking orders against Google Play between March and April 2025
• Out of these targeted VPNs, only 6 apps are unavailable on the country's app store
• In contrast, Apple was found to have killed at least 60 VPN apps in 2024 alone upon Roskomnadzor's request

Russia's censor body Roskomnadzor issued 212 VPN blocking orders against Google between March and April 2025. Among these, however, only 6 apps appeared to have been removed so far, bringing the total of unavailable VPN services on Russia's Google Play Store to 53.

Russian investigative journalist Maria Kolomychenko first discovered that Google received at least 47 VPN removal orders of some of the best VPN apps starting on March 12. After this revelation, researchers at GreatFire’s AppCensorship Project began to analyze the availability of 399 VPN apps, unveiling that Roskomnadzor actually targeted 212 VPN-like tools.

GreatFire's findings show an escalation in the Kremlin's war on VPNs. Unlike Apple, however, which killed at least 60 VPN apps upon Roskomnadzor's request in 2024 alone, Google appears to have resisted most Russian VPN blocking requests so far.

214 removal requests targeting 212 VPNs

Roskomnadzor's fight against VPN apps is certainly nothing new. Yet, as GreatFire’s Campaign and Advocacy Director, Benjamin Ismail, puts it: "The Russian government is waging an all-out war on VPNs and all other tools enabling Russian citizens to bypass censorship and surveillance."

Specifically, GreatFire recorded a total of 214 removal orders issued against Google between March 12 and April 1, 2025. Among these, 212 targeted virtual private network (VPN) and similar apps like VPN client and proxy tools.

Several of these requests were issued under a law enforced in March last year, which criminalizes the spread of information about ways to circumvent internet restrictions – VPNs included. Nonetheless, using a VPN isn't a crime in Russia.

As mentioned earlier, Google appears to have largely resisted Russia's censorship demands so far. GreatFire found, in fact, that only 6 of the VPNs targeted by the last wave of Roskomnadzor requests are currently unavailable in the Play Store. These include the popular service ExpressVPN.

A total of 53 VPN services were found to be unavailable on Russia's Google Play Store. These include the likes of NordVPN, CyberGhost, Private Internet Access (PIA), and Astrill VPN.

Popular apps like Proton VPN, Mullvad, and Amnezia VPN remain accessible via the Google Play stores in the country at the time of writing.

As of September 16, 2024, GreatFire found a total of 98 VPN apps were unavailable from the Russia's App Store, showing Apple's higher compliance rate with removal requests. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Interestingly, though, researchers found some inconsistencies with Roskomnadzor’s own takedown requests, which in several cases targeted VPN apps that had already been removed.

ExpressVPN is an example of that, as it appears to have been unavailable on Russia's Google Play at least since sometime between March and September 2024.

Another challenge is to determine when an app got removed as well as the exact reason behind its unavailability. For instance, Avast VPN confirmed in a blog post the company's decision to cease its operation in Russia following the Ukraine war. More developers may have also been pressured by the government to leave the country's app stores.

Yet, according to Ismail, this doesn't mean censorship is absent.

He told TechRadar: "Self-censorship is still censorship: it’s just a more indirect, systemic form, rather than a formal takedown. And if, in the end, it was the developer’s sole decision to take down the app as part of a broader withdrawal from the Russian market, we regret such a choice."

AppCensorship is now calling for greater independent oversight and transparency from tech platforms.

You can check the full list of unavailable VPNs on Google Play here. If you're in Russia and struggling to download your desired VPN, we recommend changing your app store location or, on Android, finding alternative sideloading options.

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Fans of action horror series are having fun with The Bondsman, which is currently Prime Video's most popular show in the US at the time of writing.

It's the tale of a backwoods bounty hunter (Kevin Bacon) who unexpectedly finds himself dead – and then even more unexpectedly finds himself alive again. That means he's got a second chance at live and love, but the Devil himself has got other ideas.

If you like your shows with a bit of silliness amid the action, The Bondsman definitely delivers. And if you're looking for more quirky shows to stream on Prime Video, these three are well worth watching.

Ash vs Evil Dead

• RT rating: 99%
• Where to watch: Prime Video (US), Netflix (Australia)

Evil Dead 2 is one of my very favorite films, a gloriously gory, spooky and silly horror classic that’s delighted generations of film fans. The TV spin-off is true to the original movies, with Bruce Campbell reprising his role as the undead's worst enemy.

As the Sydney Morning Herald explained, "If you're a fan of the mixed-genre genre, this is a cracker, and aficionados of Sam Raimi​'s original films will love revisiting tropes, touchstones and Raimi's distinctive style. This also works perfectly well for newbies, though."

And the LA Times urged readers to "praise Bruce Campbell, the strong-chinned star". The show "splendidly, even triumphantly converts the comedy-horror movie franchise into a TV series."

Preacher

• RT rating: 92% (season 3)
• Where to watch: Prime Video (US)

I watched Preacher with my teen, and I think that makes me one of the world's worst parents: this live-action comic book caper is incredibly violent, deeply damaged and gratuitously horrible. And I mean all of that as a compliment.

It's a flawed show for sure, but it's wickedly funny and keeps turning a dial marked "too much?" ever higher; if you like the gross-out moments of The Boys, you'll love this.

As The Straits Times explains, "It is an eccentric blend of existentially charged science fiction, the supernatural, action, comedy and drama, and spiced up with some very graphic violence and grotesque special effects."

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

• RT rating: 100% (Season 2)
• Where to watch: Prime Video (US), Netflix (UK and AU)

From the mind of Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy author Douglas Adams, this quirky adventure "is a whirlwind of time traveling madness, beautiful friendships with a dash of a secret government conspiracy added in for good measure," says The Digital Fix.

"The series is Sherlock suffused with the DNA of Twin Peaks, Lost and Benny Hill," the Boston Herald raved. "This is a delightful, addictive show."

It's a very loose adaptation of the original novels, Den of Geek says, but it's "a freewheeling comedy-thriller, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is agreeably daft entertainment". And the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said "It's dark and funny and appalling and sad and silly, and very much its own thing."

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One $100 billion technology company is probably looking at the current chaos caused by President Trump’s tariffs with a serene, detached view. Huawei.

The firm was blocked from the US market in 2019, during the first term of the current President, and has had to adjust, losing out on its biggest market outside of mainland China.

The Executive Order prevented Huawei from working with US companies, both in B2C and in B2B, forcing major US networks to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on replacing networking kit from the Chinese company.

The EO was not removed by the next incumbent US president, Joe Biden, effectively making it permanent.

Fast forward to 2025, and Huawei is in good shape. Necessity is the mother of all inventions, the saying goes, and Huawei has had to adapt fast or risk becoming a footnote, having to literally fight for its survival.

It acted rapidly and decisively. In 2020, it sold its smartphone unit, Honor, to a Chinese consortium and has invested massively in research and development (R&D).

It is supremely ironic that its latest annual report, issued on the 31st of March 2025, just days before the current market turmoil, shows that Huawei revenues are almost back to their 2020 peak.

Yes, net profit fell 28%, but that was because the company is doubling down on R&D, a sector to which it dedicated more than 20% of its revenue, or almost $25 billion. Altogether, since 2014, it has spent more than $170 billion on R&D.

“What doesn’t kill you make you stronger”

As of December 2023, Huawei had more than 140,000 active patents and had filed more than 3,000 patents in the US in 2024, a 44% growth compared to the year before, a bigger number and a faster rate of growth than Apple, IBM, or Alphabet, Google’s parent company.

Huawei focused on developing its homegrown ecosystem, like Microsoft, Google, and Apple. Its Ascend compute platform and HarmonyOS operating systems are now used on hundreds of millions of devices in China and, most importantly, around the world.

It has succeeded where even the mighty Microsoft failed, singlehandedly creating and maintaining a third OS outside of the current US-centric duopoly of iOS and Android.

Its Kunpeng server CPU range and Ascend AI chips are gradually lessening the US's hegemony on computer hardware in mainland China.

And that’s notwithstanding the role HiSilicon, another of its subsidiaries, is playing in the push to develop RISC-V as an alternative to both x86 and Arm (a move that’s not without controversy).

Given the current speculations that US President Trump may impose additional tariffs on China, essentially making it even more difficult to do business with the world’s second biggest market, Chinese companies may contemplate eliminating the US market from their business plans.

Using Huawei’s experience as a playbook wouldn’t be a bad place to start for whoever wants to take that perilous path.

A common proverb in China is if you endure the bitterest of bitterness, only then will you become a person above others (thanks Google Gemini).

Sometimes, short-term pains, however harsh they are, is the only viable gateway to long-term gain.

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• Wicresoft has stopped handling Microsoft-related work
• Previously, it served as an important JV for Microsoft in China
• An estimated 2,000 workers have lost their jobs as a result

Wicresoft, Microsoft’s joint venture that allows the firm to sell products and services in China, is reportedly halting projects and laying off workers, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

The decision was communicated via email to Wicresoft’s Shanghai-based workers, who were told that work related to Microsoft “will be terminated” owing to “geopolitical shifts and changes in the global business environment.”

It’s believed that around 2,000 workers will lose their jobs as a result of the changes in a big blow not just to workers but to Microsoft’s presence in the region.

Wicresoft is pulling out of certain Microsoft-related work

The SCMP said that Microsoft-related work comprises most of Wicresoft’s business, citing a worker affected by the change. The publication also noted that workers had been seen leaving the offices with their belongings.

Microsoft remains a major shareholder in the company, accounting for 22% of ownership. A Shanghai-listed firm and a state-owned venture capital firm both own 23% each of Wicresoft. The joint venture operates in around 20 cities across China, including Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, but globally, it employs around 10,000 workers.

Microsoft said rumors that it was shutting down operations in China were inaccurate (via Reuters), however Redmond did recently shut down its IoT and AI Insider Lab in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park. Moreover, the move reflects a broader trend of US-China tech decoupling, largely brought on by the escalating trade tensions and reciprocal tariffs.

Moreover, the scale down of operations raises questions on how Microsoft will service its Chinese customers going forward, with a fairly significant chunk of its footprint gone.

TechRadar Pro has asked Microsoft for more information, but the company did not immediately respond.

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Google loves to integrate its services and that’s more than evident when you start getting to grips with apps in Gemini. There are a good number of apps at your fingertips, a list of which will appear whenever you type @ and they extend the capabilities of the AI platform by offering targeted features – so long as you allow them to connect with your personal information and make use of content.

Apps can be used in Gemini for Android, iOS and iPadOS. You can also make use of them by going to the Gemini website in a browser. They mean you don’t need to keep hopping out of Gemini to make use of various services. Want to listen to songs? Connect YouTube Music. Want to control your smart home appliances? Google Home is there for you.

But we think there are even better apps than those, which is why we’ve decided to go into greater depth with our top five. I use them all the time now, and it may well change the way you use Gemini in the future.

Google Maps

I actually find it’s easier and more convenient to type "@googlemaps" and a request within Gemini than it is to use the Google Maps app itself.

With a simple prompt such as “give me directions to” or “what’s near [a location]”, I can get answers at lightning speed and then switch back to Gemini without missing a beat to ask for more information such as what’s in a specific art gallery or whether there are any roadworks on the way.

When I do use the Google Maps app itself, though, I’m still benefiting. By typing “things to do with kids during the day”, for example, the app is generating great ideas curated with Gemini and by asking questions of specific destinations, I’m getting relevant answers. It’s a great example of AI working well.

Google Flights

(Image credit: Future)

With Summer on the way and vacations very much on the agenda, Google Flights is coming into its own just now. Just type "@ Google Flights" to access it from within Gemini.

You can be quite specific, for example stating that you want to fly direct from New York to Orlando in a stated month, departing in the morning if possible and at the best possible prices.

It will then give you some direct morning flights and list the prices and times. A clickable window will also appear showing results from Google Flights with even more information. This will allow you to get even more information and select the most desirable flight.

Again, you can switch easily between Flights and Gemini, so you can get the AI to produce a seven-day itinerary if you wish and to suggest accommodation according to the type you’d like and the approximate budget per night. You can even create a Gemini Gem to work as a trip planner – try something like, “you’re an expert trip planner and you need to remember that I’m going to such a place in May at such a time” and so on. Future answers will be based around that.

Google Workspace

(Image credit: Pexels / Olia Danilevich)

Gemini features are available in the Google Workspace suite of office software and that includes Gmail. Docs, Sheets and Slides. It allows users to summarize, draft and search for information across the suite and make use of Gemini Advanced chat for more complex tasks.

To use it within Gemini, you can just type @gmail, @google calendar, @google docs, @google drive, @google keep, @google tasks or @workspace.

For example, type "@Google Calendar when am I free on Friday?"

If you encounter an error, it’ll be because you haven’t allowed Google Workspace to use your content and activity to personalize your experience but if you go to an app such as Gmail and select your Settings, you can rectify that if you select Manage Workspace smart feature settings and then turn on Smart features in Google Workspace. You’ll be prompted to connect your Workspace.

You can also do the same for smart features in other Google Products so you get a fuller experience with Gemini – as well as seeing events from Gmail in Calendar and personalized search, you’ll get suggested tickets in Wallet and takeaway orders in Maps.

OpenStax

Based at Rice University, OpenStax is the world’s largest nonprofit publisher of open educational resources and it allows users to dive into dozens of openly licensed, peer reviewed academic textbooks. You can just ask a question such as “@openstax describes the structure of a neuron” and it will find the relevant work and pull out the description.

The good thing is that you know the source of a respected one and that you’re going to be getting an accurate answer. Given how much misinformation is out there right now, this is really important and it’s a great app for Gemini to have.

YouTube

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Mamun_Sheikh)

The benefit of Google owning both Gemini and YouTube is that you can get much more out of the platform’s videos. You can, for example, search for videos, channels and playlists from a Gemini chat and play videos from within a Gemini chat.

Just type "@Youtube" followed by your query. So, "@YouTube Find me a video showing how to unblock a sink", for example.

But what’s even more magical is that you can ask questions about those videos.

If a video is instructional, try asking for a step-by-step breakdown of what’s being discussed. The Gemini app will effectively watch the video for you if you ask it to (just give it the URL) and provide an overview.

Being able to summarize videos like this is a real time-saver and it cuts out the hassle of working out if a video is going to be worth viewing.

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• A new 'unsubscribe' button has been spotted in Google Messages
• This gives you an easy way to unsubscribe from automated messages
• You can also use it to report spam

If you’re finding yourself inundated with unwanted messages from businesses or other spam, then a new Google Messages tool could come in handy.

Android Authority has spotted that a new option has started appearing at the bottom of some messages, saying “unsubscribe to stop receiving messages.” Tap this, and you’ll be presented with options asking why you want to unsubscribe, with the choices being “not signed up”, “too many messages”, “no longer interested”, “spam”, or “other”.

If you select any of the first three then the message “STOP” will automatically be sent, while if you select “other” there’s a box where you can fill in more details before sending the “STOP” message, and if you select “spam” then you’ll additionally have the option to report the sender.

(Image credit: Google / Android Authority)

Once you’ve completed the unsubscribe process, the text “unsubscribe request sent” will appear underneath the “STOP” message, and a “Start” button will be visible in the bottom right, which you can use to resubscribe to automated texts from that sender.

Simply send 'STOP'

So it’s a fairly comprehensive system, though since most of the time all it really does is send the word “STOP” it’s not necessarily any quicker than typing that out yourself. The main point seems to be to make it easier for people to unsubscribe when they don’t realize they can do that though.

This feature is in the process of rolling out, so if you don’t have it yet, keep an eye out, because you probably will do soon – though currently it’s only being rolled out to users in the US, UK, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Mexico, and Spain.

Note also that this feature only works with Google Messages, so if you’re using a different messaging app you’ll have to keep on unsubscribing the old-fashioned way.

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Apple fans are still discovering the new upgrades found in the latest iOS 18.4 software update since it came out last week – and now we’ve had more time to experiment with it, we think it’s safe to say that Apple’s mid-year update is bigger than you might think.

We’ve already drawn your attention to the more obvious iOS 18.4 changes such as the new Apple Intelligence Priority Notifications feature, and are patiently waiting for bigger upgrades like the delayed next-gen Siri. But iOS 18.4 is still a glimmer of hope that hints at better things to come from Apple Intelligence, and the update contains five other handy little features that'll help tide us over for now.

While these new tricks haven’t gone unnoticed, they’re still small enough to easily fly under-the-radar. So in case you missed them, here are five other new features in iOS 18.4 that could help change the way you use your iPhone...

1. New Shortcuts actions

(Image credit: Future)

The new upgrades to Shortcuts are small but effective, pointing to the possibility that changes to Siri could be next on Apple’s agenda, since Shortcuts could serve as the foundation for Siri’s upcoming upgrades.

When you go to the Shortcuts app, there’s a new action that allows you to change settings for a number of different Apple apps, including Safari, Apple Maps and Apple News, with each one packing another layer of actions you can perform.

2. Lots of new emojis

(Image credit: Unicode / Emojipedia)

Everyone uses Apple’s extensive keyboard of emojis and iOS 18.4 introduces eight new emojis to brighten up your texts and social media captions. It’s a very minor upgrade, but new emojis are always exciting.

Out of all of the newest additions to Apple’s emoji gallery, which includes a new fingerprint, harp, and funky splatter emoji, one has already proven itself to be the next most-used emoji - the new smiley with sinking, under-eye bags. Relatable? I think so.

3. Ambient Music

(Image credit: Future)

One of the more well-known, but easily missed, additions to iOS 18.4 is the expansion of Apple’s existing Background Sounds function.

The Ambient Sounds feature packs four different playlists – Chill, Sleep, Productivity, and Wellbeing. Perfect if you rely on instrumental music for studying, working, or relaxing.

To use it, just add the Ambient Music icon to your Control Center during customization, then choose your relaxing playlist.

4. Apple Photos improvements

(Image credit: Future)

iOS 18.4 is doubling down on organizational tools, bringing a shed load of new improvements to the Photos app.

For starters, you’ll have the freedom to enable and disable your ‘Recently Viewed’ and ‘Recently Shared’ galleries, as well as two new filtering options, ‘Shared With You’ and ‘Not in an Album’, saving you having to scroll for ages trying to find a specific photo.

The new Photos functions also include a new album-sorting category ‘Sort by Date Modified’ and the ability to delete or recover photos all at once. It’s a helpful software improvement for iPhone photographers everywhere.

5. Visual Intelligence for iPhone 15 Pro

(Image credit: Apple)

The new Apple Intelligence Priority Notifications are one of iOS 18.4’s most handy new features, but you may have missed that Apple has also added a new Action Button that opens Visual Intelligence. Also, while this feature was previously exclusive to the iPhone 16 range, Apple has now brought it to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max model, too.

In a nutshell, it’s an Apple Intelligence feature that's similar to Google Lens and allows you to take a photo of something in front of you, before finding out more about it. You can get more information using ChatGPT, Google Search or by highlighting any text within the snap.

Although the iPhone 15 Pro doesn’t pack the same Camera Control button like its superior iPhone 16, Visual Intelligence can be accessed through the Control Center or Action Button.

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• New model is an evolution of 2022's Instax Mini 40, adding new features
• Updated design steps away from full retro for a more modern look
• Available from 17 April for £94.99 in the UK, with US pricing TBC

Fujifilm has launched the latest model in its Instax instant camera range. The Instax Mini 41 is a successor to the 2022-released Instax Mini 40, with a similar price, shape and size – but Fujifilm has lavished a number of notable improvements upon this new addition to the series that make it a very tempting buy in the run-up to summer.

The first improvement is with the overall styling and aesthetics. That’s a subjective one, I know, but I find the Mini 41’s sleek modern looks to be a lot more interesting than the strictly retro design of the Mini 40. There are hints of vintage cameras in the Mini 41’s proportions and colors, but the gunmetal grey finish, curved body, finely textured grip material and orange accents feel fresh and fully contemporary.

Despite the looks, the body is made of lightweight plastic. It’s just 12.2oz / 345g in weight (without batteries or film) and 104.5 x 122.5 x 67.5mm in size, making it ideal for taking on day trips and nights out.

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: Fujifilm)Image 2 of 3

(Image credit: Fujifilm)Image 3 of 3

(Image credit: Fujifilm) An end to blown-out highlights?

The other improvements are perhaps more interesting for photography fans, as they should result in better quality shots compared to the Mini 40. First and foremost, the Instax Mini 41’s new automatic exposure function optimizes shutter speed and flash output to compensate for ambient light. I’ve often found that the cheaper Instax cameras like this tend to under- or overexpose images, with the flash often blowing out highlights in close-ups. This should fix that.

And speaking of close-ups, the other major improvement is parallax correction, which helps center subjects shot in close proximity to the lens – a position where centering them in the viewfinder would ordinarily result in an off-center photo.

So, with better design and better photos that are easier to compose, the Mini 41 looks like a major glow-up on its predecessor, and all for the reasonably low price of £94.99 in the UK. A US price has yet to be announced, perhaps due to Fujifilm assessing the ongoing situation with US tariffs before committing to a price. A protective case is also available for £20.99.

You will, of course, need to buy Instax Mini film to use with the camera. These come in a variety of types including monochrome and with different frame styles, and cost around $16 / £14.99 for a pack of 20 exposures.

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If you live somewhere that has poor broadband connectivity, Amazon could soon have the answer: the company is launching a constellation of satellites with the goal of making low-cost internet available worldwide. The initiative is called Project Kuiper and it’s coming sooner than you think – with the first batch of satellites being blasted into space tomorrow on Wednesday April 9.

A competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink, the aim of Project Kuiper is to bring the world online, by offering high-speed connectivity in remote regions. Amazon says it plans to make the service accessible by offering affordable plans and outdoor antennae.

With the first full-scale satellite deployment taking off this week (weather permitting), Amazon is planning to make the service available to customers "later this year". As the race for satellite internet supremacy heats up, here’s everything you need to know about Project Kuiper.

What is Project Kuiper?

• Project Kuiper is a planned satellite internet service from Amazon
• It will use a constellation of thousands of low Earth orbit satellites
• It aims to provide data coverage in remote regions

Project Kuiper is the name for Amazon’s planned satellite internet service. The company intends to offer fast, affordable broadband by launching its own network of thousands of low Earth orbit satellites.

One of the aims of Project Kuiper is to provide internet service in areas of the world which are beyond the reach of “traditional, ground-based fiber and wireless connectivity solutions”. Amazon plans to address these “coverage gaps” by investing heavily in satellite technology.

Amazon began working on Project Kuiper in 2018. It received a license from the FCC in July 2020 to launch and operate satellites. In 2023, two major developments were announced: a processing facility at Kennedy Space Center and a dedicated satellite production facility in Washington (where Project Kuiper is based).

(Image credit: Amazon) How does Project Kuiper work?

• Amazon will initially launch a constellation of 3,232 satellites
• These will orbit lower than traditional geostationary satellites
• Customers connect using terminals installed at home

Project Kuper will use a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites to deliver high-speed internet to users on the ground. Like SpaceX’s rival Starlink system, customers will need to install a small outdoor antenna to connect to the service and communicate with the satellites passing overhead.

Amazon initially plans to launch 3,232 satellites. At around 375 miles above the ground, these orbit much closer to the Earth than traditional geostationary satellites. This results in lower latency and faster data transmission. The constellation is designed to provide global coverage by seamlessly handing off connections between satellites as they orbit.

(Image credit: Amazon)

Both the satellites and antennae rely on a single custom chip developed by Amazon, codenamed “Prometheus”, which handles processing, traffic and point-to-point connectivity.

Amazon will also operate a network of stations on the ground to manage data coverage and traffic, communicate with the satellites and keep them operating correctly.

When will Project Kuiper be available?

• Two prototype satellites launched in 2023
• First full-scale deployment planned for April 2025
• Service rollout scheduled for later in the year

To get its satellites into space, Amazon is working with commercial launch providers such as SpaceX and Blue Origin. It has already secured more than 80 heavy-lift launches, enough to put most of its constellation into orbit.

Amazon launched a pair of prototype satellites in 2023. It’s now ready to begin full deployment of its constellation, with the first batch of 27 satellites set to launch from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday 9 April, aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket.

Amazon hasn’t confirmed when the service will roll out commercially, but confirmed on April 2 that it expects it to be available “later this year”.

How fast will Project Kuiper be?

• Standard antenna will support 400Mbps connectivity
• Low-cost, compact terminal will offer speeds up to 100Mbps
• Largest antenna gives enterprise users 1Gbps speeds

To begin with, Amazon has developed three “customer terminals”, each of which offers different connectivity speeds.

The standard antenna measures less than 11 inches square and is designed for domestic roof-mounting. Amazon claims it will deliver speeds of up to 400Mbps and cost less than $400 (around £320 / AU$633) to produce.

Amazon has also engineered a cheaper, more compact antenna which measures 7 inches square and weighs just 1lb. Designed as a low-cost, portable option, this will be the most affordable way for customers to access the service. It will offer internet speeds of up to 100Mbps.

For enterprise and power users, as well as telecoms and government use, Amazon has created a larger antenna that can deliver connectivity at up to 1Gbps.

(Image credit: Amazon) How much will Project Kuiper cost?

• There's no confirmed pricing yet
• Amazon says it's targeting “affordability”
• Production cost of standard terminal is less than $400

Amazon hasn’t confirmed pricing for Project Kuiper yet. However, the company has made clear that “affordability is a key principle”. The company is taking a similar approach to satellite internet as it did with “low-cost devices like Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick”, with the aim of connecting as many customers as possible around the world.

That’s why it has developed a compact, low-cost antenna, as well as keeping the production cost of its standard terminal below $400.

It’s likely that the service will be accessible as part of a monthly subscription. Amazon has confirmed that the offering and its pricing “may vary from country to country”, just as its Prime membership does currently.

To give you an idea, Starlink's residential plan (with unlimited data) currently starts at $120 / £75 / AU$139 per month, with its on-the-go Roam plan (capped at 50GB data) setting you back $50 / £50 / AU$80 per month, with the unlimited Roam plan costing $165 / £96 / AU$195 per month.

Project Kuiper vs Starlink: how do they compare?

• Both services use low Earth orbit satellites
• Starlink is already operational with more than 7,000 satellites
• Project Kuiper is likely to be more affordable once it’s launched

Both Project Kuiper and Starlink, operated by SpaceX, aim to use satellites to provide high-speed internet connectivity to remote corners of the world. Each system relies on low Earth orbit satellites to achieve low-latency data transmission, with users able to connect the services using a range of terminals.

One key difference is that Starlink is several steps ahead of Project Kuiper. It already has more than 7,000 functioning satellites in orbit. Customers can access its services in countless locations right now by purchasing a Starlink antenna and paying for a subscription. Starlink is also trialling smartphone to satellite connectivity with T-Mobile (below).

(Image credit: Starlink / T-Mobile)

Because it owns its own rockets, SpaceX has more flexibility to deploy Starlink satellites. Amazon has to rely on third-party launch partners, including SpaceX. On the other hand, Amazon is able to rely on its established cloud service network, AWS, to support the backend infrastructure of its satellite network.

While Project Kuiper is still several months away from offering comparable coverage to consumers, it’s likely to be the less expensive option once it’s up and running. Amazon has made clear that it wants its satellite internet service to be affordable, including both antenna hardware and connectivity packages.

We’ll only know how the performance and value of each service compares once we’ve carried out an in-depth review of Project Kuiper. But competition is certainly no bad thing, even if it is between companies run by two of the world's richest men.

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• The data breach that Oracle first denied has now been confirmed
• The company is reaching out to affected customers
• Oracle is facing an alleged lawsuit

Oracle has started notifying customers about the recent data breach at its cloud services.

In early April, a threat actor with the alias “rose87168” opened a new thread on an underground forum to advertise the sale of a database stolen from the company. The database allegedly contained six million records, including private security keys, encrypted credentials, and LDAP entries, all belonging to Oracle customers.

To confirm the authenticity of the information, the hacker even uploaded a new document to the cloud, containing their own email address.

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Lawsuit incoming?

At first, Oracle denied the claims, but later confirmed them. However, it also tried to downplay the importance of the hack, claiming the data was taken from an old, unused server, and that the information found there was eight years old and thus obsolete. However, there might be more to this story.

According to The Register, the data belonging to one of the victims was created in 2024. Another victim (we’re not sure if it’s the same company, or a different one) is preparing to sue Oracle over the incident. The Register also notes that Oracle has reached out to at least two organizations so far.

The investigation is currently ongoing and the details won’t be known until it’s concluded. So far, it seems that the attacker exploited a vulnerability in Oracle Access Manager to breach Oracle-hosted servers. The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2021-35587, and was assigned a critical severity score 9.8/10. It was patched in mid-January, 2022, raising questions over whether Oracle kept its own servers vulnerable to a flaw it fixed more than three years ago.

Cybersecurity experts CrowdStrike are currently analyzing the incident. The FBI was also notified about the attack, Oracle has confirmed.

Via The Register

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• Pixel 9 smartphones now have access to Gemini Live Astra capabilities
• Astra can answer questions related to what you see or what's on your device's screen
• The powerful AI tool is free, and it arrived on Samsung S25 devices yesterday

Google Pixel 9, 9 Pro, and 9a owners just got a huge free Gemini upgrade that adds impressive Astra capabilities to their smartphones.

As we reported yesterday (April 7), Gemini Visual AI capabilities have started to roll out for Samsung S25 devices, and now Pixel 9s are also getting the awesome features.

So what is Gemini Astra? Well, you can now launch Gemini Live and grant it access to your camera, and it can then chat about what you see as well as what's on your smartphone's screen.

Gemini Astra has been hinted at for a long time, and it's immensely exciting to get access to it via a free update.

You should see the option to access Gemini's Astra capabilities from the Gemini Live interface. If you don't have access yet, be patient, as it should be available to all Pixel 9 users in the coming days.

While I don't personally have access to a Google Pixel 9 to test Gemini Live's Astra prowess, my colleague and TechRadar's Senior AI Editor, Graham Barlow, does.

I asked him to test out Gemini Astra and give me his first impressions of the new Pixel 9 AI capabilities, and you can see what he made of it below.

Hands-on impressions with Pixel 9's new Gemini Astra capabilities

Once you’re in Gemini Live you’ll notice two new icons at the bottom of the screen – a camera icon and a screen share icon.

Tap the camera icon and Gemini switches to a camera mode, showing you video of what your phone is looking at, but the Gemini Live icons remain at the bottom of the screen.

There’s also a camera reverse button, so you can get Gemini to look directly at you. I tapped that, and asked Gemini what it thought of my hair, to which it replied that my hair was “a lovely natural brown color”. Gee, thanks Gemini!

I tested Gemini Live with a few objects on my desk – a water bottle, a magazine, and a laptop, all of which it identified correctly and could tell me about. I pointed the phone at the window towards a fairly nondescript car park and asked Gemini which city I was in, and it instantly, and correctly, told me it was Bath, UK, because the architecture was quite distinctive, and there was a lot of greenery.

(Image credit: Future)

Gemini can’t use Google search while going live, so for now it’s great for brainstorming, chatting, coming up with ideas, or simply identifying what you’re looking at.

For example, it could chat with me about Metallica, and successfully identified the Kirk Hammett Funko Pop I’ve got on my desk, but it couldn’t go online and find out how much it would cost to buy.

The screen share icon comes up with a message prompting you to share the screen with Google, then when you say "Share screen" it puts a little Gemini window at the top of the screen that looks like the phone call window you get when you start to use your phone while you’re on a call.

As you start to interact with your phone the window minimizes even further into a tiny red time counter that counts how long you’ve been live for.

You can keep using your phone and talking to Gemini at the same time, so you could ask it, "What am I looking at?", and it will describe what’s on your phone screen, or "Where are my Bluetooth settings?", and it will tell you which parts of the Settings app to look in.

It’s pretty impressive. One thing it can’t do, though, is interact with your phone in any way, so if you ask it to take you to the Bluetooth settings it can’t do it, but it will tell you what to tap to get you there.

Overall I’m impressed by how well Gemini Live works in both of these new modes. We’ve had features like Google Lens that can use your camera like this for a while now, but having it all inside the Gemini app is way more convenient. It’s fast, it bug-free, and it just works.

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• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7: latest news, rumors, and everything we’ve heard so far

• Samsung Korea has shared its rollout plan for One UI 7
• While some devices are getting the update already, others could be waiting until sometime in June
• However, timings may differ in other countries

It has been a long wait for One UI 7 (Samsung’s version of Android 15), and while the update is now rolling out to some devices, others might be waiting months.

This is according to a post on Samsung’s Korean site (via SamMobile), which states that the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition, Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Tab S10 Plus, Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus, and Galaxy S23 Ultra will all get the update in April.

So, if you own one of those devices then you shouldn’t have long to wait. But if you have a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9 Plus, Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, Galaxy S23 FE, Z Fold 3, Z Flip 3, A34, A35, S22, 22 Plus, S22 Ultra, Tab S8, S8 Plus, S8 Ultra, S21, S21 Plus, S21 Ultra, Galaxy A16, Galaxy Quantum 5, or Galaxy Quantum 4, then you’ll apparently have to wait until sometime in May.

Worse still, owners of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE, Tab S9 FE Plus, Galaxy A53, A33, A25, A24, A15, Quantum 3, Jump 3, Jump 2, Buddy 3, Galaxy Tab A9, Tab A9 Plus, Tab Active 5, Tab Active 4 Pro, and Wide 7 will apparently be waiting until sometime in June.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 is first in line for One UI 7 (Image credit: Future | Roland Moore-Colyer) Timings may vary

However, it’s worth noting that this list is specifically for South Korea, so timings may differ a bit elsewhere – and indeed an earlier list from Samsung Czechia did include some differences. So some of these devices may get updated sooner where you are – but it’s not impossible that some may also get updated later.

Whenever you get the One UI 7 update though, it should be worth the wait. New features include the likes of Now Brief, which provides an AI-powered summary of your day ahead, and the Now Bar, which brings important real-time updates from apps to the lock screen, a bit like Live Activities on iOS.

One UI 7 also brings some new camera features, including AI-powered tools like Audio Eraser and Best Face. Though note that not all features will arrive on every device, with some requiring more recent and powerful hardware.

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• New Denon buds have 12mm drivers and a choice of open or ANC models
• Denon AH-C500W open earbuds are £99 / $99 (about AU$208)
• Denon AH-C840NCW ANC earbuds are £159 / $159 (about AU$334)

Denon has announced two pairs of true wireless earbuds; one with an open-ear design for environmental awareness, and one with hybrid active noise cancellation and transparency modes.

The new Denon AH-C500W and Denon AH-C840NCW earbuds come with Bluetooth LE Audio, Auracast and multi-point pairing, and they're both rated IPX4 for water resistance. Both offer strong battery life and feature Denon's 'FreeEdge' 12mm drivers.

These should be very impressive earbuds: we've previously reviewed the AH-C830NCW from 2022 and we really loved the sound quality. Our only major gripe was the "unremarkable" noise cancellation of those ANC buds, and Denon's had three years to work on that to rival the best noise cancelling earbuds.

The AH-C500W earbuds have an open design so you can hear the world around you (Image credit: Denon) Choose your fit

The open earbuds are the Denon AH-C500W, and they promise up to 24 hours of listening time from a single charge with a fast charge adding an extra hour of playback in just 10 minutes. The drivers are 12mm and there are dual microphones in each bud for clear calls.

They're open-ear in the same sense as the AirPods 4 are – they sit just outside the ear canal, with no tip inserted inside (unlike many of the best open earbuds that leave a bigger gap between your ear and the speaker). And then the ANC buds, the AH-C840NCW, are like the AirPods Pro 2 (and most of the best earbuds) in that they're a similar design but with the in-ear isolating tips.

The ANC buds, the AH-C840NCW, use their charging case to deliver battery life of 35 total hours, and they charge faster than their siblings: the extra hour of playback takes just five minutes from flat. There are three eartip sizes included.

The pair have similar designs to the AirPods models referenced above, but have two tempting elements that make them a great alternative. The first is more likely useful for Android users, and it's Bluetooth LE Audio support, which is capable of higher quality and better stability than regular Bluetooth (though support is still thin on the ground). Bluetooth Auracast support is also nice as a future-proofed option.

The other element is the price. The AH-C500W are £99 / $99 (about AU$208) and the AH-C840NCW are £159 / $159 (about AU$334). These are the kinds of prices that AirPods fall to when they hit record-low prices, so by having these as a starting price, Denon has a nice edge. Both sets of buds will be available to buy from 15 April 2025.

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• Another Galaxy S25 Edge price leak has appeared
• The phone could be costlier than the Galaxy S25 Plus
• We might see a full launch sometime next month

It seems clear that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is on the way, but how much is it going to cost? If the latest leak is accurate, the super-slim handset could be the second most expensive phone in the series, just behind the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

This comes from listings on two online retailers, Zanetti and Epto, spotted by 91mobiles. They put the pricing at either €1,361.41 or €1,363.90 for the 256GB version of the Galaxy S25 Edge, and €1,487.99 or €1,490.90 for the 512GB variant.

There's not much point giving you currency conversions for those prices, as they're unlikely to reflect the pricing elsewhere in the world. The main takeaway is that those prices are above the €1,246.99 starting price of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Italy.

That means the Galaxy S25 Edge pricing may well exceed the $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 that you can get the Galaxy S25 Plus for – even if these two retailers disagree about exactly how much money you're going to have to part with for the final S25 phone to launch.

The waiting game

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

This isn't the first time we've heard pricing rumors around the Galaxy S25 Edge. Information that emerged last month pointed to a price somewhere between €1,200 and €1,300, which lines up neatly with what we've heard in this latest leak.

All this is assuming the Galaxy S25 Edge is actually going to see the light of day again. We were given a brief glimpse of it at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked in January, and then again at the MWC 2025 trade show in Barcelona in March.

Since then, there's been talk of technical issues with the phone's production, and the rumored launch date has been pushed back from April 15 (next week) to May 13. Let's hope those issues can be resolved sooner rather than later.

There's lots to look forward to if and when the phone actually does appear. It's rumored to be bringing with it a vapor chamber cooling system, a bundled Gemini Advanced subscription, and impressive internal specs, as well as its ultra-thin chassis.

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• President Trump’s tariffs could lead to higher iPhone prices
• This appears to be causing customers to panic-buy Apple products
• But one analyst report says the rises might not be as bad as feared

Trump’s tariffs are already having an effect, but it’s unlikely to be one that the US President had anticipated. According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple customers are panic-buying iPhones ahead of what they fear could be steep price hikes.

Bloomberg cited “Employees from different Apple locations across the country” who reported that Apple Stores were filled with customers over the past weekend.

These buyers were seeking to snap up iPhones to beat price rises that could potentially happen as a result of the US tariffs, Bloomberg said, with some Apple employees saying they were being bombarded with questions on the matter.

Right now, most iPhones are made in China, which is due to be hit with 54% tariffs over the coming days. That could rise to as much as 104%, as per Trump’s latest threat, which might be spurring shoppers to buy now.

Impossible to predict

(Image credit: Apple)

Interestingly, there’s very little consensus on how the tariffs will affect Apple. Late last week, Rosenblatt Securities claimed that the iPhone 16 Pro Max could end up costing $2,300 – up from its current $1,599 price – thanks to the tariffs, with iPhone and Apple Watch costs shooting up 43% across the board. The analysts predicted similar 42% and 39% rises for the iPad and AirPods, respectively.

Yet a competing analysis has just emerged that suggests the price rises might not be as severe as has been feared. According to a report from analysts at UBS (via AppleInsider), the iPhone 16 Pro Max could see a price hike of up to $2,062 – still a hefty margin over the regular $1,599 price, but not as wince-inducing as the $2,300 alternative suggested by Rosenblatt Securities.

Part of that comes down to how Apple will deal with the tariffs. The company has a long history of keeping prices the same through thick and thin – the flagship iPhone has cost $999 since 2017, after all. It’s likely that it will put pressure on its suppliers to lower costs, and could absorb some of the price increases itself, Bloomberg reports.

That said, Apple is not averse to pushing up prices where necessary, something it did in the UK after the Brexit referendum caused market uncertainty, for example. Ultimately, Trump’s tariffs have resulted in so much uncertainty that predicting what will happen to the iPhone’s price is a fool’s errand, although it does mean that some degree of panic buying is understandable.

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• The Joy-Con 2 controllers will not feature Hall effect thumbsticks
• This was confirmed by a Nintendo executive in a new interview
• The technology could help prevent thumbstick drift

Almost every Nintendo Switch owner is aware of the dreaded Joy-Con drift, where the thumbsticks of the controllers can register false inputs after even just light use.

It was one of the biggest complaints with the original Nintendo Switch console and, while Nintendo did begin to offer free Joy-Con repairs in both the US and UK, many were hoping that the Joy-Con 2 controllers of the Nintendo Switch 2 would feature a revised design intended to address these issues.

One possible solution that has been posed by many would be the implementation of Hall effect technology, which removes the need for physical contact between components to increase durability in the long term.

Unfortunately, we now know that the Joy-Con 2 will not feature Hall effect technology. This was confirmed by Nintendo of America's senior vice president of product development and publishing Nate Bihldorff in a new interview with Nintendolife.

"The Joy-Con 2 controllers have been designed from the ground up," he said. "They're not Hall effect sticks, but they feel really good."

Bihldorff was also evasive when asked whether the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller will use Hall effect parts, which would indicate that it doesn't.

This is definitely bad news for those concerned about the durability of the Nintendo Switch 2 and, in my eyes, seems like a massive missed opportunity. What's the point of redesigning the entire console if you're just going to make the same mistakes as the first time around all over again?

Still, it might not be the end of the world as there are other technologies available that can help prevent drift.

TMR (Tunneling Magnetoresistance) thumbsticks, for example, rely on magnets that, like Hall effect components, remove the need for physical contact between parts. Hopefully we will learn a little more about the Joy-Con 2 controllers in the coming weeks.

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• Audio-Technica ATH-R30x are available now for $99 / £85 / AU$219
• Open-back headphones promising reference quality sound
• Made for content creators and home audio producers

Audio-Technica's latest open-back headphones come with a price so low I had to check it wasn’t a misprint: the ATH-R30x headphones are just $99 / £85 / AU$219. That's a very low price for a set of headphones with this kind of specification.

The ATH-R30x promise to deliver reference-quality audio, so they're targeted primarily at content creators and home-based music producers. That's me! And according to Audio-Technica, the new model delivers pro-level performance without the pro-level price tag of many of the best wired headphones.

(Image credit: Audio-Technica) Audio-Technica ATH-R30x: key features

The ATH-R30x are one of three pairs of reference headphones launched by the brand: they're launching alongside the ATH-R50x and the flagship ATH-R70xa, both of which attracted rave reviews.

Like those headphones the ATH-R30x offer a natural, neutral open-back listening experience – which can be just as attractive to audiophiles on a budget as creators. The driver here is 40mm, which is very slightly smaller than the one in the R30x's siblings, and unlike the other models the cable isn't removable.

Audio-Technica says that the "meticulous" transducer design "translates every diaphragm movement directly into sound" to deliver a spacious soundstage with natural clarity. Frequency response is 15Hz to 25kHz, impedance is 36 ohms and the sensitivity is 92dB.

I haven't heard these headphones yet but the hi-fi and music production blogs have, and they've said that these are very credible studio headphones: for example, Recording Magazine says they are "highly enjoyable" and "deliver outstanding sound at an incredible price."

The ATH-R30x are available from today, 8 April 2025.

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• Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser has confirmed the cost of the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
• The software will seemingly cost $9.99 and releases day one on Nintendo Switch 2
• Bowser says the mini games in Welcome Tour are "very deep" and thinks $9.99 is "a fair price"

It looks like Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser has confirmed the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour.

Welcome Tour was unveiled during the exciting Nintendo Switch 2 Direct last week, where the company finally revealed the release date for the upcoming console - June 5, 2025 - and several launch titles, such as Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza.

The price of Welcome Tour, a piece of launch day software featuring a series of mini games, was notably absent from the showcase; however, in a new interview with The Verge, Doug Bowser has now seemingly confirmed that it will cost $9.99, which he thinks is a "fair price".

"As this game was being developed, what’s been packed into it is a depth of minigame experiences," Bowser said.

"They’re very deep, they’re very repeatable. And so, as we looked at that depth of play experience and opportunity, we felt that $9.99 was a fair price to ask for that."

The price of the Nintendo Switch 2 was also missing from the Direct, so we didn't learn that the console will cost $449.99 / £395.99, or $499.99 / £429.99 for a Mario Kart World bundle, until after the broadcast.

Pre-orders are scheduled to open on April 8 in the UK, however, Nintendo has announced that it has delayed Switch 2 pre-orders in the US from its original April 9 date as it assesses the impact of tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration.

Nintendo confirmed it will share the new pre-order date soon and that the console's launch date is unchanged.

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• OpenAI is testing watermarks on ChatGPT 4o's image generation
• Found in the latest Android app beta, watermarks could affect free users
• Paid ChatGPT subscribers are likely to not see watermarking on images

ChatGPT 4o's image-generation capabilities have been the talk of the town over the last week or so, but it looks like free users might get hit with a downgrade very soon.

OpenAI is currently testing watermarks in a new version of the ChatGPT Android app and it looks like free users are going to be the ones to suffer.

Shared by @btibor91 on X, code in version 1.2025.0912509108 beta references "image-gen-watermark-for-free", hinting at upcoming watermarking presumably for users on the ChatGPT free plan.

This watermark implementation comes off the back of ChatGPT server overload following the release of 4o's impressive image-generation capabilities and the viral use of the platform to create Studio Ghibli-esque imagery.

Up until this point, the Studio Ghibli-style images have had no watermarking, causing huge concern among creatives as the ethics of AI image generation has once again been called into question.

Now it looks like you'll need to pay for ChatGPT Plus, which costs $20 / roughly £16 a month, in order to get full access to 4o's image-generation tool without watermarks and without a minuscule 3-a-day limit.

ChatGPT updates- Student Plus referral program now also available for Colombian students (Universidad Nacional de Colombia)- new mentions of "shared posts" in addition to shared conversation, canvas and deep research in the web app- the new ImageGen watermark is mentioned… pic.twitter.com/j4sYfWJXLBApril 5, 2025

Not confirmed, but likely

(Image credit: Future / ChatGPT)

While it's possible that OpenAI is just testing watermark capabilities in the beta release of the ChatGPT Android app, this implementation is likely to occur sooner rather than later.

There has been significant backlash following the viral trend of anime images that resemble Studio Ghibli, and this looks to be the first step in addressing those copyright concerns.

While ChatGPT Plus is already a compelling value proposition for those who use AI frequently, including a watermark on images generated by free users could see an increase in paid subscriptions.

That said, we don't know what these watermarks look like as of yet, and depending on how large they are it could be a positive step in regulating AI-generated images on social media.

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