TechRadar News

• The foldable iPhone is tipped to have 4:3 aspect ratio displays
• This would match the iPads, ensuring software and app consistency
• We're not expecting the folding iPhone to launch before 2026

The foldable iPhone leaks are arriving at a pretty regular pace now, which makes us think that an actual launch is getting closer – and the latest rumor is that both the internal and external displays on this device will use a 4:3 aspect ratio.

This comes from well-known tipster Digital Chat Station (via MacRumors), and the thinking is that the software interface will be consistent between both screens, whether you've got the device open or closed.

It's also the same aspect ratio used by the Apple iPads, including the 7th-gen iPad Air launched earlier this month. It's possible that the foldable iPhone will actually use iPadOS, because of the tablet-sized main display.

According to Digital Chat Station (and Google Translate), the folding iPhone is going to have a software ecosystem "comparable" to the iPad, so draw your own conclusions. It should certainly be able to run apps designed for Apple tablets.

What we think we know so far

Google has also entered the foldables market (Image credit: Google)

Earlier this month we heard talk that Apple was prioritizing battery life on its upcoming foldable iPhone, to ensure as much time as possible between charges, and that the device will make use of a liquid metal hinge to improve durability.

Other rumors have told us that the folding iPhone is going to be 9.2 mm thick when folded, and 4.6 mm front to back when unfolded. It sounds as though the device will be a bit like two iPhone 16 handsets put together, with 5.49-inch and 7.74-inch screens.

All of this isn't going to come cheap: a couple of weeks ago we came across a prediction that the iPhone Fold (or whatever it's going to be called) is likely to cost at least $2,300 (which is roughly £1,775 or AU$3,650).

You do at least have some time to save up: most people in the know are suggesting the foldable iPhone will launch sometime in 2026, by which time we may well be up to the Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 and the fourth Google Pixel foldable.

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• SoftBank buying Ampere may signal shift from licensing to manufacturing
• Stargate project could benefit from Ampere’s experienced chip designers
• OpenAI lacks internal chip development team so that makes sense

Arm’s Japanese owner, SoftBank, is set to acquire Ampere - Arm's only independent server chip vendor - for $6.5 billion (approximately ¥973.0 billion).

It’s a big move, and one that could see Arm shift from simply licensing chip designs to manufacturing its own silicon. The move would put it in direct competition with its existing customers but also expand Arm’s footprint in the growing and highly lucrative data center space.

The deal is set to conclude in the latter half of 2025, subject to the usual regulatory approvals, including U.S. antitrust clearance. The Santa Clara, California-based Ampere will continue operating under its current structure until then. The exact reasons for the acquisition aren’t known outside of Ampere and SoftBank, but there are plenty of theories flying around.

It makes a lot of sense

The Next Platform thinks it may have something to do with the Stargate project, which President Trump announced at the start of 2025 and which will see OpenAI working with SoftBank and Oracle (which, incidentally, is a major investor in Ampere) to secure American leadership in AI and boost the US tech sector.

How would Ampere’s acquisition fit into Stargate? The Next Platform notes, “probably somewhere around 1,500 of the nearly 2,000 people at Ampere Computing are chip designers and these people, plus those working at Graphcore, could be tapped by OpenAI to help design custom CPUs and GPUs for the Stargate effort.”

While he’s not claiming any insider knowledge, TNP’s Timothy Prickett Morgan said, “Why else would SoftBank pay $6.5 billion for a company that is hoping to be a second-source processor for the hyperscalers and cloud builders who are all making their own Arm server CPUs and who also buy scads of x86 server processors from Intel and AMD?”

It's a good question. “As far as we know, Sam Altman & Co. has not put together a chip development team of any appreciable size, and even if it had, OpenAI has not created a compute engine and shepherded it through development,” Prickett Morgan concludes.

You might also like

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• How Ampere Computing plans to ride the AI wave
• Arm may be planning to hike prices, has considered developing its own chips

• SoftBank buying Ampere may signal shift from licensing to manufacturing
• Stargate project could benefit from Ampere’s experienced chip designers
• OpenAI lacks internal chip development team so that makes sense

Arm’s Japanese owner, SoftBank, is set to acquire Ampere - Arm's only independent server chip vendor - for $6.5 billion (approximately ¥973.0 billion).

It’s a big move, and one that could see Arm shift from simply licensing chip designs to manufacturing its own silicon. The move would put it in direct competition with its existing customers but also expand Arm’s footprint in the growing and highly lucrative data center space.

The deal is set to conclude in the latter half of 2025, subject to the usual regulatory approvals, including U.S. antitrust clearance. The Santa Clara, California-based Ampere will continue operating under its current structure until then. The exact reasons for the acquisition aren’t known outside of Ampere and SoftBank, but there are plenty of theories flying around.

It makes a lot of sense

The Next Platform thinks it may have something to do with the Stargate project, which President Trump announced at the start of 2025 and which will see OpenAI working with SoftBank and Oracle (which, incidentally, is a major investor in Ampere) to secure American leadership in AI and boost the US tech sector.

How would Ampere’s acquisition fit into Stargate? The Next Platform notes, “probably somewhere around 1,500 of the nearly 2,000 people at Ampere Computing are chip designers and these people, plus those working at Graphcore, could be tapped by OpenAI to help design custom CPUs and GPUs for the Stargate effort.”

While he’s not claiming any insider knowledge, TNP’s Timothy Prickett Morgan said, “Why else would SoftBank pay $6.5 billion for a company that is hoping to be a second-source processor for the hyperscalers and cloud builders who are all making their own Arm server CPUs and who also buy scads of x86 server processors from Intel and AMD?”

It's a good question. “As far as we know, Sam Altman & Co. has not put together a chip development team of any appreciable size, and even if it had, OpenAI has not created a compute engine and shepherded it through development,” Prickett Morgan concludes.

You might also like

• Softbank buys Ampere for $6.5 billion, could integrate it with Arm and Graphcore
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I’ve been using Microsoft Windows since the days of Windows 3.1, but I’ve never loved the operating system. Instead, I’ve stuck with it over the decades mainly out of familiarity. I know how Windows works and when things break (which they continue to do all too often), I usually know how to fix things quickly.

On the surface, there might not seem like there’s a lot in common between Windows 3.1 and Windows 11, but some things – especially legacy features added in Windows 95 – continue to work the way they've always done.

While this causes problems – Windows 11 feels like a modern OS glued on top of an old, rickety OS at times – there’s a certain comfort to using such a familiar product.

Also, while Linux and macOS, Windows’ biggest competitors when it comes to operating systems, are getting better at supporting games, if you’re a PC gamer who wants the widest selection of titles to play – like I am – then Windows 11 really is the only choice.

Nostalgia, laziness, and being a hostage to my own games library aren’t the best reasons to keep using a product, however, and it’s a problem that I feel Microsoft has been struggling with for a long time.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Windows is by far the most popular desktop operating system in the world when it comes to user numbers – but it just isn’t that popular when it comes to… well… popularity.

Despite Microsoft wishing people loved Windows, the lack of affection is a danger for the company, because it means rival operating systems are finding it easier and easier to win over Windows users.

With Windows 10’s End of Life approaching in October 2025, this danger could be even more pronounced as there are going to be a lot of Windows 10 users looking to change operating systems after Microsoft stops officially supporting the older OS.

While the Redmond-based company would like all those users to move to Windows 11, there are going to be many users looking at other operating systems – and if people don’t enjoy using Windows, but just stick with it out of habit, then that’s not going to be enough to guarantee that those users will continue using Windows.

Recently, Apple has been putting out some great computing products, and that’s meant I’ve been using macOS a lot more – both at home on my M2-powered MacBook Pro and at work with the Mac mini M4.

With the Windows PC I use at work showing its age, I decided it was time to make the switch permanently and use the Mac mini as my main PC – and therefore stop using Windows 11 daily and instead use macOS Sequoia. Here’s what I found.

(Image credit: Sergey Zaykov / Shutterstock / Microsoft) What I didn’t miss when ditching Windows 11

I’ve been using macOS for years as well, so I wasn’t going in completely blind. However, I was removing the safety net of deep familiarity that I have with Windows.

After two weeks of using macOS as my sole operating system for work, there were plenty of Windows 11 quirks I wasn’t missing.

For a start, I certainly didn’t miss the adverts and nagging messages from Microsoft trying to get me to use more of its services, something that is getting increasingly annoying in Windows 11.

Where Windows 11 puts games in my Start menu that I have no interest in, ignores my default browser settings to open up Microsoft Edge at any given opportunity, and shows pop-ups trying to get me to sign up for Games Pass, macOS is impressively clean.

There’s still attempts to get you to use Apple’s ecosystem, but it seems less invasive, and can mainly be ignored. The closest it came was in the Preferences app where Apple was trying to convince me to try its AI tools known as Apple Intelligence. Still, compared to Microsoft’s attempts to force me to use its own AI assistant, Copilot, this was far less annoying.

(Image credit: Future)

I also appreciated that when I used Apple’s own Safari browser to download Google Chrome, my web browser of choice, I wasn’t bombarded with messages and warnings trying to put me off – something that Microsoft tries to do with varying degrees of desperation when using Edge to download Chrome.

It also felt like macOS respected my choices when I set non-Apple applications as defaults. Once I’d set Chrome as my default web browser, that was it. Meanwhile, with Windows 11 it always felt like it was trying to either change my mind or trick me into using Edge, even when I explicitly set Chrome as my default web browser.

This includes incidents like opening a website from within the Start menu, Widget area or within the Settings app – as they would ignore my settings and open up the website in Edge.

After installing large updates, Windows 11 will also sometimes show a screen asking you to finish setting up your PC, and it often includes an option to use recommended internet settings. If you don’t pay attention and just click ok, you end up with Edge becoming your default browser again.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Another thing I didn’t miss was the instability. While I usually have a good idea of how to fix Windows 11 problems, it doesn’t mean they are any less annoying when they strike – and sometimes there’s no easy fix. Meanwhile, macOS feels a lot more stable and dependable.

To be fair to Microsoft, this is mainly due to the sheer breadth of devices that can run Windows 11, with PCs and laptops from all manner of manufacturers coming with different hardware configurations. It’s essentially impossible to write software for a near-infinite number of hardware configurations and guarantee that there will be no bugs or incompatibility problems.

Meanwhile, Apple strictly restricts what devices can run macOS to Macs and MacBooks that the company itself makes – and it can be ruthless about cutting support for older devices as well. I’m not a massive fan of this, but it does mean Apple has a clear idea of the hardware that will be running macOS, and can therefore more easily ensure that the software works properly.

That’s not to say that there are never macOS problems, but they feel a lot less common – and overall the user experience just feels a lot more stable.

On the other hand, when something does break in macOS, I’m often at a bit of a loss, whereas with Windows I have a good idea of what might be causing the issue and how to fix it.

(Image credit: Studio Romantic / Shutterstock) What I missed about Windows 11

The more I used macOS every day, however, I found myself missing certain things about Windows 11 – things that I hadn’t really paid much attention to before.

Perhaps the biggest, yet least exciting, thing was copy and pasting. I’m not talking about getting used to pressing CMD + C on a keyboard instead of CTRL + C (that was annoying but quickly became second nature, and you can also change it to the Windows way of doing things in Preferences).

What I did miss was Windows 11’s excellent Clipboard Paste feature.

(Image credit: Future / Microsoft)

Rather than using CTRL + V to paste something, in Windows 11 you can press the Windows key + V to open up a small menu that shows a history of things you’ve copied to the clipboard, making it easy to switch between items to quickly paste. It’s one of Windows’ best recent features, and I really missed it in macOS.

I ended up installing a third-party tool to do something similar, but it wasn’t was easy to use as Microsoft’s integrated feature.

When I work on the smaller screens of laptops, I also really appreciated how easy it was to snap windows to the left and right-hand sides of the screen, which made multitasking with a small display much easier.

Just grabbing the menu bar of a window and dragging it to the left or right of the screen will enlarge the window so it takes up half the screen. You can then do the same with a different window on the opposite side of the screen to get two equally sized windows open side-by-side.

I often use the Windows key + arrow key keyboard shortcut to make this process even easier. When snapping a window, Windows 11 can also show you other open windows to quickly snap to the opposite side.

(Image credit: Apple)

While macOS Sequoia has finally introduced a similar feature, it still isn’t as slick as Windows 11’s implementation, and lacks some of the features. Being able to drag a window to the top of the screen in Windows 11 to open it full-screen is also something I really missed when moving to macOS.

To be honest, the clipboard feature alone has been enough for me to go back to Windows 11. Despite all the hassles and annoyances, this one feature really makes a difference to my day job.

So, Microsoft might be pleased that it’s not completely lost another customer (and I’d still use Windows on my gaming PC), but I’d also like it to understand that the best way it can keep people using its operating system, and maybe even one day like its operating system, isn’t with AI gimmicks and annoying ads for its services, but by concentrating on seemingly simple features that work well and make people’s lives easier.

My concern is that Microsoft won’t, and will instead think that shoving Copilot in more apps will be the way to keep people using Windows. Trust me though, it won’t.

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I’ve been using Microsoft Windows since the days of Windows 3.1, but I’ve never loved the operating system. Instead, I’ve stuck with it over the decades mainly out of familiarity. I know how Windows works and when things break (which they continue to do all too often), I usually know how to fix things quickly.

On the surface, there might not seem like there’s a lot in common between Windows 3.1 and Windows 11, but some things – especially legacy features added in Windows 95 – continue to work the way they've always done.

While this causes problems – Windows 11 feels like a modern OS glued on top of an old, rickety OS at times – there’s a certain comfort to using such a familiar product.

Also, while Linux and macOS, Windows’ biggest competitors when it comes to operating systems, are getting better at supporting games, if you’re a PC gamer who wants the widest selection of titles to play – like I am – then Windows 11 really is the only choice.

Nostalgia, laziness, and being a hostage to my own games library aren’t the best reasons to keep using a product, however, and it’s a problem that I feel Microsoft has been struggling with for a long time.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Windows is by far the most popular desktop operating system in the world when it comes to user numbers – but it just isn’t that popular when it comes to… well… popularity.

Despite Microsoft wishing people loved Windows, the lack of affection is a danger for the company, because it means rival operating systems are finding it easier and easier to win over Windows users.

With Windows 10’s End of Life approaching in October 2025, this danger could be even more pronounced as there are going to be a lot of Windows 10 users looking to change operating systems after Microsoft stops officially supporting the older OS.

While the Redmond-based company would like all those users to move to Windows 11, there are going to be many users looking at other operating systems – and if people don’t enjoy using Windows, but just stick with it out of habit, then that’s not going to be enough to guarantee that those users will continue using Windows.

Recently, Apple has been putting out some great computing products, and that’s meant I’ve been using macOS a lot more – both at home on my M2-powered MacBook Pro and at work with the Mac mini M4.

With the Windows PC I use at work showing its age, I decided it was time to make the switch permanently and use the Mac mini as my main PC – and therefore stop using Windows 11 daily and instead use macOS Sequoia. Here’s what I found.

(Image credit: Sergey Zaykov / Shutterstock / Microsoft) What I didn’t miss when ditching Windows 11

I’ve been using macOS for years as well, so I wasn’t going in completely blind. However, I was removing the safety net of deep familiarity that I have with Windows.

After two weeks of using macOS as my sole operating system for work, there were plenty of Windows 11 quirks I wasn’t missing.

For a start, I certainly didn’t miss the adverts and nagging messages from Microsoft trying to get me to use more of its services, something that is getting increasingly annoying in Windows 11.

Where Windows 11 puts games in my Start menu that I have no interest in, ignores my default browser settings to open up Microsoft Edge at any given opportunity, and shows pop-ups trying to get me to sign up for Games Pass, macOS is impressively clean.

There’s still attempts to get you to use Apple’s ecosystem, but it seems less invasive, and can mainly be ignored. The closest it came was in the Preferences app where Apple was trying to convince me to try its AI tools known as Apple Intelligence. Still, compared to Microsoft’s attempts to force me to use its own AI assistant, Copilot, this was far less annoying.

(Image credit: Future)

I also appreciated that when I used Apple’s own Safari browser to download Google Chrome, my web browser of choice, I wasn’t bombarded with messages and warnings trying to put me off – something that Microsoft tries to do with varying degrees of desperation when using Edge to download Chrome.

It also felt like macOS respected my choices when I set non-Apple applications as defaults. Once I’d set Chrome as my default web browser, that was it. Meanwhile, with Windows 11 it always felt like it was trying to either change my mind or trick me into using Edge, even when I explicitly set Chrome as my default web browser.

This includes incidents like opening a website from within the Start menu, Widget area or within the Settings app – as they would ignore my settings and open up the website in Edge.

After installing large updates, Windows 11 will also sometimes show a screen asking you to finish setting up your PC, and it often includes an option to use recommended internet settings. If you don’t pay attention and just click ok, you end up with Edge becoming your default browser again.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Another thing I didn’t miss was the instability. While I usually have a good idea of how to fix Windows 11 problems, it doesn’t mean they are any less annoying when they strike – and sometimes there’s no easy fix. Meanwhile, macOS feels a lot more stable and dependable.

To be fair to Microsoft, this is mainly due to the sheer breadth of devices that can run Windows 11, with PCs and laptops from all manner of manufacturers coming with different hardware configurations. It’s essentially impossible to write software for a near-infinite number of hardware configurations and guarantee that there will be no bugs or incompatibility problems.

Meanwhile, Apple strictly restricts what devices can run macOS to Macs and MacBooks that the company itself makes – and it can be ruthless about cutting support for older devices as well. I’m not a massive fan of this, but it does mean Apple has a clear idea of the hardware that will be running macOS, and can therefore more easily ensure that the software works properly.

That’s not to say that there are never macOS problems, but they feel a lot less common – and overall the user experience just feels a lot more stable.

On the other hand, when something does break in macOS, I’m often at a bit of a loss, whereas with Windows I have a good idea of what might be causing the issue and how to fix it.

(Image credit: Studio Romantic / Shutterstock) What I missed about Windows 11

The more I used macOS every day, however, I found myself missing certain things about Windows 11 – things that I hadn’t really paid much attention to before.

Perhaps the biggest, yet least exciting, thing was copy and pasting. I’m not talking about getting used to pressing CMD + C on a keyboard instead of CTRL + C (that was annoying but quickly became second nature, and you can also change it to the Windows way of doing things in Preferences).

What I did miss was Windows 11’s excellent Clipboard Paste feature.

(Image credit: Future / Microsoft)

Rather than using CTRL + V to paste something, in Windows 11 you can press the Windows key + V to open up a small menu that shows a history of things you’ve copied to the clipboard, making it easy to switch between items to quickly paste. It’s one of Windows’ best recent features, and I really missed it in macOS.

I ended up installing a third-party tool to do something similar, but it wasn’t was easy to use as Microsoft’s integrated feature.

When I work on the smaller screens of laptops, I also really appreciated how easy it was to snap windows to the left and right-hand sides of the screen, which made multitasking with a small display much easier.

Just grabbing the menu bar of a window and dragging it to the left or right of the screen will enlarge the window so it takes up half the screen. You can then do the same with a different window on the opposite side of the screen to get two equally sized windows open side-by-side.

I often use the Windows key + arrow key keyboard shortcut to make this process even easier. When snapping a window, Windows 11 can also show you other open windows to quickly snap to the opposite side.

(Image credit: Apple)

While macOS Sequoia has finally introduced a similar feature, it still isn’t as slick as Windows 11’s implementation, and lacks some of the features. Being able to drag a window to the top of the screen in Windows 11 to open it full-screen is also something I really missed when moving to macOS.

To be honest, the clipboard feature alone has been enough for me to go back to Windows 11. Despite all the hassles and annoyances, this one feature really makes a difference to my day job.

So, Microsoft might be pleased that it’s not completely lost another customer (and I’d still use Windows on my gaming PC), but I’d also like it to understand that the best way it can keep people using its operating system, and maybe even one day like its operating system, isn’t with AI gimmicks and annoying ads for its services, but by concentrating on seemingly simple features that work well and make people’s lives easier.

My concern is that Microsoft won’t, and will instead think that shoving Copilot in more apps will be the way to keep people using Windows. Trust me though, it won’t.

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I've been reviewing cameras for almost ten years and I've never seen anything like the the Fujifilm X100VI. The premium compact camera landed just over a year ago and immediately sold out everywhere, resulting in extraordinary six-month waiting lists. It only recently came back into stock at retailers, before again doing a Houdini-style vanishing act.

The X100VI backstory is already well known. It was one of those rare tech moments when the cultural zeitgeist – suddenly obsessed with film and compact cameras – shone its spotlight on something that seemingly had elements of both. The fuse was lit with the X100V's viral TikTok moment in 2022, before the big explosion with its successor last year.

I'm now less interested in whether or not the X100VI deserves its hype (either way, it's a brilliant little camera) and more in the impact it's had on the used prices of premium compact cameras. When I was TechRadar's Cameras Editor a few years ago, the return of that genre seemed about as likely as an Oasis reunion – but here we are in the strange world of 2025.

To see how the Fujifilm X100VI has affected the used prices of the best compact cameras and small mirrorless alternatives since it landed in February 2024, I asked MPB for some data to help. MPB uses a dynamic pricing engine to work out its second-hand valuations – if you're in the market for a premium compact camera in 2025, the results below make for fascinating (and hopefully, helpful) reading.

Later on, I'll reveal what I'm buying instead of an X100VI and what our current Cameras Editor Tim Coleman recommends doing. But first, here's what's happened to the second-hand prices of its main rivals in the US and UK...

US: The X-Pro 2 takes the baton

In the US, it hasn't just been Fujifilm's X100 series that's seen a spike in demand over the past year – the appetite for cameras that are small, powerful and echo classic film cameras has spilled over to the company's X-Pro and X-E series, too.

For example, the Fujifilm X-Pro 2, which has just turned nine years old, has seen its second-hand price rise by around 15% since October 2023. That isn't something you see with smartphones, laptops or smartwatches that are nearly a decade old.

Considering the X-Pro line is like an X100 with interchangeable lenses, this isn't too surprising – but the extent to which the X-Pro 2 has outpaced and closed the gap on the newer X-Pro 3 (from 2021) certainly is. This is likely down to some reported issues with the longevity of the X-Pro 3's screen.

The Fujifilm X-Pro 2 (above) has seen its second-hand prices sky-rocket in the US and UK since the X100V and X100VI achieved their new cult following. (Image credit: Future)

What about outside of Fujifilm cameras? While there's undoubtedly some seasonality to the summer bump in the middle of the chart above, MPB told us this was also down to a perfect storm of market shortages, the renewed popularity of compacts, and a rise in the prices of new cameras. This means most premium compact cameras – retro or not – have enjoyed something of an Indian summer.

Eight out of the ten cameras that MPB gave us the pricing history for are more expensive today than they were in late 2023. The X100 series' closest rivals, Ricoh's GR series, have followed in its slipstream – with the GR III, GR IIIx (which has a 40mm equivalent focal length, rather than 28mm) and GR II all fetching higher second-hand prices now than 18 months ago.

A slightly more surprising case is the Panasonic Lumix LX100 II, which I think is an excellent camera but is now approaching seven years old. It's now 18% pricier than in October 2023, according to MPB's data. No wonder rumors persist that Panasonic could be one day launch a full-frame version.

The final lesson of this data? Maybe don't buy a second-hand compact camera during the summer months – if this year follows the same path as above (which it may not), now is a good time to get ahead of the seasonal price rises.

UK: Ricoh GR II and Sony RX1R Mark II on the rise

In the UK, the biggest second-hand price rises among X100VI rivals have been the Ricoh GR II (now around 13% pricier than in October 2023) and Sony RX1R Mark II, which isn't in the graph above as its high price would break the scale.

You could buy Sony's fixed lens full-frame compact (which launched back in 2015) in 'excellent' condition on MPB for £1,899 in 2023, but high demand means it'll now set you back £2,219 (a 17% rise).

That's not too far off its original £2,600 asking price, which explains how revered its 35mm f/2 lens and 42.4MP sensor are – and also how popular premium compact cameras have become.

The Sony RX1R II (above), which turns ten years old this year, has seen its used prices rise in the US and UK in the past year, but it also stretches the definition of 'compact'

Like in the US, the Fujifilm X-Pro 2 (but not the newer X-Pro 3) has also seen its second-hand price rise since the X100VI landed. It's now around 17% more expensive to buy used than in late 2023, unlike the X-Pro 3 which has had reported screen issues and saw its price drop slightly during the same period.

Interestingly, there wasn't the same summertime rise in used prices during mid-2024 as there was in the US, which suggests that other factors like low stock have been a factor. Also, only five out of the 10 cameras above are pricier now than at the start of the period in the UK, which means the X100VI effect hasn't been quite as pronounced there.

Still, the relatively stable nature of premium compact prices – particularly as the average age of the cameras above is well over six years old – shows that it's a very popular space, even as the best camera phones continue to take impressive strides that were once expected to make compacts obsolete.

What I'd buy instead

Buying a premium compact camera is a more personal decision than buying a bigger camera. Unlike larger workhorses, they're designed to be characterful companions that are all about pure fun – like a two-seater sports car that you tear around country lanes. This also means your mileage may vary.

As much as I love the Fujifilm X100 series – I made the Fujifilm X100V our number one compact camera back in 2022, despite reservations about calling it 'compact' – I find its fixed, 23mm lens too much of a restrictive stumbling block, despite its handy crop modes. That also rules me out of the Fujifilm X70, another premium compact that's now more expensive to buy used than when it launched in 2016.

Because I prefer longer focal lengths, I've considered the Ricoh GR IIIx and its 40mm lens. But the lack of a viewfinder puts me off. Which brings me to small mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses, like the Fujifilm X-E and X-T series.

(Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)

These are no longer 'compact' cameras, but they're small enough for a large jacket pocket and to become part of my daily carry. With a Fujifilm X-E5 rumored for this year (which makes the X-E4 a bit less appealing), my choice would be the Fujifilm X-T50. You can buy one new for $1,399 / £1,299 or on $1,249 / £1,019 on MPB, although I've recently seen its new prices drop below £1,000 in the UK.

The X-T50 is effectively a mini version of my X-T5 and, for me, would be the ideal travel camera given I already own small primes like the 35mm f/2 and 50mm f/2. It's also roughly the same size and weight as the X100VI, albeit a fair bit deeper with a lens attached. Still, that's a small price I'm willing to pay for interchangeable lenses.

The Ricoh GR IIIx (above) is still a great option for those who want a truly pocketable alternative to the X100VI with a 40mm lens, but rumors of a GR IV model for 2025 persist. (Image credit: Future)

But that's by no means the best option for everyone. TechRadar's Cameras Editor Tim Coleman has a different plan: "Years back I bought a Ricoh GR IIIx instead of the Fujifilm X100VI's predecessor (or the latest iPhone), because it offered the best image quality from a camera that easily slips into a trouser pocket. Size mattered most of all, because I wanted a camera with me all the time to build a habit of taking pictures" he told me.

"Despite also being a premium compact, an X100 camera was simply too big for my purposes – I didn't want a camera that I had to build into my routine. That said, I used the GR IIIx and X100VI side-by-side last year, and I wish my camera had some of the X100VI's skills – its autofocus is poor by comparison, nor does it have a flash, a viewfinder or a tilt touchscreen.

"I'm still happy that I opted for the GR IIIx, I just wish it was more refined like the X100VI. If I was buying again today, I'd have my fingers crossed for an improved Ricoh in the same mould – a potential GR IV that addresses my snag list".

What's next? The premium compact camera rumors for 2025

The other big impact of the Fujifilm X100VI is that it's seemingly awakened other camera giants to the popularity of retro compact cameras – according to the rumor mill, at least.

A camera's development cycle is usually around two years, so it isn't surprising that the X100VI remains unique (outside of the stunning, but painfully expensive, Leica Q3). But there's a chance it could get more competition in 2025.

One of the most likely sources is OM System, which was formerly Olympus. It recently launched the rather lovely OM System OM-3 and has seemingly been dropping hints that a new version of the classic Olympus Pen-F is in the works. That really would be an X100VI rival – but given it's been rumored for years, I'm not holding my breath.

A successor to the Olympus Pen-F (above) would definitely be a strong X100VI rival, but it's been rumored for so long it's reached mythical status.

Another camera to file in the same category is the Ricoh GR IV. While the demand for a successor to the five-year-old Ricoh GR III is certainly there, the rumors have gone worryingly quiet. Those who want a truly pocketable camera with a big sensor, plus modern autofocus, will be hoping the speculation picks up soon.

Recently, we've been hearing whispers from the likes of Canon Rumors that a Canon EOS RE-1 – a retro-styled model based on the Canon AE-1, which has long been regarded as one of the best film cameras – is coming in either late 2025 or early 2026. But it's more likely to be a pricey, full-frame camera like the Nikon Zf rather than a direct Fujifilm X100VI rival.

Even more up in the air is the possibility of a Sony RX1R III. The usually reliable Sony Alpha Rumors said in early 2025 that it still had "no definitive confirmation that a new full frame fixed lens camera will be announced in 2025", merely that the camera isn't impossible because Sony execs have said the RX line isn't yet complete. Right now, there are no concrete reasons to expect it, which is a shame.

• Check out the latest Camera rumors for 2025: the new gear we're expecting soon from DJI, Sony, Canon and more

A successor to the Fujifilm X-E4 (above) looks increasingly likely this year, even if it wouldn't be a direct alternative to the X100VI due to its interchangeable lenses. (Image credit: Fujifilm)

All of which means that the most likely source of an X100VI alternative this year is Fujifilm itself. Sadly, it seems a Fujifilm X-Pro 4 is still a little way off, but a more likely arrival from our list of the most exciting cameras of 2025 is the Fujifilm X-E5.

That camera has been rumored for mid-2025 alongside a mysterious half-frame model. The X-E series have interchangeable lenses and aren't as premium as the X100 series, so are a slightly different beast – but an X-E5 could represent a more affordable alternative for some.

Then there's the rumored Fujifilm GFX100RF, which appears to be a super-powered X100VI with a 100MP medium format sensor and a price tag to match (most likely higher than the $3,999 / £3,499 / AU$6,499 asking price of the GFX50S when it landed in 2022).

In short, there's still nothing quite like the Fujifilm X100VI – and that's likely to remain the case for much of 2025. That means we can expect the used prices of rivals like the cameras above to remain high. But at least some competition, in the form of new premium compacts and small mirrorless cameras, is now on the horizon, and that's good news for this unlikely cameras renaissance.

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This week Apple announced the date for WWDC 2025, Marvel teased its massive Avengers: Doomsday cast, and Nintendo held what's set to be its last Switch direct before the Nintendo Switch 2 releases.

To catch up on all that and all our picks for the week's 7 biggest tech stories scroll through this page so you'll be ready for next week's big announcements.

Once you're done, read our picks for 7 new movies and TV shows to watch this weekend (March 28).

7. Apple set a date for WWDC 2025

(Image credit: Apple/Future)

It's been an interesting few weeks for Apple with several new products and an official delay to the AI-infused Siri, but this week, we got the office dates for the 2025 World Wide Developers Conference.

More commonly referred to as WWDC 25, Apple's weeklong conference at which it normally debuts its next-generation platforms and software will kick off on June 9, 2025. As we've come to expect, Apple will host a 'Special Event' on day one, which will be the week's main keynote.

It's safe to expect Apple's CEO Tim Cook, many other executives, and product leads to showcase all the new features and operating systems. We're expecting iOS 19, iPadOS 19, the next version of macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and the software that powers AirPods and HomePod.

• Read more: Apple just announced WWDC 2025 starts on June 9

6. Avengers assembled for Doomsday

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

After teasing a big announcement, Marvel has revealed the entire, 27-strong cast for Avengers: Doomsday, and it’s full of heroes including familiar MCU Avengers like Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Letitia Wright as Black Panther, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, and Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, as well as some soon to be heroes like the Fantastic Four’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing), Pedro Pascal (Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Invisible Woman) Joseph Quinn (Human Torch). Oh, and Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.

There were also a few surprises, like Tom Hiddleston returning as Loki, Lewis Pullman as Sentry, and Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor – the latter of whom were set up as antagonists the last time we saw them in the Thunderbolts* trailer and Wakanda Forever, respectively.

And then some big shocks like Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Kelsey Grammer, Channing Tatum, Alan Cumming, and Rebecca Romijn – all of whom will reprise their roles as Mutants from the X-Men universe. Their inclusion and some lighting have led many to speculate the movie might adapt to the Avengers vs X-Men storyline.

There were plenty of absent Avengers – including these 17 we most want to see – but Marvel has said, “There’s always room for more,” in response to a post on RDJ’s Instagram suggesting the film might be even more packed than it already is.

• Read more: Marvel has revealed the full, 27-strong cast for Avengers: Doomsday

5. We tested the Canon PowerShot V1

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

Canon confirmed the global availability of its PowerShot V1 vlogging compact camera, which was announced last month for Japan only, alongside unveiling the new EOS R50 V, and we had already had our hands on the V1 ahead of the announcement.

We reckon the PowerShot V1 outshines the few rivals it has for video: the Sony ZV-1 II, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, and Canon's own PowerShot G7X Mark III, chiefly because it packs a larger 1.4-inch sensor, reliable autofocus, decent optical stabilization, together with a suite of video features that include a built-in ND filter and cooling vents for unlimited 4K record times.

However, the V1 isn't perfect, and we've identified a few drawbacks during hands-on time. All being said, our first impressions are very favorable, and this is one of the best vlogging cameras for beginners. You can learn more in our hands-on review.

• Read more: Our Canon PowerShot V1 review

4. Netflix added HDR10+ support

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

This week Netflix announced that it's adding support for the HDR10+ advanced HDR format which is supported by TVs from the likes of Samsung, Panasonic, Hisense and TCL.

You’ll need a Netflix Premium account to access HDR10+. Netflix said that initially, it will be available on 50% of "eligible viewing hours," but it plans to have HDR10+ support on every HDR movie and show by the end of the year.

This is great news for owners of the best Samsung TVs and best Samsung phones, because these don't support Dolby Vision HDR – the only premium TV brand that doesn't.

HDR10+ and Dolby Vision are superior to regular HDR (officially called HDR10) because they can support a wider dynamic range to make the most of today's brighter and bolder TVs, but they can also embed scene-by-scene tone mapping – meaning that instead of your TV having to work how best to get all the detail out of a super-dark or super-bright scene, this information is included in the video stream.

Basically your supported Netflix content should look a heck of a lot better now on Samsung screens.

• Read more: Netflix adds HDR10+ support – great news for Samsung TV owners, but don't expect LG and Sony to do the same any time soon

3. OpenAI unveiled image generation for 4o

(Image credit: Generated by ChatGPT)

This week OpenAI unlocked image generation in ChatGPT, which promises more convenience (because it’s baked into the app rather than being its own thing) and better results than the other AI image generators out there,

In demos, the Open AI team showed off text that is actually legible and not a weird jumble of scribbles, which makes the tool ideal for creating infographics and it can generate an image from a photo you provide as context, not just from a written prompt.

However, it's already getting into trouble as people ask the AI to convert their pictures into the distinct aesthetics of South Park, SpongeBob, and Studio Ghibli movies.

The results are undeniably impressive, but not only does it continue to raise concerns about AI taking artists' livelihoods, but it’s also making many of us ask the question of how ChatGPT knows what the ‘Studio Ghibli’ and these other properties’ styles look like, as that would suggest it has been trained on copyrighted material.

Perhaps in response to these criticisms, we’ve found it’s now much harder to make ChatGPT copy an artist's style directly – it now refuses and creates more generic-looking works instead.

• Read more: I refuse to jump on ChatGPT’s Studio Ghibli image generator bandwagon

2. Nintendo held the Switch’s last direct

(Image credit: Nintendo / Future)

With the Nintendo Switch 2 debuting in just a couple of days at its own dedicated Direct on April 2, Nintendo gave its predecessor one final hurrah with the handheld’s last Direct presentation. It was full of game announcements and updates on titles we already know about.

Pokémon Legends Z-A made an appearance, where we learnt about the new Z-A Royale battle mode, a twist on the classic Gym Challenge. We also got to check out gameplay from the upcoming Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which saw Samus exploring a jungle planet. Finally, there was the surprise reveal of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, which, for many of us, was the star of the show.

There’s also the Nintendo Today mobile app which has already alerted people to the premiere date for The Legend of Zelda live action movie, and the new Virtual Game Cards which will allow you to share your digital games between consoles like a real cartridge.

• Read more: All Nintendo Switch games announced at the March 2025 show and our reactions as it happened

1. Google finally gave is a Pixel 9a release date

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Google Pixel 9a was announced in mid-March, but almost immediately, Google delayed the phone’s sale and only gave us a vague “April” release date. No specific official reason for the delay was given except that it was a “component quality issue,” but one leaker blamed heating problems around the camera module – though, take what they had to say with a pinch of salt.

Regardless of the reason, the Pixel 9a now has a release date. It will arrive in the US, UK, and Canada first on April 10th, followed by Europe on April 14th and Australia and Asia on April 16th.

When it does land the new Pixel 9a will cost $499 / £499 / AU$849 for 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage, and comes in four colors: Obsidian black, Porcelain white, Peony pink, and Iris lavender.

• Read more: Google Pixel 9a delay ends – here's when you'll be able to buy one

A lot of useful information is only as helpful as its organization. The same goes for my own brain, of course. Getting that information in different formats can help with learning it, and Google’s NotebookLM has been fun to experiment with for that purpose, particularly the customized podcasts with AI hosts.

The latest addition is the new Mind Maps feature. A mind map is an old technique for organizing your thinking using visual webs of information that connect ideas together. Imagine a branching tree where each limb is a concept and every twig is a supporting idea. They’re great for people who think visually.

The NotebookLM version is essentially that, but it is put together by an AI model. I decided to test this thing with two real-life situations: planning a garden and trying to become a whiz at DIY home repairs.

Mind Garden

(Image credit: NotebookLM screenshots)

The garden was first. I uploaded a pile of articles I’d been hoarding – stuff about companion planting, raised beds, native perennials, composting, and that one blog post where someone swears by pouring beer on their tomatoes. NotebookLM chewed through all of it and spit out a Mind Map upon request.

There were branches for planning, locations, and even the benefits of gardening, among others. Each branch had a long list of 'twigs' covering all kinds of subtopics, as you can see above. Each was clickable, causing the conversation part of NotebookLm to expound upon that topic. It was extremely helpful in keeping all those elements organized.

DIY

(Image credit: NotebookLM)

The same goes for the DIY project. My house has this charming quality where things just break for no reason. I’d already tried to fix a leaky toilet once, which ended with me flooding the bathroom and watching a YouTube tutorial through a veil of defeat.

This time, I came prepared. I uploaded manuals, how-to articles, and a few trusted repair blogs. Mind Maps whipped up categories like planning, building codes, and the essential DIY projects list within seconds. I chose flooring installation from that set of twigs, and you can see hardwood floors, moisture barriers, and an expansion gap.

There was something strangely calming about seeing the steps laid out so clearly. I clicked on “door hanging” and got an overview of the different types of doors and how to set them up from the AI. I felt like I'd had a conversation with someone who actually knows what they’re doing.

Different Thinking

NotebookLM already did a good job summarizing stuff, but the Mind Maps added a layer of clarity that made it feel almost tactile. I could see how ideas were connected and how it would help me learn faster.

That’s not to say it’s perfect. Sometimes, the Mind Maps get a little too enthusiastic and start branching off into tangents that don’t really help. One map tried to connect “composting” with “composing” music for gardening for some reason. And with very niche topics, the AI can still miss the mark by offering generic advice when what you need is something specific, like how to fix a loose tile without taking apart half your kitchen.

I’d also love more manual control. Right now, you can navigate and explore the maps, but you can’t really tweak them much. Sometimes, I want to drag a node, rename it, or cut a whole branch that’s not useful. Still, these are nitpicks. The core experience is solid, though.

The truth is, I didn’t expect to love Mind Maps. I thought they’d be a neat visual gimmick, something I’d play with once and then forget about. But I think I'll be using them more, especially for any ambitious plans I have for improving my home and garden. In a world full of tabs, a map is nice to have.

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What’s cooler than earbuds that look like they belong in a galaxy far, far away? Obviously, earbuds that also embody the tones of Star Wars, from a lightsaber igniting to a droid’s iconic wail.

Now, in the lead-up to Star Wars Celebration, which kicks off on April 18, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan, Star Wars has collaborated with Audio-Technica for four custom earbuds, and TechRadar has your exclusive first-look hands-on experience with all four.

This collaboration comes to life as four limited edition, customized pairs of the ATH-CKS50TW2. You can show your allegiance to the dark side or that of the rebels with Darth Vader, R2-D2, Grogu, and The Mandalorian models. And these versions won’t just look the part with the Darth Vader earbuds getting a glossy black finish that looks like the iconic helmet or the R2-D2 one getting a blue and white paint job, but these boast custom sound effects, too.

TechRadar can also reveal that the box contains a custom, glossy sticker matching the earbuds and featuring the iconic character. The box itself is limited and special. You won’t have to worry about calling in a bounty to afford these limited-edition buds – if you can get your hands on a pair, Star Wars editions of the ATH-CKS50TW2 cost $179.99, which is only $30 more than the standard.

These earbuds will launch exclusively in person at Star Wars Celebration, so if you’re lucky enough to be in Tokyo, Japan, you’ll get them first. But they will also be available in limited quantities – no word on the exact number – from Audio-Technica directly, beginning on April 21, 2025. Those will start shipping on none other than Star Wars Day – May 4th.

But we have the earbuds you’re looking for and have unboxed all four – R2-D2, Darth Vader, The Mandalorian, and Grogu included. Keep scrolling for a photo guide, as well as the special details we’ve discovered by going hands- and ears-on. And if you’re already familiar with the ATH-CKS50TW2, these boast the same feature set.

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The custom nature of the four buds is an iconic paint job for each, starting with the case. These still have a mostly plastic build for the hull, but embossed on the top lid is an iconic phrase associated with the character.

• Darth Vader: “It is your destiny.”
• The Mandalorian: “This is the way.”
• R2-D2: “The droid you’re looking for.”
• Grogu: “Wherever I go, he goes.”

It’s also color-matched, so Darth Vader is a deep black, The Mandalorian is a lighter shade of silver, trying its best to look like Beskar, R2-D2 is white with blue accents, and Grogu is two separate shades of green. The design team here really took the time to pay homage to the characters.

The earbuds sit in the case and have the same build as the standard ATH-CKS50TW2, including the fact that they magnetically snap together. This is certainly a feature I’d like to see some other buds adopt.

With Grogu, it pairs green with a light brown for the main hull – the ear tips are green and several are included in the box, but there is also Aurebesh writing included on the outside. Printed on the earbuds, though – facing down from the ear – is another iconic phrase. In Grogu’s case, it’s “The Child” on the left earbud and “Little Bounty” on the right.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

For the other half of the clan of two, The Mandalorian, the earbuds mostly use various shades of silver, with the largest color choice being a brushed one. It has some gloss to it, and the ear tips are dark grey. The message here is straight to the point – “Mandalorian” on the left and “Bounty Hunter” on the right.

R2-D2 is mostly white with some blue stripes on the side and blue ear tips, the printed message is equally to the point as Mando’ – “R2-D2” on the left and “Astromech Droid” on the right.

It seems the Dark Side is coming out on top for design, though. The Darth Vader buds look pretty impressive with a glossy black finish facing the world, and the Audio-Technica team here uses red accents sparingly. Most importantly, “The power of” lives on the left and “the Dark side” lives on the right – how cool. These just look fantastic.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

While the companion app for Android or iOS is not yet updated to pair with these earbuds, there will be a skin matching the earbuds in the app. Now, somewhat cooler than the design are the special sounds, which might add Star Wars moments into your day.

One interesting choice, though, given that these are reskinnings of the ATH-CKS50TW2. There is no speaker in the case, so the custom sounds only play within the earbuds themselves and can be a bit hard to hear at first.

Audio-Technica has customized the chime for the earbuds when you take them out of the case or put them back in, along with other features like engaging noise cancellation or a passthrough mode.

With Darth Vader, you’ll hear the lightsaber ignite and that famous, ominous, deep breathing. Hitting the button on the Vader buds gives a pulse of the lightsaber. While I haven’t been able to get it working, a red alert alarm will sound for low battery – certainly upping the stakes.

For Grogu, you’ll hear what sounds like his pod opening or closing, but you’ll also hear some of the iconic coos that Baby Yoda is known for. That pod or door opening or closing sound is the same for The Mandalorian when you first take them out of the case, and hitting the button to engage a mode sounds like a credit being tossed on table – or maybe Beskar being clanked together.

My favorite goes to R2-D2, though. You’ll hear his iconic beeps when you first put these earbuds in and connect, but disconnecting gives us the iconic wail. It’s just delightful. Imagine when the app goes live and these fully launch, there will be some customization.

Ahead, you can see a full photo slideshow of all the up-close details of the Grogu, R2-D2, Darth Vader, and The Mandalorian ATH-CKS50TW2 earbuds. And if you’re lucky enough to be at Star Wars Celebration, you can get them in person, or if you’re in the US and feel like testing your luck, try to score them when they go up for preorder from Audio-Technica here.

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Bill Gates has been making the rounds lately to promote his new memoir, Source Code, and sharing his vision of rapid and massive transformation of our lives over the next decade by artificial intelligence. He pitched a world where "Intelligence will be completely free" in an interview with Harvard professor Arthur Brooks, with ubiquitous and universally available AI tutors and doctors that outmatch most educators and medical practitioners.

He went even further in a recent appearance on The Tonight Show. When Jimmy Fallon somewhat nervously asked him if we'll still need humans, Gates quipped, "Not for most things."

Look, I admire Gates’ enthusiasm. He is clearly invested in a future where AI extends opportunity to underserved populations and pushes the limit of what people are capable of, which is great. It's a little absurd to believe that AI will replace most human roles within a decade, though, and doubly so for positions built on human-to-human interaction. That's more than optimism; it drifts into the kind of AI hallucination that limits the adoption of AI in precisely those fields.

AI Limits

For one thing, current AI models aren't completely ready for what he describes. Yes, large language models behind tools like ChatGPT and Gemini are impressive when it comes to mimicking conversation, writing code, and even imitating human painters. But the illusion of competence hides a laundry list of unresolved issues. AI still makes mistakes, sometimes hilarious ones, but it's not so funny when you fail a test or get misdiagnosed.

Anyone who’s spent more than ten minutes with a chatbot has probably watched it veer off into at least some nonsense, whether confidently inventing facts or suggesting you eat rocks. These aren’t just glitches. They’re systemic quirks that stem from the way these models work, using statistical pattern recognition without real understanding.

Even the companies building this stuff are quietly worrying they’re running out of quality training data. Once you’ve consumed the entire publicly available internet, you hit diminishing returns. It’s like trying to get smarter by rereading the same old textbooks; you might sharpen some things, but you won’t have new insights. Without breakthroughs in how we train and structure AI models, we may be closer to an awkward plateau than the exponential curve that Gates's future would require.

Human touch

Even if AI gets way better, it still won’t be human. That’s not just sentimental—it’s functional. So many jobs that Gates suggests AI could “solve” rely on things no machine has: a childhood, a body, a lifetime of subtle emotional calibrations.

Yes, AI is getting better at reading and employing emotional nuance, but I remain skeptical that it could match the above-average human equivalent of a teacher or doctor, let alone the best of them. Could an AI earn a teenager’s trust when they’d rather be literally anywhere else but in a lesson or sit with a patient in pain and make them feel heard? Maybe, but not in ten years.

What makes for competent logistics planning, customer service, human resource management, and so many other roles is the ability to balance human needs, motivations, and unpredictability. AI can help in all of these fields. It already does. It can write reports, crunch numbers, and flag anomalies. In some cases, it can outperform humans. But replacing the entire role suggests that just because an AI can paint in the style of Van Gogh, it could’ve also survived his mental illness, navigated 19th-century Paris, and invented post-impressionism. It’s not just about output—it’s about the messy, lived-in process behind it.

A deep reservoir of subtle, emotional intelligence is baked into any human career involving other humans. Gates seems to think this can be simulated convincingly enough to make no difference. I’m not so sure.

AI suspicions

This brings me to my last point: even if AI could match or beat human performance in nearly everything, it doesn’t mean people will want that. Let’s not forget that we’re a species with many members who enjoy small talk with baristas even when there’s a self-checkout option. Most people value other humans for more than just the mechanical aspect of their profession, especially in areas like medicine, education, and caregiving.

On The Tonight Show, Gates joked that no one wants to watch robots play baseball, and he’s right. But he stops short of realizing that many people won’t want only robots to teach their kids how to play. Not because the robots aren't technically competent, but because we still prefer the flawed but relatable experience of other humans.

Sure, I'd love a hyper-precise machine with a well-trained AI to perform micro-surgery on me, but there had better be a human surgeon overseeing its work and keeping an eye on me beyond the machine's focus.

AI futures

Gates’s suggestions aren't bad ideas if applied correctly. He’s absolutely right that AI can help extend access to critical services in places that don’t currently have enough teachers or doctors. The part of his vision where AI becomes a helpful assistant for everyone, filling gaps and enhancing what humans already do, is something I'd love to see come true. That said, the leap from “AI can help” to “AI will do everything” is a dangerous oversimplification of both technology and humanity.

So yes, AI is going to change the world. It already has. But not in the clean, utopian, humans-on-vacation way that Gates imagines. It’s going to be messier. Slower. Full of unexpected detours and stubbornly human resistance. People often like their teachers and trust their doctors. They might let AI help, but they won’t give up that human touch without a fight.

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• Microsoft pulled out of a $12bn deal with CoreWeave, citing delays
• OpenAI took over the contract, backed by Microsoft’s own investment funds
• AI sector remains a closed loop driven by a few dominant players

CoreWeave is eyeing a huge (potentially $2.5 billion) IPO in the coming weeks, but it has also had a few unflattering news stories to contend with recently.

Jeffrey Emanuel, whose viral essay described Nvidia as overpriced and led to it losing $600 billion in a single day, has described CoreWeave as a turkey and called it the “WeWork of AI”.

More recently, Microsoft chose to walk away from a nearly $12 billion option to buy more data-center capacity from the AI hyperscaler.

OpenAI to the rescue

The Financial Times (FT) reported sources familiar with the matter saying Microsoft had withdrawn from some of its agreements “over delivery issues and missed deadlines” which shook the tech giant’s confidence in CoreWeave.

The FT added that despite this, Microsoft still had "a number of ongoing contracts with CoreWeave and it remained an important partner.”

Microsoft is CoreWeave’s biggest customer, and the AI hyperscaler refuted the FT's story, saying “All of our contractual relationships continue as planned – nothing has been cancelled, and no one has walked away from their commitments.”

Shortly after that news broke, it was reported that OpenAI would be taking up Microsoft's nearly $12 billion option instead, helping CoreWeave avoid a potentially embarrassing setback so near to its closely watched IPO.

Rohan Goswami at Semafor made a couple of interesting observations on the news, noting, “This isn’t a sign that Microsoft is pulling back on AI - “We’re good for our $80 billion,” Satya Nadella said on CNBC - but an indication that the company is being more tactical about exactly when and where it spends. At the same time, OpenAI’s biggest backer is Microsoft, meaning that OpenAI is paying CoreWeave with money that is largely Microsoft’s to begin with.”

He described this as the rub, saying, “The AI economy is currently a closed loop and will stay that way until a broader swath of economic actors like big and medium-sized companies start spending real dollars on AI software and services. Until then, nearly all the money is coming from a few companies - chiefly Nvidia and Microsoft - which themselves depend on the goodwill of their public shareholders to keep underwriting it all.”

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Apple has confirmed that its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) will take place from June 9 through June 13. The annual symposium of all things Apple software should give us our very first look at Apple’s latest software for the best Apple Watches in 2025, watchOS 12.

Apple has provided annual updates to its wearable software alongside iOS and macOS since the inaugural debut of the Apple Watch in 2015. Many of the features on the Apple Watch that we take for granted in 2025 were only added after the earliest models launched, including small features like Activity Sharing and even the App Store.

With WWDC 2025 on the horizon, watchOS 12 is almost certainly very close at hand. Rumors are scant as to what Apple might add to the software this year, with the biggest Apple Watch headlines for 2025 currently encompassing hardware upgrades to the Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3 rather than software tweaks to the whole lineup.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t make some educated guesses and start to piece together what we know so far. Inevitably, watchOS 12 leaks will probably emerge closer to the time, and we’ll get more rumors between now and the launch. Here’s what we know so far.

watchOS 12: Cut to the chase

• What is it? Apple's next wearable software for Apple Watch
• When is it out? Expect betas from June, with an official release in September 2025
• Who will get it? Likely users of the Apple Watch Series 7 and later, plus Ultra users, and maybe Apple Watch SE 2 and Series 6 owners

watchOS 12: Potential release and unveiling date

(Image credit: Future)

Unless Apple breaks 10 years of watchOS release schedules, the company should unveil watchOS 12 at the WWDC 2025 keynote on June 9. Apple always showcases its latest and greatest software at the opening address on the morning of the first day, so we should see watchOS 12 alongside iOS 19, macOS 16, and iPadOS 19.

So, we have a good idea of when the new software will be unveiled. But what about the release date?

The Apple watchOS 12 beta should go through a series of staggered releases, if Apple continues form with its software rollouts.

Usually, it’ll release a developer beta immediately following WWDC 2025, often on the same day as the keynote announcement. This means we could see it in the wild as early as June 9. For the last two years, Apple has made the developer beta available to all of its customers, so you won't need to be a paying account member to sign up.

Then, a public beta will follow, usually one month later. As the name suggests, this beta is also available to everyone. It tracks about a month behind the developer betas, so it doesn’t quite have as many new features but tends to be more stable as a result.

Finally, after months of testing over the summer, Apple will launch the software publicly for everyone to download. In 2024, this happened on September 16 alongside the launch of iOS 18, right between the pre-order date for the iPhone 16 and Apple Watch Series 10 on September 13 and the official launch on September 20. As such, I’d expect the full release of watchOS 12 to coincide with the launch of the new Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3, as well as the iPhone 17.

Apple needs to push the software live before launching the new best Apple Watch models, and it also needs iOS 19 to go live at the same time, because you can’t have an Apple Watch without an iPhone. Generally, then, you can expect watchOS 12 to debut in mid-September.

watchOS 12 expected compatibility: Which Apple Watch models will get the new software?

(Image credit: Future)

While we won't know about compatibility for certain until Apple unveils watchOS 12, we can make a very educated guess on which Apple Watch models will get the new software.

That's because Apple's chip progression and features usually move in lockstep. Let me explain: Each year, Apple adds more features to its watchOS software. More advanced features require more power and put more strain on battery life, which means that, inevitably, Apple drops support for a model or two each year. Last year, Apple watchOS 11 ended support for the Series 4, Series 5, and first-generation SE.

You can expect guaranteed support for watchOS 12 on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and original Ultra, as well as the existing Series 10, Series 9, Series 8, and probably Series 7. The Series 6 might be on the chopping block, owing to its older S6 chip.

The SE 2 has an S8 chip and is currently still on sale, so I'd expect support for that to persist for a year or two more.

Finally, and most obviously, we can expect watchOS 12 to be compatible with all three new Apple Watch models expected for 2025. Namely, the Ultra 3, Series 11, and SE 3.

If Apple does drop support for a model this year with watchOS 12, the Series 6 seems like the most obvious candidate because of its age.

watchOS 12: Rumored design, new features, and what we want to see

(Image credit: Future)

While we've heard that iOS 19 is set to usher in a major redesign and there are big plans for macOS and iPad OS, too, rumors about any new features or design changes for watchOS 12 are scant so far.

If Apple is planning a major overhaul for its other software platforms, that could indicate one of two things. Either, Apple will overhaul watchOS 12 to reflect the revised look and design of its other software, or watchOS 12 will be a very muted update because it's spending so much time on its other software.

Obviously, we'd prefer if the former was the case, but there are a couple of other bits and pieces we'd like to see, as well as some potential updates we can guess at.

Blood pressure

Apple is expected to add high blood pressure monitoring to the Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3 in September. There's no clear information to confirm whether this will be a hardware change or a software tweak. If it's the latter, blood pressure monitoring could show up at WWDC in advance of its launch in September, also paving the way for support on other models.

If it's exclusive to the new models, a mention is unlikely at WWDC, as Apple will reserve the announcement for the September iPhone event instead.

Apple AI health coach

(Image credit: Future)

Apple has reportedly been working on an Apple AI Health Coach app for at least two years. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has previously reported the company will revamp its health app, including a new AI-based coaching service. Gurman reported in January that Apple is "increasing its ambitions in the health realm" and that work continues on the app.

Any upgrade in this department is likely to include a significant Apple Watch component, so a reveal of this progress at WWDC 2025 for watchOS 12 isn't out of the question.

Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence remains a glaring absence in watchOS. For better or worse, Apple has intentionally left its AI features out of its wearables lineup, reserving them for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

There's some sense to this. Apple Intelligence is generally power-hungry, and would impact Apple Watch battery life and possibly performance. However, I think there are a few obvious integrations that we could see in the next watchOS iteration:

• Genmoji - Genmoji lets you create custom emojis on iPhone that you can send to your friends and family, and it could be a fun way to improve communication on Apple Watch.
• Notification Summaries - An Apple Watch that could give you AI-powered summaries of important notifications could be an excellent upgrade, especially on a device with a small screen designed to be glanced at quickly throughout the day.
• Priority notifications - Apple Watch notifications can be overwhelming; using Apple's priority notifications could significantly improve how many notifications get pushed to your Apple Watch.
• Smart Reply - Apple Intelligence can write replies to messages. With the Apple Watch's tiny screen and fiddly keyboard, this one could be a lifesaver.
• Siri upgrade - Either through ChatGPT or Apple's own AI improvements, Siri needs a desperate upgrade, and it would be great to get the ChatGPT integration in Siri on Apple Watch while we wait for the 2026 upgrade.

watchOS: 2024's most significant updates

There's a good chance that watchOS 12 includes some tweaks and iterations of existing features, as well as new ones. Headline features from last year's release include the new Vitals app, which gives you health metrics measured during your sleep.

There was also the new Training Load feature, customization in the Activity Rings and Fitness app, the new Smart Stack, improved pregnancy support, and new safety tools, including Check In. All of these newer features are prime candidates for further upgrades and changes, and my prediction is that we'll get an upgrade for the Vitals app.

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It's almost time to bid farewell to March (how are we a third of the way through 2025 already!?). But, before April *ahem* springs into action, there are a number of eagerly-anticipated new movies and TV shows to enjoy on the world's best streaming services.

So, whether you're looking forward to watching Mufasa: The Lion King, The Studio, or something else at home, we've got you covered. Whatever you stream this weekend, we're sure you'll enjoy it. – Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

Mufasa: The Lion King (Disney+)

The latest Lion King live-action adaptation has arrived on Disney+ if you're looking for some escapism to the jungle this weekend. This one divided the critics with a split 56% Rotten Tomatoes score, which is actually higher than its 2019 predecessor that only scored 51%. So fans were more enamored with this one, which focuses on the story of Mufasa as he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, who is heir to a royal bloodline.

We're all familiar with the animated classic, and Mufasa: The Lion King takes us to where it all began, swapping between timelines to tell the story of Simba's father and the events leading up to the beloved original movie. While it's not good enough for our best Disney+ movies round-up, you might still have fun with it anyway, especially if you're looking to entertain the whole family. – Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

• Watch Mufasa: The Lion King on Disney+

The Life List (Netflix)

Based on the novel of the same name by Lori Nelson, this new Netflix movie follows Alex Rose (Sofia Carson) as she embarks on a quest to complete her childhood bucket list following the death of her mother. As she revisits her youth, she’s taken on a surprising journey of self-discovery, romance and family secrets.

Netflix is home to many rom-com flops like A Family Affair and Find Me Falling, but The Life List promises to "make you both laugh and cry", which is usually a winning formula for some of the best Netflix movies. I’m definitely getting the tissues ready.– Grace Morris, entertainment writer

• Watch The Life List on Netflix

The Studio (Apple TV+)

With Severance season 2 firmly in the rear view mirror, Apple needs another outrageously brilliant TV Original to fill the void. While Surface season 2 and Dope Thief are worth watching, it's The Studio that I'm recommending as your next must-see show on Apple TV+.

A clever cringe comedy series that doesn't hold back in its satirical take on Hollywood and the entertainment industry more broadly, The Studio is an absolute riot. Seth Rogen stars as Matt Remick, the newly-appointed CEO of fictional company Continental Studios whose attempts to save the floundering business leads to all manner of slapstick moments, belly-aching laughs, and not-so-subtle digs at celebrityism, the LA party scene, and the churn of the Hollywood machine.

With top-tier performances from its supporting cast, including Kathryn Hahn and Catherine O'Hara, plus a whole host of cameo appearances – Martin Scorsese and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos are in it, for goodness sake! – The Studio is absolutely unmissable. Easily one of the best Apple TV+ shows of all-time. – TP

• Watch The Studio on Apple TV+

A Complete Unknown (Hulu)

Who else has been excitedly waiting to see Timothée Chalamet's take on the iconic role of singer-songwriter Bob Dylan? Despite not winning a single Oscar after being nominated for eight at the 97th Academy Awards, A Complete Unknown remains one of the most critically-acclaimed box office releases in the past year and will no doubt be one of the best Hulu movies once more audiences get a chance to stream it this weekend.

Set in the early 60s, the docudrama follows Dylan's rise to fame in New York under the mentorship of Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and offers a new dramatization of the musician's life, including his relationship with fellow singer-songwriter Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro). Chalamet sings all the classic songs in the film himself, so expect a fresh take on favorites like Mr Tambourine Man and Like A Rolling Stone. – Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor

• Watch A Complete Unknown on Hulu

Holland (Prime Video)

After the Nicole Kidman-led Netflix series The Perfect Couple disappointed me recently, I’m really hoping Holland will be a return to form for the iconic actress. The plot is intriguing enough, but with a 30% Rotten Tomatoes score from the critics, there’s a real chance I’ll be let down again when I watch it this weekend. Having said that, critics' scores don’t guarantee the audience will hate it too, so we’ll have to make our own minds up.

There’s a great cast here, at least, with Kidman joined by Matthew Macfadyen, Naomi Watts, and Bryan Cranston, so the movie is certainly not lacking when it comes to talent. Holland is one to try if you’re hoping for a mystery-thriller to get stuck into, it’s now streaming on Prime Video. Maybe you’ll like it more than you think, there’s only one way to find out! - LB

• Watch Holland on Prime Video

Queer (Max)

Luca Guadagnino's latest film sees the Italian director back in his element. Since the theatrical release of Queer in 2024, many can't stop talking about it, including TechRadar's Rowan Davies who said it was his favorite movie of 2025 so far, and I'm not surprised following the success of Challengers and Call Me By Your Name. The director has a way with romantic dramas.

Adapted from a novel by William S. Burroughs of the same name, Queer is set in 1950s Mexico City and tells the story of an expat's (Daniel Craig) relationship with a young student (Drew Starkey). Critics haven't been overly taken by the new movie, which means it won't be one of the best Max movies, but that doesn't mean that audiences won't enjoy streaming another great A24 movie. – AS

• Watch Queer on Max

MobLand (Paramount+)

MobLand is another TV crime drama created by the king of the gangster genre Guy Ritchie and features a star-studded cast of Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan. In this new Paramount+ show, two London crime families battle for power that threatens to end empires and ruin lives. Caught in the crossfire is Harry Da Souza (Hardy), a street-smart ‘fixer’ who is called upon by the Harrigans to protect their family.

This potential best Paramount+ show will be the perfect alternative while I wait for season 2 of Ritchie’s hit Netflix series The Gentlemen and I can’t wait to see his signature violence and unique characters back on the small screen in another gangland saga. – GM

• Watch MobLand on Paramount+

For more streaming suggestions, read our guides on the best Netflix shows, best Disney+ shows, best Apple TV+ movies, and best Prime Video shows.

• Sophos researchers found a new variant of PJobRAT
• Android RAT now targets Taiwanese users
• The RAT can run shell commands and exfiltrate data

PJobRAT, an Android Remote Access Trojan (RAT) which disappeared roughly six years ago, has made a rather quiet comeback, targeting users with some arguably more dangerous functionalities.

Cybersecurity researchers from Sophos’ X-Ops security team discovered new samples in the wild, noting the 2019 PJobRAT could steal SMS messages, phone contacts, device and app information, documents, and media files, from infected Android devices.

The new variant can also run shell commands: “This vastly increases the capabilities of the malware, allowing the threat actor much greater control over the victims’ mobile devices,” Sophos explains. “It may allow them to steal data – including WhatsApp data – from any app on the device, root the device itself, use the victim’s device to target and penetrate other systems on the network, and even silently remove the malware once their objectives have been completed.”

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Inactive campaign

The 2019 variant was mostly targeting Indian military personnel, by spoofing different dating and instant messaging apps.

The new variant seems to have ditched the dating angle, and focuses exclusively on being an instant messaging app.

In fact, Sophos says that the apps actually work, and that the victims, if they knew each other’s IDs, could even communicate to one another.

Speaking of the victims, the attackers no longer target Indians, and have instead switched to the Taiwanese.

Some of the apps found in the wild are called ‘SangaalLite’ (possibly a typosquatted version of ‘SignalLite’, an app used in the 2021 campaigns) and CChat (spoofing a legitimate app of the same name).

The apps were being distributed through WordPress sites, Sophos said, suggesting that they cannot be found on popular app stores. The sites have since been shut down, meaning that the campaign is probably completed, but the researchers reported them to WordPress anyway.

“This campaign was therefore running for at least 22 months, and perhaps for as long as two and a half years,” it was sad. However, it doesn’t seem to have been a large, or successful campaign, since the general public wasn’t the target.

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• MindsEye is launching on June 10 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
• Build A Rocket Boy has shared a new cinematic trailer offering an in-depth look a the game's setting
• Pre-orders are now available

Build A Rocket Boy has announced that MindsEye will launch on June 10, 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

Today, the studio shared the release date alongside a brand new cinematic trailer for the upcoming single-player action thriller, which explored the game's fictional setting of Redrock City, a "super-heated near-future desert metropolis, where technology is king".

In the 'Welcome to Redrock' trailer, we got a look at Redrock's society and its robot inhabitants, as well as new characters like the tech genius and founder of Silva Industries, Marco Silva, and Shiva Vega, Redrock’s power-hungry Mayor.

Both characters' volatile relationship is poised to impact the city and playable protagonist Jacob Diaz, who is searching for answers about his troubled past.

During the game's reveal at the most recent Sony State of Play, we learned that Diaz is a former soldier fitted with a mysterious neural implant known as the MindsEye, who finds himself haunted by flashbacks of a covert mission that altered his life. His goal is to discover who created the implant, which quickly turns into something bigger.

"We can’t wait for players to immerse themselves in our tightly crafted game, MindsEye, with a thought-provoking story where technology and ambition collide, and the inevitable consequences unravel," said game director and former Grand Theft Auto producer Leslie Benzies.

Build A Rocket Boy also shared MindsEye pre-order details for the digital and physical editions, both of which will cost $59.99 / €59.99 / £54.99.

Players who pre-order will also receive the Deluxe Edition Upgrade that includes the Premium Pass, the Deluxe Thorn & Kepler Yellowjacket Weapon, Future Jacob Vest Skin, Future Silva Sedan Vehicle Skin, and the Future DC2 Companion Drone Skin.

Physical preorders will also come with the same goodies, along with the Retail exclusive Stealth Silva Sedan Vehicle Skin.

In addition to the narrative, there will also be bonus missions built in Arcadia, Build A Rocket Boy’s custom building and distribution tool that enables the creation of AAA content, "enabling the delivery of new gameplay frequently".

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• Kaspersky recently uncovered a zero-day vulnerability in Google Chrome
• Mozilla now says it has found a similar issue in Firefox
• The bug was used to target Russian targets in a cyber-espionage campaign

A worrying security flaw, similar to the Chrome zero-day issue recently spotted and patched by Google, has now been discovered, and remedied, in the Firefox browser.

In a security advisory published on March 27, 2025, Mozilla said after the discovery of the Chrome sandbox escape vulnerability, “various Firefox developers” found a similar pattern in the browser’s IPC code.

“A compromised child process could cause the parent process to return an unintentionally powerful handle, leading to a sandbox escape,” Mozilla explained. Escaping the sandbox is one of the browser’s “primary security defenses,” reports CyberInsider.

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Patching the bug

A sandbox in a web browser is a security mechanism that isolates running web content (such as JavaScript, plugins, or iframes) from the rest of the system.

The goal is to prevent potentially malicious websites or scripts from accessing sensitive user data, modifying system files, or interfering with other applications.

By “escaping the sandbox”, cybercriminals could have malware run on the target computer through the browser.

A patch has been released, and Firefox users are advised to update their browsers to versions Firefox 136.0.4, Firefox ESR 128.8.1, Firefox ESR 115.21.1 to mitigate the issue. Mozilla also added that the bug affects Firefox on Windows, and that other operating systems are unaffected.

It stressed that the Chrome bug was being exploited in the wild, suggesting that the Firefox one remained hidden.

Chrome’s original vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2025-2783, while the Firefox one is being tracked as CVE-2025-2857. No severity score has yet been assigned.

Nor Google, nor Mozilla, discussed the threat actors or the victims. However, researchers from Kaspersky (who originally found the bug) said that the flaw was used to target people in Russia.

The campaign involved phishing, redirecting victims to primakovreadings[dot]info. The entire campaign was dubbed Operation ForumTroll and apparently, the goal is to conduct cyber-espionage.

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• A reliable leaker revealed a diagram that indicates Medusa Point APUs may be powered by RDNA 4 architecture
• This would mean that FSR 4 can be used on future handheld gaming PCs and lightweight laptops using the processors
• There's also still a chance that FSR 4 could be backported to RDNA 3

AMD's RDNA 4 architecture, used in its latest desktop GPU lineup (the Radeon RX 9070 series), is currently the only way gamers can enjoy the new FSR 4 upscaling method. Unfortunately, AMD has left RDNA 3 GPU users behind for now - however, it's reportedly a different story for Team Red's upcoming lineup of mobile processors.

According to a leaked diagram from MLID (Moore's Law Is Dead), a reputable leaker on YouTube, AMD's Medusa Point APUs will be powered by RDNA 4 architecture. The diagram shows a processor under one of the Medusa Point APUs that supports 'Zen5LP', which are low-power Zen 5 cores, and also includes 'Navi4', which is indeed RDNA 4.

What this means is that any laptops or handheld gaming PCs powered by Medusa Point APUs will have FSR 4 support in games - if the leaked image holds any truth. MLID also speculates that the diagram showcased isn't from the top-configuration chip, but rather from one of the midrange options in the Medusa Point family.

This comes as a surprise since recent rumors have pointed toward new APUs sticking with RDNA 3.5; AMD has previously made it clear it's working to bring FSR 4 to RDNA 3, so even if this isn't true, there's still a chance FSR 4 will make its way to handhelds and laptops eventually. Not only would this benefit Medusa Point (if it does prove to use RDNA 3.5), but it would also help current AMD-powered systems.

FSR 4 is the closest thing we can get to Nvidia's DLSS on handheld gaming PCs

I've thought of this on several occasions and have even asked Nvidia about it before: if DLSS 4 was available on any handheld gaming PC, it would be a literal game-changer. With the new transformer model, performance mode looks better than quality mode in the previous CNN model for DLSS 3.

Why am I mentioning this? It's because AMD's FSR 4 is the closest upscaling method behind DLSS 4 - now, it's not better than Team Green's tech, and is arguably still a stretch away from matching it, but its performance mode has seen similar improvements.

Instead of ghosting and a significant image quality loss, you can still enjoy the benefits of great visuals and performance. It's important to note that there is a slight performance loss in games with FSR 4 over its predecessor, but it's nowhere near significant enough to have an impact on smoothness.

As far as I'm aware, there are no plans for an APU from Nvidia for handheld gaming PCs (I really hope Team Green is just being secretive, though). Nevertheless, if FSR 4 can be backported to RDNA 3 or Medusa Point APUs are powered by RDNA 4, it's going to be magic for games across the board on handhelds - and that's exactly what Team Red needs going up against Intel's Panther Lake lineup.

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Saying the words "new Netflix horror comedy" is a great way to get me running to one of the best streaming services, and I'm so glad I did because Dead Talents Society is a gem. It was recently added to Netflix following its theater release in November 2024, and I highly recommend this lesser-known movie.

With an impressive 94% Rotten Tomatoes rating from the critics, making it worthy of a spot on our best Netflix movies round-up, it's a shame this movie isn't more popular. But I'm hoping there'll be more eyes on this Taiwanese horror now that it's available on the streamer.

It's definitely reassuring to see better horror movies being added to Netflix, as it seems to have a track record of adding some duds over the years.

Check out the trailer below.

What is Dead Talents Society about?

(Image credit: Sony Pictures)

If you love a good ghost story, this one is for you. The movie is set in an underworld where ghosts can linger in the mortal realm by competing to haunt humans, hoping to become stars. So it's a popularity contest unlike any other, and you can imagine the hilarious scenes that start to unfold!

The protagonist of Dead Talents Society is a rookie ghost who realizes she has only 28 days left before fading away, prompting her to go on a journey to find her uniqueness and stop her from exiting the mortal realm for good. The movie has everything you could want from a horror comedy: absurdity, blood, and scares, making it a great time.

I've long been a fan of non-English language horror movies, and Dead Talents Society is proof that some of the best spooky stories can be found all over the world. This one joins the likes of Ju-On: The Grudge and Ringu on my list of highly recommended international horror movies. If you're looking to try something new this weekend, Dead Talents Society is waiting to welcome you in.

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• A future Apple Watch could debut a touch-sensitive glass frame
• The report comes from a Chinese leaker on Weibo
• It appears to be based on an Apple patent published this week

Apple appears to be working on a future design upgrade to the Apple Watch that could see the company replace its chassis housing and physical buttons with a touch-sensitive glass frame, based on new reports.

The prospect of an Apple Watch with a glass frame and touch interaction has been floated on Chinese social media platform Weibo by leaker Instant Digital, specifically in the context that an all-glass Apple Watch could arrive before a rumored all-glass iPhone.

However, the timing of the leak and close proximity suggest this information has actually come from an Apple patent that published on March 27, first spotted by Patently Apple.

The patent, seen by TechRadar and creatively dubbed "wearable electronic device with glass shell" appears to indicate that Apple is considering a future where its best Apple Watch models have a glass shell and side wall with touch sensitivity, rather than a titanium or aluminum chassis.

Here's what we know.

An all-glass Apple Watch future

Patent images include touch buttons housed in the glass exterior. (Image credit: Apple / USPTO)

The patent refers to a wearable device with a glass shell encompassing both the Apple Watch display and "a side wall extending from the front wall." Essentially, the front and sides of the watch would be made from glass.

Not only would this look pretty cool, but it would allow Apple to turn the side walls of the Apple Watch into a touch-sensitive, evolving display that could show information and receive touch inputs.

The benefit, of course, would be that the information and input could change based on the context. For instance, if you were running a stopwatch, touch buttons on the side could offer start and stop functions. Switch to music listening, and these buttons could display buttons for pausing or skipping tracks.

This is one possible iteration of a future Apple Watch that's likely years away, though, so don't expect an all-glass Apple Watch Ultra 3 or Series 11 in September.

Apple has also patented an Apple Watch with a folding, dual-display and cameras, and a recent report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggests that the company is considering adding cameras to the device to turn it into an AI-powered wearable that can contextualize the world around you.

To me, the idea of a more subtle design tweak with touch-sensitive glass seems a little more refined than jamming a camera into the Apple Watch, but there's no reason Apple won't do both at some stage.

Naturally, of course, there's every chance this patent never sees the light of day, and remains an idea on paper only.

More immediately, we know that Apple is planning to add blood-pressure monitoring of some sort to its more premium 2025 models. Meanwhile, those awaiting the Apple Watch SE 3 can expect a pretty significant plastic redesign, which has been giving Apple some design headaches according to the latest reports.

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The Google Pixel 9a was announced in mid-March, but Google almost immediately delayed the sale of the phone, telling us it would be available sometime in April. We finally have the exact day the Pixel 9a should appear on shelves, and it will arrive in the US, UK, and Canada first on April 10. Then, it will go on sale in Europe on April 14th, followed by Australia and Asia on April 16th.

The new Pixel 9a will cost $499 / £499 / AU$849, and for that price, you get 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage. The phone will be available in four colors: Obsidian black, Porcelain white, Peony pink, and Iris lavender. I got to spend thirty minutes with the new phone in a brief preview, and I'm hoping to have a full review up on TechRadar as soon as possible.

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The Pixel 9a was mysteriously delayed and Google would only say there was a component issue with the phone. Recent rumors have suggested that the Pixel 9a could have had problems with the camera overheating. Those rumors say the problem will be fixed with a software update, which fits the short timing of this delay.

Had there been an actual hardware component that needed to be replaced, we could have been looking at weeks or even months of waiting before the Pixel 9a hit shelves.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

I've reviewed most of the best phones you can buy, and frankly, camera overheating is a very common issue these days. I've had overheating problems with my iPhone 16 Pro, Google Pixel 9 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra that required the phones to all shut down during intense outdoor photo sessions. It's great that Google caught this problem, and hopefully, the Pixel 9a won't have the same issues as those flagship phones.

Of course, Google has not officially confirmed any specific reason for the delay, so we can only speculate. We hope to have a full review of the Pixel 9a on TechRadar shortly, and we will certainly put the camera - and every other component - through thorough testing to make sure it can stand up to our intense expectations.

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