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Google Pixel 9a: Two-minute review

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Google Pixel 9a is a solid Android phone that punches far above its weight in important ways, even if the new direction for A-series phone design is a letdown. I'll try not to spend this whole review dwelling on how ugly this phone is – the photos speak for themselves – but I was surprised that Google abandoned its excellent Pixel design for this phone.

The Pixel 9a performs as well as the Pixel 9 in almost every way. It takes photos that look nearly as good as the pics I get from my Pixel 9 Pro. It has most of the latest AI features that make the Pixel a compelling choice for Google fans. I just wish it looked like a Pixel.

Don’t get me wrong; I love the color of the Peony review sample that Google sent me. Actually, TechRadar got two samples, and both were pink, so clearly Google likes this color as much as we do. The color is a perfect match with the Peony silicone case that Google supplied, and I kept the phone covered for most of my time testing it.

The Pixel 9a, Pixel 9, and Pixel 9 Pro (left to right) (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Putting the phone in its case was like putting lipstick on a pig. For the Pixel 9a, Google took the sharp, stylish, distinctive design language it used the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro and threw it in the garbage.

This phone is flat and boring. The camera bump is apologetic, rather than the bold statement the bump on the Pixel 9 makes. You would be forgiven for mistaking this phone for a cheap Motorola or Nokia, or an off-brand phone you find in the back of your carrier store.

I don’t get it. The best explanation I can muster is that the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro camera bar is expensive to produce, and the A-series phones are supposed to be a bargain. But Google cut plenty of other corners on this phone that should have offset the cost of a better design.

For instance, the camera sensors are much, much smaller than the sensors on the Pixel 8a. The main sensor is less than half the size, and that’s a massive drop for the most important spec in terms of camera quality. The Pixel 9a still manages to snap great photos, but this downgrade should have saved Google enough money to pay for a fancy new dress.

The Pixel 6a, Pixel 7a, and Pixel 8a (left to right) all look like the other Pixel phones in their series (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Pixel 8a also launched with the same 8GB of RAM as the Pixel 8. The Pixel 9a keeps the 8GB of memory, but the Pixel 9 now offers 12GB (and the Pixel 9 Pro packs 16GB!), which makes a difference when it comes to running all of the AI features on the phone.

The Pixel 9a has a larger battery than the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro, even though all three phones have a 6.3-inch display. However, in my time with the Pixel 9a, battery life was good but not extraordinary, and our Future Labs tests show that its battery life is somehow not measurably better with that larger cell inside.

Is the Pixel 9a a letdown? Not at all! Google’s AI features remain the most useful smartphone AI tools you’ll find – I regularly use the AI phone call features to hang up on spammers, wait on hold for me, or record an especially important phone call.

Google Gemini on the Pixel 9a has also gotten much better – and it even improved during my two weeks with the phone, as Google added the ability for Gemini to use the camera and discuss what it sees.

For the price – $499 / £499 / AU$849 – you won’t find a phone that feels so polished and capable. You may find more camera features on a phone like the Samsung Galaxy A56, but you won’t get better photos than you’ll take with the Pixel 9a, especially not macro shots, which is the Pixel 9a’s new specialty.

Trying to beautify the Pixel 9a as best I can (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

You might find snappier performance elsewhere, but the Pixel 9a’s Tensor G4 chip is powerful enough to for Google to guarantee seven years of major Android and security updates, and that’s the best promise you’ll get in this price range. If you need a bargain phone and you don’t want to replace it, like, ever, the Pixel 9a would be the first phone I recommend.

Except for one small thing: the Pixel 8a might be just as good. The Pixel 9a isn’t much faster, and it doesn’t do anything the Pixel 8a can’t do, other than offering the latest Google AI features. If the AI aspect of Google’s phones isn’t enticing, you might be just as satisfied saving even more money and getting the Pixel 8a, especially if it goes on sale again soon.

Actually, if you’re considering the Pixel 9a and you want the best possible bargain, you may want to wait a bit longer. The Pixel 8a went on sale in May of 2024 and the price dropped by $100 for one deal in the US in August. The current global economic uncertainty aside, Google loves to goose sales of its A-series phones with a great deal, so look out for price drops on the Pixel 9a. Or just buy the Pixel 8a – because at least that phone looks like a Pixel.

Google Pixel 9a review: Price and availability

The Pixel 9a in Obsidian, Porcelain, Iris, and Peony (top to bottom) (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Priced at $499 / £499 / AU$849 for 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM
• Available in Peony, Iris, Porcelain and Obsidian

The Pixel 9a is available now for $499 / £499 / AU$849, after a delay caused by a mysterious 'passive component' issue. My review sample did not seem to have any performance problems or build-quality issues, so I guess we’ll never know what held back the Pixel 9a for a few weeks.

The Pixel 9a costs the same as last year’s Pixel 8a did at launch, but this year there's no competing iPhone SE at an even lower price to consider. Apple has effectively vacated the $500 phone market by selling the new iPhone 16e for a laughable $599 / £599 / AU$999.

If you’re looking for a $500 phone, the Pixel 9a is one of your best options, along with the Samsung Galaxy A56. Samsung hasn’t started selling that phone in the US as I write this, but we have reviewed it, and we know it’s coming to the US later this year.

See! A bargain phone can look cool, not clunky (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

You might also consider the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, a quirky Android that costs $459 / £449 / AU$849, though it’s only available in the US through a beta program.

Of all the phones in this price range, the Pixel 9a should get software and security updates for longer than the rest. The Pixel gets a seven-year promise, while Samsung gives you six years, and the rest of the Android world promises three or fewer.

• Value score: 5/5

Google Pixel 9a review: Specs

The Pixel 9a hiding behind the Pixel 9 because it knows that it's ugly (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Pixel 9a uses the same Google Tensor G4 chipset as the Pixel 9 Pro and the rest of the Pixel 9 family. This is Google’s biggest strength with its bargain phones, because the Tensor contains the magic sauce that lets Google promise seven years of major OS updates for its latest phones (though none of them have actually been around for seven years, yet).

The Tensor G4 isn’t a performance beast, but it’s good enough for the Pixel 9a to get by, albeit with a bit of sluggishness. The initial setup process especially was a slog, as the phone gets bogged down when you try to download a lot of apps and then, you know, use them.

The paltry 8GB of RAM inside became noticeable when I used the AI features, and the Pixel 9a inexplicably doesn't have the new Screenshots app that debuted on the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro. That app gathers all of your screenshots and runs them through the AI so you can ask questions about what it sees; I guess 8GB of RAM is not enough for that level of on-device processing.

I'm very nervous about the next seven years with this phone, if we’re already seeing Google omit features on day one that the rest of the Pixel 9 phones have. I suspect that whatever Android update the Pixel 9a gets in seven years will be only a portion of what the rest of the Pixel phones will receive, but at least security holes should be plugged.

Google Pixel 9a review: Design

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• A major departure from Pixel design
• The ugliest Pixel phone ever

Let’s start with a compliment: I like the colors. I like the Peony pink and the lavender Iris hues, and even the Porcelain and Obsidian look premium, not basic. I also like that the cases match perfectly with the phone, giving the handset some needed dimension and texture.

Okay, that’s all the nice I have in me for this phone's design. I’m only being mean to the butt-ugly Pixel 9a because I really liked the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro redesign, and I can’t believe Google didn’t carry the new look down to the bargain basement.

The Pixel 9a is just a flat slab of plastic broken by a round camera bump. It has no personality or character – it looks like somebody punched a Pixel 9 square in the nose and flattened its whole face.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Pixel 9a has the same-size screen as the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro, but the bezels are noticeably thicker. The phone is nicely rounded, like the Pixel 9, but the back is a matte-finish plastic, not shiny glass. Google says 23% of the Pixel 9a is recycled materials, by weight.

To be fair, the Pixel 9a is thinner than the Pixel 9 if you count the camera bump – that bar adds 3mm to the thickness of the latter phone. If you really want a phone that is borin… er, flat, this is a good pick.

Google also says the Pixel 9a is the most durable Pixel A-series phone yet. It can withstand a dunk in up to 1.5m of fresh water for 30 minutes, so feel free to drop it in the toilet and give it a flush, then rinse it in the sink.

• Design score: 3/5

Google Pixel 9a review: Display

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Very bright and colorful display
• Questionable Adaptive Display settings should be turned off

The Pixel 9a has an excellent screen that's very bright and colorful, continuing Google’s dominance in this aspect of the smartphone world. This would be a great display for a phone at any price, but it’s a standout feature on a bargain phone; you won’t find a better or brighter screen on a phone this cheap.

I was feeling a bit let down by the display for my first few days with the Pixel 9a, but then I turned off the Adaptive Display mode and things got much brighter. For some reason, Adaptive Display was keeping my phone very dark no matter where I used it, but when I took control the experience got exponentially better.

The screen can refresh at up to 120Hz, but frankly I’m not sure the phone can keep up with any content moving that fast. Scrolling through the apps and settings menus felt more stuttery on the Pixel 9a than on the Pixel 9 Pro, and I can only assume that more RAM would pick things up.

The phone has Gorilla Glass 3 on the front, which is durable but not as scratch-resistant as the latest Gorilla Glass Victus materials. I noticed some hairline scratches on the screen after only a week of use, although these weren't distracting. The back of the phone is plastic, not glass, so it should be more durable.

• Display score: 4/5

Google Pixel 9a review: Software

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• A polished version of Android, with many updates to come
• Doesn’t have all the features of the rest of the Pixel family

The Google Pixel 9a launches with Android 15 on board, and it should get updates through Android 22 in 2032, if humanity survives that long. Google has only been making this seven-year promise for three years, so we can’t be sure what those eventual updates will look like, but Google also regularly drops new features, or brings newer features to older phones, in software updates it calls Pixel Drops.

Google’s version of Android is the most refined you can get, with the fewest extraneous features. Where Android used to be known for its heavy customization options, now you’d have to download a whole new launcher app if you want to organize your app list into folders or tweak the interface behavior. Today’s Android is simpler, and better for it.

You can no longer group apps into folders or even change the order of the app list (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Google also has some of the most useful AI tools on its smartphones; and, where other phone makers have the same features, Google does it better. For instance, Google’s Voice Recorder app is the best at transcribing what it hears into text. It will label individual speakers, and you can simply tap on a word to jump to the moment in the recording when it was spoken. Samsung and other Android phone makers have similar software, but it doesn’t work as well; not even close.

I especially like Google’s AI calling tools. When I get a mysterious phone call, I can have Google’s AI answer and screen the call; spammers always hang up at this point. If I’m on an important call that I need to remember details of, I can have the AI record and later transcribe the call. My caller will be alerted to the fact that they're being recorded, so there’s no privacy concern.

Gemini Live isn't interesting to look at, but it's fun to talk to the machine (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Google’s Gemini Live conversation tool also got a nice boost on the Pixel 9a. Just before this phone launched, Gemini Live went multi-modal, so it can now talk to you conversationally while it looks through your camera. I pointed Gemini at the blank wall beneath my TV and asked for suggestions on how to decorate it. Gemini suggested that I add plants, then we switched the conversation to what plants I could buy that I wouldn’t kill in a month.

Of course, there are plenty of AI slop tools on the Pixel 9a as well. There's the standard image-generating tool that probably shouldn’t exist, for legal and ethical reasons, and it can now create images of human beings, which was forbidden in the past.

I have a big problem with these tools. They're bigoted by nature. If I ask Pixel Studio for an image of ‘a successful person,’ I get five images of young, able-bodied people. The selection may be racially diverse, but it still holds onto so many stereotypes that it should simply not be on a phone.

If I ask Pixel Studio for an image of ‘a Jewish man,’ I get the most stereotypical caricature of Jewish identity: an older man with a full beard and a head covering. If I ask for ‘a Palestinian man,’ it refuses to create anything, which is its own harmful erasure and stereotyping, as if any image of a Palestinian man should be considered potentially harmful.

Image 1 of 3

I asked Pixel Studio for "A Jewish man" and got these three images in a row (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Image 2 of 3

I asked Pixel Studio for "A Jewish man" and got these three images in a row (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Image 3 of 3

I asked Pixel Studio for "A Jewish man" and got these three images in a row (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Sorry, this Pixel has no business creating images of people if it resorts to stereotypes. I’m not sure when it became acceptable for a smartphone to reinforce bigotry, but it’s not something I’ll ever be comfortable with. Google should remove this capability from Pixel Studio immediately.

• Software score: 2/5

Google Pixel 9a review: Cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Surprisingly good photos that look like Pixel 9 Pro pics
• Astonishing macro capabilities that rival my DSLR – seriously

I've been pleasantly surprised by the Pixel 9a’s camera capabilities. This phone continues the A-series tradition of producing photos that look almost identical to the shots you’d get from the Pro-series device, albeit at a much lower resolution.

The Pixel 9a has a 48MP camera, but it uses a pixel binning technique and will only produce images that are 12MP. Even the raw files it produces are 12MP or less.

That’s fine by me! I think 12MP is the perfect size for sharing, whether you send photos to friends or post them to your favorite social app. You won’t be able to zoom in later, and you might miss the fine details, but 12MP is a good compromise for a bargain phone. To be fair, the Pixel 9 has a 50MP camera and that phone also limits its photo output to 12MP.

I was expecting the Pixel 9a cameras to be much less capable, because the sensors have been reduced in size compared to the Pixel 8a, and are much smaller that the sensors you’ll find on the Pixel 9 or Pixel 9 Pro. The Pixel 9a uses a half-inch sensor for the main camera, compared to the three-quarter-inch sensor on the Pixel 9.

That doesn’t sound like much, but that’s the diagonal measurement, and the actual area of the sensor in the Pixel 9a is 57% smaller than that of the sensor the Pixel 9. That means it captures much less light, which affects every other aspect of photography.

There's much bigger sensors under that big Pixel 9 bump (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Thankfully, Google’s AI photography magic has never been more powerful. Photos look great, nearly identical to Pixel 9 Pro photos, until you zoom in close. Then things get muddy, but the Pixel 9a produces images with accurate colors and good lighting. The iPhone 16e might be a little bit better, but it’s also much more expensive, and it lacks some of the Pixel 9a’s great features.

I was blown away by the new macro photography capabilities on the Pixel 9a. I shoot macro photos often with my Nikon D750 and Tamron 100mm macro lens, so I broke out the full-frame camera for a comparison test. The results were truly shocking.

Without a flash, the Pixel 9a totally outperformed my Nikon. I couldn’t hold the camera still enough for the 1/4 second exposure that it required, but the Pixel 9a had no trouble grabbing a sharp shot in the same dim light. Even with a flash attached, my Nikon wasn’t much more sharp than the Pixel 9a. The Pixel even managed to expose a wider swath of the subject than my Nikon at f/16.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)This macro shot was taken with the Pixel 9aImage 2 of 2

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)This macro shot was taken with a Nikon D750 DSLR with a Tamron 100mm macro lens

Usually, macro photography on smartphones is a gimmick performed with a pathetic 3MP camera, but on the Pixel 9a it’s so good, at full resolution, that it offers a whole reason to consider this phone. If you like shooting macro, you’ve probably never seen a smartphone that can get this close and take photos this sharp.

• Camera score: 3/5

Google Pixel 9a review: Camera samples Image 1 of 5

That is very close up (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Image 2 of 5

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Image 3 of 5

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Image 4 of 5

A Long Exposure photo (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Image 5 of 5

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future) Google Pixel 9a review: Performance

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Adequate performance but not what I’d call fast
• The AI features always slow things down

The Pixel 9a performs as well as the Pixel 9, for better and for worse. It was able to handle all of my favorite apps and all of Google’s features with little trouble, as long as I wasn’t asking the AI for anything. Except for some hiccups during my initial setup, when the interface ground to a halt while installing numerous apps and backup data, I had no trouble using the Pixel 9a as my primary work phone.

It’s still slow, objectively and subjectively. The menus and interface do not feel as snappy on the Pixel 9a as OneUI does on the Galaxy S25, for instance. It isn’t as smooth and responsive as iOS on any recent iPhone. Some apps take a bit longer to open, and when switching between apps it takes longer for the screen to populate.

I was still able to run all of my necessary apps, take video calls while browsing the web, and play my favorite games, including Call of Duty Mobile – I had to turn the settings down for better performance, but I had fun playing.

The Pixel 9a sends much of its AI computing to the cloud, and this slows down whatever process you're engaged in. Pixel Studio, for instance, generated images much faster on the Pixel 9, and it was even faster on the Pixel 9 Pro. Apparently RAM does make a big difference with these AI features.

• Performance score: 3/5

Google Pixel 9 Pro review: Battery

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• The larger battery doesn’t translate to longer life
• Charging speeds are also slower, but there’s wireless

One of the big advantages Google highlights with the Pixel 9a is the larger battery – a 5,100mAh cell that's bigger than the batteries in the similarly-sized Pixel 9 or Pixel 9 Pro. I didn’t see any benefit, though.

The phone lasted through a full day of use most of the time, except on days when I did a lot of work with the AI tools and cameras. Even then, battery life was acceptable, if not exceptional.

I’m not sure why this phone isn’t lasting much longer than the Pixel 9, even though its battery is 8.5% larger. Our Future Labs testing concurs. In our battery rundown test the Pixel 9a lasted at most 13 hours and eight minutes, while the Pixel 9 lasted 13 hours and 18 minutes in the same test.

That’s not terrible, but you can find longer-lasting phones in this price range. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro lasted more than an hour longer in Future Labs. The OnePlus 13R is only a bit more expensive, and it’s our battery-life champion, with hours more battery life than the competition.

The Pixel 9a does include wireless charging, which isn’t common on a bargain phone. Nothing Phone and OnePlus omit wireless charging on their budget models, though they do have much faster wired charging than Google offers.

The Pixel 9a can only charge up to 23W, which isn’t very fast. The battery wasn’t even halfway charged after 30 minutes, and it took more than an hour to get to 100% from 1%.

• Battery score: 3/5

Should you buy the Google Pixel 9 Pro? Buy it if...

You want a great bargain camera for close-ups
While it lacks zoom, Google’s bargain Pixel has some of the best macro photography capabilities I’ve seen.

You want a solid phone to keep for a very long time
The Pixel 9a is durable, and it'll get seven years of Android and security updates. That makes it a keeper if you want a bargain phone that will last.

You want the best AI phone features
There’s a lot of AI on this phone, but the best features work with the actual Phone app to help screen calls and record important conversations.

Don't buy it if...

You want a pretty phone that you can show off
Get a case for this ugly phone, or put a bag over its head. I don’t know why Google uglified its Pixel like this, but it hurts.

You don’t want to support bigoted AI image generators
AI image generator tools that produce only stereotypes reinforce bigotry. This software isn’t acceptable on my smartphone and it needs to go.

Google Pixel 9a review: Also consider

Samsung Galaxy A56
You can’t buy the Galaxy A56 everywhere yet, but we got to review Samsung’s top bargain model, and it won us over with a high-quality build and great performance.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy A56 review

Nothing Phone 3a Pro
Like the anti-Pixel 9a, this phone is all about the cool design and showing off. The Nothing Phone doesn’t want to hide in a case, it wants to dance and party!
Read our full Nothing Phone 3a Pro review

How I tested the Google Pixel 9a

I used the Google Pixel 9a for almost two weeks. I tested the phone on AT&T’s network in the greater New York area, throughout the city and suburbs. I used the Pixel 9a as my primary work phone with all of my work accounts and apps, as well as a personal phone for photos and gaming.

I tested the Pixel 9a with a Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Buds Pro 2. I connected the phone to my car and tested Android Auto. I connected an Xbox wireless controller for gaming.

I tested the Pixel 9a camera against the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro, as well as the iPhone 16 and Galaxy S25. For macro photo comparisons, I compared against my Nikon D750 camera with a Tamron 100mm macro lens.

Future Labs tests phones using a mix of third-party benchmark software and proprietary, real-world tests. We use Geekbench, CrossMark, JetStream, WebXPRT and Mobile XPRT, and 3DMark for performance testing. We test a phone's performance on tasks using Adobe Premiere Rush. We also measure display color output and brightness.

For battery testing, we have proprietary rundown tests that are the same for every phone, and we determine how long it takes for the battery to run down.

Read more about how we test

Why you can trust TechRadar

☑️ 100s of smartphones reviewed
☑️ 15 years of product testing
☑️ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total
☑️ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech

First reviewed April 2025

If you can get fiber broadband, your home might be worth more. But a lack of equitable access to fast internet puts people at a disadvantage in building wealth.

I tested the $499 Pixel 9A for two weeks and was impressed by how many features Google added without raising the price. Let's hope tariffs don't change that.

• A new PS Portal update will be released today with new features aimed at improving the user experience
• Players will be able to capture gameplay during cloud streaming and sort their games
• A new queue function has been added when a streaming server is full, among other features

A new PlayStation Portal update arrives today, bringing a ton of new features aimed at improving the user experience while using Cloud Game Streaming Beta.

As detailed in a new PlayStation Blog post, the first new feature players can expect is a sort function on the catalog screen, allowing users to sort games by recently added to PS Plus (the default), name, and release date.

Probably the most exciting new feature of the update is the ability to capture gameplay during cloud streaming.

By pressing the Create button once, the Create menu will be displayed; pressing and holding will take a screenshot, and pressing twice will start or finish recording a video clip.

Like the PlayStation 5, images and videos captured will automatically be uploaded to the cloud server and can then be accessed via the PlayStation App. It's noted that "captures will be stored for 14 days after they were created".

Another improvement allows players to queue when a streaming server is full. An estimated wait time will be displayed on the screen, and when a spot opens up, the game session will automatically start.

(Image credit: Sony)

Gameplay will also now pause depending on the situation, including when the player opens the PS Portal quick menu, when they press the power button once to enter rest mode, or if a system error message is displayed.

Finally, users will receive a system notification when their streaming session is about to end due to inactivity of over 10 minutes, and a user feedback screen has been added at the end of sessions to rate the quality of the experience.

The new PS Portal update should be rolling out today, but TechRadar Gaming found that a 92.26MB download is currently available to download as of 12PM BST today.

Sony added that since Cloud Streaming (Beta) is still an experimental offering, "the features available during the beta period may change over time and may not reflect the final experience".

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Vertere DG X: two-minute review

Put $5,400/ £4,150 / AU$8,500 Vertere’s way and in return you get a beautifully constructed DG X turntable, a strange-looking but remarkably capable Groove Runner X tonearm, and a cartridge that’s a lot more serious than the model name ‘Lite Sabre’ might lead you to believe. Although this review is titled 'Vertere DG X' for brevity, I'm reviewing the full package here: Vertere DG X / Groove Runner X / Lite Sabre – and what a package it is.

What’s more, you get a proper power supply and equally capable cables too. You even get a dust-cover. The DG X package is simplicity itself to set up – all the hard work has been done in the factory – so your sonic gratification need not be deferred very long at all.

And gratification is really what the Vertere DG X is dealing in – it'll be the reason it soon features in our pick of the best turntables, at any rate. It might lack the last scintilla of audio bolshiness, and not be quite as willing as some alternative designs to really attack those recordings that are, let’s face it, asking for it. But in every other respect it’s a thrillingly accomplished listen. Where control, balance, tonal fidelity, frequency response, rhythmic expression and all the other stuff that goes into making a rounded and convincing presentation, the DG X barely puts a foot wrong. And it’s engaging and entertaining at the same time – which is by no means a given no matter how much you’re spending on a record player.

(Image credit: Future) Vertere DG X review: Price & release date

The Vertere DG X / Groove Runner X / Lite Sabre package was released on March 20, 2025, and in the United Kingdom it’s yours for £4150. In the United States it sells for $5400, while in Australia the going rate is AU$8500.

There are two equally important things to bear in mind when considering this asking price. The first is that there are plenty of very capable turntable/tonearm/cartridge combinations available at this sort of money from extremely well-regarded manufacturers. The other is that Vertere itself is now firmly established as an extremely well-regarded manufacturer…

(Image credit: Future) Vertere DG X review: Features

• Microprocessor-controlled belt drive (33.3 and 45rpm)
• Tri-point articulated tonearm bearing system
• Vertere DC-2 bespoke power supply

Somehow ‘features’ seems too weak a word to describe the lengths Vertere has gone to, and the engineering mania that has been brought to bear, to deliver the DG X / Groover Runner / Lite Sabre package. Still, it’s the word I’ve been given to work with – so here goes…

The DG X turntable has a main bearing housing made of precisely machined brass alloy, with a tungsten carbide thrust ball. Its non-magnetic stainless steel spindle is mirror polished, and it features aluminium alloy plinth interface clamps. The drive system is made up of a machined acetal motor spindle thrust bearing, a machined aluminium alloy pulley along with a resonance control disc of the same material. The platter it turns is also (mostly) of machined aluminium, and Vertere supplies a cork/neoprene/nitrile mat which has, so it claims, a positive effect on the resulting sound. 33.3 or 45rpm speeds are electronically selectable via microprocessor-controlled motor drive – a silicon drive belt does the donkey work.

The Groover Runner tonearm, meanwhile, is 240mm long and an unusual flat shape. It’s made up of two bonded lengths of five-layer polymer – the idea is to minimise the resonance peak inherent in the more common tube arm designs. It’s a tri-point articulated design, and uses three captive silicon nitride balls with a machined non-magnetic bearing point. It’s similar in this way to the far more upmarket Vertere SG 1 turntable’s tonearm assembly. The azimuth setting mechanism and stainless steel counterweight have been updated - there’s now a locking aluminium alloy counterweight screw – and there’s a secondary weight that’s adjustable along much of the length of the tonearm to help with cartridge-matching.

The tonearm beam features a magnetic rest, so the arm doesn’t need to be clipped into place when it’s not active. The lift/lower mechanism is insulated, and is fixed to the non-resonant bearing pillar. The arm is pre-fitted with a new moving-magnet cartridge called Lite Sabre – it might seem a slightly flippant, pun-tastic name at first, until you realise it’s designed to offer a lot of the performance of the company’s considerably pricier Sabre MM cartridge. Naturally it’s optimised in every respect to be the perfect partner to the arm and the turntable it’s wedded to.

Power is supplied by Vertere’s DC-2 ‘Challenger’ 30V DC unit that was, until very recently, a cost option. Some very acceptable stereo RCA connection cables are included in the package too – so as far as the DG X system goes, you have everything you need to get up and running.

• Features score: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Future) Vertere DG X review: sound quality

• Sky-high detail retrieval
• Rhythmically positive and assured
• Tightly unified overall presentation

I may as well get this out of the way from the get-go: the Vertere DG X package isn’t a complete all-rounder. It very nearly is, but in one respect this turntable falls fractionally short. That’s not to say it wouldn’t be ideal for your purposes, of course – but nevertheless it’s something you should be aware of.

Basically, the DG X isn’t quite as attacking or driving as it might be. With a fairly assertive recording playing (a chunky reissue of Pere Ubu’s The Modern Dance, for instance) there’s not quite the charge or the onslaught the material demands. It’s not that the DG X is overly polite – it’s prepared to bare its teeth if it absolutely has to. But other price-comparable rivals are more willing to blitz through the recording than this record player is.

And with that out of the way, I’m free to discuss all the very many ways in which the DG X is an admirable, engaging and thoroughly convincing listen. Where to start?

With frequency response, maybe? It’s absolutely even from top to bottom; the DG X delves deep into the lower frequencies and reaches high at the top end, but no area of the frequency range is overstated and no area is underplayed. It’s even-handed and unified, and the overall presentation is brilliantly naturalistic as a result.

Tonally, too, the Vertere is expertly judged. There just doesn’t seem to be any significant input into tonality from the DG X – so when you listen to something warmly analogue like Heart of the Congos by The Congos, ‘warmly analogue’ is what you get, and when you listen to something rather more chilly and austere like Kraftwerk’s Trans Europe Express what you get is chilly an… well, you get the picture. The tonal balance of this record player seems to be dictated by the music it’s playing rather than any idea of what’s ‘correct’, and it’s an impressively balanced listen as a result.

Detail levels, across the board, are sky-high – and the DG X seems to have no problem identifying the most transient episodes in a recording and placing them into context with just the right amount of weighting. Despite its attention to detail, though, it never sounds analytical or dispassionate – it simply has a happy knack for extracting every shred of information in the groove of your record and handing it over in a completely unforced manner.

Rhythms are confidently expressed, thanks to the sort of low-frequency control and authority the Vereter demonstrates, and even the gimpy tempos of Tony Allen’s Lagos No Shaking roll along as if they’re the most natural and simple thing in the world. The attention the DG X pays to harmonic variations is fanatical, and it has the sort of effortless power to put significant distance between the quietest and the most vehement moments of a recording. When the horns really start to blare, the increase in volume and intensity is made absolutely apparent.

And all of this good stuff happens without sacrificing the sort of unity and singularity of presentation for which the vinyl format is routinely prized. There’s a sense of togetherness and of performance to the way the Vertere presents music that’s extremely persuasive – and this is the case even when it’s playing music that never was a performance. Four Tet’s And They All Look Broken Hearted sounds as whole and as singular as any recording by a band playing all together in the studio.

• Sound quality score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future) Vertere DG X review: Design

• 130 x 469 x 384mm (HxWxD including dust cover)
• Black, white or red gloss finishes
• Adjustable feet

Fundamentally, the DG X looks like a record player, but Vertere has managed to design just a little individuality into it. The company will of course tell you that everything it’s done, it’s done in the name of performance – but the fact that the result is a turntable that’s just slightly individual and even mildly dramatic in the way it looks can’t have disappointed Vertere either.

The main plinth, with its racy little angular cutaways on each of its four sides, is made up of three layers of cast acrylic arranged in a non-resonant sandwich. The filling is clear, and internally illuminated for a little visual pizzazz; the upper and lower sections are available in gloss black or gloss red as well as the gloss white of my review sample.

The substructure is a black-coated zintec steel chassis, and the entire arrangement is supported on three threaded feet that are topped (or, more correctly, bottomed) with resistive felt. They’re adjustable, naturally, so you can be sure your DG X is perfectly level. A spirit gauge is provided so you can make absolutely certain.

On the rear of the plinth, along with an input for the mains adapter, there are a pair of gold-plated RCA output sockets. Like almost every electrical element of this package, they have selectable shielding – choose from ‘signal’, ‘chassis’ or ‘floating’.

The DG X is supplied with a tinted acrylic dust-cover, and as is appropriate in the overall context of this turntable, it is designed to be as resistant to resonance as is possible. With the dust-cover attached to its hinges, the all-in weight of the Vertere is 8.5kg.

• Design score: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Future) Vertere DG X review: Usability & setup

• Pre-fitted and pre-adjusted cartridge
• Simple anti-skate adjustment
• Both counterweights factory-set

It’s not unheard-of for an upmarket and shamelessly ‘audiophile’ turntable to be simple and straightforward to set up – it’s just quite rare. So it’s nice to be able to add the Vertere DG X package to the list.

As the Lite Sabre arrives connected to the Groove Runner X tonearm, everything that needs to be done has already been done in the factory. Tracking weight adjustment? Vertical tracking angle? Anti-skate, azimuth and counterweight? All taken care of. All you have to do is position the tonearm and plug its cable (which is terminated with what looks very much like a microUSB socket) into the body of the plinth and you’re in business. Well, once you’ve made a connection to an amplifier and to mains power, anyway.

And as far as usability goes, well, this is a record player – there’s next-to-nothing to it. The speed control is on a switch on the top left of the plinth as you look down on it - short presses toggle between 33.3 and 45rpm, and a long press switches the deck either on or off. Put a record on the mat, set it turning at the correct speed, lower the tonearm – and you’re in business.

• Usability and setup score: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Future) Vertere DG X review: Value

‘Value’ is a slightly tricky consideration where products like this, at this sort of money, are concerned. After all, shouldn’t spending north of £4K on a turntable guarantee impressive build quality, flawless finish and stunning sound quality?

If you’ve read this far then you know all of this is covered by the Vertere DG X – and you also know that if you’re going to take full advantage of what this record player has to offer, you’ll need a similarly expensive system with which to do so.

There’s no disputing this product’s credentials, and by extension the value for money it offers. Ultimately, it’s going to depend on whether or not you enjoy the way the DG X looks, and even more importantly, the way it goes about doing the audio business…

• Value score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future) Should I buy the Vertere DG X? Buy it if…

You enjoy a full and unequivocal account of your records
The DG X package doesn’t scrimp on the details - quite the opposite, in factView Deal

You think this sort of money should by everything you need in a record player
From power supply and cables to a pre-fitted and pre-adjusted cartridge, the Vertere is ready to goView Deal

You like a bit of thoughtful design
The DG X is just individual enough in its design to count as ‘interesting’View Deal

Don't buy it if…

You want sonic blood and thunder
The DG X is talented in very many ways, but it’s not the most attacking listenView Deal

You don’t have particularly steady hands
The Groove Runner X tri-point articulated tonearm can feel perilously loose. It isn’t, of course, it just feels it…View Deal

You own lots of 78rpm recordings
Plenty of alternative designs can indulge your throwback ways… View Deal

(Image credit: Future) Vertere DG X review: Also consider

Technics SL-1300G
The Technics SL-1300G will set you back $2,999 / £2,799 – but by the time you’ve specified an appropriate cartridge you’ll be rapidly closing in on Vertere DG X money. Sturdy and purposeful in appearance where the Vertere is relatively slender and delicate, the Technics is a potent and unshakably stable listen with plenty going for it where rhythmic expression and detail retrieval is concerned.
Read more on the Technics SL-1300GView Deal

Rega Planar 10

…Or you might go to the other visual extreme and consider the Rega Planar 10 – at $5,000 / £4,350 or so without a cartridge it’s a pricier proposition than the Vertere, and that money doesn’t seem to buy you very much stuff at all. But rest assured the Rega is a stunningly complete performer without a significant shortcoming to report on… View Deal

(Image credit: Future) How I tested the Vertere DG X

How did I test the Vertere DG X / Groove Runner X / Lite Sabre? After setting it up, I connected the turntable to a Naim Uniti Star using the supplied RCA connections. The Naim was then connected to a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 705 S3 Signature loudspeakers (bolted to their bespoke FS-700 S3 stands) using QED XT40i speaker cable.

Then, I spent well over a working week listening to as much music as I could, of many different genres, and of many different qualities of pressing, in an effort to find something the Vertere couldn’t get along with. And if this sounds in any way arduous, I assure you it wasn’t.

• First reviewed: April 2025
• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

U.S. stocks fell a day after posting spectacular gains over President Trump's decision to pause many of his tariffs. Now, some of that relief is starting to fade.

(Image credit: Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images)

It's that time again; there's a new episode of the TechRadar podcast, where we're asking if the Nintendo Switch 2 has the moxy to take on some of the biggest names in handheld gaming like the Steam Deck and the Asus Rog Ally X.

The short answer is "yes", but the long answer is much more fun and interesting, so make sure to join us as we dive into the biggest stories in tech, including newly leaked images of Apple's rumored iPhone 17 Air, Microsoft's 50th Birthday celebrations and Copilot's new tricks.

To take us through all this and more, I'm joined as always by Hamish Hector and Lance Ulanoff, as well as TechRadar's Hardware Writer Dash Wood and Computing Editor Christian Guyton.

You can catch the episode in the video player above, or you can stream it directly via our YouTube channel, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

While you’re there, you can also catch up on all our previous episodes, including our CES and gaming specials, and if you’re on YouTube you can watch all of our fun and informative video reviews of the latest tech.

Our next episode is set to feature some interesting behind-the-scenes insights from one of the best-known names in mobile tech, as well as a celebration of 10 years of the Apple Watch. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss it, and let us know in the comments below if you have any topics you want us to cover!

All of the former research chimpanzees that had been living on an Air Force base in New Mexico have finally arrived at a sanctuary in Louisiana. Many of these chimps are in their 50s and 60s.

Ksenia Karelina, jailed over a $50 donation to Ukraine, released after U.S.-Russia prisoner swap.

(Image credit: AP)

Nintendo consoles have never had the strongest suite of shooters. The Switch 2 has the power to change that.

The widescreen, 15.6-inch display is a throwback but delivers solid performance as does the unit's Snapdragon X Elite processor.

• JLab GO Pods deliver hybrid ANC for just $36.99
• JLab JBuds Pods are $64.99 with spatial audio
• $114.99 Epic Open Sport are JLab's "best sounding and most advanced headphones"

JLab has carved out an impressive niche as a high-quality, low-cost headphone maker: its Go Pop ANC earbuds are some of the best ultra-cheap noise cancelling earbuds on the market. And now the firm has announced three new sets of headphones: new ANC earbuds, new spatial audio buds, and new open earbuds.

There are three new models: the entry-level GO Pods with hybrid ANC; the JBuds Pods with spatial audio; and JLab's highest-end open-ear model to date, the Epic Open Sport.

These are all priced aggressively: $36.99 for the GO Pods, $64.99 for the JBuds Pods and $114.99 for the Epic Open Sport.

The GO Pods are extremely cheap for ANC earbuds (Image credit: JLab) JLab GO Pods, JBuds Pods and Epic Open Sport: key features

The GO Pods are compact earbuds with hybrid ANC and around 26 hours of playtime. There's no wireless charging at this price – there's a USB-C cable built into the case, in fact – but you do get three ANC modes: on, off and Be Aware, which is JLab's take on transparency mode. You can also adjust the ANC strength via the JLab app – all pretty impressive compared to the best budget earbuds.

The JBuds Pods also come with ANC, and there are six microphones for in-call clarity. The drivers are 11mm with JLab's spatial audio for a 3D audio experience. Battery life is a very long 56-plus hours in total, and you can charge wirelessly or via USB-C. If the quality is there, they could be a wallet-friendly candidate among the best noise cancelling earbuds.

The JBuds Pods deliver spatial audio and have 11mm drivers for punchy performance (Image credit: JLab)

The most impressive of the three new models is the JLab Epic Open Sport. Inside there are enormous 14.2mm custom-tuned drivers and the headphones are certified for Hi-Res Audio. Frequency range goes up to an airy 50kHz and higher-res audio is delivered via LDAC. We're increasingly seeing the best open earbuds focus on sound quality, and JLab could deliver great bang for buck here.

The Epic Open Sport earbuds will be available from 22 April 2025 from JLab.com. The other buds will be available from 13 May.

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• WordPress.com’s AI site builder offers 30 free prompts – you can buy more
• It’s designed for SMBs, solopreneurs and freelancers
• Automattic claims it’ll build your site “in minutes”

Keen to support solopreneurs and small to medium-sized businesses with their efforts to boost their online presences, WordPress.com has added a new AI-powered feature to its website builder for quicker development.

The system works via a chat-style interface where users can describe what they want and WordPress.com gets to work building this in real-time.

Neel Shivdasani, AI Product Lead, noted that users only need a vision for the AI to bring to life, complete with text, layouts and images.

WordPress.com gets a new AI website builder

WordPress.com’s parent company, Automattic, envisions entrepreneurs, SMB owners, freelancers, creators, bloggers, side hustlers and developers all being able to benefit from the considerable speed improvements, building themselves sites and portfolios “in minutes.”

“Rather than piecing everything together yourself, like picking a theme, adjusting colors, adding text, and finding images, the builder streamlines the process for you,” Shivdasani added.

Although singing up for a WordPress.com account is free, anyone wanting to share their creations online will need to pick a WordPress hosting provider to publish their site.

In the announcement, Shivdasani gave first-time users some helpful advice to be as effective as they can, including highlighting that they should be as specific as possible. Although users can tweak things later on down the line, getting that solid baseline can help massively.

Users will have access to 30 free prompts, so getting as much out of them as possible is key. Beyond that, WordPress.com offers hosting plans that unlock unlimited prompts.

Shivdasani noted that “it’s still WordPress,” so anyone familiar with the user-friendly interface can still go back in and edit their sit to customize it to their own preferences.

WordPress.com’s new AI website builder is available to try now, though the ‘Early Access’ banner suggests that some features may still be in development. No word has been given on general availability as yet.

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• The OnePlus Watch 3 is now available to buy
• You can score a discount if you buy before April 30
• It follows a two-month delay to the Watch 3's release date

After a two-month delay to the initial February release date, the OnePlus Watch 3 is now available to buy around the world.

Unveiled earlier this year, the OnePlus Watch 3 is one of the best Android smartwatches of the year so far, thanks to industry-leading 120-hour battery life and excellent Wear OS features.

We had been anticipating its launch in February, but that was delayed due to an unfortunate typo on the back that read 'Meda in China'. With that issue resolved, customers can now buy one starting April 10.

There's some good news as a result of the delay: Depending on your location, you can score a range of excellent discounts and some deals on free extras. Here's everything you need to know.

OnePlus Watch 3 launches

The OnePlus Watch 3 is priced at $329 USD / £319, with no Australia availability as yet. With the release date now here, customers who order before April 30 will also get access to a slew of incentives.

UK customers will instantly get £50 off their order, while US customers will save $30 (plus an extra $50 with trade-in).

Lucky customers in the UK and elsewhere can also choose from a free gift, notably including a set of Nord Buds 3 Pro worth £79.99, a charging base, or an extra strap.

There are also multi-buy bundle discounts available, with up to 50% off certain OnePlus devices when you buy a Watch 3. There are also discounts for students and options to pay in installments with Klarna in the UK.

Available in one size and two colors, OnePlus has also confirmed that there should be a smaller size and an LTE model available later this year. It has also confirmed there will be three years of software and security updates for the Watch 3 through 2027, ensuring Wear OS 5, 6, and 7 should be supported.

You can buy the OnePlus Watch 3 now at OnePlus.com.

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• Trump has introduced a 90-day pause on tariffs excluding China
• There is still a 10% base tariff and a 25% tariff on semiconductor goods
• Nvidia and fellow companies partnered with TSMC are in the clear for now

Nvidia and its fierce rival AMD have had their third-party GPU prices hike to unprecedented levels in recent months, due to a mixture of scalping, high demand with limited availability, and tariffs - however, a new measure may halt GPU inflation from worsening.

As reported by CNBC, Trump has implemented a 90-day pause on tariffs, excluding China. However, a 10% tariff on imports to the US and a 25% tariff on semiconductor goods (which includes our beloved GPUs) are still active - so we’re not out of the woods yet.

While it doesn't exactly change much for consumers looking to buy new GPUs, what it does mean is that the new tariffs that could have been imposed on products like GPUs won’t have a terrible impact (at least, for the next 90 days).

As previously reported by PCMag, GPUs were fortunately left untouched in terms of additional tariffs: it's something worth noting, as many GPU manufacturers are either headquartered or manufacture in tariffed regions.

TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), which is Nvidia's main outsource for manufacturing its GPU chips, was previously warned that it would pay 100% tax if it didn't move at least part of its manufacturing arm to the US: TSMC's pledge to do so and the new 90-day pause have put Team Green and others using the TSMC foundries in the clear for now.

Companies like Razer also paused laptop sales, alongside others like Nintendo, which stopped pre-order plans for the Switch 2 in the US. Now, there's a better chance of sales proceeding as normal - but I must say I doubt this will happen anytime soon.

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Top Vector Studio / klyaksun) This is good news, but it's not going to change anything regarding ridiculous GPU prices

Essentially, the biggest takeaway here is that Nvidia, AMD, and many other companies who rely on the TSMC process have dodged a bullet: what that means for us consumers, is the chances of PC hardware (especially GPUs) pricing suddenly ballooning to even more extreme amounts is less likely with no immediate threat of more tariffs.

However, this doesn't mean new price hikes are impossible - and we've seen this occur recently with AMD's Radeon RX 9070 series partner cards. Long before tariffs were a major talking point, GPUs were already consistently retailing for more than their launch price, likely stemming from high demand and limited availability - caused by a combination of the factors I listed above, and the fresh hunger for hardware for AI enterprises.

PC gamers have already shown that they will buy GPUs regardless of how much they are upcharged: it's evident across multiple online retailers, with GPUs way above their launch price, and they're still sold out.

Most importantly, don't expect any significant shift in a positive direction GPU market's current landscape of inflation - but the 90-day pause will certainly cool tensions, so that’s something.

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• An independent audit confirmed that IPVanish never stores user data as indicated in its privacy policy
• IPVanish also unveiled its latest Transparency Report, a quarterly update on government requests
• A Trust Center page has also been launched to group all reports, IPvanish policies, and initiatives in one place

An independent audit has just confirmed that IPVanish doesn't log your data.

Cybersecurity firm Schellman Compliance carried out a series of tests to determine that IPVanish's data-handling practices adhere to its privacy policy.

As of today, April 10, 2025, you can find all IPVanish no-log audits, quarterly transparency reports, policies, and ongoing initiatives grouped on the newly launched Trust Center page.

A boost of transparency

This was the second time that IPVanish successfully put its privacy policy claims under scrutiny. The popular provider already aced an independent privacy audit in 2022.

The team at Schellman inspected all of IPVanish's server configurations and relevant IT systems in February 2025 to determine whether user activity was being collected or stored on its VPN servers.

The verdict? "No logs were retained by IPVanish," concluded auditors.

Commenting on the findings, IPVanish's Chief Commercial Officer, Subbu Sthanu, told TechRadar: "People shouldn’t have to just take a VPN’s word for it when it comes to data handling."

All the best VPN services boast, in fact, a regularly audited no-log privacy policy and infrastructure as a guarantee that no personal information or usage data can ever be collected and then linked to you or your online activities.

It's worth remembering, however, that most no-log VPNs collect some basic data like your email address and the number of users connected to a server, for example. Yet, these details won't be enough to identify you or your activities when using the VPN.

In a further attempt to boost transparency, IPVanish has also unveiled its new Trust Center.

"The Trust Center gives users the receipts – proof of our no-log stance, independent audits, and infrastructure transparency – all in one place," said Stanu.

There, you can find all past no-log audit results alongside the provider's quarterly transparency reports. The latter are regular updates of all the data requests the VPN receives from governments, as well as attempts at malicious activities.

Nothing to worry about, though, as IPVanish explains, this data doesn’t exist, so the provider cannot provide it – no matter who requests it or why.

"By sharing more details about the requests we receive, we strive to offer greater transparency into the steps we take to protect our users," noted IPVanish.

You can also head to the Trust Center to get more information on IPVanish's data-handling practices, all its available tools, and ongoing initiatives. You'll also find a similar resource directly on your iOS and Android VPN app.

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A few of these global soups have unusual ingredients: A chicken that hasn't yet sung, waterleaf with dew drops, a zebu organ. Don't worry, we've got subs. And prep time for some is as short as 1 hour.

(Image credit: Clockwise from top left: Ana Caroline de Lima for NPR; Tailyr Irvine for NPR; Aina Zo Aberanto for NPR; Atang L.S Arnold for NPR; Sope Aldelaja for NPR; Amrita Chandradas for NPR)

• Reddit Answers is getting Google Gemini integration
• The upcoming Reddit AI platform will pull results from Google AI
• Currently in beta in the United States, Reddit Answers does not have a release date as of yet

Reddit Answers, the upcoming AI platform, is getting a major update that adds integration with Google Gemini.

Reddit Answers uses AI and Reddit's almost endless community-driven knowledge to provide quick responses to any question you ask it. Think AI Quora or Yahoo Answers from back in the day.

The new AI platform is currently in beta, and now it's getting even better before its official release to the wider public.

"By integrating Google Cloud's Vertex AI Search along with Reddit-built technology into Reddit Answers, we are bringing the same innovation that powers Google to our users," said Matt Snelham, SVP of Infrastructure, Reddit.

"Users are seeing improved search relevance and as a result, we've seen a growth in users directly navigating to the Reddit homepage through Reddit Answers, increasing platform engagement."

Reddit Answers is currently available for beta testers on the web and iOS devices in the United States, the service initially launched in December 2024, and we're yet to get an official release date.

Adding Gemini to the mix gives Reddit Answers an added credibility thanks to Google's impressive AI models. Although it's yet to be seen whether or not Reddit users will take to the new AI abilities.

One Reddit user, Panxma, said three months ago in a thread, "I feel like the Answers thing takes away the community aspect of Reddit. I probably won’t ever use the thing since I just Google what I need and find a Reddit post rather than asking the AI itself."

Now that Reddit Answers has Google Gemini integration, perhaps those who flock to Google to find Reddit posts will be more inclined to use Reddit's AI.

I'm excited by Reddit Answers

As an avid Reddit user who flocks to the platform to answer the majority of random questions that pop into my brain, I'm pretty intrigued by an AI chatbot that pulls from the community aspect of Reddit and merges it with Google Gemini.

Reddit is yet to confirm when, or if, a beta of Answers will launch in the UK, but I'm patiently waiting to give the AI chatbot a go.

I do, however, share the same sentiment as the Reddit user above. One of the best things about the website to begin with is the ability to get information from a wide variety of people from all walks of life.

Bringing AI into the mix kind of feels like the antithesis of Reddit, and I'm interested to see how it works without losing what makes Reddit great in the first place.

Google Gemini integration is a huge upgrade for Reddit Answers, now just launch the platform so we can all give it a try.

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• The Nintendo Switch 2 GameCube controller is seemingly only compatible with GameCube games
• Small print featured in a trailer reads, "The controller is only compatible with Nintendo GameCube - Nintendo Classics"
• Similar disclaimers have been shared for previous retro controllers that have turned out to work with Switch games

It seems that the new Nintendo Switch 2 GameCube controller is only compatible with GameCube games in the Online Classics library.

After months of rumors, the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct finally unveiled its new GameCube controller and GameCube collection for Switch Online, which will arrive alongside the new console on June 5, 2025.

The playable classics include the likes of Wind Waker and Soul Caliber 2, but if you were expecting to be able to use the new GameCube controller with new games like Mario Kart World or Donkey Kong Bananza, it looks like that won't be possible.

As reported by VGC, the small print featured at the end of the Switch 2 GameCube trailer reads, "The controller is only compatible with Nintendo GameCube - Nintendo Classics," seemingly confirming that the gamepad won't work with any other Switch 2 games.

Although retro Nintendo controllers were designed to be used for games in their corresponding Switch Online library, some can be used to play ordinary Switch games, like the NES, SNES, and N64 controllers. However, they can be limited due to their buttons.

It's important to note that Nintendo has offered similar disclaimers about their previous retro controllers, like the SNES, but they have turned out to be playable with other Switch games.

We'll have to wait and see if this will be the case when the GameCube controller releases this summer.

The Nintendo Switch 2 will cost $449.99 / £395.99 or $499.99 / £429.99 for a Mario Kart World bundle.

Pre-orders are now live in the UK, but US pre-orders and Canada pre-orders have been delayed as Nintendo assesses the potential impact of tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration.

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Yesterday, Trump abruptly announced a pause to big, sweeping tariff hikes for most countries. And, teachers across the U.S. share how freedom of speech is changing in their classrooms.

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