The Morning After: Get ready for Nintendo’s big Switch 2 reveal

I’m sidestepping the desperate attempts at April 1 shenanigans and focusing on the imminent Nintendo Direct broadcast, which is likely to confirm rumors and sink others. The last few Switch 1 games have been revealed, meaning tomorrow’s Nintendo Direct: Switch 2 presentation, kicking off at 9AM ET / 6AM PT will be all about the new console — no distractions. (Although, I’d be cool with a Silksong release date, finally.) We already know the Switch 2 will be a bigger console, with a bigger screen and Joy-Cons. There also may be some sort-of-mouse functionality baked into the controllers this time, but Nintendo’s focus is on tech specs — and the games. What does the company have cooking? — Mat Smith The biggest tech stories you missed Google’s new experimental AI model, Gemini 2.5 Pro, is now available to free users too The best midrange smartphones Apple is reportedly on track to launch the M5 iPad Pro and MacBook Pro later this year Get this delivered direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! The Light Phone III doesn’t have apps or internet, but still costs $799 $599 if you pre-order. Light Phone The company behind several minimalist handsets has just released the Light Phone III. It may be the perfect device for folks who brag about giving up smartphones and have the money to experiment with stripped-down phones that are the ultimate step back from modern convenience. Whoops, sorry, I let my mask slip there. Hey, at least there’s no AI nonsense. There is a cool, crisp B&W OLED display, new for this third iteration, instead of e-ink paper. There’s still no internet, no apps, no email. There is, however, a place for your podcasts and a simple camera with a physical button. There’s also a Maps app, powered by Here, but it’s private, so there’s no info shared on where you’re trying to get to. Privacy like that, however, costs a heady $799, unless you can get the pre-order price of $599 at launch, with estimated delivery in July. Continue reading. xAI, Elon Musk’s AI company, just purchased X, Elon Musk’s social media company Confused? You should be. Yes, xAI has purchased X, according to a post shared by Musk. Besides their owner and similar names, the companies are already connected through xAI’s chatbot, Grok, so it makes some sense. The biggest surprise may be that X is still valued at $33 billion — according to Musk and his companies, at least. X, once Twitter, was acquired by Musk in 2022 for $43 billion. xAI, like many leading AI companies, has been raising money as often and as quickly as possible. Combining the two companies may ease some of the debt Musk took on. The companies’ futures are “intertwined,” according to Musk. Financially, now, that’s very true. Continue reading. iOS 18.4 is available now It adds new emoji, Apple News+ Food and priority notifications. iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 and macOS 15.4 include a new Apple News+ Food section in the News app that collects recipes and food-oriented articles, including exclusive recipes for Apple News+ subscribers. The updates also introduce new emoji, AI-sorted Priority Notifications in the Notification Center and a new Ambient Music tool in the Control Center. After a bit of a delay, Apple Intelligence will be available in the European Union for the first time on iPhone and iPad. The suite of AI features will now also work in several new languages “including French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese (simplified) — as well as localized English for Singapore and India.” Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-111414827.html?src=rss

Apr 1, 2025 - 12:21

The Morning After: Get ready for Nintendo’s big Switch 2 reveal

I’m sidestepping the desperate attempts at April 1 shenanigans and focusing on the imminent Nintendo Direct broadcast, which is likely to confirm rumors and sink others.

The last few Switch 1 games have been revealed, meaning tomorrow’s Nintendo Direct: Switch 2 presentation, kicking off at 9AM ET / 6AM PT will be all about the new console — no distractions. (Although, I’d be cool with a Silksong release date, finally.)

We already know the Switch 2 will be a bigger console, with a bigger screen and Joy-Cons. There also may be some sort-of-mouse functionality baked into the controllers this time, but Nintendo’s focus is on tech specs — and the games. What does the company have cooking?

— Mat Smith

The biggest tech stories you missed

Get this delivered direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!

The Light Phone III doesn’t have apps or internet, but still costs $799

$599 if you pre-order.

The company behind several minimalist handsets has just released the Light Phone III. It may be the perfect device for folks who brag about giving up smartphones and have the money to experiment with stripped-down phones that are the ultimate step back from modern convenience. Whoops, sorry, I let my mask slip there. Hey, at least there’s no AI nonsense.

There is a cool, crisp B&W OLED display, new for this third iteration, instead of e-ink paper. There’s still no internet, no apps, no email. There is, however, a place for your podcasts and a simple camera with a physical button. There’s also a Maps app, powered by Here, but it’s private, so there’s no info shared on where you’re trying to get to. Privacy like that, however, costs a heady $799, unless you can get the pre-order price of $599 at launch, with estimated delivery in July.

Continue reading.

xAI, Elon Musk’s AI company, just purchased X, Elon Musk’s social media company

Confused? You should be.

Yes, xAI has purchased X, according to a post shared by Musk. Besides their owner and similar names, the companies are already connected through xAI’s chatbot, Grok, so it makes some sense. The biggest surprise may be that X is still valued at $33 billion — according to Musk and his companies, at least. X, once Twitter, was acquired by Musk in 2022 for $43 billion. xAI, like many leading AI companies, has been raising money as often and as quickly as possible. Combining the two companies may ease some of the debt Musk took on.

The companies’ futures are “intertwined,” according to Musk. Financially, now, that’s very true.

Continue reading.

iOS 18.4 is available now

It adds new emoji, Apple News+ Food and priority notifications.

iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 and macOS 15.4 include a new Apple News+ Food section in the News app that collects recipes and food-oriented articles, including exclusive recipes for Apple News+ subscribers. The updates also introduce new emoji, AI-sorted Priority Notifications in the Notification Center and a new Ambient Music tool in the Control Center.

After a bit of a delay, Apple Intelligence will be available in the European Union for the first time on iPhone and iPad. The suite of AI features will now also work in several new languages “including French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese (simplified) — as well as localized English for Singapore and India.”

Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-111414827.html?src=rss