This week, Apple launched new AirPods, Alexa+ landed in the UK and we got our first Spider-Man: New Day trailer and much more you need to know.
To catch up on the biggest stories we’ve covered this week, we’ve got this handy update report from ICYMI. Scroll down to see excerpts from each story, plus links to find the full article and dig deeper.
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7. Amazon Alexa+ has arrived in the UK
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Just over a year after its debut in the US, Alexa+ has arrived in the UK and it has more than just a British accent. The AI-powered virtual assistant connects to services and news sources used by people in the UK (including TechRadar), and its chatty new personality uses particularly British turns of phrase (including calling users “mate” when commiserating about the previous night’s football score).
Beneath the surface, Alexa+ is designed to function as an “ambient” assistant that’s there when you need it and fades into the background when you don’t. You can give instructions using natural language instead of expressing commands in a specific way, and you can follow multiple commands at once. It’s now rolling out in early access to owners of the latest Amazon Echo speakers and displays, and will come to older Alexa-enabled devices later.
6. Spider-Man sprang into action
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The day has finally arrived: we have the first trailer for Spider-Man: New day, and is full of details about what awaits Peter Parker in the next film.
We see him still living with the consequences of No way home, which ended with the entire world forgetting who he is, including his best friend and his girlfriend. Clearly, dealing with some things mentally, Peter has thrown himself into being the best Spider-Man he can be, taking on a lot of bad guys, apparently even taking on the Hand, but something is also messing with his powers and causing him to mutate somehow.
We haven’t yet gotten a glimpse of who Sadie Sink plays in this film, but with the emphasis on mutants, could this be some kind of X-Men setup?
This week, Meta announced that on June 15, its Horizon Worlds metaverse will become mobile-exclusive, meaning VR players will no longer be able to enjoy (or be subject to, as was the case for many) the platform’s numerous VR worlds. But then he changed course…sort of.
In an Instagram AMA, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth revealed that rather than shutting down Horizon Worlds entirely in VR, Meta will keep existing spaces alive – VR players simply won’t get anything new.
While it is not the most important story for many, this is a serious change for Meta, which even changed its name to bet on the metaverse, a dream that now seems not far from disappearing completely.
4. We review the Nothing Phone (4a)
With a gorgeous design, a brilliant 6.8-inch display, and an impressive mid-range chipset with a streamlined operating system, the latest Nothing Phone is nothing short of a delight in many ways.
Admittedly, the camera isn’t up to par with some more premium phones, with the 50MP main camera not capturing the imaging performance you’d expect from its rivals.
That aside, using this phone is simply fun in a way that few phones are these days, and at $499 / £499 / AU$949 for its cheapest model, this phone won’t break the bank either – affordable doesn’t have to mean bland.
3. The Samsung Trifold may have been discontinued
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Samsung could be pulling the plug on its Galaxy Z TriFold phone that launched just three months ago. Initial reports said sales would stop first in South Korea, following a final replenishment, and then in the United States.
There are several reasons for this, but it’s apparently due to the industry’s costs in manufacturing the device, which is why the Galaxy Z TriFold sold for a staggering $2,899. Furthermore, Samsung never intended the device to be for the average consumer and was simply meant to show the innovative lengths the company was capable of going.
However, this doesn’t tell us that the Galaxy Z TriFold series will be discontinued entirely, as recent reports suggest that the company is in the process of developing a sequel device.
2. Apple finally launched the AirPods Max 2
The AirPods Max 2 are finally here, finally! – here. It’s been just over five years since the original launched, and while Apple updated them with USB-C instead of Lightning, there have been several new AirPods Pro models in that time.
The AirPods Max 2 are pretty much exactly what we might have guessed: They have Apple’s H2 chip, which means a ton of smart new features; They have a claimed 1.5x improvement in active noise cancellation; and they have a new “high dynamic range amplifier” for “cleaner” audio.
Two things that haven’t changed? Below average 20 hour battery life and design. The latter has become a modern icon, so it’s understandable, but it’s a shame Apple hasn’t made them lighter either. Still, the AirPods Max are loved for their detailed, natural sound, so if that’s improved even further, it might be worth the still-hefty $549 price tag.
1. Nvidia DLSS 5 angered gamers
It’s been a rough week for Nvidia since it unveiled DLSS 5 at GDC 2026, prompting a massive backlash from online game players and developers. This is because DLSS 5 does not continue the tool’s upscaling task trend as it always has with previous iterations; instead, it effectively changes the appearance of environments and, most importantly, character models to make them look literally real, using generative AI.
Essentially, DLSS 5 uses “content-driven generative AI,” according to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang after responding to gamers, saying they “are completely wrong” about using DLSS 5 in games in the future. Popular game publishers and studios like Capcom have already signed up and supported the use of DLSS 5 in current and future games once the feature launches this fall, and they did so without informing their game developers.
It may be too late for Nvidia to hit the reset button on DLSS 5, but its hand could be forced if gamers and developers continue to push back against the use of generative AI in games.
