Apple might soon rely on its own 5G modems
We’re less than a week away from Apple’s Wonderlust event where the fruit company will launch its latest line-up of iPhones and smartwatches. Thanks to copious rumours surrounding the iPhone 15, we’ve got a basic idea of what we’ll be seeing both inside the phones and out – none of which feature Apple’s rumoured 5G modem.
According to popular Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via GSMArena), Apple’s been working on its own in-house 5G modem for a while now. When Kuo speaks, it’s generally worth listening to. He reckons Apple’s custom-built 5G modem will debut sometime in September 2025, probably shoved inside the iPhone 17.
Kuo didn’t go into any detail about the modems, leaving us in the dark about what sort of benefits Apple’s own hardware will bring when it does eventually land. For now, Qualcomm will remain Apple’s supplier of choice when it comes to cellular for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16.
Instagram is bringing friends closer together
Instagram isn’t exactly what you’d call “personal.” That was the whole idea, back when the platform launched in 2010. One evil corporation buy-out later, and Instagram is about as soulless as ever, focusing less on your friends and spending all its energy on perfecting the by-the-books algorithm that pumps out ads every few posts. Now, however, Instagram is testing something new that could alleviate some of those issues.
It’s called the Close Friends feed, and it’ll let users share posts with only their group of ‘Close Friends’ rather than the entire world, according to TechCrunch. It’s not an official feature yet, though some users have reported the feature showing up on their devices in the UK. We’ve even got an idea of how the feature looks, thanks to @liahaberman.
Instagram confirmed that the feature was being tested in a few countries, but didn’t mention any specifics. “We’re testing the ability for people in select countries to share feed posts with their Close Friends. We’re always exploring new ways for our community to express themselves and connect on Instagram,” said a Meta spokesperson.
No, Tears of the Kingdom isn’t getting any DLC (for now, anyway)
Tears of the Kingdom is one of 2023’s (and Stuff‘s) best games. But you probably already knew that. What you didn’t know was that it won’t be getting any DLC. At least, not anytime soon. This isn’t speculation, either. The news comes straight from series producer, Eiji Aonuma, who spoke about the game’s post-launch content (or lack thereof) in a Japanese publication, Famitsu.
In an interview translated by Video Game Chronicle, Aonuma said, “At this time, we are not planning to release additional content. “We feel like we have already fully explored and exhausted the gameplay possibilities in this world.”
That’s… disappointing. But it makes sense. Nintendo has never been the type to over-saturate a game or idea, afraid of driving away customers. That’s especially true for the Legend of Zelda series, with Tears of the Kingdom being one of the rare occasions where Nintendo felt a sequel was necessary. Still, we’d have liked to see something, anything, to give us another excuse to dive into Hyrule again.
It’s not like a Tears of the Kingdom DLC is completely out of the question. Aonuma’s following comments proved that. “If, in the future, we find a compelling reason, we may revisit that world once again. Whether it’s another sequel or an entirely new title, I believe the next game will offer a completely new experience,” he said. Fingers crossed, hey?
Miyazaki is at it again
If you actually believed that Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki was retired for good, then you must not be familiar with his work. After coming out of retirement for the third time, Miyazaki is back, and he’s brought a new movie with him. It’s called The Boy and his Heron (originally titled How Do You Live? in Japan) and it’s promising to be one of the studio’s darkest movies yet.
It’s hitting US theatres on 8 December 2023 (global release news hasn’t yet been released), after making its Japanese debut in July. Not much is known about the film thanks to the studio’s odd marketing tactics leading up to the film’s release. For months, all fans had to go on were a few stills, a poster and its Japanese moniker, with a global release still being very much on the cards until yesterday.
To that end, plot details are still scarce. We’ve got a general spoiler-free idea, from the film’s IMDb page, though. “Through encounters with his friends and uncle, follows (sic) a teenage boy’s psychological development. He enters a magical world with a talking grey heron after finding an abandoned tower in his new town.”