Love is in the Air
2025 is a big year for smartphones, particularly those concerning the big boys – Apple and Samsung. We’re not talking about actual innovation, obviously. Both companies are rumoured to add a new model to the traditional smartphone line-up and expand their profits. For Samsung, that’s the rumoured ‘Slim’, while Apple’s execs have dreamt up an imaginative name for its newcomer: the iPhone 17 Air.
That’s according to Apple rumour savant, Mark ‘The Gur-man’ Gurman in his Power On newsletter (via The Verge). Gurman reckons the slimmer, lighter iPhone will be “a testing ground for future technologies,” and ultimately jumpstart the Fruit Company’s interests in the realm of foldable devices.
We’re not interested in the vague future of folding devices at this very moment. The so-called iPhone 17 Air will reportedly land later this year, right alongside the company’s usual suspects – the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max. It’ll bring with it the “old” Apple mindset, and feature a significantly slimmer body – measuring between 5.5 and 6.25 mm thick – making it the thinnest iPhone yet.
As for the specs, we’ll need to await Apple’s confirmation, although older leaks suggest it could turn up rocking Apple’s A19 chipset, 8GB of RAM, a 120Hz 6.6in ProMotion OLED display, and a 48MP sensor lodged in its rear.
Grok goes solo
No longer will you have to confine your questions for X’s AI assistant, Grok, to within the X app or website. Elon Musk’s unhinged chatbot has gone solo. Specifically, it’s landed itself on the App Store with eventual plans to properly take on the likes of Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini.
It’s functionally the same AI assistant embedded into X, so don’t expect different results if Grok wasn’t already your go-to assistant for any artificial intelligence needs. The Grok standalone app is just as capable of writing, rewriting, summarising text, and generating images as its online counterpart (using the Grok-2 AI model), presumably following the same restrictions recently implemented onto the site.
When Grok went free back in December (yes, people used to pay for access), it massively limited output for the non-paying peasants – restricting users to five requests per hour, and three image analysis requests per day. It’s unknown whether a user’s XPremium subscription will carry over to the standalone Grok app, though we imagine it does – and we’re not about to try.
PS5 killed the Xbox exclusive star
Xbox exclusives are dead, and the PS5 killed them. Or at least, that’s the impression we got in the wake of Microsoft’s decision to port over plenty of its games to other consoles, namely Sony’s current-gen console efforts. And there’s still bigger fish to fry, if the word of leaker NateTheHate is correct, with Microsoft reportedly considering bringing over MS Flight Simulator and Halo: The Master Chief Collection to its biggest rivals.
If the porting over of Microsoft’s arguably most iconic and synonymous franchise to the PS5 isn’t a clear sign of defeat, we’re not quite sure what is. Sure, there’s still Starfield, but its failure to launch elsewhere may be an even clearer sign of Microsoft giving in to fans of other consoles by keeping it right where it is. But Halo? Something is terribly wrong at Bill Gates HQ. It gets better, too. Nate believes they may even stretch to the Switch 2.
WindowsCentral later jumped into the conversation, with the publication’s Jez Corden corroborating Nate’s rumours. “I can corroborate independently with our own sources that all of the above is most likely true. It seems that Microsoft isn’t stopping there, though.” He even went on to reveal that Hellblade 2, Age of Mythology, and potentially Gears of War 1 Ultimate Edition are also expected to hit the PS5 eventually.
While Microsoft’s plans might not do much to bolster its console line-up, there’s no denying the release of its biggest exclusives will do wonders for Xbox financially. As always, it’s worth taking these rumours as exactly that – rumours. Plans can change, leakers can lie, and there is no Queen of England.
Let’s hop on the Game, Baby
The Nintendo Game Boy is perhaps one of the most iconic (and best-selling) consoles of all time. The Gamebaby from BitmoLab… isn’t. That’s not a surprise. The Gamebaby is an iPhone accessory that’ll turn your device into a Game Boy-like device with the help of the Delta emulator and some seriously nostalgic buttons to boot.
Unfortunately, it’s currently only available to pre-order and is tied to the iPhone 15 and 16 Pro Max models and sells for $40 (R770) – plus any sort of shipping fees if you’re planning to bring it over the border. But if you can stomach the price, you’ll have an honest-to-God Game Boy in your pocket.
On the front are the same ol’ D-pad, A/B buttons, and Start/Select buttons you’ll remember from your Pokémon days, which pop off to fit the iPhone snugly inside. There’s no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Those buttons rely entirely on touchscreen feedback, but the trick is getting them to work properly. That’s where Delta comes in.
While Delta is just as necessary to play your ROMs, Gamebaby users can select a custom Gamebaby skin from Delta’s settings to allow the physical buttons to perfectly match up with the on-screen controls. It’s great for anyone looking to take on the classics like Link’s Awakening without shelling out a small fortune for something off Facebook’s marketplace. Expect it to turn up later this year.
