Project Suncatcher’s first orbital AI unit is writing poetry for some reason
Project Suncatcher is Google’s attempt at putting AI data centres in space. The company’s first unit, a little cube satellite with TPU hardware and its own Gemma 4 AI model on board, is now in space and transmitting data back to Earth. One of the first things it has sent (likely for PR reasons) is poetry.
According to Google, the first prompt sent to the orbital unit asked it to generate a haiku about being in space. The response was… more than a little twee and, we suspect, was tucked away inside the system for just such an occasion. It was followed by space-themed limerick generation (the outputs of which weren’t shared) and telemetry testing. Future experiments will test the AI satellite’s durability to thermal and radiation conditions in space before a future launch.
Next for Suncatcher is a launch that will connect two satellites for more processing power, but that won’t happen until 2027. Whether the project will ever result in an actual orbiting data centre remains to be seen. More time and money will eventually provide the answer.
Apple’s got a bunch of iPad upgrades waiting in the wings
Apple gets antsy when it goes a week or two without new products. Last week, it launched the iPad Mini, the first with an OLED screen, and now reports indicate that the company has a couple more tablets lined up for the first half of 2027. That includes a new base iPad, iPad Air, and a Pro model to cover all bases — writes Mark Gurman.
In his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg, Gurman described a new iPad Air in the works. The range hasn’t seen a notable upgrade since 2020, with Apple reportedly considering an OLED refresh here as well. That’s great. The device holding onto the aged 60Hz refresh rate and Touch ID… not so much. It’ll make the jump to M5, at least.
Next up is the base iPad, prepped for an iterative upgrade rather than anything particularly eye-catching. That means no screen or design changes, but rather the upgrade to the A19 chip and 8GB of RAM, enabling AI features on the iPad. Also on the cards are the N1 chip and C1X modem to give connectivity a bit of a boost. Cool?
As for Apple’s highest-end iPad, the “big change” for the Pro is a vapour chamber to help keep the tablet cool during more intensive tasks. That’s slightly depressing for the users who were holding out for the next big upgrade. Gurman reckons all three iPads should arrive in the first half of 2027, barring any big delays.
Spotify wants to add a Virtual DJ feature
The music streaming giant is reportedly floating a new idea for its Premium subscription tier: an AI-powered virtual DJ feature. Not for nothing, though. The streamer would charge an additional $4-$5/m (R67-R84/m) for the privilege.
If the feature passes the scrutiny of the music industry, and if enough people are willing to pay extra to remix songs with AI, it could become a lucrative new revenue stream for Spotify. But those are two big ‘ifs’.
Apparently, Spotify and Universal Music Group executives have already met with individual artists to convince them to opt in to the service, but that has proved challenging with newer artists.
To sweeten the deal, Spotify is reportedly developing a system that would attribute streams of the remixes to the original work, with royalty payments from those streams flowing back to the original artist.
If the feature makes it out of development, it could earn Spotify more money, but it would also make the streamers’ most expensive tier even more so. Are you willing to pay more for an AI-powered Virtual DJ feature?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is (probably) coming to modern consoles
As much as we loved the recent re-release of Call of Duty: Black Ops I + II on modern consoles, we’re less enthused about the precedent Activision has set. Both Black Ops ports sold very well despite the R750 price and told the company this is the way forward. As such, it seems the series’ next re-release will be Modern Warfare 2.
Insider Gaming spotted the Australian Classification Board’s rating for 2009’s Modern Warfare 2, confirming a port rather than a remaster. Activision has already done the hard work of remastering one of the best Call of Duty titles in 2020, though that work never extended to multiplayer, only the campaign.
If you needed telling, Modern Warfare 2 received an R18+ rating in Australia. The rating doesn’t mention specific consoles. We can assume PlayStation 4 and 5 consoles are on the menu. Current-gen Xbox consoles can already play the original game via backwards compatibility, and even access online multiplayer.
