Nintendo’s next console may not arrive until 2025

It's Tuesday, February 20, 2024.

Nintendo’s Switch 2 (not its official name) was widely expected to arrive sometime this year, but that may not happen. Now, the company is reportedly telling publishers the next-gen console is slated for release in the first quarter of 2025.

If that did happen, it would mimic the release of the original Switch, which was announced in October 2016 and came out in March 2017.

What can you expect from Nintendo’s next console? We don’t know much yet, including the name. Rumors suggest it’ll have backward compatibility with Switch, along with 4K capabilities and visual quality similar to that of the PS5 and Series X. It could use NVIDIA’s DLSS upscaling tech to ramp up the graphics of older games, too.

In the interim, there’s a Nintendo Direct tomorrow that will focus on new third-party games.

— Mat Smith

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The EU opens a wide-ranging probe into TikTok

It’s looking into addictive algorithms, harmful content, privacy and more.

TikTok is in the EU’s crosshairs over potential Digital Services Act (DSA) breaches around the safety of minors and other matters. The formal proceedings will focus on addictive algorithms, the rabbit-hole effect, age verification issues and default privacy settings. It’s getting into it: The European Commission will also probe ad transparency and data access for researchers.

The safety of young users seems to be a major driver: It will force the social media site to ensure high levels of privacy, safety and security for minors with default privacy settings — like it did for Meta’s Instagram and Facebook.

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Sony A9 III camera review

The future of cameras is fast.

Sony laid down a gauntlet with the 24.6-megapixel A9 III. It’s the world’s first mirrorless camera with a global shutter, a much-awaited holy grail feature. It completely eliminates rolling shutter distortion found on CMOS cameras by reading the entire sensor at once. It also boosts speed and removes the need for a mechanical shutter. However, as the first of its kind for Sony cameras, it’s expensive ($6,000) and has a reduction in still image quality, due to the nature of a global shutter. But the benefits far outweigh those — this is one fast, accurate camera. Check out the full review.

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The UK moves another step closer to banning phones in schools

France and Italy already restrict phones during class.

Experts and regulators have expressed concerns about children’s wellbeing and distraction due to their phones while at school. The UK government has become the latest to announce guidance for banning the use of phones during school. It follows other European countries, like France and Italy, which prohibit phones in classrooms.

Some schools in the UK already have no-phone policies in place, but these guidelines could bring widespread adoption and uniformity. “This is about achieving clarity and consistency in practice, backing headteachers and leaders and giving staff confidence to act,” Gillian Keegan, the UK’s secretary of state for education, said in a press release.

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