Winners and Losers : Another week in tech delivers the good , with Alexa standing out . However it has n’t been sunshine and rainbows for some of technical school ’s big names . Here are this workweek ’s winners and losers .
Starting with Apple , we got our first look at iOS 18.4and a clearer picture ofwhy the iPhone 16e has well battery life – and it ’s not just because of that new modem . We also got rustling of afirst - of - its - kind Apple productset to go far in 2026 .
move onto Google , the company was lastly capable to fetch its headline live - saving feature to the US withLoss of Pusle Detection O.K. by the FDA . There was also indicationsGoogle Gemini might become part of iOSin the next couple of months while Apple continues to screen out its shi … . Siri out .
For Samsung fan it was a mixed old bag . TheGalaxy S25 Edge might get earlierthan bear , theOne UI 7 update might be laterthan expect . Ironically , they may go far around the same clock time ! We also got wordSamsung ’s tri - fold gadget will have a unique designarriving this summertime .
There was serious news for Android fans overall withGoogle and Qualcomm aligningfor up to eight yr of Android OS and certificate updates . There was also great word for worker everywhere this week whenSlack went down for a few time of day . Sweet , sugared respite .
Winner: Amazon’s Alexa Plus
Amazon Alexa is finally grow up ! With emphasis on the finally . Amazon herald Alexa Plus this week , which will convey generative AI potentiality to the voice helper that ’s been around since the first Echo verbaliser arrived in 2014 .
Seeing as Amazon Alexa already lives in one C of millions of nursing home around the humankind , the adoption of these new features should find more natural . It does n’t require user to download and learn a new app , or go under up an account , and in the case of most Echo proprietor , it ’ll turn on the gadget they already own .
So , for example , the power to make requests without the advance cognition you ’d normally require , like a song form of address or a television show . For example , Amazon say you ’ll be able to require “ ’ what ’s that movie where Bradley Cooper sings a duo ? Jump to that shot … ’ and it will flirt on your Fire telecasting ” .
The new assistant will also interact with outside services , like Uber , aid you book tickets to sporting events , and ascertain someone who can arrive and mend your oven .
The smart abode experience is buzz off a big upgrade with voice - created Routines that do n’t require the Alexa app . Furthermore , you may do tasks like beam Alexa Plus a recipe and call for her to remind you how many tablespoons of olive oil it requires .
Loser: OnePlus’ spellchecker
We feel a bit bad about giving OnePlus the award this week , especially in a world where Elon Musk continues to be . Maybe we should change this newspaper column to W&L&Cs to guarantee his contributions are properly recognised every week ?
Anyway , poorOnePlus admit an unenviable misplay this weekwhen it uncover it was detain further shipments of its otherwise brilliantOnePlus keep an eye on 3due to a typo .
The rearward case says the watch is ‘ Meda in China ’ – which could materialise to the best of us and materialise to me every day . The party is saying users can return the watch ‘ no questions asked ’ or they can keep cargo deck of it own a super limited edition manikin with the erratum in tact .
I ca n’t imagine many folks will be sending the watch back . Our reviewer loved it and presently fink it the gadget to beat when it come to have on O picket .
