Lego does tech again. Only this time, I think it might be on to something. I was sceptical about the new Smart Play line until I saw it in action and learned more about what’s inside. Read more in my latest column: The best thing about the Lego Smart Brick is also its biggest flaw.

The best retro gaming handheld? There are dozens of the things. Still, I had a crack at recommending a solid option for five different use cases over at Stuff. If you’re keen to have decades of gaming in your mitts, packed into a dedicated and affordable device, check out Best budget retro gaming handhelds in 2026 to emulate classic consoles and video games.

Apple forcing iOS 26 upgrades is not OK. I’m still swatting iOS 26 away from my main iPhone, because it’s so unfinished and broken. It’s so bad from a vestibular accessibility standpoint that I’m not sure I can safely use it. Read my Swipe/TapSmart column on why Apple should rethink.

The iPhone Fold is on the way. Here’s what I want from Apple’s first crack at this type of device. Again, this one’s for Swipe/TapSmart.

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Apple’s making App Store ads even worse. Reports say it’s A/B testing making them harder to differentiate from standard results. Elsewhere, it’s preparing to roll out more ads within search results. This is a disgrace, but then I’m not sure we should expect anything else from this iteration of Apple, which prizes the bottom line over everything. So much for Apple always being guided by its “commitment to privacy and a phenomenal customer experience”.

It’s The Muppet Show! For years and years, I’ve wondered why the original Muppet Show format wasn’t resurrected. Perhaps it was lightning in a bottle or just of its time. But Disney+ is giving it another shot, with a special that all reports suggest is a backdoor pilot. Here is the trailer.

60Hz hurts: I’m not surprised the iPhone 17e won’t have a great display, but that still sucks. And, yes, I did spend far too long making Liquid Glass text for that Stuff column’s pic. And, yes, I did feel grubby afterwards.

Is it still OK to use Google search? Probably? But I’d argue people should now look further afield. This piece explores how on an iPhone.

Apple is reportedly ‘delaying’ the iPhone 18. I outline why that’s good for Apple but not for you.

Exercise! That’s a thing. Definitely a thing that people want to start doing more when the new year rocks up. These iPhone trackers should help you meet your goals.

Love photography and iPhones? Or know someone who does? If either of those crosses over with a moment for sending or receiving gifts, check out my iPhone photographer gift guide (for Amateur Photographer).

Lego Pokémon is on the way. And also ludicrously expensive. But there is one set that’s not wallet-punchy, and a new – surprisingly affordable – Zelda set is on the way too. Check both out in my upcoming Lego refresh for Stuff.

Pico-8 is great. Pico-8 not running natively on Android is not great. Which is why it’s great that it DOES now run natively. Hurrah! (And there’s even initial ES-DE integration too.)

Wikimedia Enterprise has partnered with AI. “In the AI era, Wikipedia’s human-created and curated knowledge has never been more valuable” says cherished online encyclopaedia selling its soul to the slop machine. But all the AI companies were scraping Wiki anyway and regurgitating it in their output. So Wiki may as well make some cash rather than not. But this still feels… bad. And I’ll bet it turns at least some contributors off Wiki entirely.

Apple UI design is broken, part 4,397. Having kept my iMac off Tahoe and using Moom for 90%+ of my window management, I hadn’t realised that we’d now reached the point where you can’t drag a macOS window corner to resize it. You have to drag empty space next to the window corner. Good grief. Norbert Heger explains. Apple’s new UI head has a lot of work to do… (Related: Héliographe jokes that if you “put the Apple icons in reverse it looks like the portfolio of someone getting really really good at icon design”. Hashtag funny because it’s somewhat true.)

Apple Creator Studio is weird. Jason Snell has a good take on why it’s deeply odd that Apple has welded its office suite to a creative bundle. 

I’m in two minds about the sub myself, and not thrilled about the direction Apple’s taking. Sure, some products are still available as one-time purchases, but only on Mac, and not even all of them. (From what I can tell, Pixelmator Pro 4.0 is Creator Studio-only.) Apple’s also killed the iPhone version of Pixelmator entirely (although, to be fair, Pixelmator Team had done little with it for years), and Photomator’s long-term survival prospects are unclear. 

Apple locking specific features behind the sub isn’t a good sign either. And it’s nonsensical in certain cases, such as having to buy a bundle that includes audio workstation Logic if you want access to AI features in Apple’s spreadsheet app, Numbers.

Bandcamp comes out against AI. While Spotify raises prices and says AI-gen audio slop is actually perfectly fine, Bandcamp states “Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp” and that using AI to “impersonate other artists or styles is strictly prohibited”. Good.

The perfect retro gaming controller? It doesn’t exist. But, as I write for Stuff, companies came close at CES 2026. If only GameSir and Hyperkin had taken their new collab a couple of steps further…

Keep your iPhone photos safe. Most people don’t. But not a month goes by without someone desperately hoping I’ll be able to magic up images from a lost or irreparably damaged device. My guide for Amateur Photography outlines various ways to make copies of your iPhone snaps. 

Apple’s reported iPhone 18 delay might be good for Apple but not for you. At least, that’s my take, over at TapSmart.

INKS brought paints to a pinball party. Find out about this excellent game, which joins my classics series.

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Animated album art in Apple Music isn’t new, but I received an unwelcome reminder of its existence from Daniel Benneworth-Gray’s post about a dire Blade Runner OST animation. If you have Reduce Motion on, you’ll never see this stuff. If you don’t use Reduce Motion, you can also turn off this garbage in Settings > Apps > Music > Animated Art > Kill It With Fire.

Back to the Future Lego! Avoid zooming it across the table at 88mph.

It’s 2026. Hello. Things are already looking rocky, but let’s all hope that improves. In the meantime, here’s some writing from me.

Tech resolutions: I do this every year. I should probably stop. But here are 5 tech and gadget New Year’s resolutions I will fail to keep in 2026.

Want to sort your own resolutions? Here are 25 iPhone apps that can help.

2026 will be an interesting year for Apple. Here’s my annual piece for Stuff, mixing up expectation, rumour, analysis, wishful thinking, barely suppressed impatience and, mercifully, no turkey.

But what of 2025? Following my Stuff Apple overview, the good, the bad and the sock thing, I wrote about my 7 favourite Apple moments from 2025 for TapSmart.

Get more from your Apple Watch with my essential tips and tricks.

And while you’re at it, try Gentler Streak. My guide has all you need to get started.

What is reality? Sorry to spring that doozy on you near the end of this weeknote. But it’s something photographers have long grappled with. I explore the subject in my latest Amateur Photography piece, I want my iPhone to capture reality, not an AI fever dream.

Speaking of fever dreams, I wrote about the Apple Vision Pro of 2033 for Stuff a while back, and the site bumped it over the holidays. Is this future dystopian? Utopian? Horrific? Alluring? Yes.

Handmade Pac-Man? I have one now, courtesy of my 11yo. She also crafted a suitably terrified-looking blue ghost! Amazing!

There is no Screen Time Wrapped. Which is a surprise, given that seemingly every other app and service has been determined to hurl stats my way about how ‘well’ I’ve done this year. Still, it’s probably just as well, as I explain in my latest column for Stuff, Why you don’t want an Apple Screen Time Wrapped year in review.

How was Apple’s 2025? Mixed. I dig into what it got right and wrong in my end-of-year review, this time entitled Apple in 2025: the good, the bad and the sock thing. Because my editor at Stuff wouldn’t let me use ‘sockly’. Tsk.

Christmas happened. You may have noticed. And so one of my favourite ever columns got another airing: On the tech days of Christmas, my gadgets gave to me…

I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol. At the cinema! My 11yo surprisingly agreed to come and we had a great time. It’s such a great adaptation. Michael Caine is perfect. Even better, we saw the full cut, rather than the one that daftly lops off When Love Is Gone.

Thank you! If you read my output here and elsewhere, I hugely appreciate the support. See you on the other side, in 2026!