I don’t support social media bans. The UK government announced one this week and the response has been broadly positive. But that’s because people see a THINK OF THE CHILDREN headline and then don’t think about the deeper issues. I wrote for Stuff about why these bans rarely work – and what should be done instead. 

Labour’s mulling a VPN ban too. Which will put the UK right alongside the most oppressive regimes in the world, while creating a nightmare for countless companies in the country.

Mac gaming’s future is bright. Mostly because it’ll soon be much easier to play Windows indie games on the platform. Read my piece about GameHub to find out how. (Bonus: Android users may find this piece interesting too.)

Stop using AI for making important decisions! That’s the core of two articles that went live this week, one on why you should be wary about using AI for purchasing decisions and one on why you should be very wary about using AI for health advice. 

Apple’s raising its prices. No one knows when nor which devices will be affected. It’s quite possible Tim Cook’s announcement is preparing the ground for iPhone price-hikes this autumn.

Honestly, I’m half surprised Apple hasn’t done this sooner. Plenty of other companies have already ramped up prices to deal with rapidly increasing costs related to storage and RAM. But Apple has historically not changed prices once goods are on sale. 

What I find interesting is there’s been a narrative building that Apple currently offers reasonable value regarding RAM and storage – perhaps for the first time. But, really, does it? I’m aware Apple’s implementation cannot be compared with typical RAM and SSDs on a like-for-like basis. But its pricing right now is still significantly higher than what you find elsewhere. 

I suspect when Cook called the increases “unavoidable” and the situation “unsustainable”, he’s really talking with regard to Apple’s profits. Apple could choose not to increase its prices, but it won’t – and its own AI efforts are further fuelling the problem. 

What will be interesting is whether Apple’s prices will follow suit should RAM and storage prices rapidly fall at some point. If not, Cook is full of it.

Nu-Commodore announced a phone. It’s an odd one – seemingly a phone designed specifically to satisfy the wish-list of Commodore’s current CEO. The idea is it supports most Android apps and has a great camera, but reportedly blocks social media at a system level, along with by default removing various other elements that can be time sinks.

But it’s full of contradictions, such as claiming to be great for privacy yet preinstalling WhatsApp, claiming mobile games are addictive and yet preinstalling C64 games, and marketing itself with a slew of GenAI despite Commodore’s promise being to counter the shitshow that can be modern tech.

Pushback has been severe in some circles – even those that support Commodore’s comeback. Commodore’s response was defensive and whiny. It’ll be interesting to see how well the phone sells.

Lego made a pinball table. I’m in two minds about this one. I love pinball and the kit seems very clever. But I fear that, once complete, it will get old very quickly and not look especially amazing on display.

A touchscreen Mac might be on the way. I write for Stuff about why it would be a bigger risk for Apple than you’d think.

We know how iPhone Fold apps will work. Probably. Basically, Apple has finally decided iPhone apps can be responsive and adjust to fit a viewport. Yay, I guess. Although that surely means iPad apps on the iPhone Fold aren’t happening.

Screen Time is getting an upgrade. Which is probably just as well, because it’s full of problems. As a parent who uses Screen Time for my kid and myself, I like the look of some of the new features, not least scheduling.

WWDC happened. It had the weirdest keynote I’ve ever seen from Apple. No slides full of new operating system features. It was basically: Liquid Glass now sucks less; FASTER FASTER FASTER; we remembered Screen Time exists; AI AI AI AI. Anyway, here’s one piece on what I wanted and what we got and another on 8 things we learned at WWDC.

Apple Intelligence is somehow now ‘goodbad’. For Amateur Photographer, I argue that, despite some smart new features in iOS 27, Apple’s about to take a dangerous step towards fake photography. And over at TapSmart, I explain why Apple Intelligence in iOS 27 is a big leap forward and a mess of contradictions.

The World Cup has kicked off. As did Team Stuff when deciding which footie games should feature in the list. Here’s the top 30. And, no, the league leader is never going to shift.

Sayyyy-GAHHHH! The new Crazy Taxi game looks pretty great. Inevitably, though, Sega used generative AI during development. So, uh, CrazAI Taxi? But Sega then clarified that it was only for background assets. And then Sega clarified the clarification, claiming “everything in the final product is going to be original”. Good grief.

Judge Dredd’s creator is getting an MBE. John Wagner is on the 2026 list, which, given his anti-authority leanings, he probably thinks is pretty funny. Anyway, nice to see British comics – and especially Wagner – being recognised. Now the Americans need to do the same and get him in the Eisner Hall of Fame.

Pico-8 is the best retro console you’ve never heard of. Unless you have, of course. Either way, I hope you’ll enjoy my Pico-8 piece for Stuff, which is a potted history of Pico-8, insights on how best to play, and a quick overview of a dozen great games to try.

Camera Control isn’t quite enough. At least not for me, given that I constantly juggle several camera apps on my iPhone. Recently, I remembered about that other iPhone button, which I barely use. So I wrote for Amateur Photographer about how to turn the Action button into a quick launcher for photographers.

Photographic Styles have come a long way. Amateur Photographer asked me for a guide on how to get started with them, which you can read here. Or, you know, just gawp at the photos of Iceland. And a sheep.

WWDC 2026 is almost here. For TapSmart/Swipe, I outline what I want to see from iOS 27.

Gestures for music apps seem obvious. Odd, then, that after a flurry of apps that focused specifically on this at the dawn of the iPhone, most modern music apps only offer swiping across tiny playback bars. As a fan of full-screen gestural controller FluxTunes back in the day, I decided to explore how to bring it back.

Please support indie journalism! Every dollar, euro, pound or, um, other currency, counts. Our iPhone/iPad mag Swipe has a free trial. Tips & Tricks is $3/£3 to start. These are what allow us to keep the lights on over at TapSmart, where everything is freely available.

No-mow May is over. But my no-mow lawn is not. I’ve been doing the no-mow thing for years, having been inspired by RHS Gardens Wisley’s ‘meadow garden’ section. It’s been a learning process, and I’m sure not all of our neighbours approve. But the garden is alive. There are loads of pollinators and plenty of crickets. Local birds love it too.

This year, despite the recent hot and dry weather in the UK, half our garden is a sea of giant daisies. Elsewhere, sorrel is taking over a corner. There are still some barren patches that’ll soon be bombarded with clover seeds. But even in its current state, those huge daisies swaying in the breeze beats grass mown with military precision. Or, worse, nothing more than parking spaces for cars.

We need more cancel culture. But only in the sense of streaming TV services. As I write for Stuff, my ultimate TV streaming services hack is now to cancel everything and start from scratch.

Google hates the open web. We kind of knew that anyway. But much like I (and others) predicted a year ago, Google has made the move to go AI-first with its search engine. As Tracy King said on Bluesky, “Google is trying to build an agentic wall around the entire internet with the ultimate goal of users paying to access it and data owners paying to contribute to it.”

I find the ongoing rush towards AI deeply problematic. Governments are now actively supporting mass copyright infringement, because they think they’ll be left behind by the AI boom. Companies are using AI interfaces as the gateway to the internet, thereby stripping sources of traffic and credit. And with LLMs basically ‘remixing’ such sources for their answers, that leaves us in a strange place where the sources will gradually be eradicated and the AI will end up eating itself.

Still, at least a tiny handful of already rich people will make a load of cash out of this, eh?

Want to get away? Not just from AI, but to somewhere where you can relax? If so, use these iPhone apps to help.

Don’t watch a terrible movie twice. Track everything – and more besides – on Letterboxd. My guide shows how.

Support indie journalism! Every dollar, euro, pound or, um, other currency, counts. Our iPhone/iPad mag Swipe has a free trial. Tips & Tricks is $3/£3 to start. These are what allow us to keep the lights on over at TapSmart, where everything is freely available.

Play some games! Specifically two games on your iPhone: Chess Peace and Nova Drift, which are now part of my best iPhone games round-up for Stuff.

Will Apple increase the MacBook Neo’s price? I’m invoking Betteridge’s Law in my piece for Stuff. My take: much of the attraction of the MacBook Neo is its low price. Getting rid of that would be a massive risk and a very bad idea, unless Apple has no alternative.

Blind bags and boxes are awful. Lego sells minifigs in blind boxes, which is awful. What’s not awful: Lego minifig scanner apps that let you see what’s inside. (Speaking of Lego, I also wrote 10 of the best sets you can buy today.)

Want new Apple Watch apps? I updated my Apple Watch apps and games roundup, which now includes the shiny new Pedometer++.

Kenny Who? Is the subject of the latest 2000 AD podcast. It uses as a launchpad a Dredd story that was satirical sci-fi pushback on exploitative publishing but that now feels like an on-the-nose critique on GenAI. It then goes deep into morals, practicalities and concerns surrounding GenAI in creative industries.

Comics are great. So I was very happy to see The Times writing positively about the success of The Phoenix, which has now overtaken The Beano in terms of subscribers. However, the numbers themselves are a far cry from the heyday of comics. Moreover, the two comics I mention are the only two British anthology weeklies for kids left in the UK. (2000 AD also soldiers on, but is very much teen+ these days.)

It’s a shame. Weeklies let publishers try new things and take way more risks. And comics in general are pretty awesome for a whole range of reasons. They are imaginative. They can be good for reluctant readers (but should not be considered ONLY a stepping stone to ‘proper’ books). They can encourage creativity. Graphic novels and manga remain popular, but it seems relatively few parents buy a subscription to a weekly for their kids. In part, that’s down to changing habits and cost. But awareness also plays a part. As Jamie Smart says: “We’ve always held on, pig-headedly, to the belief that children love comics. But they need to know they exist.”

So if you’re in the UK and in the position of having a youngling with no comics and the means to buy them some, do consider a Phoenix sub (first 6 issues for a ridiculously cheap £1) and/or The Beano (first 5 issues for £5). And if you’re an adult… read some comics too.