Ballie nears, Switch 2 balloon popped

Winners and Losers: After another bumper week in tech, there’s not a huge amount for tech fans to smile about given the tariff turmoil. Here’s the lowdown…

It has been tough picking a winner in the tech world this week given the explosive and ever-changing nature of the tariffs raining down on tech companies who make, assemble, or import goods from China into the United States.

Having taken the OnePlus Watch 3 off the market because of an infamous “Meda In China” typo, the company reintroduced the device to the US market this week carrying a 52% increase in price that pushed the cost from $329.99 up to $499.99. The only logical explanation can be the tariffs that currently apply at 145% of the value of the product. Razer went with the alternative of pulling its new laptops from the US completely for the time being.

With no sign of the trade war between China and the US slowing, this won’t be the last massive price hike. If Apple decided to offset the import tariffs by building the iPhone on US soil, for instance, one analyst reckons the price of a new handset would balloon to $3,500 – about triple the current price of an iPhone 16 Pro Max. Not that Apple has the technical capabilities to do this, mind.

Staying in Apple land, it seems Instagram might finally get an iPad app, perhaps before the tumultuous journey towards an Apple Intelligence-based Siri revamp ends. A report this week suggested the videos Apple showed of the features in action at WWDC 2024 last year were little more than concept animations.

And, while The Last of Us season 2 is set to debut on TV this weekend, another classic female-led gaming franchise won’t be following it to the small screen anytime soon. Amazon has reportedly ditched the planned Tomb Raider adaption after years of Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge achieving next to nothing on the project.

There was some good news for Samsung fans though, albeit belatedly. The One UI 7 update based on Android 15 is finally rolling out for 2024 flagships like the Galaxy S24 range in the UK, Europe and the US. Moving forward, OnePlus users are seemingly on the fast track to Android 16.

Winner: Samsung Ballie

I think Ballie is going to be a bigger deal than a gimmicky volleyball on wheels that follows you around the home.

I think it’s the start of something much bigger, that Apple, Amazon, Google and other big players in smart home tech are going to try to match in the short/medium-term future.

We got word this week that after years of showing up at CES and disappearing thereafter, Samsung is finally ready to unleash the mobile home aid that’ll project content onto any surface, answer your queries, keep an eye on the pets, help to automate smart home products, and loads more.

Ballie will go on sale in the US this summer with an added bonus – the presence of Google Gemini AI to help users seek style advice on their latest fit.

“This will allow it to adapt its behaviours and responses in real-time,” Samsung says in a press release. “For instance, if you’re not sure what to wear to work in the morning, you can turn to Ballie for advice. Users could ask, “Hey Ballie, how do I look?” and Ballie can respond with styling recommendations, such as trying new accessories or adding a colourful shirt.”

As Gemini leverages the power of Google Search, Ballie owners might tell the robot they “feel tired today” with the Minion-esque offering advice on boosting energy levels from trusted sources on the web.

Price will be key in this equation, but we’re entering a new era of AI powered home robotics and automation and Samsung is seemingly getting in there first after years of perfecting this product.

Loser: Nintendo

It was all smiles last week as Nintendo finally took the wrapper off the long-awaited Switch 2 console revealing the new hardware, exciting new game modes, social interaction features and loads of new games – including new and exclusive Mario Kart and Donkey Kong games – that’d be coming to the system when it goes on sale in June.

This week brought us back down to earth with a bump. The company felt forced to delay pre-orders of consoles in the United States and it’s likely down to the wild uncertainty over tariffs on goods entering the United States at present.

Reports have suggested Nintendo may end up selling the system as a loss, even when it’s historically high-priced for a machine from the company.

But the sympathy for Nintendo may be in short supply given its pricing strategy for other elements of the proposition. $80 for Mario Kart World is a tough pill to swallow for gamers, considering there’s little chance of a significant discount ever happening. Nintendo first-party games hold their value. I’d be surprised to see this one ever fall below $65.

Nintendo also lost a bit of good will by charing $9.99 for the Welcome Tour which, as the name would suggest, is a means of finding a way around the new console and its features, it’s not a game. Loads of people wouldn’t even bother with this if it was free? So why charge for it?

And why is the company charging games who already own some of the best Switch games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom an upgrade fee to play the Switch 2 version of the game? It’s bad form.

It makes Nintendo a little harder to root for at a time when we should be experiencing peak Switch 2 excitement. The table has been set, the main course is on the way, but you’re about to leave the restaurant skint. And it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Furthermore, gamers got some unwanted news when Nintendo confirmed it hadn’t equipped the new Joy-Con controllers with Hall effect joysticks, leaving many fearful of a repeat of the dreaded drift issue that plagued the original. Let’s hope the company has another solution in mind.

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