X struggles with tech problems during Trump interview, Google Pixel 9 launch


He may be the richest man in the world, but – as his glitch-prone conversation with Donald Trump showed – it seems Elon Musk still can’t overcome X’s technical problems. Mr Musk’s interview with the presidential hopeful was delayed by 40 minutes while the platform struggled with tech issues. It was not X’s first high-profile malfunction. In May 2023, Florida governor Ron DeSantis attempted to launch his own bid for the White House on X with Mr Musk. BBC 

Handing toddlers a tablet could lead to anger issues later on, according to new research published Monday, adding to mounting evidence ubiquitous mobile devices are hampering children’s development amid growing efforts to regulate the content they see online. Tablet use at 3.5 years old “was significantly associated” with a tendency to anger and frustration a year later, according to peer reviewed research published in JAMA Pediatrics. Forbes

Google Pixel 9 Google Pixel 9 Google Pixel 9 Google Pixel 9
Google Pixel 9

Google is ready to unify its Pixel smartphone lineup in a similar fashion to Apple. Pixel 9 will be the entry level equivalent to the base iPhone with a 6.3-inch (non-LTPO) OLED display refreshing at up to 120Hz and sporting slightly thicker bezels than its Pro counterparts. Pixel 9 will get an aluminum frame alongside the updated camera visor which no longer melts into the side frame like on the Pixel 8 series. Being the more affordable entry in the series, Google will offer catchy color options including Porcelain (white), Rose, Green and Obsidian (black). 

Donald Trump told Elon Musk that internal “enemies” were “more dangerous” than foreign adversaries such as Russia and China in a rambling, two-hour conversation on X that was delayed by glitches on the social media platform. The discussion on Monday, billed by Trump as the “greatest interview ever”, was heard at times by more than 1mn people, according to X, though Musk had prepared for 8mn people to join the talk with the former president, which began 42 minutes later than planned. FT.com

NASA used a “sky crane” to lower Perseverance to the surface of Mars

Scientists say there could be water on Mars underground, and more than enough to fill the planet’s oceans. Scientists from California universities San Diego and Berkeley say evidence suggests there is a large reservoir of liquid water under the planet’s surface. Using data from NASA’s InSight lander – which carried out a four-year-long mission that ended in 2022 – they wrote that the amount of groundwater could cover all of Mars to a depth of one to two kilometres. SkyNews

A multi-billion pound subsea cable that can shift vast amounts of renewable electricity between Scotland and England has been given the go-ahead by regulators. SSEN Transmission says the energy transfer project is needed to move energy around the grid on days when the wind doesn’t blow or demand is high. The two 315-mile (507km) cables will run from Peterhead in Aberdeenshire to Drax in North Yorkshire and will initially work alongside a similar link down the west coast. BBC 

Apple’s next-generation iPhones are right around the corner. While the company has not shared the date of a new launch event yet, all signs appear to point to a September release, just like last year’s iPhone 15 series. Incidentally, footage of dummy iPhone 16 units continues to leak online, most recently in a comparison video with the current iPhone 15 (curr. $699 on Amazon). According to Mark Gurman, this year’s iPhones will effectively maintain the status quo rather than introduce any significant changes. Notebook Check

Chris Price