The Weekly Tech Rant

Episode 253: Sony Kills Physical Games, Gabe Newell Explains Piracy, Rocket Lab Takes on Starlink, and Apple’s Email Privacy Questioned Jay and Karl explore a fascinating mix of gaming, space, privacy, and PC hardware. Rocket Lab makes a bold move against Starlink with its acquisition of Iridium, Gabe Newell's famous comments on piracy are more relevant than ever as Sony moves away from physic...

Episode 252: Steam Machine Finally Arrives, GTA VI Gets a Price, SpaceX Buys Cursor, and Apple Faces Another iCloud Probe Jay and Karl dive into one of the busiest weeks in gaming, streaming, AI, and consumer technology. Valve appears to be gearing up for new VR hardware while finally bringing Steam Machine back to life, Rockstar puts a price on Grand Theft Auto VI, and a teardown of the Trump Pho...

Episode 251: WWDC 2026, OpenAI’s Government Courtship, Forza’s Success, and Apple’s Foldable Future Jay and Karl unpack a packed week across gaming, AI, and Apple’s WWDC announcements. Forza Horizon 6 appears to be a major hit before its PS5 release, Crazy Taxi is heading back to the streets, and Gears of War: E-Day reportedly remains off Sony’s console. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is repo...

Episode 250: Anthropic Heads for Wall Street, Nvidia’s RTX Spark Arrives, AM5 Lives On, and Apple’s Ultra Future Takes Shape Jay and Karl unpack another busy week across AI, PC hardware, and Apple's future product roadmap. Anthropic appears to be preparing for life as a public company, Nvidia enters the Windows-on-Arm market with its new RTX Spark platform, and AMD commits to supporting AM5 throug...

Episode 253: Sony Kills Physical Games, Gabe Newell Explains Piracy, Rocket Lab Takes on Starlink, and Apple’s Email Privacy Questioned Jay and Karl explore a fascinating mix of gaming, space, privacy, and PC hardware. Rocket Lab makes a bold move against Starlink with its acquisition of Iridium, Gabe Newell's famous comments on piracy are more relevant than ever as Sony moves away from physic...

Episode 252: Steam Machine Finally Arrives, GTA VI Gets a Price, SpaceX Buys Cursor, and Apple Faces Another iCloud Probe Jay and Karl dive into one of the busiest weeks in gaming, streaming, AI, and consumer technology. Valve appears to be gearing up for new VR hardware while finally bringing Steam Machine back to life, Rockstar puts a price on Grand Theft Auto VI, and a teardown of the Trump Pho...

Episode 249: Steam Deck Gets Pricier, Xbox Faces Hard Decisions, Nvidia Goes All-In on AI, and iOS 27 Leaks Early Jay and Karl unpack another turbulent week in tech. Valve pushes Steam Deck pricing sharply upward, Nvidia doubles down on Taiwan and AI investment, and early iOS 27 leaks give us a glimpse of Apple’s next software direction. Meanwhile Xbox leadership warns of difficult choices ahead,...

Episode 248: WWDC26 Is Coming, Fortnite Returns, Musk Loses in Court, and the iPad Fold Rumour Grows Jay and Karl unpack another busy week in tech. Apple sends out WWDC26 invites ahead of iOS 27, Fortnite returns to the App Store worldwide, and Elon Musk comes out on the losing side of the OpenAI court case. There is also disappointment for GTA 6 hopefuls, worrying GPU price rumours from Nvidia, a...

Episode 247: eBay Rejects GameStop, Apple Returns to Intel, Steam Machine Versions Appear, and GTA 6 Preorder Leaks Jay and Karl unpack the fallout from GameStop’s attempted eBay takeover, fresh reports that Apple may return to Intel-made chips in part of its roadmap, and growing signs that Valve is preparing multiple Steam Machine models. There is also a bizarre Forza Horizon 6 leak situation, Go...

Episode 246: GameStop Tries to Buy eBay, Steam Controller Chaos Crashes Steam, GTA 6 Snubs PC Players, and Apple Pays for Siri’s AI Delays Jay and Karl cover one of the strangest weeks in gaming and tech in quite some time. GameStop launches a staggering $56 billion bid for eBay, the Steam Controller relaunch crashes Steam almost instantly, and Take-Two openly says PC players are not GTA 6’s “core...

Episode 245: Steam Controller Is Back, OpenAI Breaks Free, Agentic Phones Rise, and Apple Kills the Bezel Jay and Karl dive into a week where old hardware returns and new paradigms emerge. Valve brings back the Steam Controller, OpenAI moves away from Microsoft exclusivity, and the idea of “agentic” smartphones starts to take shape. There’s also a potential $60B SpaceX deal in the background, and...

Episode 244: Tim Cook Steps Down, Amazon’s $25B Anthropic Bet, Xbox Game Pass Reshuffle, and Framework Takes on the MacBook Pro Jay and Karl unpack a huge week in tech. Tim Cook is set to step down as Apple CEO, with John Ternus confirmed as successor. Amazon deepens its Anthropic partnership with a deal worth up to $25 billion, Xbox reshapes Game Pass again, and Framework unveils what many are ca...

Episode 243: Xbox Game Pass Backlash, Trump Phone Returns, Europe’s Age ID App Lands, and Nvidia Eyes a PC Giant Jay and Karl cover a week where platforms, policy, and rumours collide. Xbox Game Pass faces internal criticism over pricing, the Trump Phone returns with a redesign, and Europe rolls out its age verification app. There’s also a look at Anthropic’s Project Glasswing, plus rumours around...

Episode 242: Apple Kills the Mac Pro, WWDC 2026 Announced, CPU Shortages Worsen, and Microsoft vs OpenAI Tensions Rise Jay and Karl cover a packed week across big tech, chips, and gaming. Apple locks in WWDC 2026 and quietly kills the Mac Pro, CPU shortages continue to worsen, and Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI looks increasingly strained. Add a US router ban, Musk’s Terafab ambitions, and l...

Episode 241: Apple Updates AirPods Max, Nvidia Upsets Gamers, OpenAI Leaks Something Awkward, and WorldCoin Wants Your Eyes Again Jay and Karl unpack another week of strange, messy, and slightly dystopian tech news. Apple refreshes AirPods Max, Nvidia annoys gamers with DLSS 5, OpenAI appears to have let something awkward slip, and WorldCoin returns with yet another pitch involving your eyeballs....

Episode 240: The PC Becomes the Console, Steam Machine Ships, Meta Builds AI Chips, and Apple’s HomePad Looms Jay and Karl dive into a week where the PC keeps drifting closer to the console world. Valve insists the Steam Machine is still on track, Microsoft openly talks about an Xbox–PC hybrid and an upcoming “Xbox mode” for Windows, and Meta unveils a new generation of custom AI silicon. Meanwhil...

Episode 239: Apple’s Hardware Blitz, Nvidia’s PC Processor Push, and Xbox’s Project Helix Goes After PC Gaming Jay and Karl dig into a packed week of hardware launches and platform plays. Apple rolls out a full spread of new devices, from iPad Air and iPhone 17e to MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and the colourful new MacBook Neo. On top of that, Nvidia’s upcoming PC processor starts looking competitive...

Episode 238: $60B GPU Power Play, Phil Spencer’s Exit Memo, Apple’s US Factory Reveal, and the M6 MacBook Pro Leak Jay and Karl unpack another eye-watering $60B AMD–Meta GPU deal, an AI agent that deleted its own boss’s inbox, Phil Spencer’s farewell memo, and Apple’s latest US manufacturing reveal. Plus M6 MacBook Pro leaks and fresh iPhone 18 Pro design rumours. Full show notes & links: http...

Episode 237: Apple Turns 50, March Event Announced, Russia Blocks Messaging Apps, and Satellite iPhones Rumoured Jay and Karl unpack a wide-ranging week in tech. Tim Cook promises Apple’s 50th anniversary will be properly celebrated, a March 4 event is confirmed, messaging apps are blocked in Russia, and regulators in the UK take a notably light-touch approach to app stores. There’s also chip geop...

Episode 236: Apple’s AI Shopping Spree, Macs Get More Configurable, SpaceX–xAI Goes Orbital, and Steam Hits the RAM Wall Jay and Karl cover a week where big money and big compute collide, Apple splashes $2B on a secretive AI startup, Macs hint at a new level of configurability, and SpaceX–xAI goes fully orbital with plans for a giant constellation to power AI. Meanwhile, Valve’s Steam Machine plan...

Episode 235: Trump Phone Ultra Appears, Nvidia’s N1X ARM Challenge, AirTag 2 Launches, and Apple’s Next MacBook Pro Overhaul Jay and Karl unpack another busy week in tech — from the surprise appearance of a Trump Phone Ultra and Nvidia’s looming ARM-based N1X challenge, to Apple launching AirTag 2 and fresh signals about the next MacBook Pro redesign. There’s also Forza Horizon 6 launch news and r...

Episode 234: Booking the Moon, Apple Goes All-In on Gemini, RTX Cards Vanish, and the iPhone Fold Takes Shape Jay and Karl cover a week where the future feels oddly close — from booking a hotel room on the Moon and Apple’s expanding Gemini partnership, to RTX cards quietly disappearing and fresh clarity around the iPhone Fold. There’s also Creator Studio, revised 007 PC requirements, Meta layoffs,...

Episode 233: RAM Is the New Gold, Google Deletes a Drive, 007 Breaks PCs, and CES 2026 Goes Wild Jay and Karl kick off with a discussion around Grok and OpenAI Health before diving into a week where RAM has become a luxury item. From Google wiping a user’s entire drive and sky-high DRAM prices stretching into 2028, to Crucial becoming an AI casualty and 007 bringing PCs to their knees. Plus, CES 2...

Episode 232: PC Build Chaos, GZW 0.4, BF6 Hopes, Steam Wishlist Fever, and Sweeney vs Steam Jay and Karl return with a slightly chaotic, very relatable week in tech and gaming. From PC build meltdowns to hands-on impressions of GZW 0.4, early Battlefield 6 hopes, and a tour through the growing Steam wishlists. Plus, Tim Sweeney sparks a fresh debate over Steam’s approach to labelling AI-powered ga...

Episode 231: Cleared Hot Lands, RAM Prices Go Wild, Nvidia’s VRAM Gamble, and Intel’s Nova Lake Strikes Back Jay and Karl return with a packed week of tech news — from the long-awaited launch of Cleared Hot to RAM shortages so extreme shops are pricing modules like luxury seafood. Nvidia flirts with dropping VRAM bundles, Intel fires back at AMD with an absurdly specced Nova Lake chip, and Apple r...