Technology
News on tech innovations and their impact on businesses and markets.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship has broken up into pieces just minutes after launching on Thursday (Friday AEDT). The rocket, which was launched from the SpaceX facility in Boca Chica, Texas, experienced engine anomalies during its ascent. "Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly," SpaceX wrote on X. An issue in the upper section of the ship is said to have been the cause of the accident with all communication lost with the spacecraft just 8min 30sec into the flight. The spacecraft was carrying a test load of mock satellites and there was no crew on board, It was the company's seventh test mission and the first test of 2025. Falling debris caused widespread issues to air traffic with airlines forced to alter their flight paths over the Gulf of Mexico - where the spacecraft was expected to travel. SpaceX CEO and biggest shareholder Musk posted on his social media platform X showing the debris saying “Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!” The total cost value of the damage is unknown, but will be no feat for the company led by the world's richest person (Musk Net worth - US$426.8 billion) The mission was meant to see the Starship deploy satellite simulators in
Phone startup Nothing has reportedly opened a major funding round as the company has crossed US$1 billion (A$1.6 billion) in sales and prepares to release new products. The company’s annual revenue doubled in 2024, according to Bloomberg. Nothing said it has sold 7 million units across its product lines. “Last year was pivotal for Nothing. It was all about scaling, and we succeeded as a team,” Nothing CEO Carl Pei said in a leaked memorandum this week. Pei previously co-founded Chinese phone company OnePlus. Nothing raised US$100 million in its last funding round in 2023. The company hopes its Series C round will raise at least another $100 million. Nothing’s Phone, first released in 2022, features a transparent design and a set of lights on the phone’s back to indicate notifications. It uses Android’s operating system. The company also produces wireless earbuds and smart watches through its sub-brand CMF. The Nothing Phone (3) will be released in 2025, Pei said in the memorandum. “It will introduce breakthrough innovations in user interface, taking our first step toward our AI-powered platform,” he said. Nothing will launch a new phone in 2025’s first quarter, Pei said, but did not confirm wheth
Nintendo has announced the long-awaited Switch hybrid that will be available this year. The Switch 2 trailer shows off the console's features, with a bigger screen and joy-con controllers. The new screen is set to be 30% bigger than the original Switch and a second USB-C connection has been added at the top of the system. The joy-cons are also now connected to the screen magnetically instead of sliding into place. At the end of the trailer, it is also revealed that the new Switch 2 will be able to play games from the original Switch. "Nintendo Switch 2 plays both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games," read a slide at the end of the trailer. "Certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2. "Details will be shared on the Nintendo website at a later date." Keen Nintendo fans will be able to learn more about the Switch 2 through a Nintendo Direct broadcast on 2 April and in-person Nintendo Switch 2 experiences worldwide. The experiences will begin in New York from 4 April to 6 April and will make its way to Melbourne on 10 May to 11 May. Nintendo took in a net profit of 27.7 billion Japanese yen (A$287.3 million) in its September quarter, dow
Executive chairman of Amazon, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has launched its New Glenn rocket, in the company’s first major venture into Earth’s orbit. The spacecraft lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station just after 2 AM, local time. New Glenn reached the Earth’s orbit, and sent up to six hours of data to Blue Origin from its experimental Blue Ring module. “Today marks a new era for Blue Origin and for commercial space," said New Glenn senior vice president Jarrett Jones. “We're focused on ramping our launch cadence and manufacturing rates,” Jones said. “My heartfelt thanks to everyone at Blue Origin for the tremendous amount of work in making today's success possible, and to our customers and the space community for their continuous support.” While Blue Origin planned to recover the rocket’s booster by landing it on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean, the booster was destroyed re-entering the atmosphere. New Glenn was initially planned to launch in December before being rescheduled to 10 January following regulatory approvals. Launch attempts on 10 and 13 January were halted due to poor weather. The Blue Ring Pathfinder unit features communications and telemetry arrays, as well as a flight compute
Electric vehicles and hybrids reached a new record in sales in 2024, recording more than 20% of all United States vehicle sales. A recent report for Auto data firm Motor Intelligence reveals more than 3.2 million electrified vehicles were sold in the US market in 2024 - 1.9 million hybrid vehicles, and 1.3 million all-electric models. For the first time in automotive history, combustion engine vehicles fell below 80% of total vehicle sales. Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is at the top of the EV market in the U.S., with the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 estimated to be the bestselling EVs in 2024. The U.S. market for EVs is incredibly competitive with only 24 of 68 major EV models recording year-over-year sales increases. Further EV sales growth is expected in 2025 with the introduction of more than 15 new products into the expanding market. Among the top five best sellers were Hyundai Motor Co (KRX: 005380) which accounted for 9.3% of sales followed by General Motors (NYSE: GM) at 8.7%, Ford Motor (NYSE: F) at 7.5% and BMW (ETR: BMW) at 4.1%. List of Top 10 EV Models in the U.S. Tesla Model Y Tesla Model 3 Ford Mustang Mach-E Hyundai Ioniq5 Tesla Cybertruck Ford F-150 Lightning Honda
