ICYMI: the week’s 7 biggest tech stories, from GTA 6’s beautiful new trailer to Sony’s WH-1000XM6 headphones teaser
What a week we’ve had. GTA 6 got a new trailer that looks stunning, Sonos and IKEA sadly ended their audio partnership, and Sony teased its new flagship headphones.
To catch up on all this and more scroll down to see the week’s seven biggest tech news stories with quickfire snippets on each and links to the larger story if you’re keen to know more.
When you’re done be sure to check out seven new movies and TV shows to stream this weekend (May 9).
7. YouTube Premium started seeing double
YouTube started to pilot a two-person YouTube Premium membership in select countries this week (namely France, India, Taiwan, and Hong Kong).
It will allow two people to split a subscription at a rate that’s cheaper than two individual plans, or splitting a family plan. In France an individual plan costs €12.99 per month and a family plan is €23.99, while a two-person plan is €19.99 – so we’d expect it to cost around $18.99 / £16.99 / AU$26.99 in the US, UK, and Australia.
Apparently, this plan is part of YouTube’s ongoing experiments that look to find “new ways to provide greater flexibility and value to our YouTube Premium subscribers.” Though it’s yet to be seen if this will make YouTube Premium a better value proposition.
6. The Netflix homepage got its biggest-ever upgrade
Netflix is finally acknowledging that it’s not just for movies and TV shows anymore, redesigning its home screen to accommodate live events and gaming in a way that should better connect you to real-time events.
It’s also finally dabbling in generative AI in, perhaps, the smartest way possible: search. Now you can find your next binge using natural language queries.
There are other big changes like labels on top of title images and a general reshuffling of interface elements. It’s too soon to say if everyone is loving the new Netflix.
5. Whoop revealed two new promising wearables
After four years without hardware, Whoop has unveiled not one but two new wearables for 2025. The Whoop 5.0 and Whoop MG are actually one and the same device, the latter a “medical-grade” variant with more intensive health features like ECG, blood pressure, and more. The wearables look great and boast a 14-day battery life, as well as a new design.
Unfortunately, there’s also a new pricing structure that means the very best features are reserved for those who pay the highest price. There is now a cheaper option and a more expensive one to the previous offering, but the Whoop 5.0 has some features disabled at the cheapest pricing tier.
It’s a tough pill to swallow for users who have waited four years for new Whoop wearables, but with Garmin and others taking subscriptions to another level, it’s the direction the industry appears to be heading in with no remorse.
4. Sonos and IKEA ended their unlikely audio duet
Earlier this week, Sonos and IKEA announced that they would be parting ways after six years of collaborating on audio homeware tech which includes the popular Symfonisk bookshelf and lamp speakers. In an email sent to The Verge, Sonos spokesperson Erin Pategas broke the news and revealed that Symfonisk’s current inventory of products is being phased out globally at all IKEA locations, with no plans to release future products.
Though the future of Sonos and IKEA will cease to exist, Sonos has offered reassurance that existing products in its Symfonisk range will still receive software updates despite the discontinuation of the partnership. The news come as quite the surprise since we’ve been very fond of Symfonisk’s speakers, but with the unpredictable future of new tariff laws looming over businesses, this is a measure that Sonos has had to carefully consider.
3. Microsoft announced two new Surface devices
Microsoft expanded its Surface lineup, with the all-new Surface Laptop 13-inch and the Surface Pro 12-inch 2-in-1 device using the Snapdragon X Plus processor. Most importantly, the former is the lightest and thinnest Surface Laptop to date. Battery life has also been upgraded for both, providing that extra time needed while you’re away from your desk or power source.
It’s worth noting that these new devices are much cheaper on this occasion; the Surface Laptop 13-inch starts at $899 / £899 / AU$1,699, while the Surface Pro starts at $799 / £799 / AU$1,499 – a huge fall from the previous versions for both, starting at $1,099 / AU$1,899. They’re available for pre-order right now.
2. We got a launch date for Sony’s next flagship headphones
It’s been three years since Sony debuted its top-end wireless headphones, the WH-1000XM5s. But after numerous leaks, the tech giant has confirmed exactly when we’ll be seeing its successors – on May 15, next week.
What can we expect from them? The rumors so far point to improved noise cancelling and audio processing, plus the return of a hinged design that Sony skipped on the current model. On the downside, there will also likely be a small price hike. But despite that, May 15 (or May 16, if you’re in Australia), is a date for your diary if you’re in the market for some premium, travel-friendly cans.
1. GTA 6 got a brand new trailer
GTA 6 broke the internet this week with a brand new trailer focused on Vice City and the game’s partners in crime, Jason and Lucia. But story teasers aside, it looks incredible.
We’ve already called it one of the most beautiful games of this generation – it looks leagues ahead of what other studios have achieved – and most staggering of all the trailer was apparently captured entirely on a PS5.
It clearly impressed many others too as the trailer has racked up over 94 million views in three days (at the time of writing) and Spotify streams of the song Hot Together which featured heavily in the trailer surged by 182,000% in the hours after the trailer released.
All we have to do now is wait a little over a year until May 26, 2026 so we can play it for ourselves.