Today, Google launches the Pixel 9a. The “a” series is Google’s answer to offer reasonably good specs to the mid-range smartphone market. Here are the key points to know about on this new Pixel smartphone.
Guaranteed Software Updates
Let’s face it. Smartphone hardware launches have become an increasingly dull affair. More and more the focus is on device software features. For this reason, it’s great to see Google committing to 7 Years of OS and security updates.
But don’t forget that this doesn’t mean your phone won’t lack features in the future. It’s possible, if not likely, that some new AI-feature will emerge in that 7 years that requires a particular processor, meaning you will need to upgrade to enjoy full functionality.
But, Google does indicate that “Pixel Drops” will keep your phone fresh as new software is made available.
The guarantee means the phone will be completely usable and secure for as long as you likely have it, and to be honest, far longer.
Camera
The Google Pixel range has always found a beautiful balance between hardware and software, particularly in the camera. The Pixel 9a will hopefully strike that balance again with a 48 MP main camera and 13 MP ultrawide camera.
This is the first Google Pixel “A-series” phone that features macro focus photography options.
But Pixel phones are also a bit of a photography playground. I’m interested to see how the “Add Me” function works. With this you can take a group photo, swap photographers and take another. The Pixel 9a will then merge the two photos, ensuring no one is left out.
The Pixel 9a will also feature a wide range of Google’s AI image editing suite.
Google Gemini as Standard
Unsurprisingly, the Pixel 9a is also home to Google Gemini. Gemini is like having a smart, always-on assistant in your pocket. Just press and hold the power button to start writing, planning, or learning, whatever you need at that moment.
Gemini can pull up details from your Gmail, suggest places in Maps, or help with whatever’s on your screen. Want a more natural way to chat? With Gemini Live, you can just talk, no need to stick to one topic or even finish your sentence before switching gears.
I’m really interested to see how Google has integrated Gemini into a phone’s flow. No one has really nailed this yet in my eyes.
More Premium Design
The Pixel 9a should feel a lot more premium than your average mid-range smartphone. This will be in no small part down to the phone’s metal frame and scratch-resistant display. The Pixel 9a is also IP68 rated, so it can handle water and dust.
Google also promises that the device will last beyond a day with over 30-hours battery packed in.
The Google Pixel 9a will be available from the Google Retail store, with Irish retailers TBC from early April. We hope to have a full review completed in the near future.
Dublin City University (DCU) was buzzing with excitement as 70 Irish Girl Guides showcased their skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at the FIRST LEGO League Challenge Regional. The day saw fourteen teams from across Ireland compete, demonstrating their innovation, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities through cutting-edge projects and robot design.
Octonaughts Take the Top Prize
Among the competitors were The Octonaughts, a four-Girl Guide team from Lucan Unit. They emerged victorious as this year’s Regional Champions. Their winning project focused on Sonar Technology and its impact on sperm whales.
The team explored the frequencies used in sonar technology and their effects on marine life. Their innovative solution proposed a sonar system that integrates whale echolocation clicks into sonar technology, minimizing harm to these magnificent creatures.
Their exceptional research, connection to FIRST LEGO League Core Values, and impressive robotic control skills secured them a well-deserved place in the Ireland Final, which will take place on Saturday, April 12th. There, they will compete against other top teams from across the country.
“This event is a testament to the incredible talent, passion, and commitment of our Girl Guides,” said Katie Keogh, Irish Girl Guides LEGO Representative and Mosney Unit Brownies and Guides Leader. “Each team has worked incredibly hard, and we are beyond proud of their achievements”.
It wasn’t the only win on the day as various other Guides gathered awards on the day:
Robot Game Award – Squashed Squids (Macalla Guides)
Robot Design Award – Winnie Fish (St. Brendan’s Guides)
Innovation Project Award – Coral Creators (North Longford Senior Branch)
Core Values Award – Awesome Octonauts (Dilse Senior Branch)
Rising All-Star Award – The Gills (St. Brendan’s Guides)
Breakthrough Award – Merlin Dolphins (St. Nicholas & Merlin Wood Guides)
Motivate Award – Deep Blue Divas (Mosney Guides)
Irish Girl Guides has 10,000 members across Ireland. Guiding started in Ireland in 1911 and operates throughout the 26 counties with 1,600 volunteer Leaders providing an informal educational programme of fun and challenging activities that foster confidence and leadership skills in girls and young women, enabling them to develop to their full potential and to become responsible citizens.
Not too long ago, I bought you the news that Google had made the original PebbleOS open source and that the founder of Pebble was planning to release a new watch. Well, that day is here.
Today, two new PebbleOS watches went live for pre-order; the Core Devices Core 2 Duo (€135) and Core Time 2 (€205).
The two devices will only be available online via pre-order and will not be in stores anywhere, but they are shipping globally thankfully.
Core 2 Duo
The Core 2 Duo is the entry-level PebbleOS wearable from Core Devices. It’s the embodiment of what Pebble was back in the day. It features a simple black and white display and polycarbonate frame.
This will be the choice for people seeking the truest form of the original Pebble Watch. This watch is also available a little earlier, shipping from July.
Core Time 2
A little more expensive but feature rich is the Core Time 2. This has a larger 64-colour display and metal frame. You will have to wait a little longer for this watch as it won’t ship until December.
Why Are These Devices Exciting?
When Pebble originally launched, it was a unique view on wearables. Instead of focusing on high definition and features galore, Pebble focused on simplicity and battery life. These new PebbleOS devices offer up to 30 days battery life, improved Bluetooth, water resistance and both step and sleep tracking.
I will say out the gates, this isn’t the wearable for everyone – but there are people who want more than a regular wristwatch but not all the bells and whistles of an Apple Watch. And for those people, Pebble OS watches from Core Devices are a very interesting option.
It’s been quite a while coming, as today marks the launch of Amazon’s dedicated website, Amazon.ie. As a result, Amazon says shoppers in Ireland now have direct access to 200 million products with fast and convenient delivery and easier returns.
I’ve just given the transition to Amazon.ie a quick test, moving my Prime membership from the UK site to the Irish site. Amazon.ie’s Prime membership costs €6.99 per month or €69.90 for the year. You save just under €14 when you pay annually. The process was clean with a 30 day free trial and my last UK Prime membership refund immediately being initiated; but it will take a few days to be paid back.
The launch also means you can now easily buy Amazon products like the Amazon Fire Stick much easier, as UK says to Ireland were previously restricted. Beyond the typical products, Amazon.ie will also soon feature an Irish brands section including Barry’s Tea, Bewley’s, and Ella & Jo.
To celebrate the launch, you’ll save €10 when you spend €50 on Amazon.ie.
Speaking about the launch, Amazon Country Manager for Ireland, Alison Dunn, said “our teams across the country are unbelievably proud and incredibly excited to launch Amazon.ie.The store brings a wide selection of great value products with fast delivery to customers in Ireland, a local Prime membership with incredible benefits and savings, and lots of opportunities for Irish businesses to reach more customers. We have been building towards this moment since the launch of our fulfilment centre in Dublin in 2022, and we can’t wait to write the next chapter of our story in Ireland”.
I envisage some headaches for Amazon customers in Ireland transitioning. While the process itself is simple, there are going to be features missing or benefits lost for Irish customers. It’ll take me a few days to find them all, so watch this space. There are also some product gains lacking that I had hoped for. For example, Anker powerbanks are still not available from the Irish distribution centre. You can buy them, but you’ll be waiting for a few days.
It’s never ideal when your phone network has an outage, but it’s even more annoying over a bank holiday weekend. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Three customers are facing over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, as customers are reporting missing credit and loss of access to calls and mobile data.
Update: Three has confirmed that service has been restored to affected customers. If you have lost credit, the network has also said that “Three can confirm that no customer will lose credit due to this issue, and we are working to ensure that any impacted customers are credited appropriately in the coming days”.
Three’s St. Patrick’s Weekend Outage
In the early hours of Sunday morning, reports began emerging that Three prepay customers noticed their prepay credit was going missing and mobile data was not working. One Redditor stated online they weren’t “due to top up for another 2 weeks and woke up with all ‘my [their] credit used up”. Another Reddit user commented, stating, “mobile data is not working at all”, while customer care confirmed voice services are also affected.
Customers also took to Three’s own forum, 3Community, to voice concerns. One customer saying they “[topped up their] number on 14th March, but today (16th March) around 1 AM, I suddenly do not have any allowance and do not have access to text, phone and internet”. In this thread and others, several other customers report the same issues.
I myself am on Three prepay and have been completely unaffected, however I have a family member who is affected, by both credit loss and loss of data services. Which points to a partial explanation of the issue.
I have one of Three’s newer plans. I top up every month and the credit on my account is immediately “taken” and put towards my plan.
My family member is on a much older plan. With these plans, when you top up your plan is activated, but you keep the credit in your balance. You can then use this credit on out of bundle calling, texting, roaming or by buying using “pay with mobile” style services.
It would appear that these older customers groups are affected while newer customers are not. Typically with technology, legacy systems are more difficult to maintain in-line with modern updates. I would imagine this is what happened here.
The timing is also aligned to a potential systems update. Another Redditor stated they “work night shifts, right around 23:50 my allowances shut off working even though I topped up only 10 days ago”. This would be a fairly typical time for a system update to start rolling out.
Three’s Response to the Outage
I’ve reached out to Three for comment and will update the article as soon as that response comes in. Three’s customer care is active over the weekend both on phones and web chat. Their web chat agents clarified that “some Three prepay customers are experiencing issues with price plans and bundles allowances”. They also confirmed that both data and voice services are also impacted leaving customers “unable to use call and data services”.
The agent added that, “Three’s technical team is working to resolve this disruption”.
18/03/2025: Updated with comment from Three on network status and credit restoration.
DID Electrical Appliances, Lifestyle Sports (Ireland) and Rath-Wood Home & Garden, pled guilty to breaking sales pricing legislation in Dublin District Court today. Prosecutions were brought by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) against Lifestyle Sports, DID Electrical, and Rath-Wood following sweeps of the companies’ websites during the 2023-2024 winter sales season, including Black Friday.
These are the first prosecutions in the country under new legislation first introduced back in 2022. The new laws means retailers can only show discounts based on the lowest price for a product in the past 30 days. All of this means it’s very likely that more retailers will be handed similar prosecutions as it’s far from just this three not following the rules.
And rightly so. CCPC Chair Brian McHugh says “misleading sale discounts harm consumers and harm competition. It is vital that traders are transparent with consumers, displaying prices clearly and accurately. Businesses must be able to compete openly and honestly, and consumers must be able to shop with confidence”.
As a result of the today’s findings, the three retailers were ordered to €1,000 to Little Flower Penny Dinners and the varying legal costs of the CCPC.
The CCPC continues to encourage customers who spot misleading sales information to report it. Complaints are a valuable source of information to the CCPC as they help identify sectors where consumers may be at risk. Both consumers and retailers themselves should notify the CCPC of fake discounts on using the reporting form on ccpc.ie, by contacting the CCPC helpline on 01 402 5555 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm) or by emailing ask@ccpc.ie.
Over the past year I’ve been reporting what I deemed to be, for want of a better phrase, inappropriate content in the comment sections of TikTok. From numerous reports, I could remember at most two which were acted upon. In late December, I started systematically tracking the content I reported, all of which were initially deemed by TikTok’s moderation processes to be permissible under the platform’s community guidelines.
Disclaimer: From here on in, some content you see may be offensive. There is language and terminology here which I find reprehensible, but I’m including it to show the reprehensible content passing TikTok’s moderation processes.I am not including the videos which these comments appeared in, nor am I including usernames. But all are recorded.
Racism in TikTok Comments
This is perhaps the worst of the examples I’ll present in this article. It uses a word which I literally could not bring to say out loud myself. It was said in reference to a footballer in a highlights video.
This comment stopped me in my tracks as some of the most overt racism I’ve ever seen in any comment section. It had been posted over 24-hours ago and garnered over 2,300 likes from other users on the platform – which is a problem in and of itself.
However, I refuse to believe that in this 24-hour period, no one else reported this comment. Regardless of whether they did or not, I did report it for violating TikTok’s policies against hateful or discriminatory language targeting ethnicity or race.
The result of this report was more unusual than the rest of the reports in this article. Because it disappeared. I went back to the video and the comment had vanished too, along with any trace of my report.
TikTok lost any good will with me at this stage, so I wasn’t giving the benefit of the doubt. I logged out of my account and sure enough, there it was. Hidden from me, but visible to everyone else.
TikTok Allows Misgendering in Comments
I’ve seen plenty of examples of misgendering being allowed in comment sections across TikTok. To make it worse, TikTok as a company has portrayed itself has a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community by specifically including misgendering, dead naming and more as unacceptable according to community guidelines.
These guidelines state that “Dead naming or misgendering someone by using their former name or gender rather than their chosen identity, or by promoting conversion therapy programs that attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity” and falls under “not allowed”.
Yet, I’ve seen countless examples of this going unchecked.
This specific comment appeared under a creator who identifies as she/her. Transphobic comments on TikTok often take the form of veiled hate. For example here, the commenter would likely laugh this off as a misunderstanding, but it was quite deliberate, as is often the case.
Again, this comment was reported, and that report was dismissed. I appealed the decision, which was also dismissed.
Irish Targeted in Derogatory Slur on TikTok
We have a bit of a “water off a ducks back” attitude in Ireland, but that doesn’t mean TikTok’s responsibilities don’t include derogatory slurs aimed at the Irish community.
The term “annoying mick” uses a derogatory slur targeting Irish individuals, which constitutes hate speech under TikTok’s community guidelines, as it attacks someone based on their nationality or ethnicity.
Given some of the other hate I’ve seen, I wouldn’t be overly fast to say this is the worst of what I’ve seen. However, it does point to TikTok’s weaknesses in identifying content which breaches the platform’s own community guidelines.
This was reported, dismissed and dismissed again on appeal.
Body-Shaming and More Hypocrisy from TikTok
TikTok, like most tech companies, is very good at making it look like they care and that they are doing the right thing to serve a healthy online community ethos. Unfortunately, body-shaming is another area where TikTok speaks a good game publicly, but then utterly fails to act.
In this comment, the commenter makes an extremely hurtful comment about the creator. Some might argue that it’s somewhat veiled, but that is looking from the point of view of an automated system. A human set of eyes should quickly see that this is a hurtful comment targeting someone’s physical appearance – an important point in the context of TikTok layoffs – more on that later.
This kind of language targets an individual’s appearance, which is prohibited under community guidelines, and it exactly the kind of comment that their previous “newsroom content” said the company was against.
I reported this comment, and that report was dismissed. I appealed this and that appeal was also dismissed, meaning TikTok deems this content to be acceptable.
TikTok Allows Anti-immigration Comments
Some more context is needed here. This comment appeared on a video from Dublin Airport where someone was putting a bottle into a bin. These bins are called FODs or Foreign Object Debris bins. They are used to reduce the number of bottles and rubbish that ends up on the runway.
Throughout all of these comments, I do hear you reading it saying “ah but how they said it, how would a moderator catch that”. And that’s the kind of leeway big tech companies doesn’t deserve, nor should we allow them.
The comment is undeniably a veiled reference to immigrants, equating them with “foreign object debris.” Such language could be considered discriminatory or dehumanizing, which violates TikTok’s community guidelines regarding hateful behaviour.
Two similar examples spring to mind, both involving Tiger Woods. Both Sergio Garcia and Fuzzy Zoeller made “fried chicken” remarks towards Woods. It’s generally accepted that these remarks were racist, even if the speakers later claimed they were meant as jokes or taken out of context. What mattered wasn’t just their intent, but how such comments reflected and reinforced broader prejudices.
It’s all social media platforms’ responsibility to understand various vernaculars, context and veiled-meanings to ensure comments sections are free from hate.
I can somewhat understand that an automated system might miss the nuanced hate in this comment. But TikTok always says that why we have the reporting system. This comment was both reported by myself, and when that report was dismissed, I appealed it. This too was dismissed.
Reporting Methodology
Reporting this vile content on TikTok required a few steps. Some of the steps are required by the platform, but others were needed by myself to simply keep track of reports. TikTok’s system makes it very easy to lose track of what was said and by which account.
There is a two-step reporting process. After the initial review, you can appeal any decision with some additional evidence.
This is where my AI-trained model was very useful. This model was trained using TikTok’s own Community Guidelines. All I had to do was screenshot a comment I thought was likely breaching the guidelines, and upload it to my AI-model. This model would then tell me what was breached and prepare the “extra evidence” comment to upload to TikTok’s second round review, including which guidelines were breached.
TikTok’s Reaction to My Findings
I gathered the above and sent it to TikTok in January. A few days later, I had a phone call with a TikTok spokesperson based in Ireland. After reviewing the comments I gathered, they confirmed the content breached TikTok’s Community Guidelines and should not have remained on the site. They also confirmed to me, it had been removed manually.
The spokesperson told me that TikTok was dedicated to keeping the social media platform safe, highlighting that the company had 40,000 safety professionals responsible for finding content that breaches Community Guidelines, but little was given by way of explaining how content like this was missed or deemed appropriate for the site.
Remembering this was just two months ago, it’s even more disappointing to see TikTok undermining that “commitment” to creating a safe environment.
To be clear, this is extremely disappointing, not only in light of my research, but because it’s difficult to see anyone lose their job. Having been through it twice recently myself, I feel massively for everyone impacted.
However, it’s making it clear that TikTok does not see high quality content moderation as a key requirement of running a social media platform. The company spokesperson highlighted TikTok’s automated process of finding offensive content was supported by human moderation too, but now I’m lefting wondering how much will that process be harmed by layoffs, considering it’s obviously already not fit for purpose.
The reality is that social media platforms have a responsibility to moderate content. Hate doesn’t need much oxygen, let alone the abundance of oxygen that lax content moderation approaches offer. While Twitter has completely fallen apart, Trump’s administration has led to Meta also axing many policies and fact checking processes, leading to new or renewed concerns.
TikTok is awash with content ranging from harmless and hilarious, to, as I’ve demonstrated, outright hateful. If the reports are accurate surrounding redundancies at the company being focused on content moderation teams, I’m extremely worried as to where we go from here.
Perhaps there needs to be renewed political focus on the issue, but that clearly won’t be coming from Stateside.
My advice to you is to continue to be vigilant on social media. Report what you deem offensive, and take regular breaks if you can. Resist the urge to stay in comment sections longer than you spend watching the content itself, and remember, it’s not always a person on the other end of that comment.
My other half and I played It Takes Two all the way through, which is not something I can say about many games. It hit a rare sweet spot: cooperative puzzles that required genuine teamwork without requiring gaming experience, wrapped in a story that actually kept both of us interested. When Hazelight Studios announced Split Fiction as their next co-op-only title, it went straight onto the radar.
Having put several hours into it together, the short version is this: if you and a partner, friend, or sibling enjoyed It Takes Two, Split Fiction is a very easy recommendation.
What Split Fiction actually is
Hazelight Studios, the team behind It Takes Two, puts you and a second player in the roles of two game writers named Zoe and Mio. Both characters get trapped inside a simulation run by a publishing company that is harvesting writers’ ideas for profit. The concept is a little meta, but it works well as a framing device because it gives the game an excuse to throw wildly different environments at you in quick succession.
Zoe writes fantasy, Mio writes sci-fi. That means you move between magic-filled kingdoms and neon-lit cities throughout the campaign, with each world feeling visually distinct rather than like a reskin of the last. The variety is one of Split Fiction’s strongest qualities.
The game is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC, at around €50. There are no in-game purchases or microtransactions, which still feels worth stating plainly because it should not be the exception it is.
Watch my early takes on Split Fiction over on TikTok.
Split Fiction is here! 🎮 From the creators of It Takes Two, this co-op adventure lets you and a partner play as two game writers trapped in a mash-up of fantasy & sci-fi worlds. 🌍✨ We were worried it’d be too technical, but it’s just as intuitive & fun as It Takes Two! Best part? One purchase = two players. No microtransactions, just pure co-op chaos. 🤝🔥 Available now on PS5, Xbox & PC for around €50! Who’s playing? 👀 #SplitFiction#CoOpGaming#ItTakesTwo#couplegoals#couplegaming
The structure will feel familiar if you played the original. You get a mix of cooperative puzzle solving, quick-reaction sections, and boss battles, held together by light character-driven humour and ongoing dialogue between the two protagonists. There are also a handful of Easter eggs and dialogue nods to memorable moments from It Takes Two, which are a nice touch without being intrusive.
That said, Split Fiction is a spiritual successor rather than a sequel. The story is completely separate, and while the gameplay loop is similar, the level design feels more ambitious. The worlds are bigger, the visual setpieces are more varied, and the pacing moves faster. It does not drag in the way that some of It Takes Two’s longer chapters occasionally did.
Is it accessible for casual or non-gaming players
This was my main concern before buying. The initial menus and character movement options looked more involved than It Takes Two, which I was worried would create a barrier for anyone who does not play games regularly.
To be honest, that concern disappeared within the first hour. The on-screen prompts are clearer, the button combinations are simpler, and the game does a good job of introducing new mechanics gradually without making either player feel lost. The controls feel easier to pick up than the original, not harder.
The other thing worth mentioning is a quality-of-life improvement that makes a real difference in practice. Split Fiction frequently allows one player to complete certain sections independently if the other is struggling. In It Takes Two, being stuck meant both players repeating the same sequence together until you both got it right. That is frustrating when the skill gap between two players is significant. Split Fiction removes a lot of that frustration by letting progress happen even when one person needs more time.
How the co-op and split-screen works
You can play locally on a single screen or online with a friend. Both work well. The split-screen layout in local co-op is clean and gives each player enough space to follow what is happening on their side without the view feeling cramped.
The standout feature for most people will be the purchase model. Only one copy of Split Fiction is needed. The owner can invite a second player to join online at no extra cost using a friend invite system, which means the €50 price effectively covers two people. For a co-op game that is only playable with two people, that is a reasonable way to handle it.
The Goosed verdict
Split Fiction is the best co-op game to come out in some time for anyone who is not a hardcore gamer. The accessibility improvements over It Takes Two are genuine, the varied worlds keep the campaign feeling fresh, and the one-copy-two-players model means the asking price is easier to justify.
If you are looking for a game to play with a partner or friend, and you want something that will not require one person to carry the other through frustrating difficulty spikes, Split Fiction is exactly that. It is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC for around €50.
Today at MWC in Barcelona, Xiaomi has unveiled the Xiaomi 15, its latest flagship smartphone, featuring a Leica-engineered camera system, a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, and the Xiaomi HyperOS 2 platform. Xiaomi promises to offer high-end performance and imaging capabilities, the Xiaomi 15 combines cutting-edge hardware with AI-driven software enhancements.
The Xiaomi 15 features a 6.36-inch CrystalRes AMOLED display with a 2670 x 1200 resolution and 460 PPI pixel density. It supports a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision, ensuring smooth visuals and vibrant colours. The screen brightness peaks at 3200 nits, and the TÜV Rheinland-certified display includes Low Blue Light, Flicker-Free, and Circadian Friendly (which we know I love) certifications for eye comfort.
In terms of design, the Xiaomi 15 has a high-strength aluminium frame and Xiaomi Shield Glass, offering enhanced durability. It maintains a 94% screen-to-body ratio with ultra-thin 1.38mm bezels. The phone is IP68-rated for water and dust resistance. Broadly speaking, the Xiaomi 15 will be available in Black and Green in the Irish market.
Performance and Software
Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite, the Xiaomi 15 is built on a 3nm manufacturing process and features an octa-core Oryon CPU with two Prime Cores at 4.32GHz. It includes LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage, with configurations of 12GB + 256GB (the only one coming to the Irish market) or 12GB + 512GB.
I’m keen to ensure this article doesn’t wander into the realms of review, but to date, the Snapdragon 8 Elite has been mightily impressive from my experience with it in the HONOR Magic 7 Pro.
The device runs on Xiaomi HyperOS 2, which introduces HyperAI, HyperCore, and HyperConnect for optimized system performance, seamless device interconnectivity, and AI-powered enhancements. Features such as AI Speech Recognition, AI Writing, and AI Image Processing are included.
Camera System
Developed in collaboration with Leica, the Xiaomi 15’s camera system consists of:
50MP Leica main camera (ƒ/1.62, Light Fusion 900 sensor, OIS, 23mm equivalent)
Additional imaging technologies include Xiaomi AISP 2.0, Master-lens system with wide and bubble bokeh effects, and fast street photography mode.
For videography, the Xiaomi 15 supports 8K recording at 24fps and 30fps, 4K Dolby Vision® recording at 24fps, 30fps, and 60fps, and 4K Log video capture. The 4-mic array and MasterCinema mode enhance audio and video recording capabilities.
Battery, Connectivity, Pricing and Availability
The 5,240mAh Xiaomi Surge Battery supports 90W wired HyperCharge and 50W wireless HyperCharge. Xiaomi claims the device offers up to 25 hours of video playback. The Xiaomi Surge P3 charging chipset improves efficiency and charging speed.
The Xiaomi 15 includes Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, and USB-C connectivity. It supports dual SIM (nano SIM + nano SIM / nano SIM + eSIM / eSIM + eSIM). The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor enhances security, offering faster and more accurate unlocking, even with wet hands.
You can read my full review of the Xiaomi 15, but for now, I’ll close out by saying the Xiaomi 15 12GB RAM with 256GB memory is available for €1,099, SIM-free from Harvey Norman Ireland and on plan from Tesco Ireland and Vodafone Ireland.
Xiaomi also launched the Xiaomi 15 Ultra; very much a photography-focused smartphone. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra will be available in Ireland in silver chrome, sporting 16GB RAM and 512GB memory. It will set you back €1,599 and is available SIM-free from Harvey Norman Ireland and on plan from Tesco Ireland.
Updated 2/3/25: Added actual colours available in Ireland for both devices.
The Department of Health and the HSE have launched the first version of the HSE Health App, a first step in Ireland’s new digital healthcare strategy. Available now for free on the App Store and Google Play, the app is designed to provide secure access to personal health information and improve how people interact with the health service.
Features and Functionality
In its initial phase, the HSE Health App offers several features, including:
A digital list of self-declared medications and records of medicines received through the Drugs Payment Scheme or Medical Card Scheme.
Storage for European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), medical card, Long-term Illness (LTI) card, Drugs Payment Scheme (DPS) card, and GP Visit card.
Access to flu and COVID-19 vaccination records.
Information on HSE services such as Emergency Departments and Injury Units.
Maternity service appointment viewing for expectant mothers.
To access personal health information, users must log in with a verified MyGovID account. Without verification, the app can still be used for general health information and locating HSE services.
The launch would appear to me to be a bit of a mixed bag. I can see the usefulness and necessity of having an app like this, but I do hope the experience and features are improved. For example, I don’t have very much information in the app beyond my Covid vaccination and my European Health Insurance Card.
Yet my freshly renewed EHIC card from December last year isn’t registered in the app, with just my old card that’s expired being shown.
A Step Towards Digital Healthcare
Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, highlighted that the app is a key part of Ireland’s push towards digitised patient health records. The aim is to provide patients with easier access to their medical information while also improving the efficiency of healthcare services. Future updates will include appointment notifications and reminders to help patients manage their care.
HSE CEO Bernard Gloster stated that the app is part of a broader digital transformation initiative, leveraging technology to enhance healthcare accessibility and efficiency. Damien McCallion, HSE Chief Technology and Transformation Officer, emphasised that the app is an evolving project, with new features planned annually.
What’s Next?
The HSE is working on expanding the app’s functionality, with upcoming features including:
Public hospital appointment notifications and reminders.
Access to referrals and waiting times.
Additional self-care information and support services.
I’d love to see the ability to share information from other users so I could keep track of my Mam’s appointments. I’m sure parents would also like to track kids appointments if they have some. This will become available once the National Shared Care Record is rolled out. Then the app will enable people to choose if they want a family member, carer, or trusted person.
Accessibility has also been a focus, with consultations held with disability organisations and patient advocacy groups. The app has been tested for compatibility with assistive technologies and meets HSE and European accessibility standards. Currently, the app is available in English and Irish, but there are additional languages planned for future releases.
