India has emerged as the largest user base for ChatGPT Images 2.0 since its launch last week, OpenAI said on Thursday. However, third-party data reviewed by TechCrunch points to a more measured global response, with limited overall growth alongside sharp spikes in select emerging markets.

ChatGPT Images 2.0, OpenAI’s latest image-generation upgrade, is designed to handle more complex prompts and produce detailed visuals, including accurate text across multiple languages. Early patterns from the company suggest users — especially in India, its largest market — are using it to create personal visuals such as avatars, stylized portraits, and fantasy-themed images.

Data shared by Sensor Tower and Similarweb with TechCrunch suggests the rollout has led to a more mixed global response. ChatGPT’s app downloads rose 11% week-over-week following the launch, per Sensor Tower, but overall engagement gains were modest, with daily active users and sessions up only around 1%. Similarweb data also shows a limited increase in ChatGPT’s global web traffic, rising about 1.6% week-over-week during the same period.

However, Sensor Tower data indicates some emerging markets — including Pakistan, Vietnam, and Indonesia — saw sharper spikes in ChatGPT’s app downloads, with increases of up to 79% week-over-week during the rollout period.

India, meanwhile, remained a major source of activity during the rollout. Sensor Tower estimates show ChatGPT was downloaded about 5 million times in India during the launch week, compared with roughly 2 million in the U.S., though growth remained modest on a week-over-week basis. Similarweb data also points to a limited uptick in engagement, with daily active users in India rising about 3.4% week-over-week during the same period.

In India, the early trends suggest ChatGPT Images 2.0 is largely being used as a form of self-expression. Rather than purely functional outputs, users are creating studio-style portraits from everyday photos, social media-ready images, and imaginative visuals that place themselves at the center, OpenAI said.

The early patterns also highlight how AI image tools are being adopted differently across markets. While India’s large user base is driving overall scale, sharper spikes in countries like Pakistan and Indonesia point to stronger new-user demand in emerging markets following the launch.

OpenAI’s Images 2.0 launch comes amid intensifying competition in AI image generation. Google’s earlier image-focused model, the original Nano Banana, also saw strong early traction in India, indicating how the nation has become an important market for image generation.

With the new ChatGPT Images release, OpenAI is pushing further with improvements such as better rendering of non-Latin text, including Hindi and Bengali, and new “thinking” capabilities that allow it to refine outputs and generate multiple variations from a single prompt.

Beyond stylized portraits and avatars, OpenAI said early Images 2.0 users in India are experimenting with a wider range of formats — from fantasy newspaper covers to tarot-style visuals and fashion moodboards. Users are also using the AI tool to restore older photos and create cinematic portrait collages, the company said, suggesting early patterns of more personal use.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is thrilled at how well the new Mac lineup is doing, but that isn’t good news for anyone looking to score a Mac mini.

Apple’s had a great quarter as far as Mac is concerned. And not just with returning Apple fans, but new to Mac users, too.

On Thursday, ahead of the April quarterly earnings call, Cook told CNBC:

“We could not be happier with the enthusiasm that we’ve seen do the most advanced Mac lineup in our history… we saw huge excitement for MacBook Neo, which opens up the Mac experience to a whole new range of customers.”

The MacBook Neo, introduced in early March, is Apple’s most budget-friendly MacBook offering, coming in at $599. While critics have balked at the use of the A18 Pro chip, as it’s a “mobile chip,” Apple’s right, there is a market for it.

In fact, Cook even said that Mac had its best launch week ever for first-time Mac customers. The high demand for Apple’s “Little Laptop that Could” greatly contributed to it.

However, that demand is a double-edged sword. While no company wants to see a sales slump, it doesn’t necessarily mean that “more is more,” when it comes to moving products, either.

Demand for certain products, specifically the M4 Mac mini, is at an all-time high. So high, in fact, that you can’t get one.

“Huge demand,” Cook said of the Mac mini. “So big a demand that we can’t fulfill it all. We had supply constraints during the quarter. We still have supply constraints, and we’ll likely have them for several months.”

This is largely because Apple’s pint-sized desktop has become a fan favorite for running local AI models and tools. And it’s not just Apple that’s seeing shortages, either: third-party sellers can’t keep them in stock, leaving marked-up models on eBay as the only option in most cases.

In addition to Mac mini shortages, some models of the Mac Studio are also completely out. While it’s still possible to get “lower end” models if you’re willing to wait up to twelve weeks, higher end models are also listed as “unavailable.”

Apple’s ability to prevent memory prices from increasing the cost of iPhones and other products won’t last forever. Tim Cook has warned that it’s only going to get harder to do so.

The consumer tech industry is struggling to deal with the cost of memory, with supplies choked by the extreme demand of AI infrastructure build-outs. While Apple has managed to stop the cost impacting the price of its products so far, even it has its limits.

Asked on the analyst conference call following its Q2 financial results release, incumbent CEO Tim Cook has revealed that pricing has affected the company’s bottom line.

The December quarter had a minimal impact due to memory pricing, Cook said, warning at the time that it would be more of a concern in the March quarter. Apple did see a bigger impact in that March quarter, but Apple managed to offset the cost by carry-in inventory.

With the issue not going to die down anytime soon, Cook added an extra warning that there will be a significant memory cost effect in the June quarter. However, even that will benefit from carry-in inventory offsetting the cost.

Beyond the June quarter will be a problem, with Cook warning of a further increase in impact. It’s unknown what will happen at that time, but there’s only so much inventory available to insulate the company from dealing with them.

Cook concluded that Apple is continuing to evaluate the situation, and it has a range of options available to it.

When Apple released its latest smartwatches late last year, I was convinced that the Apple Watch SE 3 was the better buy for most users because it offered excellent value. I still stand by that, but hear me out: when the Series 11 is heavily discounted, I would recommend it over the SE 3, even if the latter was also on sale.

Like right now. The Apple Watch SE 3 is down to AU$347 for the smaller 40mm case on Amazon, which is a 13% discount, while the Apple Watch 11 currently has a starting price of AU$497 on Amazon, making it a 27% price drop.

As I said, the price difference is still significant, but the additional features you get with the Series 11 makes it the better-value option for iPhone users right now.

My biggest issue with the Apple Watch 11 at launch was that I couldn’t get hypertension notifications on my wrist, but the TGA approved this feature in December 2025 and a subsequent January 2026 watchOS update rolled out the feature for Aussies to use.

The other health features you’ll get with the Series 11 that the SE 3 misses out on are blood oxygen monitoring, sleep apnoea detection and irregular heart rhythm notifications (aka the ECG feature).

Another minor addition the Series 11 gets you is 5G connectivity if you opt for the LTE version (which is also discounted by up to 21% off). This really shouldn’t be that big a deal though as smartwatches don’t need super-fast connectivity and, in any case, 5G support on smartwatches is something telcos still don’t offer in Australia, but Apple is working towards that.

Alongside all that, it offers everything you need to encourage you to exercise more, tracking a wide variety of activities that, I admit, even the SE 3 will do, but the battery life on the Series 11 exceeds the SE 3’s by 25%, which you can stretch even further by using the Low Power mode.

Our Apple Watch Series 11 review gave it a very respectable four stars out of five, calling it “a mainline Apple Watch that can go the distance.” While it offers “no major performance gains year over year,” it provides a “bigger battery” and a “more durable display that’s still vibrant and rich.” This bigger display now makes it a lot easier to use the Messages app on the Apple Watch. I personally wear the 46mm version and handwriting a message on the screen is so much easier now.

Moreover, watchOS 26 gives it a fresh feel that truly highlights its health features, especially the new Sleep Score functionality. All this makes it the best smartwatch for iPhone and quite unbeatable at this price.

If you don’t have any heart health issues, then the SE 3 will suit you just fine, but if you need a reliable health monitor, I think the Apple Watch 11 is the much better option.

There are no signs of Apple slowing down in Q3 2026, as it is likely to see even more year-over-year growth in spite of a tough comparison for iPad.

Apple just had a record-breaking March quarter that brought in $111.2 billion in revenue. It seems that momentum won’t be slowing going into Q3.

Apple Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh shared forward-looking statements for Q3 2026 that estimate up to 14% to 17% growth year-over-year. That would mean growth from 2025’s $94 billion up to $110 billion for 2026.

In addition to that growth, Apple expects a gross margin of 47.5% to 48.5%. Operational expenditure is between $18.8 billion and $19.1 billion.

Clearly, Apple is going to ride the successes of its current iPhone and Mac lineup all the way into the fall. The iPhone 17e, MacBook Neo, and other recent products have been selling very well with supply being the only constraint to demand.

Growth in China has also been a big lift for Apple due to continued demand for the iPhone 17 lineup. Apple CEO Tim Cook attributed this to having devices that resonate with people, not necessarily better government relations.

Apple’s YoY growth continues

There’s a chance that Q3 won’t have any new hardware, and that includes the long-expected iPad with A19. Parekh specifically called out that the iPad would have a tough compare in Q3 due to the year-ago release of the iPad with A16.

That’s the closest we’ll get to Apple saying that there won’t be any new iPads without an explicit confirmation.

Services are expected to see similar year-over-year growth. That could be aided in some fashion by the new App Store contract system for annual subscriptions.

The results for Q3 will be revealed at the end of July, which will likely be Cook’s last earnings call. He’s ending on a nice round number of 90 total earnings calls in his career at Apple.

After two decades in tech, he now makes tiny collectible figures of pop culture characters

After spending two decades climbing the corporate ladder, including a stint at a FAANG company, 40-year-old Singaporean GT has found himself on a very different path.

The former tech worker has turned a hobby into a small business, making tiny, handmade action figures inspired by pop culture characters, from the Glico man to even local TV icon Phua Chu Kang.

Today, GT runs Bird Hand Toys from his home in Australia, where he sculpts and assembles 3.75-inch “bootleg” figurines based on movies, TV shows, and nostalgic cultural references.

A hobby that found him

GT’s path into toy-making was anything but deliberate.

Born and raised in Singapore and educated in Australia, he spent 15 to 17 years moving through corporate roles before eventually landing at a major global tech firm. By then, he and his wife had already built an ideal Singaporean life: stable jobs, a home, a dog, and a strong network of family and friends.

But GT also held Australian permanent residency, a document he had kept for years. Eventually, the chance to relocate and build a life in Australia became too compelling to ignore.

So in 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, GT and his wife left their jobs, sold the car, and packed up for the move. The airports were ghostly quiet, with fewer than 10 people on their flight. Not exactly a glamorous beginning, but still, it was the start of a new chapter in their lives.

Once settled in Australia, GT returned to corporate work and began looking for a creative outlet to unwind from the pressures of office life.

One day, while scrolling through Instagram, he came across a community of toy makers creating miniature action figures. Intrigued, he decided to try making some himself sometime in 2022.

GT was able to teach himself through trial and error and picked up the hobby very quickly.

“There’s very little information out there, so a lot of the early process involved a lot of problem solving to figure out every step of the process, from the size of the card backing, types of glue and paper to use, plastic blister packaging supplier and how to make a bootleg toy.”

In those early days, GT’s work drew heavily from the films, TV shows, and pop culture he grew up with in the 20th century. The first few figures he made were enough to suggest he might actually be onto something.

The project took a more concrete turn when he won an eBay bid for more than 100 vintage Star Wars figures for US$180 (S$230), which he used as base models for his creations.

The making of a bootleg action figurine

Bird Hand Toys sits within a niche creative space in what GT calls the “bootleg toy space”—unofficial action figures of movie and TV characters that never got to the commercial production stage.

One of the earliest pieces he made was a miniature version of American artist Jackson Pollock, complete with a tiny paintbrush, paint splatters, a checked scarf and a cigarette. It took about a month to complete the action figure.

In the early days, GT’s process was relatively simple: he would source an existing action figure and then sculpt over it to transform it into an entirely new character.

However, he quickly realised this approach came with limitations.

Firstly, there’s a limited number of existing action figures he can get a hold of. Secondly, this approach was not economical as each base figure would cost anywhere from S$30 to S$50. As such, it became difficult to scale or fulfil bulk orders.

In one instance, a chef in the US commissioned 15 of a specific figure. GT recalled having to search across multiple stores in New South Wales just to secure enough base figures to complete the order.

While he still occasionally uses his original method, GT has moved into designing and 3D printing his base figures.

He said this change removed many of the earlier constraints and significantly lowered costs, allowing him to produce multiple figures more efficiently. It also gave him greater creative freedom, enabling more detailed sculpting and refinement around each base model, which in turn improved the overall quality of his work.

For each action figure, completion could take any time from a day to two weeks, depending on its complexity.

While the materials to create them may appear simple—basic tools such as a base figure, a Dremel, sculpting putty and paint—the process is far from mechanical.

GT treats each piece as a design exercise, requiring not just handcraft but an eye for composition. Each design has to reflect the character’s cultural context while still working as a cohesive visual piece that can sit on a wall or shelf.

All of his figurines are 3.75 inches tall. While it might seem like a random choice, the size was popularised by vintage Star Wars action figures, and for GT, it also came down to practical reasons.

“I guess they are this size because of the eBay lot, which started me in this scale, and everything else, like the blister packaging and card backing, has been configured for this scale, so I’ve kept to it,” said GT.

“Also, I find this size to be the most appealing as it has that nostalgic G.I. Joe and Star Wars feel to it.”

Gaining traction & recognition

Each one of GT’s figurines starts from S$70, though the most expensive piece he has ever sold has gone for US$200 (S$255). A Singaporean buyer also recently dropped nearly S$700 on his figurines.

At the start, GT focused on international characters. It was only this year that he launched a Singapore/Asia-focused page because he thought it would be “interesting to reimagine classic 90s Singapore TV characters and moments into action figures.”

Through this process, he found that a lot of the old logos and pictures of Singaporean pop culture figures were low resolution since they were from “way back.”

“I felt it would be meaningful to give them the love they deserve to have a fresh, sharpened logo and images so they don’t fade with time,” he said.

“Also, people do find these very nostalgic, and the format of it as a semi-art piece that they can own is something that really works.”

According to the 40-year-old, the first month of the Asia page has taken off very quickly.

He shared that he has been receiving a lot of positive feedback and encouragement for what he is doing, including from singer-songwriter Inch Chua, whom he made a figurine of.

Apart from Chua, his celebrity-inspired figures have also found their way to British DJ Fatboy Slim and Singapore actor Gurmit Singh. GT has also taken on commissioned work, including a custom piece for DJ Tim Oh, complete with miniature accessories based on his interests.

Part of this traction has also come from retail exposure. Since Mar, his designs have been stocked at Singapore fashion store The Corner Shop (杂货店), a collaboration that went viral online.

Beyond retail, most of GT’s sales still come online. Through direct commissions and orders, his handmade figurines have made their way to homes across the US, Japan, and Thailand.

Focusing on Bird Hand Toys full time

All this while, Bird Hand Toys had remained a side hustle for GT. But after being “recently laid off” from the FAANG company he worked at in Australia, he decided to make it his full-time focus.

“This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to fully pursue a more creative path, and it is an opportunity to use my time towards a craft I’m passionate about,” he explained.

The challenge, of course, as it has been from the start, is running the business as a one-man show, from responding to customer messages on Instagram to creating new content and fulfilling commission orders.

Looking ahead, GT wants to continue honing his craft and get even better at it. He does have one goal that’s equal parts humble and quietly ambitious.

It would be nice to be on holiday and find my stuff on a shelf in a store now and then.

• Learn more about Bird Hand Toys here.
• Read other articles we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.

Featured Image Credit: Bird Hand Toys

Search is evolving quickly, and traditional strategies alone are no longer enough to stay competitive. Today, users are increasingly turning to AI-powered platforms to find answers, discover brands, and make decisions. AI SEO services are designed to help businesses adapt to this shift and remain visible in this new search landscape.

Blueprint Digital focuses on helping brands appear not only in traditional search engine results but also in AI-generated responses across platforms like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity.

What Are AI SEO Services?

AI SEO go beyond standard keyword optimization. They focus on making your content accessible, relevant, and authoritative enough to be included in AI-generated answers.

This approach combines several elements, including:

• Technical optimization to ensure content is easy for AI systems to interpret
• Structured content that clearly answers user intent
• Authority building through high-quality content and backlinks
• Audience research to align with how people ask questions in AI tools

The goal is to position your brand as a trusted source that AI platforms can reference and recommend.

Why AI Search Matters

The way people search online is changing. Instead of scrolling through pages of links, users are increasingly relying on direct answers generated by AI tools.

Recent data shows that AI is already influencing a significant portion of search behavior. For example, a large percentage of users have interacted with AI tools recently, and many search queries now trigger AI-generated summaries.

This shift means businesses need to optimize not just for rankings, but for visibility within these AI responses.

A Strategic Approach to AI-Driven SEO

Effective AI SEO require a combination of strategy, content, and technical expertise. Blueprint Digital takes a comprehensive approach that aligns with how modern search works.

This typically includes:

• Identifying topics and questions your audience is asking
• Creating content that directly addresses those queries
• Structuring content for clarity and easy extraction by AI systems
• Strengthening domain authority to increase trust signals

By focusing on these areas, businesses can improve their chances of being featured in AI-driven search results.

From Visibility to Conversions

Being mentioned in AI results is valuable, but it is only part of the equation. The ultimate goal is to turn that visibility into measurable outcomes.

AI SEO is designed to:

• Increase qualified traffic
• Improve engagement with your content
• Generate leads and conversions
• Strengthen overall brand authority

By aligning SEO efforts with business goals, companies can ensure their strategy delivers real results, not just impressions.

Who Can Benefit from AI SEO?

AI-focused optimization is especially useful for businesses that rely on online visibility to generate leads or sales. This includes:

• Service-based businesses
• eCommerce brands
• B2B companies
• Local and national organizations

As AI continues to influence how people search, adopting this approach early can provide a competitive advantage.

Preparing for the Future of Search

Search is no longer limited to traditional engines. AI platforms are becoming a primary way people discover information, and businesses need to adapt accordingly.

By investing in AI SEO, companies can position themselves for long-term success in a rapidly changing digital environment. With the right strategy, it becomes possible to stay visible, relevant, and competitive as search continues to evolve.

Related: Search Engine Ranking Reports: Unveiling SEO Tools and Strategies

More four-year-olds are enrolled in state-funded preschools than ever before, but the quality and availability of preschool programs have experts concerned about creating a system of haves and have-nots.

“If providing high-quality preschool education to all 3- and 4-year-olds were a race, some states are nearing the finish line, others have stumbled and fallen behind, and a few have yet to leave the starting line,” an annual report from the National Institute of Early Education Research states.

With the amount of funding and quality varying by state, it means that access for families in states that aren’t investing still widely varies.

The report, titled “State of Preschool: 2025 Yearbook,” breaks down the annual spending, quality and enrollment numbers across early childhood education programs in the U.S. The latest found states hit an all-time high for both spending and enrollment, but the quality of the programs remains a concern.

“We’re trying to make sure states are also thinking about quality,” Allison Friedman-Krauss, an associate research professor at NIEER, says. “Right now, it’s more about access. And we don’t want them to forget about quality.”

More Funding – But Not Always More Quality

The report found funding peaked at nearly $14.4 billion, though that was largely driven by a handful of states: $4.1 billion in California alone, along with $1.2 billion in New Jersey and $1 billion in New York. Those three states accounted for nearly half (45 percent) of all state pre-K spending.

More than two dozen states also increased their preschool spending, which can go toward things like improving teacher-to-student rations and improving teacher compensation, the latter which has long been a concern.

While states still increased their spending on pre-K this year, the rate at which states are investing is slowing down. Adjusted for inflation, each state spent an average of $45 more per child than the 2023-2024 year. However, last year’s increase in spending was 16 times as large.

New Jersey, Oregon and the District of Columbia gave more than $15,000 in state funding per child enrolled in preschool. Six other states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Mexico, and Washington) spent more than $10,000 per child enrolled in pre-K. Twenty eight states overall spent more funding per child, adjusted for inflation, than past years.

Seventeen states spent less on preschool in 2024-2025 than they did in 2023-2024, when adjusted for inflation. The researchers attributed the spending decline in part to overall state deficits and falling enrollment across many states.

However, that’s not always the case. New Jersey had a budget deficit but invested an additional $100 million into expanding preschool programs for all.

Pointing toward this, Steve Barnett, director of NIEER, argues that it’s all about state priorities: “That’s a conscious decision to say we’re going to spend less,” he says. “And you have to ask if the declining enrollment – even if not intentional – is a way to reduce spending [in the sector]. As opposed to, ‘Maybe we should work on getting parents to enroll their kid.’”

The boost in funding did not always correlate to better early childhood education programs. Only six states met all of NIEER’s 10 quality standards benchmarks, which includes a maximum class size of 20 students, a requirement that teachers have bachelor’s degrees and a classroom ratio of at least one staff member for every 10 students.

States looking to enhance preschool quality should focus on class size and teacher pay, Barnett argues.

Teacher pay and class sizes account for most of the money, and once states have improved those, other metrics, like curriculum supports and health screenings, are easier to pay for later, he adds.

But changes won’t happen overnight.

“It does take time. You can’t just wave a magic wand and have classroom size and teachers’ pay magically fixed,” Barnett says.

NIEER’s Friedman-Krauss, pointed to Alabama and Georgia as examples of slowly, but surely, increasing preschool quality. Georgia hit all 10 quality benchmarks this year. Friedman-Krauss credits the improvement to a $97.6 million investment by the state, which helped lower classroom size from 22 to 20 and increased teacher pay.

“We make a big deal of it because it’s serving most of the 4-year-old [children] and hitting all the benchmarks,” Barnett says. “It’s a state that lost them and came back even stronger; that’s a good sign.”

Lion’s Share of Enrollment Only in a Few States

Enrollment, similarly to funding, reached an all-time high nationally last year, with 1.8 million children during the 2024-2025 school year. But roughly half of that comes from four states: California, Texas, New York and Florida.

Notably, a dozen states had more than half of their four-year-olds in state-funded preschool programs, with the District of Columbia topping the list: 94 percent of four-year-olds were enrolled in their state programs. California’s enrollment gains were buoyed in part due to the state’s universal pre-K promise.

However, twenty states enrolled fewer preschoolers in 2024-2025 than the prior year. Some could blame the dip on declining birth rates. But when adjusted by population percentage, 21 states still saw a dip.

For some states, the enrollment decline was steep. Indeed, six states (Arizona, Florida, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin) decreased enrollment by more than 1,000 children.

Three-year-old students made up only 9 percent enrollment across the nation, up from 5 percent a decade earlier. Some states are acting to counter this. For example, Illinois and New Jersey are both focusing on expanding preschool programs for three-year-olds, Friedman-Krauss says. However, she and Barnett expect a slow mass adoption of three-year-olds in state-funded programs.

“I think there will be more attention paid to that group – how much more, that’s the hard part,” Barnett says. “Nine percent is better than when we started, but it’s very lumpy. It’s still 0 percent in lots of places.”