If you’ve ever worried that your phone is quietly making your water dangerous, wellness influencers have a new fix. It’s a curved stainless steel straw that sells for about $50.

Known as an “EMF straw” or “frequency straw,” the accessory is spreading on Instagram and TikTok, according to WIRED. Influencers claim it can shield users from electromagnetic frequencies, with some saying it can boost energy, support immunity, or improve wellness.

The evidence doesn’t stretch that far. Regulators have warned that EMF-shielding products lack scientific support, and similar accessories have failed to show measurable effects. Research into low-frequency electromagnetic fields from normal devices has also found little evidence of serious health risks.

Why people buy the fear

The EMF straw works because it looks strange enough to feel technical, but familiar enough to feel harmless. It isn’t a router or a medical device. It’s a straw, which makes the claim easier to swallow in the dumbest possible way.

The wellness pitch borrows just enough tech language to sound serious. “EMF” is real. Phones and chargers do emit electromagnetic fields. The leap from that fact to a straw that supposedly turns water into protection is where the whole thing starts wobbling like a Bluetooth speaker on a cheap folding table.

A product doesn’t need to prove much when it can be shown in a short video with a vague detector and a promise that your body is being protected.

Where the science gets thinner

There is a real distinction between types of radiation. High-frequency radiation, such as X-rays and UV exposure, can damage cells. That isn’t the same as the lower-frequency, non-ionizing radiation associated with consumer devices.

Research into phone exposure is still fair. A $50 straw is a very strange place to put your trust. The practical takeaway is much less viral than the videos. Your phone isn’t turning your smoothie radioactive.

Why the trend keeps spreading

The EMF straw is funny until you remember that products like this are rarely sold as jokes. They are sold into a feed full of health anxiety, distrust, and tech confusion. That makes even a ridiculous-looking straw feel like control.

Spending $50 on a metal straw probably won’t hurt most people. The bigger cost is learning to treat every normal device in your home like a threat, then buying peace of mind every time the feed tells you to.

A third independent supply chain analysis is now pointing in the same direction as the previous two: the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be more expensive at launch. In addition, Apple might have to settle for a slightly thinner margin on the device than it usually charges for other products. 

Counterpoint Research’s bill-of-materials estimate for the 12GB plus 1TB iPhone 18 Pro Max shows a cost rise of nearly $300 compared to the same configuration in the iPhone 17 Pro Max. 

So what does Counterpoint’s analysis actually show?

As shown in the infographic, display and other components may actually come in cheaper for Apple. However, the new 2nm chipset and the improved camera setup are also contributing toward the revised bill-of-materials estimate. 

However, none of their contribution is as heavy as the memory and storage. The infographic doesn’t provide comparative numbers, but the graph indicates that both the NAND and DRAM costs have increased multifolds. 

To give you some context, this is the third time a major analyst firm has flagged a significant iPhone 18 Pro Max price increase: WSJ and TechInsights were first, then IDC’s Nabila Popal. 

Will Apple pass the full $300 bill on to buyers?

Almost certainly, yes, but not to everyone. Remember, it’s the top-tier iPhone 18 Pro Max, with 12GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, that is expected to see a $300 price increase at Apple. Hence, for this model, Apple may pass along the rise in component costs to its customers as a $300 price hike, depending on how aggressively it wants to protect the product’s gross margin.

At $1,599 today, a $300 hike on the 1TB iPhone 18 Pro Max would push it to $1,899, which sounds wild to me. For other variants, including those with 256GB and 512GB of storage, the price increase could be $100 to $200. 

Even if the exact numbers vary by the time Apple actually releases the iPhone 18 Pro in September this year, one thing seems increasingly sure: you won’t see the iPhone 18 Pro models debut at the same price as the iPhone 17 Pro did in 2025. 

Sony has finally unveiled the RX10 V, a superzoom compact camera that comes with a 24-600mm optical zoom lens and 20.1-megapixel 1-inch sensor. The design has been overhauled compared to the nine-year-old RX10 IV for a more modern look and adds faster speeds, an updated autofocus system and far better video specs. The catch is the $2,300 price, which makes this one of the most expensive compact cameras on the market.

As before, the RX10 V offers tourists, street shooters and others incredible reach thanks to the 9.1-210mm (24-600mm equivalent) f2.4-4.0 lens. The 20.1MP 1-inch stacked sensor appears unchanged and should deliver good-quality images, even in low light, with minimal rolling shutter distortion. It’s disappointing that Sony didn’t upgrade the resolution, though, especially considering the camera’s price. The new model also lacks the RX10 IV’s built-in flash. 

The new model does have a new processor that improved burst speeds, though. It can now shoot at 30 fps with no blackout in electronic shutter mode, a nice upgrade over the previous model’s 24 fps shooting speeds. Sony also carried over a feature from its latest mirrorless cameras called “continuous shooting speed boost” that lets you instantly jump to the maximum burst speed to capture decisive moments. 

Sony

Autofocus also got a big AI makeover to match the new A7 V. Rather than just humans and animals as before, it can detect the face, eye, head and body of humans, birds and animals, along with vehicles (cars, trains and airplanes) and insects (head and whole body). Thanks to a separate deep AI processor, it will keep tracking subjects even if they turn away, look down or move in an erratic fashion. AF and AE speed has also doubled to 60 fps for continuous tracking, and it now offers 575 AF points compared to 315 before, along with 70 percent sensor coverage. 

Video gets perhaps the biggest upgrade, with 4K 60 fps 10-bit video (All-Intra, XAVC S, and XAVC HS formats) that uses the entire sensor width with no pixel binning for extra sharpness. That can be boosted to 4K 120 fps for super slow mo, at the cost of a slight crop, or 1080p at 240 fps. It also supports Sony’s S-Log3 for improved dynamic range and lets you import up to 16 LUTs to preview different “looks” ahead of time. Sony also improved the built-in stabilization so that it smooths video even when you’re walking with it. 

The design was completely revamped compared RX10 IV’s bulbous, stodgy look. It’s now sleeker and more squared off to match the A7 V’s aesthetic and has a much larger grip. It comes with a full complement of manual controls including a joystick, three control dials, a control wheel and a new dual top dial (with a photo, video and S&Q selector), plus an AF-ON button for pro autofocus control. 

Sony

Both the electronic viewfinder (EVF) and rear display get resolution upgrades to 3.69 million dots (up from 2.4 million dots) and 1.62 million dots respectively. However, the rear display only tilts and doesn’t flip out, so it’s not great for vlogging or selfies. Again, that’s a rather inexcusable omission considering the camera’s price. 

Other features include a single UHS-II SD card slot, full-sized NP-FZ100 battery that delivers up to 630 shots on a charge, a micro HDMI port 3.5mm mic and headphone ports and a new high-speed USB-C port for charging and transfers. The RX10 V now supports live streaming at up to 4K 30 fps as well. 

Now for the bad news if you’re interested in this new model. The RX10 V just went on pre-order for $2,300, a relative fortune for a 1-inch compact camera. If that price is in your wheelhouse, though, it does offer incredible zoom reach, shooting speeds and video capabilities. 

Microdramas are such a rage these days that nearly every kind of company in the attention economy space — be they dedicated microdrama apps, social media giants (TikTok and Instagram) or streaming services (Peacock, Amazon Prime, and India’s JioHotstar) — is building a product to tap the opportunity.

Character.AI, which lets people chat with customized AI avatars, is also tapping this budding market by producing its own microdramas using AI characters. But there’s an interesting twist that takes advantage of the company’s core product: Users older than 18 can chat with these shows’ characters, ask them questions, and even roleplay different storylines.

The startup is launching three microdramas to start with: a romance series dubbed “Last Summer,” a horror show titled, “The Nighttime Game,” and a Hunger Games-like survival microdrama called “Eden Fall.”

Character.AI says these dramas were created using AI production tools, and in the long term, it aims to help users create their own characters and series.

“Starting with a studio-led model, c.ai Series lets our production team develop the format, refine the workflow, and understand what audiences want from Character-native Microdrama entertainment. Over time, the goal is to turn those learnings and workflows into creator tools, enabling users to make their own series from original Characters and share them with a global audience,” a company spokesperson told TechCrunch.

This is the latest in a slew of recent features from the startup following its shift toward entertainment-focused features last year. In April, it teased a tool called Lorebook that users can employ to create world-building information that characters can reference, and launched another feature called Books that lets users insert themselves into select classic literature titles, or role-play as characters from them.

The company said on Thursday that it is also testing a feature, dubbed c.ai FM, that will let users put together audio series, and another that lets you create fiction, called c.ai Reads. The audio series feature is currently available to select users under its experimental c.ai Labs program, which the company says professional writers are using to create serialized audio dramas.

There’s certainly an audience for this form of entertainment. Users spent more than 950 minutes on Character.AI each month in the first half of 2026, according to Sensor Tower.

As much as I love reviewing extraordinary laptops like the ZenBook Duo, with its swinging dual screens and detachable keyboard, the truth is most people will never be able to buy one, simply because innovation like that costs money. And given that we are in the great AI era of 2026, with RAM prices having more than doubled, it’s really hard to find a laptop that gets the job done without leaving a huge dent in your wallet. HP’s OmniBook line is a great example of such laptops, and if you’re in the market for a mid-range, powerful laptop, I may have found a solution: the OmniBook 5.

The OmniBook 5 packs Intel’s latest Panther Lake Core Ultra 7 processor, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, a sophisticated design, and an OLED display. All this for ₹145,999 seems like a decent package by 2026 standards, which is why I have been testing the laptop for the past 2 weeks. It’s been my daily driver and companion to several coffee shops and a little work trip to Delhi. Is it worth it for your workflow? This review will answer that for you.

Design & Hardware

Design is one area where everyone thinks differently. Most people like an all-metal chassis, while some do prefer plastic. The HP OmniBook 5 is not for the latter. Its chassis is made from anodized aluminum, and I’m a fan. The finish is cool to the touch and doesn’t pick up fingerprints, which is a lifesaver when you’re trying to take photos of the unit. If you’re familiar with the MacBook’s finish, then the one on the OmniBook is a tad bit rougher. In short, the laptop feels elegant and not out of place in a coffee shop or in a corporate meeting. Besides my silver review unit, there’s also a Sahara color option.

Open up the laptop, and you’re greeted with the same premium finish. The keyboard deck is also silver, and there’s a nice cutout to open the laptop with just one hand. I did see some wobble on the screen, but that’s nothing to worry about. The hinge is strong enough to hold the screen while you run to your boss and show them a presentation. Even so, the best thing about the OmniBook 5 is its portability. The laptop weighs just 1.3kg and is 13mm thick. The 14-inch form factor is perfect for attending quick work calls on the go.

To put that to the test, I took the OmniBook 5 on a work trip to Delhi. The lightweight nature meant I wasn’t dragging a brick in my backpack, and my shoulders didn’t hurt even after several hours of travel. I used the laptop to write some articles on my lap at the airport. Despite the air vents underneath, I observed no overheating problems, but more on that in the performance section. As far as durability is concerned, I’m no JerryRigEverything. However, the fact that there was no damage to the OmniBook 5 after I accidentally dropped my backpack at the airport makes me think durability shouldn’t be a concern. I also observed no deck or screen flex even with some substantial force.

When it comes to ports, HP, thankfully, hasn’t skimped on anything. With the OmniBook 5, you get two USB-A ports, one with 10 Gbps signaling. Beyond that, there are two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports with 40 Gbps signaling rates and charging support, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a headphone/microphone combo jack.

Keyboard & Trackpad

A good keyboard is quintessential for a professional laptop. After all, most of your days will pass making PowerPoints, editing documents, and replying to emails. I’ve tested many laptop keyboards, and the one on the HP OmniBook 5 is definitely up there. The keys have a similar tactile feel to my MacBook, and that’s a great thing. Feedback is present; there’s a satisfying click after every keystroke, and I didn’t feel cramped when typing long articles, such as this review, on the laptop. I was able to adapt the layout in less than an hour, and even the backlight is strong enough to make the words legible against the light-colored keys.

Almost the same praise carries over to the trackpad as well. It’s not a fancy haptic trackpad, but as far as physical trackpads go, it’s up there at the top. The tracking was accurate throughout the surface, and the best part was the clicks. HP has the easiest-to-use clicking mechanism, which requires little force to activate. Some people may not like that, but since I’m coming from haptic touchpads, the lower activation force for clicking was very helpful. The only gripe I have is that the surface feels a bit rough, which introduces some friction when scrolling.

Display & Camera

We have two ingredients of a professional laptop ready (keyboard & trackpad). It’s now time for the third: the display. That’s because a laptop isn’t just for editing documents. People also like to watch movies on them, too. I have some good news for those people, as the HP OmniBook 5 features a 14-inch 2K OLED panel with a 60Hz refresh rate. As expected, watching shows on the laptop is an absolute joy. The colors feel vibrant without being oversaturated, the blacks are truly black, and even the dynamic range was decent. To be fair, it’s not the brightest display around, with a peak of 300 nits, but when coupled with the deep blacks, the contrast is very decent. I had loads of fun watching an episode of Clarkson’s Farm while on my way back from Delhi.

I have some good news for all the video editor friends as well, since the OmniBook 5’s panel covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color space. You can easily edit videos without worrying about the colors looking off. The 16:10 aspect ratio also helped fit a few extra spreadsheet columns. Just be wary of working in direct sunlight, as the glossy panel reflects a lot. As for the camera, it’s an FHD unit, and like most other Windows cams, it works okay. I found the colors leaning on the cool side, but the sharpness was decent.

Performance

The fourth ingredient of the professional laptop is performance. In fact, it’s the most important pillar so far, as I’m sure anyone would hate waiting for an app to load. With the HP OmniBook 5, you get the latest Panther Lake Intel Core Ultra 7 355 processor, paired with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM running at 6,800 MHz and a 1TB NVMe SSD. CrystalDiskMark reported read/write speeds of 6,347 MB/s and 5,219 MB/s, respectively, which are on par with other ultrabooks like the ZenBook 14.

In everyday use, the OmniBook 5 is a breeze. I found it a tad faster at launching apps than some of the other laptops I’ve tested recently. There were no hiccups switching between apps, and the 16GB of RAM was enough to keep my 20 Chrome tabs open while I was writing articles. I could also multitask alongside all of that, so office work shouldn’t be a problem for anyone.

For demanding users like video editors, I installed DaVinci Resolve on the OmniBook 5. Then I imported a couple of 4K streams I shot at an event, trimmed them, and did some color grading. Sure, my editing workflow isn’t the most taxing, but if you’re making content for Instagram, then the OmniBook 5 packs enough punch. Similarly, for all my coders, I ran a Python script in VS Code, and it compiled without much delay.

Benchmarks & Gaming

Still, as good as my editing and coding skills are, I can’t test everyone’s workflow here. Maybe you’re into 3D modeling or music production; that’s where benchmarks become more useful. Yes, they don’t paint the full picture, but they do give a number for everyone to judge things. In Cinebench R23, the OmniBook 5 scored 1,907 in the single-core and 10,045 in the multi-core tests. That’s nearly 30% more multi-core performance than the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430. PCMark 10 gave the laptop an overall score of 7,501.

But can the OmniBook 5 game? That’s the eternal question of every laptop buyer. And the answer depends. If by gaming, you mean AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Indiana Jones: The Great Circle, then nope. However, the integrated graphics can handle esports titles like Valorant and CS:GO pretty fine. I got roughly 190 FPS on high settings in Valorant, which was more than enough to land a few headshots. Thermals are managed well for everyday tasks, but with gaming, I did see some throttling after an hour.

Battery Life & Speakers

If you just need one reason to get the HP OmniBook 5, it’s the battery life. HP has fit in a 59 WHr cell, which might not sound like much on paper, but with Intel’s new efficiency gains, the laptop just refuses to die. On my typical workday, which is writing articles, doing research on Chrome, replying to Slack messages, and watching YouTube, I got roughly 13 hours of screen-on time. That’s more than what I’m currently getting from my MacBook. You also get a 65W fast charger inside the box, which takes the laptop from 0% to 50% in just 30 minutes.

I’m not the biggest fan of downward-firing speakers, since they inherently limit the output and get muffled when the laptop’s on a soft surface. Sadly, that’s also true with the OmniBook 5, but its speakers are quite good. They are loud enough to fill a room, and I did hear many details, especially in the vocals. All that said, they don’t sound as wide and full as the ones on my MacBook, and prioritize the highs a bit much. Just a small complaint.

Verdict

At ₹145,999, the new HP OmniBook 5 has all the pillars of a great professional laptop. The design is premium yet sophisticated so as not to draw too much attention. The 2K OLED display is gorgeous not just for watching movies but also for working with spreadsheets. And the performance keeps up with ever-increasing user demands, whether for video editing or code compilation. Not to mention the awesome typing experience and plenty of ports. Sure, I can nitpick about the speakers or the lack of a higher-refresh-rate screen, but those aren’t big downsides, which is why the OmniBook 5 gets my recommendation.

TIDAL is raising prices in the U.S. beginning August 3, 2026, and the move makes the hi-res music streaming market a little more complicated for subscribers trying to decide where their money should go. For most of us that would be a new air conditioner this summer but I digress.

The short version: TIDAL is still a strong option for listeners who care about lossless, hi-res FLAC, Dolby Atmos, and TIDAL Connect. But it is no longer the automatic value play, especially for families and students.

What Did TIDAL Do?

TIDAL says its new prices will take effect on a subscriber’s first billing date on or after August 3, 2026. Until then, existing subscribers remain on their current pricing. TIDAL also says subscribers do not need to do anything if they want to continue; the subscription will simply renew at the updated rate.

The new U.S. pricing is:

• Individual: $11.99/month
• Family: $19.99/month
• Student: $6.99/month

TIDAL’s current pricing page lists those plans with access to more than 180 million tracks in lossless, hi-res FLAC, and Dolby Atmos, along with ad-free and offline listening.

The increases are not massive on the Individual plan, but they are more noticeable elsewhere. TIDAL’s prior U.S. support page listed Individual at $10.99/month, Family at $16.99/month, and Student at $5.49/month. That means Individual goes up by $1/month, Family rises by $3/month, and Student jumps by $1.50/month.

That Student increase is the one that looks the most aggressive. Students are already living on caffeine, expired meal-plan points, and financial anxiety. Asking them to pay more for hi-res audio feels a little cruel, even if the service itself remains very good.

How Does TIDAL Compare to Its Competitors?

TIDAL’s new $11.99/month Individual plan is still competitive. It is cheaper than Spotify Premium at $12.99/month and Qobuz Studio at $12.99/month when paid monthly. It also matches Deezer Premium at $11.99/month and Amazon Music Unlimited for Prime members at $11.99/month.

The problem for TIDAL is Apple Music. Apple Music remains $10.99/month for Individual, $16.99/month for Family, and $5.99/month for Student. It also includes lossless audio, Hi-Res Lossless up to 24-bit/192kHz, Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, and Apple Music Classical.

For families, Apple Music is the obvious price leader. TIDAL’s Family plan is now $19.99/month, compared with Apple Music at $16.99/month. Deezer also sits at $19.99/month, while Spotify and Amazon Music Unlimited are more expensive at $21.99/month.

For audiophiles, Qobuz remains the most direct rival. Its monthly Solo plan is $12.99/month, but Qobuz lowers the effective price to $10.83/month with a $129.99 annual subscription. Qobuz also emphasizes 24-bit hi-res streaming, music journalism, reviews, and a download store, which still gives it a more purist identity than most streaming platforms.

Spotify is the strange one. It now costs more than TIDAL for an Individual plan, but its lossless tier tops out at 24-bit/44.1kHz. Spotify still wins on playlists, discovery, podcasts, social features, and habit. It does not win on hi-res audio.

Why Is TIDAL Raising Prices?

TIDAL says it is updating prices so it can continue supporting artists and rightsholders while investing in new features, improvements, and the high-quality listening experience users expect from the platform.

That is the official explanation, and it is also the standard streaming-industry answer. The broader reality is that subscription prices have been moving upward across the category. Spotify now charges $12.99/month for Individual, $18.99/month for Duo, and $21.99/month for Family in the U.S. Apple Music is still less expensive than most of the field, but the days of every major music service sitting around $9.99/month are over.

TIDAL also has to justify continued investment in a platform built around higher-quality audio, Dolby Atmos, hardware integration, offline listening, and artist-focused positioning. None of that is free to operate. The question is whether consumers believe TIDAL offers enough that is genuinely different.

How Does This Impact Consumers?

For Individual subscribers, the impact is annoying but not dramatic. A $1/month increase is not likely to force many serious TIDAL users to cancel, especially if they rely on TIDAL Connect or listen through equipment that makes lossless and hi-res streaming worthwhile.

For Family subscribers, the increase is more meaningful. TIDAL is now $3/month more expensive than Apple Music Family. Over a year, that is a $36 difference. That is not life-changing money, but it is enough to make families compare services more carefully.

For students, TIDAL becomes a harder sell. At $6.99/month, it is now more expensive than Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Deezer, Qobuz, and YouTube Music student plans. TIDAL may still be the better choice for students with serious audio hardware, but most students are not comparing 24-bit/192kHz playback through a desktop DAC. They are trying to make rent and keep their earbuds charged.

For audiophiles, TIDAL still makes sense if the service fits your system. TIDAL Connect remains a major advantage for streamers, DACs, powered speakers, and network players that support it. The catalog is large, the hi-res FLAC messaging is cleaner than the old MQA era, and the app remains more music-focused than Spotify or YouTube Music.

For casual listeners, Apple Music is now the tougher value to ignore. It costs less, includes lossless and hi-res audio, offers Dolby Atmos, and works extremely well if you already live inside the Apple ecosystem.

The Bottom Line

TIDAL did not price itself out of the market. The Individual plan remains competitive, and the service still has real value for listeners who care about hi-res streaming, Dolby Atmos, TIDAL Connect, and hardware support.

But the price increase weakens TIDAL’s argument for families and students. Apple Music is cheaper. Qobuz is more audiophile-focused. Spotify is better for discovery and social listening. Amazon Music Unlimited makes sense for Prime households. Deezer offers a simpler CD-quality alternative at the same Individual price.

TIDAL is still worth paying for if you actually use what makes it different. If you are only streaming in the car, through cheap Bluetooth earbuds, or from a phone speaker while pretending to hear 24-bit/192kHz magic, the new pricing should make you ask a very simple question: why are you paying for the fancy bottle if you are drinking it from a paper cup?

For more information: tidal.com

Related Reading:

As part of the major US expansion, Manna will establish a US operations and manufacturing centre in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Irish drone delivery service provider Manna is targeting US expansion following its recent decision to pause deliveries in Ireland over a lack of regulatory and planning considerations, according to media reports.

Reuters reported that the south-west of the US would be the company’s focus, partnering with companies such as DoorDash, McDonald’s and Uber Eats for food deliveries within the next two months.

Meanwhile, founder and CEO Bobby Healy told TechCrunch that Manna would establish a US operations and manufacturing centre in Tulsa, Oklahoma that will employ about 1,000 people over the next several years.

“This part of the US – Oklahoma, Texas, ⁠states around here – will really be the battleground for scaling up and proving all types of drone delivery globally,” Kenny Jacobs, Manna’s new executive chair and president, told Reuters from the launch of the company’s first full-scale US operation.

“The technology is proven. Now it’s about the commercial scalability and showing how quickly you can open up bases and deliver all types of things.”

He added that quick scaling at a low capital expenditure cost ⁠per base is possible, as each local drone launch site is no bigger than the area of four car parking spaces, and projected that Manna would operate from 40 bases across Tulsa, Oklahoma’s second-largest city, by mid-2027.

Healy told TechCrunch that manufacturing at the new plant, which is under construction, would begin in about a year’s time, giving Manna time to scale its operations team to between 200 and 300 people.

Of the US expansion, Healy said: “It’s just the size of the market here, consumer behaviour and the fact that the aggregators have consolidated the market so well, and they’re so well run. The United States has the market that everybody wants.”

He said that the company was assessing six more US cities for possible further expansion by the end of 2027, and added: “A company like us, we wouldn’t have had any plans to grow in the United States until the environment was ready from a regulatory standpoint to start growth, and so we’ve decided very clearly that now is the time for us to put every penny we have into the USA.”

Last month, Manna said it would take a “strategic pause” in operations in Ireland over what it described as a lack of a clear national framework surrounding drone technology, and would instead shift focus to the US, UK and other international markets where “regulatory, and planning frameworks are advancing and commercial drone delivery is accelerating”.

As of last month, the company employed nearly 200 people across engineering, technology, operations and corporate functions in Dublin. It said that future employment and planned expansion at local delivery hubs would not proceed for now. Earlier this year, the company announced around 300 new jobs in Ireland, alongside a $50m Series B raise.

Manna already has operational authorisation in both the US and UK, and anticipates full authorisation to operate in the United Arab Emirates.

Jacobs was appointed to his new role this week having previously served as CEO of Irish airports operator DAA, as well as working for Ryanair, Tesco and Metro Group.

Healy said of the appointment: “Kenny is one of the few executives who has scaled aviation, retail and digital businesses internationally and done so commercially. We are entering the most important phase in Manna’s history, taking Irish-built technology to the markets where commercial drone delivery is now a reality.

“Having Kenny as executive chair and president will give Manna the experience at scaling up operations and commercial partnerships.”

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Updated, 11.56am, 9 July 2026: This article was amended to include details of Kenny Jacobs’ career background and Bobby Healy’s comments on his appointment to his new role. 

More Information

For much of the twentieth century, high-frequency (HF) radio was the primary means of global communication. Satellites displaced HF from the 1970s onward by offering higher data rates, more predictable links, and simpler operation. Yet satellites are expensive, carry finite lifespans, and face a growing set of threats: anti-satellite weapons tested by multiple nations, jamming of fixed-frequency transponders, solar flares that can physically damage spacecraft, and persistent coverage gaps in polar and heavily forested regions. These realities have spurred a broad reassessment of HF as a resilient, infrastructure-independent alternative that can reach any point on the planet via the ionosphere. Modern developments — particularly wideband waveforms supporting up to 48 kHz channels with data rates reaching 240 kbit/s, and fourth-generation automatic link establishment that automates frequency management and link negotiation — have addressed many of HF’s traditional shortcomings. This white paper explains the physics of ionospheric propagation, surveys the satellite vulnerabilities motivating HF’s return, and details the technical standards and techniques that are making reliable, automated HF communications a practical reality.

There were workarounds—European or Australian gamers will likely remember dual-boot adapters that used a local cart to ‘spoof’ the console into accepting an imported American game—but with different TV standards to consider, most players were effectively limited to only the games released in their home territory.

With the SN Operator, that’s all literally consigned to the past. All cart sizes fit, and lockout chips are ignored—insert a game from anywhere in the world and, so long as it’s still in good working order, it’ll load. Modern displays mean old hurdles like different NTSC or PAL display standards are irrelevant.

That brings a few material benefits for purists. When the NTSC versus PAL distinction was an issue, it often meant PAL games ran more slowly due to the standard’s lower 50-Hz refresh rate compared to NTSC’s 60 Hz. Being in the UK, I can finally play Street Fighter II Turbo at its original speed, or the classic action platformer Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade’s Revenge without Spidey feeling like he’s web-swinging through mud. Region-free also benefits North American players, allowing previously incompatible exclusives from other countries to be imported without worry—great for cult curiosities like Konami’s Pop’n Twinbee games, only released in Japan and Europe.

The Playback software even identifies which region’s version of the game it is—accurately clocking my UK copy of Star Wing (Nintendo couldn’t use the Star Fox name at the time). Counterfeit carts are detected, too. Speaking of Star Fox/Wing, there’s a host of options to tweak how the SN Operator handles Mode 7, the SNES’ pseudo-3D visual trickery. Throwing in super-sampling and upscaling features can give 30+-year-old games quite a glow-up.

Another great touch is how it accounts for classic accessories like the SNES Mouse, supporting titles like Mario Paint or Populous II—a strategy game and another PAL exclusive—with your regular, modern, non-SNES mouse. That same mouse can stand in for the Super Scope​, Nintendo’s bulky light-gun peripheral designed for obsolete CRT screens. The only downside is that the precision afforded by a high dots-per-inch (dpi) mouse cursor makes those games incredibly easy, as I discovered with a Japanese copy of Super Scope 6, a six-game showcase for the tool. (Incidentally, it’s really only two games, Blastris and LazerBlazer, with three modes each—historically false advertising!) Still, there were only ever 12 Super Scope games released, so it’s great to see even this incredibly niche category of games considered.

By far the best improvement over the GB Operator, though, is an expanded suite of save data tools. Directly saving progress to a cart as you would on a real SNES remains a baked-in feature, and the SN Operator retains the ability to transfer game saves between your computer and cart, but now virtual save states are supported. At any point, you can create snapshot saves of wherever you are in a game—an absolute godsend in playing through Secret of Mana, a sizeable ’90s Japanese role-playing game (JRPG), and one I can now pick up and put down without worrying about in-game save points.