Technology

Nikon’s cameras are going to get more expensive starting on June 23rd

Published

10 months ago

May 26, 2025

Nikon’s cameras are going to get more expensive starting on June 23rd

After months of remaining quiet about how President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese-made goods may affect its business, Nikon has announced a “necessary price adjustment” for its products that will come into effect for the US starting on June 23rd, 2025. The company hasn’t shared any specifics on which of its imaging products will see a price increase, or how much the increases may end up being, but it could mean this is the time to grab hardware like the recent Z5 II if you’ve been eyeing it.

“At Nikon, we remain committed to providing the highest quality imaging products and value to our customers,” Nikon said in a statement posted Friday. “Due to the recent tariffs, a necessary price adjustment for products will take effect on June 23, 2025. We will be carefully monitoring any tariff developments and may adjust pricing as necessary to reflect the evolving market conditions. We wish to thank our customers for their understanding and know that we are taking every possible step to minimize the impact on our community.”

Earlier this month, during a presentation where the company shared its latest financial results, Nikon said (pdf) the tariffs could reduce its profits for the upcoming fiscal year by 10 billion yen, or around $70 million, as reported by PetaPixel.

Nikon is not the first or only camera gear company to announce price increases as a result of the US tariffs. The Australia-based Blackmagic Design started charging more for its digital cinema cameras last month while also announcing that the tariffs made its plans to build a factory in Dallas, Texas, financially unviable.

During the announcement for its own Q1 financial results in late April, Canon told analysts that it was planning to raise prices and was “in the process of estimating the timing and amount of the increase,” according to DPReview. The company also said its price increases would be limited to the US, but that could change if the tariffs triggered a wider global recession.

Other camera makers that have recently raised prices include Sony and Leica, while Fujifilm temporarily paused US preorders for several of its cameras, including the budget-friendly X-M5 and the still popular X100VI, the company told DPReview in late April. Lens maker Sigma has also announced pricing adjustments, but like Nikon, those aren’t going into effect immediately and will instead start on June 2nd, 2025.

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Technology

Two of my favorite color e-book readers are the cheapest they’ve been in months

Published

1 hour ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Two of my favorite color e-book readers are the cheapest they’ve been in months

Color isn’t essential in an e-reader, but let’s be honest, it’s a nice perk that can bring digital books, magazines, comics, cookbooks, and other publications to life. The catch is that color ebook readers tend to be substantially pricier, which makes today’s deals stand out. Right now, the Kindle Colorsoft (16GB) and Kobo Libra Colour are matching their lowest prices to date, with the Amazon e-reader going for $169.99 ($80 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, and the Libra Colour going for $199.99 ($30 off) via Rakuten’s online storefront.

At their core, both are excellent e-readers with 7-inch, 300ppi E Ink displays, which drop to 150ppi when viewing color. The Colorsoft’s display is slightly more vibrant in most instances, but the difference isn’t dramatic. Each also offers IPX8 water resistance, so you don’t need to worry about spills and can comfortably read in the bath or by the pool.

Which one makes more sense for you largely depends on where you buy your books, how much storage you need, and whether you like to take notes. The Colorsoft is great if you’re heavily embedded in Amazon’s ecosystem, as buying and accessing Kindle books is intuitive and doesn’t require any sideloading. As the more affordable option in Amazon’s lineup, the standard Colorsoft delivers a nearly identical reading experience to the Signature Edition, and it supports Amazon’s “Send to Alexa Plus” feature, which lets you send notes or documents to Amazon’s AI-powered assistant for summaries, to-do lists, reminders, and more. The downside is that it lacks wireless charging and an auto-adjusting front light — which are standard on the step-up model — and comes with 16GB of storage instead of 32GB.

That said, if I didn’t already own so many Kindle books, the Libra Colour would be my pick. It offers double the storage at 32GB and includes intuitive physical page-turn buttons. You can also write notes while reading, given that it offers stylus support, and it includes built-in notebook templates, as well as the ability to convert handwriting to typed text. It also supports EPUB and a wider range of file formats, and lets you save articles for offline reading with Instapaper. And it also offers adjustable warm lighting, which makes reading at night a little easier on the eyes.

Technology

Robot plays tennis with humans in real time

Published

2 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Robot plays tennis with humans in real time

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A humanoid robot is now rallying tennis shots with a human in real time. It runs without a script or remote control, so it can react instantly on a tennis court.

The robot stands about 4 feet tall, giving it a compact, human-like frame. Galbot Robotics released a video showing its robot going shot-for-shot with a human player. The system behind it is called LATENT and runs on the Unitree G1.

And it is not just returning the ball. It is moving, adjusting and competing during live play.

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CHINA’S COMPACT HUMANOID ROBOT SHOWS OFF BALANCE AND FLIPS

A humanoid robot rallies tennis shots with a human in real time, reacting without scripts or remote control during live play. (Galbot Robotics)

Why this tennis robot is different from others

Most athletic robots you have seen follow scripts. They perform pre-programmed actions or rely on a remote control. This one operates differently. It reacts to a human opponent in real time, tracking fast-moving balls, shifting across the court and returning shots with surprising accuracy. It also adjusts to changing trajectories and unpredictable shots during rallies. Researchers say it can sustain long rallies with millisecond-level reactions and full-body coordination. That marks a major step forward.

How the AI learned to play tennis

Training a robot to play tennis is extremely complex. Tennis involves:

Tennis ball speeds can reach up to 67 miles per hour
Split-second racket contact
Constant movement across a large court

Capturing complete human gameplay data is difficult. So the researchers used a different method.

Training the robot using motion fragments

Instead of recording full matches, they focused on small segments of movement:

Forehands
Backhands
Side steps

They gathered about five hours of motion data from five players. The sessions took place on a compact 10-by-16-foot court. That space is more than 17 times smaller than a standard tennis court.

RESTAURANT ROBOT GOES HAYWIRE, SENDS TABLEWARE FLYING BEFORE BREAKING OUT IN DANCE MOVES

Humanoid robots designed by Galbot Robotics select items from a shelf at the Shanghai New Expo Center in Shanghai, China, on July 26, 2025. Galbot Robotics also designed the tennis-playing robot that learns movement fragments and applies them in live competition. (Ying Tang/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

How the robot plays tennis during live rallies

The system first learns individual movements. Then it combines them into coordinated sequences. That allows the robot to:

Move toward the ball
Strike it with control
Recover and reposition

To improve performance, the team trained the model in simulation. They varied physical conditions such as mass, friction and aerodynamics. This helps the robot adapt to real-world unpredictability. As a result, the system responds dynamically instead of following a fixed routine.

How well does it actually perform against humans?

In testing, the system achieved up to 96% success on forehand shots in simulation. In real-world trials, the robot can sustain rallies with a human and consistently return the ball across the net.

Watching the demo, it appears competitive. At times, the robot places shots away from the human player. That suggests more than a simple reaction. It points toward early forms of decision-making.

There are still limits. The robot can look unstable at times. Its motion is not yet as fluid as a trained athlete. High or unpredictable shots may still present challenges. Even so, the progress is clear.

Why this matters beyond tennis

This breakthrough goes far beyond tennis. It shows how robots can learn complex human skills without perfect data. The same approach could apply to:

Football
Badminton
Industrial work
Search and rescue

Any task that lacks complete motion data could benefit from this method. That is the bigger picture.

WORLD’S FASTEST HUMANOID ROBOT RUNS 22 MPH

A robot dances at the launch ceremony of a Galbot Robotics retail store in Beijing, China, on August 7, 2025. The company has also designed a 4-foot robot that returns tennis shots with millisecond reactions and full-body coordination. (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Could robots compete with humans one day?

The path forward is becoming clearer. Today, the robot rallies. Next, it competes. In time, robots could train with or challenge professional athletes. Exhibition matches between humans and machines may become part of the sport. That future no longer feels far away.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

This demo shows how quickly things are changing. Robots are no longer stuck following scripts. They can now react, adjust and compete in real situations. What used to feel far off is starting to show up right in front of us.

So here is the question: If a robot could outplay you on the court, would you still want to compete, or would you rather train with it? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

AI influencer awards season is upon us

Published

13 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

First came the AI beauty pageant. Then the AI music contests. Now, there is an award for AI Personality of the Year — perhaps the inevitable next step for the AI influencer economy as it transforms from quirky novelty into a serious and lucrative industry.

The contest, a joint venture between generative AI studio OpenArt and AI-powered creator platform Fanvue, with backing from AI voice company ElevenLabs, opens on Monday and runs for a month. The organizers said it is intended to “celebrate the creative talent ‘behind’ AI Influencers” and recognize their growing commercial and cultural clout.

Contestants will compete for a total prize fund of $20,000, which will be split between an overall winner and individual categories of fitness, lifestyle, comedian, music and dance entertainer, and fictional cartoon, anime, or fantasy personality. Victors will be celebrated at an event in May that the organizers are dubbing the “‘Oscars’ for AI personalities.”

To enter, you must develop your AI influencer on OpenArt’s platform and submit it at www.AIpersonality.ai. You’ll be asked for social media handles across TikTok, X, YouTube, and Instagram, as well as the story behind the character, your motivations for creating it, and details of any brand work.

Among those assessing contestants are 13‑time Emmy‑winning comedy writer Gil Rief, the creators of Spanish AI model Aitana Lopez, and Christopher “Topher” Townsend, the MAGA rapper behind AI-generated gospel singer Solomon Ray. According to a copy of the judges’ briefing seen by The Verge, contestants will be scored on four criteria: quality, social clout, brand appeal, and the inspiration behind the avatar. Specific points include reliably engaging with followers, portraying a consistent look across social channels, accurate details like having the “right number of fingers and thumbs,” and having “an authentic narrative” behind the avatar.

The contest is open to established creators and novices alike, though existing AI influencers will still need to submit material produced on OpenArt’s platform, Matt Jones, head of brand at Fanvue, told The Verge.

Despite being designed to celebrate creators of virtual influencers, Jones said that entrants don’t need to publicly identify themselves. “If a person who created this amazing piece of work wants nothing to do with the press or to expose themselves or to have their name out there, that’s obviously fine,” he said. “There would be no need to thrust anybody into the limelight here. We would just celebrate the piece of work.”

That creators can remain anonymous feels odd for a contest judging authenticity, particularly in an AI influencer ecosystem built on fictional people, fake personas, and fabricated backstories. That same anonymity has also helped grifts flourish with little accountability, from the AI white nationalist rapper Danny Bones to MAGA fantasy girl Jessica Foster.

There’s familiar baggage too, including persistent questions about originality, whether AI-generated work, or even a likeness, has been lifted from real creators, and whether these tools simply reproduce the same old biases in synthetic form. Organizer Fanvue has already faced criticism for this in the past: in 2024, a Guardian columnist described its “Miss AI” beauty pageant as something that “take(s) every toxic gendered beauty norm and bundle(s) them up into a completely unrealistic package.”

To Fanvue’s Jones, creators inevitably leave something of themselves in the AI characters they make. “You can’t help but put a little bit of yourself into the stories that you tell and the characters that you make,” he said, urging creators to “lean into that.” The idea feels at home in the influencer economy: not strictly real, but a form of synthetic authenticity the internet already knows how to handle.

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