It's been another busy week in the tech world, testing out new Android XR glasses and watching the new Supergirl trailer.
To catch up on these and more, scroll down to see our picks for the seven biggest tech news stories of the week. You'll find quick summaries of all of them and links to the broader story if you want to learn more about what's been going on.
7. IKEA gave us a handy little smart light
IKEA has been on a smart home of sorts recently, and this week it followed up its colorful new speaker lamps with a handy little motion-sensitive light.
The Gömpyssling, an LED light that turns on automatically when motion is detected, was not officially announced, but instead quietly slipped into European IKEA stores. It looks ideal for wardrobes and a pack of two costs just £3/€4, although we still don't know when (or if) it will arrive in other countries.
At that price, we obviously can't expect any Wi-Fi intelligence or phone connectivity, but it's already at the top of our IKEA impulse buy list.
6. DC told us to 'take care' of Supergirl
Spoiler alert: There's a moment at the end of last summer's blockbuster Superman James Gunn film that literally left you wanting more; is when a disheveled and perhaps a little drunk Supergirl (aka Kara Zor-El, aka Superman's cousin) stumbles into the Fortress of Solitude. It was a short, comedic bit, but from that point on, we all wanted to see and learn more about the DCU's updated version of Krypton's last surviving citizen.
Now we have the first trailer for the Supergirl movie, which will be released this summer. From the looks of it, that brief appearance in Superman was just the beginning of Kara's troubles and adventures. There's nothing here that feels like a direct continuation of the Superman movie story, except Krypto the super dog.
In fact, the settings, character and tone feel deliberately different. There was a lot to unpack in the trailer reveal; We suggest you re-read our comprehensive live blog.
5. Paramount launched a hostile takeover
Last week, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans for the former to acquire the latter, but Paramount wasn't ready to be left out of the negotiations, so it announced a possible hostile takeover of WBD.
In many ways, its $108 billion offer trumps Netflix's: Not only is it paying more, it's also all cash rather than a mix of cash and stock, and it's buying all of WBD, not just the production studios and back catalog that Netflix is trying to nab. It's also hard to ignore the personal ties between US President Donald Trump and the Paramount deal.
Not only is he a friend of the Ellison family (David Ellison runs Paramount, and his father, Larry Ellison, is a close Trump ally and is putting up some of the cash for the deal), but his son-in-law Jared Kushner's private equity firm is also putting some money behind Paramount's bid.
However, Paramount's bid also includes financial investments from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which could raise concerns for regulators who may not want foreign powers to have such a significant stake in a major media empire.
4. We met a different type of smart ring
Do you like your futuristic devices with touch buttons that work, instead of shouting a wake word at a screen half a dozen times? So does Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky, who invented a new type of smart ring.
Said to be “a button and a microphone, a bit of memory and a Bluetooth chip,” the Pebble Index 01 is a smart ring designed for note-taking and organization, connected to an LLM in the Pebble app on your phone. With no assistant personality or subscription, simply speak into the ring and it will transcribe the recordings and interpret your commands. You don't even need to recharge it – it's said to last for years, and once done you return it for recycling.
The first units are scheduled to ship in March 2026.
3. The House of Mouse adopted AI
This might have been one of the most surprising moments of the week, but The Walt Disney Company struck a deal with OpenAI to allow more than 200 of its characters to appear in Sora and ChatGPT Images. That means that in early 2026, you'll be able to ask Mickey, Stitch, Elsa, Yoda, and even some of the Avengers to sit next to you or be animated in user-generated videos.
Additionally, some videos generated by Sora will be available on Disney+. As part of the deal, Disney is investing $1 billion in OpenAI and has a multi-year licensing agreement that will allow Disney characters to appear on the OpenAI platform. Still, for a company that has been so protective and intentional with its characters and stories, a partnership with OpenAI and using them in Sora is a big, bold step.
2. ChatGPT 5.2 debuted
ChatGPT 5.2 is now available and comes at an interesting time for the AI world, as OpenAI attempts to catch up to the impressive Google Gemini 3.
The new AI model for the world's most popular chatbot is a subtle improvement that offers upgrades across the board, according to Sam Altman, who says it's “the smartest model overall available in the world.”
The main improvement is reasoning. OpenAI says GPT-5.2 is better at solving multi-step problems, maintaining context in longer chats, and providing answers that feel more considered than rushed. In practice, that means clearer plans, more structured explanations, and fewer moments where the model confidently goes in the wrong direction.
Initial reactions are quite mixed, with some users taking to Reddit to discuss how “boring” and “corporate” the new model feels. That said, it's still early days and we'll need to test ChatGPT 5.2 properly over the next week to get a clear idea of how it compares to 5.1 and Gemini 3.
1. The mystery of Android XR revealed
The shape, size, weight and experience of the Android XR glasses are no longer a mystery. We were able to test not one, but three different lenses running Android XR, including a lightweight pair with two screens (for stereoscopic imaging) and a connection to your Pixel phone to get all the processing power.
Overall, this looks like a promising start to the lightweight Android XR wearable's journey and perhaps a better step forward than the Samsung Galaxy
So get ready for video calls, turn-by-turn directions, and instant access to an ever-attentive Gemini (if you let him) in your future—all right before your eyes.
