ABOUT THE LIST: Information on The List was obtained through Memphis Business Journal research or supplied by individual firms through questionnaires that MBJ could not independently verify. NOTES: NA - not applicable, not available, or not approved.

The chip companies in Taiwan, the center of the global supply chain, are expected to face pressure from Washington to invest more in the U.S.

• Intel has announced its Unison app will be discontinued at the end of June
• This was an alternative to Windows 11’s Phone Link functionality
• It was better in some ways – notably for iOS users, and with the app being more streamlined – so it’s sad to see a viable alternative go

Intel’s take on tying your phone in with your Windows 11 PC – the Unison app – is being shuttered, with Team Blue announcing that it’ll be discontinued for most users at the end of June 2025.

Windows Latest reports that Intel made the announcement in the Microsoft Store listing for app, stating that: “Intel Unison will soon be discontinued. The first step in its wind-down process is ending service for most platforms at the end of June 2025. Lenovo Aura platforms will retain service through 2025.”

If you’re scratching your head and thinking "I’ve never heard of Intel Unison" well, you wouldn’t be alone there. In a nutshell, it’s Intel’s version of Windows 11’s built-in functionality known as the Phone Link app.

Both Phone Link and Unison offer the ability to access iOS or Android smartphone functionality on the desktop of your Windows 11 PC. In the case of Intel Unison, the core abilities are covered, such as replying to texts, seeing notifications, making calls, and file transfer operations if you want to shift, say, a photo from your phone to the PC for image editing purposes.

As Windows Latest notes, the key strength of Intel Unison is a better implementation on the iOS side (indeed, it supported Apple smartphones from the off, when Microsoft’s take on this formula didn’t for some time). It’s also a more streamlined app, and well enough liked by those who use it – the review ratings for Unison on the Microsoft Store are currently higher than for Microsoft’s own solution.

At any rate, if you use Unison, you’ll have to ditch the app soon, so you might be looking at Phone Link in a couple of months’ time.

Windows Latest has spoken to sources and claims that while officially June 30 is the day on which Unison will be discontinued, it may continue to work okay on some devices for a little time afterwards – or at least some parts of the app might. Before long, though, it’s going to be fully turned off, so you might as well start getting used to that idea now.

(Image credit: Intel) Analysis: Disunification in progress

Intel Unison will have lasted two years (almost) when the app gets canned (Team Blue launched it back in August 2023). It’ll be a shame for some folks to see it go, as there are reports that it works more smoothly than Phone Link not just for iPhones, but for Android devices too – going by some of the online feedback for the app, anyway. (I haven’t used it myself).

If this is the first time you’re hearing about Intel Unison, then obviously, it’s a bit late to be learning about the app now. Although it’s not something I’d heard of previously, either, and Unison somehow flew under my radar – and I’m guessing that’s part of the problem, and reason why it’s been dropped. The other likely reason here is that as Windows Latest hints, it’s probably part of Intel’s cost-cutting measures, with Team Blue having to streamline its business considerably, as we saw with all the very unfortunate layoffs (and more) last year.

Compared to Intel Unison, the advantage of Phone Link is that it does offer more advanced functionality – particularly for Samsung smartphones, of course, but for all phones more broadly. And that includes the most recent step of integrating Phone Link directly in the Start menu, putting it front and center in the Windows 11 interface.

In short, Phone Link isn’t going anywhere, and Microsoft is surely going to bolster it going forwards – so it’s not likely that Unison would have kept up with this pace anyway. Still, for those who wanted a simple alternative, and a streamlined app that covered the basics – and by all accounts, covered them with some aplomb – Intel’s app fitted the bill, but obviously that won’t be the case for much longer.

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• Google confirms more Android devices will get this AI upgrade
• Real-time camera and screen access is being added to Gemini Live
• We've previously seen the tech demoed with Project Astra

Last year we got a tantalising preview of Project Astra, Google's next-gen, multi-modal AI upgrade that interprets the world through your phone's camera. Now it seems the upgrade will be appearing on more Android phones than originally thought.

According to a Google support article (via 9to5Google), the ability to share your camera or screen with Gemini Live inside the Gemini app – so key aspects of the Project Astra update – is going to be available on "any Android device with Gemini Advanced".

There had been rumors that this enhanced functionality was going to be exclusive to Gemini running on flagship Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy devices, but it appears that won't be the case. The catch is, you'll need to pay $19.99 / £18.99 / AU$32.99 a month for Gemini Advanced.

The features are actually in the process of rolling out now, as we reported last week, but Google advises that "these features are being released gradually, so they might not be available to you just yet". So far we haven't seen them pop up on the phones of the TechRadar team.

Gemini Live meets Project Astra

Thanks for the comments -- we see (and share) the excitement around this feature and are working hard to make it available to more people! The ability to share your camera or screen in Gemini Live conversations will continue to roll out and we'll provide updates on this page as…March 30, 2025

There are so many modes and sub-modes in Google's Gemini AI chatbot that you'd be forgiven for being a little confused about what each one does. Gemini Live is the more natural, conversational chat mode on mobile that lets you interrupt it, while speaking in a more human-like way compared to the standard Gemini voice mode.

The upgrade on the way now will give Gemini Live access to your camera feed and phone screen, so you can ask it about anything you're looking at in the real world or on your mobile device. The early demos look promising, with Gemini identifying objects, remembering locations, and even solving math problems.

Gemini can already analyze images and screenshots you give to it, and identify what's in them, but the upgrade will make all of this a real-time experience you can call on as you make your way around the world.

You can access the core Gemini Live features – minus the new Project Astra upgrades – with or without a Gemini Advanced subscription. In the Gemini app for Android or iOS, tap the sound wave icon on the far right, next to the text input box.

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President Trump says the tariffs will encourage investment in U.S. factories, but analysts say car buyers will have to pay thousands more.

The iPhone maker spent years trying to move production of some products out of China to avoid tariffs. But now that may not matter.

The Meta chief, who was at the White House on Wednesday, has discussed the case with the president and his aides. A trial is set to start in less than two weeks.

• Tinder’s new Game Game feature lets users practice flirting with AI personas
• The voice-based encounters provide real-time feedback on your charm
• Users are rated on a three-flame scale to gamify the experience

I'm very happily married, but the memories of excruciating anxiety in attempts to flirt are carved into my brain forever. Just getting up the nerve to start a conversation felt like a victory. Perhaps it would have felt less intense after practicing with someone who has absolutely no chance of rejecting me, like, say, an AI character. That's what Tinder thinks. The dating app has released an AI-powered experiment called 'The Game Game,' which produces artificial conversational partners and fictional situations for you to practice those pick-up lines.

Despite the April 1st release, The Game Game is a no-fooling real voice-based feature built into Tinder’s iOS app. Using OpenAI’s GPT-4o AI model, the feature lets you practice flirting with AI characters. Play out a scenario like you’re at an airport, and your AI-generated love interest has accidentally picked up your identical suitcase. Sparks fly. You charm them. Or at least, you try.

You access it by tapping the Tinder logo in the corner of the app, where you're dealt a stack of virtual cards. Each one contains a random persona, albeit one based on your age and other preferences. That persona is matched to an often cheesy meet-cute scenario in a random location. Whatever it is, the AI initiates the conversation, and you respond with your voice.

And the voices are all different, with accents, cadences, and tones that are unique. You actually talk out loud to your phone, interrupting each other and talking about the scenario as if you're casually bantering with a charming stranger in real life. You can see a couple examples of the scenarios and the 'people' I talked to below.

(Image credit: Tinder Screenshot)

(Image credit: Tinder Screenshot) Flirting AI

I’ll admit, I went in skeptical, but it was actually a pretty smooth interaction that didn't feel stilted at all. I could imagine attempting to work on my initial conversational gambits with it. The real-time feedback doesn’t just tell you whether you “won” the scenario; it nudges you. If you’re too sarcastic, the AI might suggest you dial it down. If your answers are a little flat, it might prompt you to open up. Based on how you handle yourself, the AI scores your "date" using a three-flame rating system, a flirtatious Michelin rating.

That gamification is likely a major draw for some who like the idea of a somewhat objective rating. Of course, the AI isn't perfect. Sometimes, the responses felt canned, repetitive, or just a little off. There are guardrails in place so users can’t veer into wildly inappropriate territory, which might be overly limiting sometimes, though it does keep the vibe light and weird in the right way.

I don't think The Game Game will be universally loved, as it comes off as a somewhat gimmicky concept. And some people may worry it’s another step toward outsourcing genuine human interaction. But I think most people know it's just a simulation with sophisticated technology that lets you rehearse for real people.

The Game Game is only available for a limited time on iOS in the U.S., but I wouldn't be surprised if Tinder brings it back and expands access should it prove popular. Whether the practice translates to real-life success, well let's just say puns are a hit-or-miss tactic with both AI and real people.

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Mr. Musk’s involvement in right-wing politics contributed to a 13% drop in deliveries in the first quarter, including steep declines in E.V.-friendly places like Norway.

The co-founder of Oracle and friend of President Trump, who was a flamboyant fixture in the 1990s, has returned to the spotlight through — of all things — TikTok.

• After rolling it out gradually, dark mode for Google Photos on the web is finally available to all users
• Google made an official announcement, saying that the new feature follows users' feedback
• You can now use the new setting to customize your Google Photos appearance, and it's very simple to do

Almost everyone I know, including myself, uses dark mode on their smartphones, and there’s a multitude of reasons why. The three main ones are simple; it means less eye strain for when you’re endlessly doom-scrolling TikTok at night when you should be sleeping, it saves battery, and because dark mode just packs a more sophisticated appearance than the offensively luminous light mode.

With the case of Google Photos, display rendering options have always been amendable in its mobile version, but its web version has lacked this option leaving many users to navigate their photo galleries through strained eyes. Thankfully, Google has officially announced that dark mode is now available on desktop to all users, and I can already feel the relief of my squinting eyes.

Instead of embedding it discreetly in a software test like it’s been doing with its group chat updates for Google Messages, the company made an official announcement with the statement “Dark mode is now available for Google Photos on web! We've launched this long-awaited new feature thanks to feedback from users like you”.

Bringing dark mode to the desktop version of Google Photos certainly is a big step, and one that many users will appreciate, but it’s a move that we’ve been anticipating since the start of the year. Back in late January Google started advertising a dark mode support for Google Photos on the web following its roll out to Search, YouTube, Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and Gemini. The initial roll out was staggered, but now it’s accessible to everyone.

How you can activate dark mode for Google Photos on the web

Google has introduced a wide roll out for dark mode support for Photos on the web as a response to user feedback expressing a need for personalized rendering options. Now that it's widely available, it’s very easy to enable:

• Head to photos.google.com in your web browser
• Click Settings, and then go into the Appearance section
• From there, you can select your choice from different options including Light, Dark, or Use Device Default

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• Google Messages could be getting a new snoozing feature that allows you to mute messages for longer periods
• It's the first snoozing function since Google dissolved its text-reminding feature
• There's been more evidence that group chat joining links are coming to Google Messages, but you'll have to wait a little longer

We’re just over a quarter of the way through the year, and Google has introduced a substantial amount of changes to its Google Messages software – so many that I’m starting to lose count. But despite these constant changes, Google is working towards making your experience more user-friendly and personal when it comes to its messaging service, and two more handy features have cropped up in the pipeline.

In its intricate teardown, Android Authority has noticed a new notification snoozing feature, as well as bringing more evidence of its new group chat features to the surface. Out of all its recent upgrades, Google has been paying close attention to its group chat joining-links in Messages, and though we’ve had our eyes peeled ever since rumors arose a few weeks ago, this latest update pretty much confirms that it’s on the way.

Snooze messages for longer, reply at your convenience

However, I’d argue that the most interesting thing here is the addition of the snoozing feature. Unlike the text reminder function that Google used to offer, Android Authority has discovered strings in its teardown that point to specific notification snoozing options including an hour, eight hours, and 24 hours.

Additionally, there’s also an ‘always’ option, which we imagine will require you to manually disable when you’re ready to start receiving messages again. While this new found evidence is promising, there’s no clear indication as to whether you can use it to mute individual messages, but it seems as though you’ll still be notified if you’re mentioned in a chat.

As well as a new snoozing feature and group chat joining links, Google has recently added Screen Effects to emoji symbols. (Image credit: Google)

This could be another huge improvement for those who rely on Google Messages for daily contact, especially since the company dissolved its text reminder feature in late 2023, where you could set a date and time for your alert. And although this wasn’t a designated snoozing feature, it could be used as one nonetheless.

Some may wonder why Google would introduce this specific function when Android phones have a comprehensive snoozing feature, but Messages’ version would allow you to silence messages for longer periods of time as opposed to Android’s two-hour limit.

It’s official, group chat links are coming to Google Messages

Over the past few weeks more evidence of Google Messages’ new group chat links has been appearing, pointing to a WhatsApp-like function that allows you to join group chats through link sharing. Thanks to another one of Android Authority’s teardowns, a group chat link-sharing interface has been spotted.

(Image credit: Android Authority )

Similarly to other messaging services, Messages will allow you to create invite links that you can share in link form or through a QR code that others can scan. Under the space where the QR code would seemingly appear, there’s a toggle you can enable that can amend the link for singular use only or one that can be reused and distributed. According to Android Authority, links will expire after 30 days.

It’s likely that we still have a while before Google will roll out its group chat joining-links, so it’s best to be patient with it, but there’s no denying that this will be a landmark upgrade for the messaging service. For now, at least you can take advantage of its new emoji symbol animations and message details menu.

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• New leaked info about Meta's next smart glasses has surfaced
• They'll reportedly boast a single display, and be controlled by a 'neural wristband'
• But they could cost as much as $1,400 (£1,100 / AU$2,200)

New leaked details of Meta’s upcoming AI smart glasses have emerged that both support existing rumors and provide a few fresh tidbits – including an eye-wateringly high price that's already starting to kill my enthusiasm.

Bloomberg has shared reports from unnamed insiders that the device, codenamed Hypernova, is expected to launch later this year and will feature a monocular design, as in it will use only one display rather than a pair of screens – two details we've already heard.

This single panel would sit in the lower-right corner of the right lens, so it should allow you conveniently see information by looking down without obscuring your vision greatly.

The current meta smart glasses (Image credit: Meta)

The leak also suggests that the specs will boast many of the same functionality as the current Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, including the ability to snap photos and videos, and get WhatsApp notifications. On top of that they’ll also apparently offer new features like a dedicated maps app, so you can get navigation right in your vision.

To navigate apps Meta is said to be relying on touch controls built into the frame (just like we've seen with its existing smart glasses) as well as a ‘neural wristband’ which can detect hand gestures – with this band believed to be packaged in the box with the Hypernova glasses.

However the kicker is these smart specs likely won’t come cheap. We’re talking over $1,000, with insiders predicting something in the $1,300-$1,400 range (which would be around £1,000-£1,100 or AU$2,050-AU$2,200).

How much extra will special lenses cost? (Image credit: Meta) What!?

I was expecting a price increase over the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses for sure. A starting price of $299 / £299 / AU$449 would certainly be too low, so I wouldn't be surprised to see these glasses land at around $800.

That would be high, but not astronomical in the realm of early adopter tech.

But at over $1,000 and perhaps approaching $1,500, these glasses would be demanding a price that demands excellence – and based on these leaks they don’t deliver that.

I’m sure they’ll be impressive – Meta's existing smart glasses are one of my favorite gadgets, and AR tech truly feels like the future – but unless Meta has plenty of software tricks up its sleeves, and massive hardware upgrades beyond the screen, these new specs don’t seem to be a tantalizing enough proposition.

Sure, they might boast a few new tools like AR navigation, but these tools aren’t $1,000 more useful than the specs I have at home.

Maybe things are just getting pricier, look at Meta's recent limited edition specs (Image credit: Meta / Ray-Ban)

Interestingly, the same Bloomberg report adds that work has already begun on a second-gen version – Hypernova 2 – which will rely on a binocular (two-display) design, with that being planned for 2027.

However, it’s unclear if this design would be part of this new smart glasses line, or if it would be the full-on AR glasses a leaked Meta roadmap teased back in 2023 – and which Meta has been promising since announcing its Meta Orion AR glasses prototype.

This model, with two screens, and with app developers having longer to cook up innovative tech, could find success even at a high cost, but I’m skeptical that Hypernova will prove as phenomenally popular as Meta and Ray-Ban’s other smart glasses have.

As with all rumors we should take these latest details with a pinch of salt. Meta’s pricing strategy could change, it could be planning several apps the leakers aren’t aware of yet, or it could even cancel the smart specs altogether.

I'm hoping Meta can rejig its plans at least a little. After experiencing the fifth-gen Snap Spectacles recently I’m completely sold on the AR future, but these plans don’t sound like the glasses I’m looking for.

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• Hidden clues in Windows 11 point to a new ‘full screen experience’ for gaming handhelds
• This could be a long-rumored ‘handheld mode’ that has several choices for layouts the user can select
• It’s still very early days with this speculation, but Microsoft’s past (and more recent) moves all appear to add up to this really happening

In terms of gaming portables, all the chatter might be around the big Nintendo Switch 2 reveal today, but that’s not what I’m most interested in, frankly.

No, what has grabbed my attention instead is the airing of the strongest hint yet that Windows 11 could get a dedicated mode to make the OS a lot more usable on gaming handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally X.

Windows Central picked up on a regular leaker on Bluesky, Xeno, who posted about a recent preview build of Windows 11 that has some interesting changes hidden away in the background of the OS.

These are applied to settings in a new ‘GamingPosture’ category, and they include a mention of ‘Boot into the Full screen experience at device startup’ and ‘Choose your Full screen experience.’

In theory, that ‘full screen experience’ refers to a separate mode in Windows 11 which will be specifically designed around making the operating system work better on a small screen, such as those found on gaming handhelds.

As Xeno points out, Microsoft is also busy stripping out anything pertaining to the HoloLens from within the Settings app in Windows 11, which makes sense now Microsoft has dumped the headset.

(Image credit: Future) Analysis: An increasingly likely prospect

There’s a major problem with gaming handhelds powered by Windows 11 right now, namely that the operating system’s normal interface is clunky to use and unfortunately tricky to navigate on a small screen.

There have been rumors of Microsoft at least mulling a ‘handheld mode’ for a long time now, which would frame Windows 11 with a much more gaming portable-friendly interface – a new ‘full screen experience’ for the OS, as we see with the leaked changes.

Indeed, the mention of a choice of full screen experience indicates that there may be multiple options to pick from in terms of how this handheld mode is presented – which would be a useful twist here. Options for customization, or different spins on the same basic idea, are always welcome.

Before we get carried away with a grand vision of Microsoft building a new way of working with Windows 11 specifically for handhelds, though, we need to remember that this is the wispiest of leaks at this point. It’s just a few tweaks to code in the background of Windows 11, with nothing even near testing yet.

However, there are already a lot of clues that this is the direction Microsoft is heading in. Not just the early rumors around the handheld mode I’ve already mentioned, but a bunch of strides forward since then.

That includes a ‘compact mode’ for the Xbox app on PC, and the same treatment for Windows 11’s Game Bar (which has been further improved in this respect very recently). Not to mention another recent addition for Windows 11, the gamepad keyboard layout to facilitate easier typing with the on-screen keyboard using a controller, or on a handheld.

These are concrete changes already in Windows 11, which seems a pretty clear signal from Microsoft that it’s serious about making the OS better for handhelds. And what else has popped up very recently? That teaser from Asus about the rumored Xbox handheld Microsoft is supposedly cooking up, which underlines the company’s ambitions on the portable gaming front.

Indeed, that Xbox-branded handheld might be the first device to use this new full-screen UI experience in Windows 11, but again, let’s sprinkle some caution over all this before we leap too zealously towards any conclusions here. As difficult as it may be to exercise restraint when it comes to the prospect of Microsoft supercharging Windows 11 handhelds to much better compete with the excellent interface delivered by Valve’s SteamOS, a dedicated gaming spin on Linux which remains a core strength of its Steam Deck.

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• Fake receipts are now easy to generate with ChatGPT
• They're convincing and additional tweaking makes them look very real
• OpenAI says metadata and usage policies will protect us

Generative AI appears to be fixing one of the most obvious problems with AI-generated imagery: the text. And while that's welcome news for anyone fed up with seeing images containing absolute gibberish, it may have unintended consequences too – it turns out that ChatGPT is now pretty good at creating fake receipts.

The fakes aren't completely convincing if you know what to look for: they're a little too clean, a little too CGI, and sometimes get the sums wrong (like in our example above). But they're also easy to miss – and with a bit of fiddling you can make them look more realistic with creases and food stains.

For now, it seems that the most effective way of doing this is to get ChatGPT to recreate an existing receipt, which can then be changed to show whatever prices you'd like.

OpenAI says it isn't too worried, but it does appear to be an effective new tool for digital fraudsters and troublemakers.

Why OpenAI is okay with the fakes, for now

You can use 4o to generate fake receipts.There are too many real world verification flows that rely on “real images” as proof. That era is over. pic.twitter.com/9FORS1PWsbMarch 29, 2025

We reached out to OpenAI and a spokesperson told us it's keeping an eye on trends like AI-generated receipts. "We monitor image generations on and off our platform, use internal tools to verify they were created by our products, and take action when we identify violations of our usage policies," they told us.

"We're always learning from real-world use and feedback, and we'll continue refining our policies to balance creative freedom with preventing misuse. All images include industry-standard C2PA metadata indicating they were AI-generated by OpenAI," the OpenAI spokesperson added.

However, OpenAI spokesperson Taya Christianson went a little further, telling TechCrunch that there was a positive potential use for fake receipts: "teaching people about financial literacy" in non-fraudulent situations.

I can also imagine using it for illustrating articles, or for creating props for real or virtual staging. But fake receipts can also be used for fraud, and the more convincing the images, the more fraud they're likely to facilitate.

Those 'made by ChatGPT' metadata safeguards are fine, but exporting an image without metadata is a one-click job. I'm not sure those safeguards will do the slightest thing to stop fake images being used for fraud any more than social media "be nice" policies have stopped people from being awful on the internet.

But I have to admit, it'd be very funny if OpenAI's own employees started using the tech to inflate their expense claims.

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• Android users have noticed a test that autoplays the first video in your feed when you open the YouTube app
• Users have expressed their negative feelings online, with some sharing tips and workarounds for avoiding this
• This is another of YouTube's recent experimental features, and follows the platform's 'recommended videos' list in the app's playback queue

Usually, when YouTube implements new experimental features, you can spot them from a mile away. However, the video platform has been quite discreet and sneaky with its latest test, and some users have noticed that it has been automatically playing the first video in their feed as they open the Android version of the app.

Over the past month or so, several Android users have reported their experiences with this strange autoplay function, and though most believed it to be a bug at first, it turns out that it’s intentional on YouTube’s part. To say people are frustrated is an understatement, and they haven’t shied away from expressing their feelings in countless Reddit threads.

Video plays when I open App from r/youtube

"I opened my YouTube app on my Samsung phone today, and it immediately started playing a video. I checked that autoplay was disabled and restarted the app, and that didn't fix anything," said one user on Reddit, which attracted a roster of replies from fellow Android users with the same issue.

There’s an existing YouTube feature that you can enable to automatically play videos one after the other, and this can easily be turned off in your settings, but one of the most annoying parts of YouTube’s mystery autoplay test is that it’s not as simple to avoid. Luckily, users who have been experiencing this issue have found a way to stop this by uninstalling the app’s latest update, or by clearing their data and cache.

YouTube is in an era of experimentation

It’s an interesting time for YouTube, which seems to be carrying out a new test every week. Autoplaying videos are just one of a cluster of experiments that could result in new features for the app, for better or worse.

Other recent tests point to the possible arrival of new features for YouTube Premium subscribers, including a function that allows you to control audio quality in videos, as well as a new time-saving perk that shows you recommended content directly in your playback queue. YouTube has also been testing a fix for subscriber notifications, and while this could be a blessing for users, it could be a big risk for creators.

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• Deep Research is coming to the free tier of ChatGPT very soon
• The Plus tier still offers considerable advantages over the free tier
• ChatGPT Plus has much higher usage limits and features

ChatGPT’s Deep Research has proved to be incredibly popular. It acts like a team of researchers who head off online and research a complex subject for you before returning with a full report, including sources, on the subject you’ve asked it to investigate.

For example, using Deep Research you could ask ChatGPT to compile a report on how the gaming industry has changed in the last three years and it would get back to you with a full report complete with data tables and sources.

Deep Research falls under the category of an AI agent because it can act independently. You effectively give it a task and off it goes to research it for you before using its AI to apply reasoning before coming to conclusions.

From Pro to Plus

Deep Research started off on the Pro tier of ChatGPT, which costs a whopping $200 (£165 /AU$325) a month, but very quickly moved to the more reasonable $20 (£16 / AU$30) Plus tier, where I’ve been enjoying it for the last few weeks.

It was always the plan that Deep Reasoning would move to the free tier of ChatGPT eventually, but it looks like this may happen sooner than later.

X user Tibor Blaho recently noted, in a discussion about Deep Research with two of OpenAI's Technical Staff, that they revealed it was coming to the free tier very soon.

"We are launching [ChatGPT Deep Research] to free very soon!" https://t.co/xFm3MehVhF pic.twitter.com/LxfkJgj9lTMarch 29, 2025

While this is obviously great news for free tier users, it brings into question whether the Plus tier of ChatGPT is still worth paying for. I think it is, and I’ll give you a few reasons why:

1. Fewer limitations

Sure, Deep Research may be coming to the free tier of ChatGPT very soon, but I bet you it’s limited to just a small sample of uses a day.

If you’ve been following ChatGPT’s recent server meltdown caused by the release of its native image generation abilities you’ll be aware that ChatGPT has limited its image generation allowances to just three images on the free tier.

Being able to generate only three images a day is hopelessly restrictive, and while they may up the limit in the future, I would expect the release of Deep Research into the wild to elicit a similarly huge response from the public, causing yet another server meltdown and tough restrictions being imposed to the free tier.

Basically, everything is limited in the free tier, including things like how many files you can upload to ChatGPT a day. On the Plus account, you don’t need to worry about that. While there are still some limits, you rarely ever get close to them.

2. More LLMs

Having a Plus account also comes with a whole range of benefits, but the main one is access to more LLMs. On the Plus tier, you can (currently) access ChatGPT 4o, 4o-mini, 4, 4o with scheduled tasks, 4.5, o1, o3-mini and o3. That’s a lot of choice! On the free tier, you only have access to ChatGPT 4o-mini, with some very limited access to 4o and o3-mini.

You’ll find that these different LLMs are more useful when it comes to doing complex tasks that require more reasoning, not to mention that you get a chance to play around with the research preview of OpenAI’s very latest model, ChatGPT-4.5

Sora AI video generation (Image credit: Future) 3. Sora video generation

On a Plus account, you get limited access to Sora AI video generation. Sora is great, but to really use it properly and create clips that don’t have a watermark on you need a Pro account, (provided you are in the US) you can at least experiment with it in the Plus account, which is great fun.

Using ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode. (Image credit: Shutterstock / Rokas Tenys) 4. You can talk to ChatGPT and have it talk back

Advanced Voice mode is one of the best ChatGPT features, and you need a Plus account to access it for more than 15 minutes a month. 15 minutes is really just a preview of the feature, and you'll find you run out of time before you've really had a chance to explore.

There are a range of different voices available for you to choose from, and it makes ChatGPT feel more personal and intimate.

You can access Advanced Voice mode from the ChatGPT website or its various apps, including mobile, and for many people, it’s their preferred way of using ChatGPT.

5. All the extras

Those are the main benefits to using ChatGPT Plus, but of course you get everything that you get in the free tier as well, including ChatGPT Canvas and ChatGPT search.

While ChatGPT search is available in both the free and Plus accounts, there are some other features that you only get with Plus like projects, which is a way to group files and chats together, tasks, which can be scheduled for another time, and the ability to create custom GPTs, so you can create exactly the sort of chatbot you want for a specific task.

All in all, there are more than enough good reasons to keep your ChatGPT Plus subscription, even if Deep Research becomes available on the free tier. I think you'd find that going back to the free tier from the joys of a Plus subscription would be a deeply frustrating experience.

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• ChatGPT 4o's impressive image generation is now available for free
• It's fantastic for editing images as well as generating new ones
• There's a daily limit for free users which can be quite infuriating

ChatGPT's viral 4o image generation features are now available to everyone for free, albeit with some limits that can make the new AI tool a little infuriating.

Announced by OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, on X, the new native image generation has taken the world by storm thanks to its impressive ability to create images far better than Dall-E (the previous model used by ChatGPT) ever could.

You might've seen the controversy surrounding the image generation tool's blatant copy of Studio Ghibli-style anime over the last week, but if not we've covered the drama at length – and also asked lawyers to explain its copyright ramifications.

In this article, I'm going to show you three ways to use ChatGPT 4o's image generation that aren't following the anime recreation trend.

Why only three you might ask? Well, unfortunately, the daily limit for free users is only three image generations, so it only felt fitting to limit the ideas just like OpenAI has limited the use of the tool.

chatgpt image gen now rolled out to all free users!April 1, 2025

1. Change the background Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future / ChatGPT)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Future / ChatGPT)

ChatGPT's image generation is very impressive when it comes to replacing the background of your images. In the first example above, I uploaded an image of my French Bulldog, Kermit, and asked 4o to "change the background to the beach."

Like magic, Kermit was now on the beach, although you can tell there have been slight modifications to his likeness. For example, in the original photo, he had a pimple under his mouth, which is now completely removed.

ChatGPT 4o's image generation is very good at determining the outline of a subject and creating a realistic background to match. While I've not yet tried Galaxy AI's version of background editing, from my testing with ChatGPT I can't imagine a better AI background editor is available for free on the market.

After taking Kermit to the beach, I thought I'd try recreating his namesake's iconic opening scene of the 1979 Muppet Movie. In the movie, Kermit the Frog sits on a log in a swamp playing the banjo.

While Kermit the Dog can't play the banjo, ChatGPT managed to take the source material and edit the background so Kermit was indeed on a log in a swamp. Pretty cool!

2. Use a reference to generate a new image

(Image credit: Future / ChatGPT)

ChatGPT 4o's image generation is also very good at using a source image to create anything you can imagine.

After feeding the AI tool multiple images of my dog, I asked "Can you imagine a french bulldog riding a skateboard while dressed as a frog?"

After waiting about 20 seconds, yes the image generation can be pretty slow, I had an excellent image of a French Bulldog that looks like my boy Kermit, in a frog costume riding a skateboard.

Eagle-eyed readers will notice his back paws only have three digits, but I guess ChatGPT thought the dog costume should mimic an amphibian rather than have enough space to be comfortable for the mammal inside.

Unfortunately for ChatGPT, a frog has 18 toes altogether... 10 at the back and eight at the front.

3. Change the mood

(Image credit: Future / ChatGPT)

Last but not least, I decided to upload an image of Kermit in a cow costume. Why is he wearing a cow costume? You might ask. Well, for the purpose of this article I needed an image where he's clearly a bit miffed.

You see I live in Scotland so Kermit needs a fleece to keep himself warm in the winter. Unfortunately for him, he hates wearing a fleece. That said, ChatGPT's new image generation tools can help with that, so I asked AI to "Make this dog happy."

The result here is bizarre because it takes everything from the previous image and recreates it perfectly, just with a smiling dog with its tongue out.

I would argue a French Bulldog always looks miserable, and a tongue sticking out like this would actually imply it's thirsty. But AI deems this a happy dog, and to be fair, it has doesn't a very good job a recreating the image with the mood tweaks I asked for.

Try ChatGPT image generation yourself

So there you have it, ChatGPT's image generation is now free for everyone to try and it's capable of some fantastic photo editing.

The image limitations are pretty annoying, however, as I was only able to generate three images without loading up my paid ChatGPT Plus work account.

I also experienced upload limitations, where ChatGPT stopped allowing me to add source material to edit after providing two images.

So it's worth noting ChatGPT image generation is very powerful, but on the free tier you'll need to be patient as you'll quickly reach a daily limit.

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