Google has a new feature for in-call scam protection. Bgr.com reports that should you be on a call and share your screen with someone…then open a financial application like one of your bank apps, the feature in Android will check to see if the person you are talking with is in your contacts. If not, Android will pop up a warning that the call is likely a scam. It is hoped that this will stop a lot of social engineering attacks that allow bad buys to steal your info and drain money out of your bank accounts. The feature has been released in the UK first as a pilot program, but it appears to be a big success…so look for it in a release in the US soon.
A new leak says Apple is now actively testing under-screen FaceID for next year’s iPhone 18 Pro models…using a special ‘spliced micro-transparent glass’ window built into the display. according to macrumors.com, a Chinese leaker going by ’Smart Pikachu’ is the source. This source has previously put out accurate supply chain details on Chinese Android hardware. This does confirm what a report from the Information put out in May of this year saying that the upcoming iPhone won’t have a dynamic island…just a pinhole in the upper left corner of the screen. Others say there will still be a dynamic island, but the pill shape will be smaller. We will know for sure in September.
For those who have continued to ask ‘What can AI really do for me,’ OpenAI has put out new data extolling the virtues of ChatGPT in enterprise use. TechCrunch.com says that the report from OpenAi shows 8 times growth in usage since November 2024, and close to 36% of us businesses using ChatGPT enterprise…compared to 14.3% for competitor Anthropic. OpenAI says based on the data that participants are saving 40 to 60 minutes a day with their enterprise products. This doesn’t take into consideration the amount of time spent learning the systems, prompting, or correcting the AI output though!
The ICEBlock app developers have sued the Trump administration for censorship and ‘unlawful threats. NPR notes that a suit filed in federal court today…Monday…in D.C. asks a judge to declare that the administration violated the First Amendment when it threatened to criminally prosecute the app’s developer and pressured Apple to make the app unavailable for download, which the tech company did in October. After Apple removed ICEBlock from the App Store, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that “we reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so.” The justice department has not commented so far. Although Apple isn’t named in the suit, the legal action claims “For what appears to be the first time in Apple’s nearly fifty-year history, Apple removed a U.S.-based app in response to the U.S. government’s demands.” It is worth mentioning that even though the app is no longer available for download, the app actually still works for those who have it.
Several cool changes may be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro series. Bgr.com reports that the first thing might be a major camera upgrade…a variable aperture. If this makes your eyes cross as too camera nerdy, the net is it would improve low-light pictures and make brighter scenes more realistic with better depth of field. Another rumor has a smaller dynamic island coming, and in fact…Apple may hide the FaceID sensors under the display…that rumor is coming from both analyst Ross Young and Bloombergs Mark Gurman. Another possibility is Cupertino adding a single pinhole cam in the upper left corner of the display. Sources in China have the 18 Pro thicker and heavier…probably due to a bigger battery. This has been rumored for a while, but the iPhone 18 Pro may have its processor made using a 2 nanometer process…that means more power without sapping battery life. A cool rumor has Apple adding support for 5G networks via satellites, which would expand satellite connection from emergency calls to mainstream use…this means for you using your iPhone 18 Pro with unlimited online access anywhere in the world.
TikTok is now adding a setting that lets you pick how much AI generated content you want to see in your ‘For You’ feed. According to techcrunch.com, they are also adding more advanced labeling tech for AI generated content. Since OpenAI has launched Sora, realistic AI-generated videos have been posted to TikTok. Additionally, many TikTok users are leveraging AI to create visuals for posts about other topics, like history or celebrities. TikTok says that with the new AI-generated content control, users who want to see less of this sort of content can now dial things down, while those who enjoy it can choose to see more of it.
YouTube may be preparing to launch a new, ‘lower-cost’ sports bundle in 2026, after cutting a deal with Disney. 9to5google.com notes that there’s a catch…there’s always a catch. MLB.TV won’t be included. Disney’s ESPN unit just recently finalized a deal with MLB.TV…probably at a significant bump in cost. Another issue that has held up a deal with the House of Mouse sports content is that traditional cable and satellite providers have had similar access to the content, but up to now, Roku Amazon, and Apple have never had access to Disney’s direct to consumer content. As the saying goes…stay tuned.
In a sad report…thanks Robert F. Kennedy, Jr…CDC date confirms that the US is only about 2 months away from losing measles elimination status. Arstechnica.com reports that Federal health officials have linked two massive US measles outbreaks at the border of Arizona and Utah as a continuation of the explosive outbreak in West Texas that began in mid- to late-January. That is, the two massive outbreaks are being caused by the same subtype of measles virus. The finding that the outbreaks are linked means there’s been continuous circulation within the country for about 10 months. If the same measles virus subtype from the outbreaks—dubbed 9171—continues to spread and surpasses the 12-month mark in January 2026, the US will lose its elimination status.
Satellite features have been pretty limited on phones to now. Apple’s iPhones have really only been able to send a call for emergency help or send messages via satellite when a cellular connection is unavailable….like at the beach, or hiking in the woods. Now, engadget.com reports that Mark Gurman says Apple is planning on adding to their satellite feature offerings. Personally, I’m betting this is ahead of making satellite connection a paid monthly charge, adding to Apple’s quiver of monthly charges that give them a nice cash flow! Right now, you can send and receive texts via the Messages app over satellite when you are out in the boonies. Now Apple is looking to let you send photos, too. They are also aiming to enable 5G NTN support. That allows cell towers to get a coverage boost by tapping into satellites. For anyone who needs directions in a remote area without a cellular or Wi-Fi connection, Apple reportedly has plans to introduce satellite connectivity to Apple Maps. Boy, I could have used that a few times! In a really cool possible upgrade, Apple is working on ‘natural usage.’ That would mean you won’t have to hold the phone up and point it towards a spot in the sky to connect to a satellite. They are working to make it possible to stay connected even without a clear view of the sky or indoors. All this could be a couple years away…and some features no doubt will be needing the latest greatest iPhone hardware. As a friend of mine frequently says, ‘That’s how they getcha!’
It has reportedly been patched as of last April, but for over a year, a very sophisticated spyware called ‘Landfall’ was making the rounds on Samsung Galaxy phones. According to arstechnica.com, it was one of those nasty ‘zero-click’ hacks, which can get into your phone without your direct involvement. The spyware was picked up by Researchers at Unit 42, the intelligence arm of Palo Alto Networks. They only found it because of a couple of similar bugs found in Apple’s iOS and on WhatsApp. The hack involved images. The attackers used modified DNG files, which are a modified type of file based on the TIFF format. They imbedded ZIP archives with the bad programs in them. The hack basically gave the bad actors pretty complete access to user information on the phones. It is pretty tough to remove, too. The good news…the hack was mainly confined to Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Morocco. If you didn’t travel to those countries, you are probably fine, but these zero-click hacks are pretty scary.
Lately, there has been a pretty substantial number of layoffs across industry. A good deal of them have been blamed…at least partially, on AI. As it turns out, that isn’t exactly accurate. AI itself isn’t replacing jobs, so much as spending on AI. Fastcompany.com notes that an MIT Media Lab study has found that 95% of generative AI pilot business projects were failing. Another survey by Atlassian concluded that 96% of businesses “have not seen dramatic improvements in organizational efficiency, innovation, or work quality.” Still another study found that 40% of the business people surveyed have received “AI slop” at work in the last month and that it takes nearly two hours, on average, to fix each instance of slop. In addition, they “no longer trust their AI-enabled peers, find them less creative, and find them less intelligent or capable.” What IS sucking up money that had been going to salaries is the massive amount of money being poured into spending on AI infrastructure. Just Amazon…which chopped some 14,000 last month with another 14,000 jobs to go in January…has increased capital spending from $54 billion in 2023 to $118 billion in 2025! Meta is working to lock up at $27 billion credit line to build data centers. Oracle will borrow $25 billion a year the next few years to cover its AI contracts. Financial stress…especially in the tech sector makes the C Suite folks look for some easy cuts…it’s always headcount…the employees that take it in the tail.
A bit more AI-related news. Attorneys have been using AI to more quickly turn out legal briefs, and the stories continue to come out about those who aren’t double checking the work of the AI bots, and ending up with the likes of fake case citations. Gizomdo.com reports that more courts are levying fines or the like. Now, some lawyers have started a tracking system to compile information on cases involving AI misuse. A French attorney is presently in the forefront of this with a website…Damien Charlotin has listed some 509 cases so far. At this point, sadly, no bar association has meted out any punishment for the sloppy briefs, only some courts.
Apple remarkably kept this presentation to under an hour and 15 minutes. No, there wasn’t a surprise amazing ‘one more thing.’
Starting out, they bowed new Air Pods Pro 3
New ANC noise reduction and new ear tips give twice the ANC of previous ones, 4X better than original Air Pods Pro.
The new models have Live Translation to your ears, so you can understand the person speaking in your native language, and then the iPhone can show them on screen or tell them in a voice what you say in their language.
Apple analyzed 10,000 ears and now have 5 sizes of tips to stay in ears in all conditions. They claim better sweat protection too for workouts.
Heart Rate sensing is now built in.
New obnoxious and obsequious ‘Workout Buddy’ that has been available on iPhone now cheers you on in the ear buds. Good job, buddy! Rah, rah, you are great.
The Pro 3 has longer battery life….8 hours at a time…up from 6. It has 10 hours for hearing aid use….not bad, but actual good hearing aids have 30 house of battery life.
The price stays $249 no increase from the previous model… preorder today, and they’re available Sept 19th.
======
Apple Watch…
First, Series 11…it’s thinner, and the screen is twice as scratch resistant.
Watch 11 has 5G if you get the one with its own phone…you should get better coverage and lower power consumption than the previous model.
For heart health, it tracks for high blood pressure. As predicted, it will look for higher blood pressure and will notify you of possible hypertension. It will NOT give you actual blood pressure readings.
Like other smart watches, Watch 11 will score quality of sleep. This was touted as a big deal, but competitors have had this feature for years.
Series 11 will have 24 hours of battery life…ok, that really is a big deal. With fast charging, you can almost wear it day and night.
Watch SE3…The cheapie. It gets an always on display now. It will also play media through the speaker. The Se gets 18 hour battery life, and new fast charging…charging twice as fast as the old model.
Watch Ultra 3-New display is brighter and has thinner borders. Largest display of all Apple Watches. (This corrects the embarrassment of last year’s Ultra 2 not having a bigger display than the Watch. It has the Workout Buddy and Satellite connectivity. You get Emergency SOS & Messages, and
42 hours battery life.
Base Pricing:
$249 for the SE3
$399 for the Series 11
$799 for the Ultra 3
Preorder today, all are available Sept 19th
===========
iPhone—4 models…
Apple said 4 new models, but really it is one new model and 3 freshened ones.
iPhone 17 gets alarger 6.3 inch display, and has pro motion like the pro models. It now has always on display, and a More readable brightness for the display outdoors in bright light.
The display has new Ceramic Shield 2….three times harder and better anti-glare than before.
The 17 is powered by the A19 chip…it’s faster and more efficient that last year’s phone.
Apple Intellegence runs on the 17 with iOS 26…including Live Translation.
The phone has 8 more hours of battery time and faster charging.
48MP dual fusion cams …a main and 2x telephoto.
The front selfie cam has Center Stage, as well as a sensor that is is twice size of last model. a new Square picture aspect ratio for the selfie cam gives higher resolution shots in any orientation. It will automatically adjust the picture field if you have a couple friends step into the frame so no one is cut off.
iPhone Air–
This is the actual new model. It is insanely thin. Titanium super thin edges, and ceramic shield 2 on both sides. The phone is a svelte 5.6mm thick, and has a 6.5 inch display
It runs on the A19 Pro chip. Each GPU core has MacBook Pro levels of computing in a phone.
It also has the new N1 chip…WiFi and Bluetooth designed by Apple.
As expected, you get the new C1x modem chip which is faster than the iPhone 16 Pro and is more power efficient.
The cam system: 48MP Fusion camera, but it has two cams with one lens. 24 MP default photos, portrait control, and basically 4 focal length lenses built in. The selfie cam is 18 MP.
As rumored, new Dual capture video uses both back cam and selfie cam at same time. You can insert yourself in a box on screen basically doing play by play of what’s being videoed on the main camera.
The Air has an eSIM…no physical SIM card, and it works worldwide.
Battery life…It has new Adaptive Power Mode to intelligently manage power. They claim all day batter life. New low profile Mag Safe battery pack will allow 40 hours total with phone when attached.
iPhone 17 Pro–
It has a new aluminum case and interior structure. It’s unibody, and allows for biggest battery ever. Apple says they went to the aluminum from titanium in order to get better heat dissipation, which they say is needed when you use the on device AI or are doing heavy duty gaming. The A19 Pro chip does generate more heat, so in addition to the aluminum unibody to help dissipate it, the phone also has a vapor chamber to help with temperature management.
The aluminum unibody has 20 times the thermal performance of the titanium.
Like the Air, the antennas are in the bump. They claim 40% better performance than 16 Pro…for gaming and for AI.
Like the Air, the both the screen and the back are Ceramic Shield 2 so you get better protection than the glass that’s on on older phones.
The Pro Max has the biggest battery ever, it can do 39 hours of video playback.
Cameras- The Selfie Cam is 18 MP like the Air.
The Rear main cam system ….all 3 cams are 48 MP. All are fusion cameras. New 4x zoom at 100 mm or 8x zoom tele at 200 mm focal length. That is a huge jump from before…and about time. Both zoom powers use machine learning to help reduce noise and get better color. The fusion system is the equivalent of 8 different lens focal lengths! It’s like carrying around 8 different lenses with your old DSLR in your camera bag, but in your hand.
For video, Apple has added Pro Res Raw Capture, and Also Gen Lock, which lets you move between video and graphics, among other things like switching seamlessly between shooting angles without doing hours of editing.
The Pro models come with 256 Gigs base storage, and you can order up to 2 TB.
Apple didn’t hit us with predicted $50 price bump…
A Google event is slated for October 1st, and it looks like there will be a number of announcements. Engadget.com reports that we should see new Nest devices, including a new Nest camera and Nest speaker. In addition, more will be revealed about Gemini for Home, Gemini for Home will replace Google Assistant and enable natural language commands, as well add easier to use controls. There will be both free and subscription versions, much like Amazon has Alexa and Alexa +.
Apple has been working overtime, playing catch-up when it comes to AI. They have talked to OpenAI, and have a present deal with them that adds some muscle to the puny Siri. Now, according to gizmodo.com, Apple will launch a new AI-powered web search tool for Siri next year. Reports have the improved AI search being powered by a custom version of Google’s Gemini. Internally at Apple, the system is being called World Knowledge Answers…and besides Siri, it may be available in Safari and Spotlight. It is expected that even if Gemini is used for some functions such as summarizing, that the system will run on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers, to protect user privacy. Expect this all to come together next spring, not next week when the new iPhones are rolled out.
Medical plan apps can let you access a doctor or a PA or nurse. Now, Samsung has announced that it is bringing virtual physicians to its Health App. Androidpolice.com notes that the medical service comes by Samsung partnering with HealthTap, an online service provider that has been around a while. Using the app, you can meet virtually with a doctor the same week, or in some cases, the same day. Besides doctor access, the app claims to give better management of prescription medication using a new system that integrates with Walgreen’s. You won’t be able to submit or renew prescriptions via the app, though.
Adobe will bring its Premiere video editing software to the iPhone. TechCrunch.com reports that the software will let users edit videos and export them without watermarks. Some features will be the same as the desktop version…the ability to trim, layer, and fine-tune frames. Automatic captions are also available as is support for 4K HDR. The app is free use, but users will have to pay for using AI credits and cloud storage. An Android version is in the works.
It has been rumored, and it’s coming. Meta has announced it will now serve ads from business in WhatsApp in its Stories-like status feature. According to theverge.com, you may start seeing ads along with the shared disappearing text, photo, voice notes, or video messages shared by friends or family members in this portion of the Updates tab. Meta says it will tailor the ads to your interests by using “limited” information, including your country or city, language, the channels you follow, and how you interact with ads on the platform. Meta says it will never see or share your phone number to advertisers. Also it won’t use your messages, calls, or groups to ‘inform’ its ads. Oh, I fell a lot better knowing that…
In all the announcements at WWDC last week, here’s a little one for iOS 26 that may make a lot of people’s use of websites easier on their iPhones. Bgr.com reports that for several years, iPhone and Mac users have had a feature that sees the two factor identification one-time password code which is sent to you by email or text, and it will appear in a bubble on the website. You can just click it and it fills in, and you are into the secure website. Now, with a tweak of iOS 26, that Security Code Autofill feature will not be limited to Apple Messages or email. If you get codes over WhatsApp or a third party mail app, the system will find it and suggest it without your needing to leave Safari or whatever app you are using. Apple will even show you where the OTP is coming from for extra security.
In an interesting move, Donald Trump, Jr has announced the launch of a cellular brand…Trump Mobile. Engadget.com notes that they will sell a single wireless plan called ‘The 47 Plan,’ which offers unlimited talk and texting, as well as unlimited data that throttles speeds after the first 20GB each month. The Trump Mobile plan is a white-label plan built on an existing mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) called Liberty Mobile. The company also plans to sell “The T1 Phone,” a gold-accented smartphone that it says will be manufactured in the United States. The last part…a phone selling for $499 made in the US is something of a pipe dream. People who study the cost breakdown of phones like iFixit calculate that and iPhone costs Apple $500 to $800 to make…depending on the model….and that’s with cheap Asian labor and the distribution system all close by there. It has been estimated that a US made iPhone would cost some $1500 to build…so take the $499 golden Trumphone with a large grain of salt.
A German state, Schleswig-Holstein, will ditch all Microsoft software and move to Linux and open source programs over the next 90 days. Zdnet.com says this is part of growing European resistance to reliance on US tech giants. Danish officials have also announced they are dropping Microsoft. The German state’s Digitalization Minister said “The geopolitical developments of the past few months have strengthened interest in the path that we’ve taken. The war in Ukraine revealed our energy dependencies, and now we see there are also digital dependencies.” Bavaria has also gotten away from Microsoft, but has returned partially. The French Police have also dropped Microsoft.
The hour and a half nonstop hype and ‘reality distortion field’ that is the Apple World Wide Developer Conference Keynote is over. So, cutting through the haze, what are some of the cool new features you might actually use? Although the presentation opened with a big hype for Apple Intelligence…which is running a bit behind…the various presenters did weave it throughout. As expected, the large, over-arching items though were the major redesign of iOS…which basically extends across all platforms. The first redesign since iOS 7, it is translucent, transparent, and pretty. New looks, design elements, and reimagined icons are the rule. Apple calls it ‘Liquid Glass.’ As we reported here, all the operating systems will get a unified naming system…iOS 26, macOS 26, etc…based on the year…what? You expected them to use this year, that’s half over? Nope…like the auto makers, they will have next year’s models out this Fall with next year’s model numbers.
As most of the useful features, in my opinion, are showing up on iOS..which is what most users use anyway, I will focus there…and skip over CarPlay and Vision OS. One of the biggest changes predicted, and which was announced, was to the phone app on the iPhone. Improving phone use…what a concept! the first thing they have done is pulled voicemails and calls from users together, rather like text messages. It does seem cleaner. Another change is a beefing up of call screening. The phone answers from unknown numbers silently in the background. When the caller shares their name and reason for the call, the phone rings…unless you have ringing off like I do!
A really cool feature is Hold Assist. The iPhone detects crappy hold music, and automatically mutes it. The call stays connected, and you can continue using your phone for other stuff while it holds its place in the queue. When an agent finally answers, they are asked to hold a moment, and you are connected with them.
Messages is getting some updates, too. You can now select backgrounds (like Facebook Messenger has) on group messages that all can see..including from your photo library or you can make an image from Apple’s Image Playground. They also have added polling and using Apple Cash in groups…so you can send or get cash…say to divvy up paying for lunch. By the way, like with the phone app, unknown texters are sent to a dedicated area so as not to bother, BUT with time sensitive messages like ‘your table is ready’ or a verification code, you will see those right away.
In messaging and the phone app, Live Translation can translate a caller speaking or typing in a different language on the fly, which will be way cool if you are traveling.
Apple Wallet gets more car keys for supported cars and driver licenses and even a digital ID for your US passport. Apple claims that you can use these at TSA checkpoints within the US, or in-apps. Boarding passes now include indoor mapping to help you get to your connecting flight without leaving the boarding pass…and Find My is built in too…to track your checked luggage.
Apple Watch gets the same Liquid Glass look, and as far as I can tell, not much else. There is a sure-to-become irritating ‘Workout Buddy’ that will say crap like ‘You’re Crushing it’ during your workout to encourage you…or just piss you off.
macOS Tahoe gets the Liquid Glass treatment, which really does look cool…the menu bar at the top is invisible now, and the mini=icons are kind of translucent…a much cleaner look. Live Translation comes to the Mac, along withe the improved Image Playground. Continuity has been improved…a great feature if you are deep into the Mac system as I am. You can start something on your Phone and pick right up on your Mac…or iPad. Here is a real feature…Apple FINALLY gives us a phone app on the Mac…which mirrors the one on the iPhone with most of the features like Call Screening and Live Translation.
iPad OS makes all iPads that can run the new system immediately more useful. Apple has finally brought real windowing to the iPad. You can move them, resize them, tile them, etc just like on a Mac. There is also a menu bar at the top…translucent like on the Mac. They have now made it so you can choose other audio and video inputs…so you can use a pro quality microphone and record your podcast on an iPad if you are traveling…or just prefer to use the smaller interface.
As noted at the top, I have skipped over Vision OS, which has some cool features…but I will be surprised if any subscribers to this report have dropped the $3500 to buy a Vision OS headset. It very well may be a great view of the future, but still a bit into the future and still very pricy.
It’s rare, but sometimes a bad app will get into the Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store. Androidpolice.com reports that McAfee has spotted issues with SpyLoan apps. These shady loan apps use social engineering tricks to target Android users worldwide. So far, 15 of these apps have been found, going after people in South America, Southern Asia, and Africa. They all share similar code and systems, stealing data and sending it to command-and-control (C2) servers. Most of these apps hide behind fake names and logos that look like real financial institutions. Some of the apps have been promoted on social media platforms. Google has removed most for the moment, and thankfully, none are big US financial institutions. Generally, they steal as much personal info as possible, they try to extort or blackmail users. Stick with your mainstream bank or credit union, and don’t fall for any come ons from emails or ads on social media!
Bluesky is ramping up remarkably fast considering the flood of users that have signed up. They have expanded staff, and are rolling out features, but don’t have quite the tools you might want to track your following. A new app called GoBlue is stepping in to fill the gap. According to techrunch.com, the app has a simple interface for tracing your own Bluesky analytics in an iOS dashboard. Right now, GoBlue just offers some basic tools to track metrics like new followers, comments, likes, and reposts. They show up as bar charts on the app’s home screen, and you can track by day, week, month, or year. If you want full access using the app, it’s a one time fee of $19.99 or a monthly fee of $3.99 a month or annual for $14.99 a year.
Apple is famously secretive about upcoming products and services, and has always bragged about the level of privacy they offer users. That privacy level is not extended to employees, however. Appleinsider.com says an Apple employee is suing the company, claiming that it forces staff to give up personal privacy, and demands that it be allowed to use surveillance even when they are at home. The employee, Amar Bhakta, works in ad tech at Apple, and has been with them about 4 years. Once they use a personal device and personal iCloud account as part of their work, Apple allegedly requires employees to agree to the company monitoring everything.”If you use your personal account on an Apple-managed or Apple-owned iPhone, iPad or computer, any data stored on the device (including emails, photos, video, notes and more), are subject to search by Apple,” the lawsuit claims Apple’s policies state. While there may be elements in the full suit that have yet to be made public, everything listed so far is common practice — even if it sounds draconian. Every place I’ve worked in the last 25 years has been able to track your info on company-issued devices or look at anything you stored on a company server. I think Mr. Bhakta is going to have an uphill battle trying to win this against Apple.
Intel’s board has apparently showed its CEO of less than 4 years the door, after he failed to turn the company around. Arstechnica.com reports that Pat Gelsinger is stepping down. Intel CFO David Zinsner and Client Computing Group Head Michelle Johnson Holthaus will share the title of interim CEO while the board does a search for new CEO. Gelsinger has also left his board seat. Gelsinger had worked at Intel since he joined the company at age 18.
In some respects, AI has stalled out right now, but there are still discoveries and advances being made. Arstechnica.com reports that Nvidia has a new AI audio model that can synthesize sounds that have never existed. A couple included a ‘screaming’ saxophone, and an ‘angry’ ‘cello. The AI can also mix voices and sounds together in a new mashup. The model, called Fugatto, isn’t available for public testing yet, but Nvidia has a sample-filled website that shows off some possibilities for you. They describe the audio AI as a ’Swiss Army knife for sound.’
Threads is feeling the heat from quickly growing upstart Bluesky. Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg posted that Threads is testing the option to let users choose their own default feed…like Bluesky. In fact, you can have multiple feeds on Bluesky…I have a default of people I follow and 3 others. According to theverge.com, Threads will let you choose from For You, Following, or any custom feed that you have set up. Right now, they are still testing it out, but Zuck said they will make the choice ‘more visible’ in the app soon.
New details about the upcoming iPhone Slim…or Air, or whatever they end up calling it. Appleinsider.com says it will be so slim, it won’t be able to have a tray for SIM cards. This is not an issue in the US, where all iPhones use eSIM, the no-card alternative to a physical SIM card, but in a number of countries they still use physical SIM cards. One of those countries is China, which uses a name-registration system. eSims don’t allow the same verification level as China requires. It remains to be seen if this becomes a problem for Apple. The slim phone also will use Apple’s in-house 5G modem instead of a Qualcomm one, and it will have a smaller battery.
Not tech, but science…or an ignoring of it. Bird flu virus has been found in a batch of raw, unpasteurized milk sold in California. Arstechnica.com reports that so far, no illness has been connected to the contaminated milk, which came from Raw Farm LLC in Fresno County. A lab in Santa Clara County detected the virus, and it was confirmed by the state lab. There is a reason Louis Pasteur came up with the pasteurization process…lots of people used to get sick and even die from raw milk. Science and medicine…hey, they can keep us alive!
Folding phones are growing more popular, especially with a less noticeable crease on the screens, but they are still really expensive. Now, bgr.com reports that we may be seeing a relatively cheap Samsung Galaxy Z Flip FE sometime in 2025. In addition, Samsung is reportedly working on a thin Z Flip 7 SE. If the rumors are true, Samsung may field 4 Galaxy Z foldable in 2025: the regular Flip 7 and Fold 7, and the cheaper Flip SE, and ultra-thin Fold 7 SE. If they keep making the crease less visible, and can drop prices, folding phones may become relatively mainstream. Since Apple is reported to be working on a folder, you can expect they will join the party just as that mainstreaming occurs!
Bluesky, the app that would replace old Twitter, has now blown past 20 million users. It is now gaining on Meta owned Threads, as well as X, which continues to bleed users. TechCrunch.com notes that Threads still has a massive lead at 275 million monthly active users, but up to the election they had 5 times more daily users than Bluesky. That has not been cut to 1.5 times! Even with the recent exodus from X, the Musk-owned app still has 10 times the users of Bluesky for now. Bluesky has been #1 at the US Apple App Store since the election, while Threads is now #4, and X has ominously dropped to #41!
You may have heard of Graykey…we’ve reported on it here…it’s something law enforcement and government agencies can use to break into locked iPhones. Now, macrumors.com says officials are having issues trying to hack into phones running iOS 18 and 18.01. Apparently, the product can ‘partially’ unlock some phones…in fact iPhone 11 models can be unlocked in full. Newer iPhones are more hack proof. Magnet Forensics, maker of Graykey, had no comment, but Israel-based Cellebrite reportedly can’t unlock iPhones running iOS 17.5.1 and later. Apple has said that the idea is to make the phones worth less and less of a theft item since a locked phone you can’t hack into is not worth much. For some, the fact that governments and police agencies can’t get in either is a plus.
Only about a year after dropping waitlisting, Starlink is back to ‘sold out’ in parts of the US. Arstechnica.com reports that the areas you’ll be waiting in include the areas around Seattle, Spokane, Portland, San Diego, Sacramento, and Austin, Texas. There are also some sold-out areas in parts of Colorado, Montana, and North Carolina. Worldwide, there is still little availability in Africa. If you are so inclined, you can jump the wait list by subscribing to the pricier Starlink Roam tier. Be aware though, that they may block Roam service in specific areas due to lack of capacity.
Clark Reid Tech Report 