At its Cupertino event, Apple shifted from its previously cautious approach to AI, opening the keynote with a direct focus on artificial intelligence rather than vague talk of 'intelligence.' New CEO John Ternus framed the iPhone as an 'intelligent personal hub' that uses personal context—calendars, contacts, messages, and app activity—to power smarter, more relevant assistance across Apple's ecosystem.
A Tech Transparency Project investigation found Meta took days to pull hundreds of Facebook and Instagram ads promoting AI apps that generated child sexual abuse material, some using real photos of children including a European royal and a preteen social media influencer. The ads, mostly linked to Chinese-made AI and 'nudify' apps, digitally altered images of children into sexually explicit videos and used explicit captions to lure users.
An analysis breaks down why cheap and expensive smart TVs differ mainly in their system-on-a-chip, which handles video decoding, upscaling, and app performance. Budget TVs often lack AI-assisted upscaling, are capped at 60Hz refresh rates, and tend to run menus and apps more slowly, while pricier models handle 120Hz output and sharper image reconstruction.
A Reddit user analyzed their extended Spotify streaming history for a 2,000-song playlist and found a 72-track sequence played in the exact same order on two consecutive days. The repetition occurred even with the 'Fewer Repeats' setting enabled and without changing devices or playlists. Other users report similar patterns, including one case where 27 of 30 upcoming tracks matched a prior queue.
Xiaomi debuted a new foldable smartphone at IFA in Berlin featuring a passport-style design with a 5.38-inch outer display and a 7.58-inch inner screen. The device uses a custom three-link hinge for durability and marks the first phone to run Xiaomi's own XRing 03 processor. A CNET reporter who got hands-on time praised the build quality and near-invisible crease, though noted stiff competition looms from Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Apple's rumored foldable iPhone.
Ahead of Apple's September 9 event, where the company is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and a foldable iPhone Ultra, a rumored dark cherry red color option for the Pro models has inspired a fan-made AI video ad. The creator clearly labeled the clip as AI-generated rather than presenting it as a leak.
Portable CarPlay screens typically cost between $50 and $150, offering a cheaper alternative to buying a new car with built-in infotainment. Buyers should weigh screen size (6 to 11 inches), resolution (ideally at least 1280x720), audio output options like Bluetooth, AUX or FM, and whether the unit supports wireless CarPlay rather than requiring a cable.
A group called Build American AI, backed by venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz and OpenAI president Greg Brockman, is launching a multimillion-dollar advertising push in states like Ohio, Wisconsin and Kansas to counter growing public opposition to AI data centers. Brockman's $100 million super PAC, Leading the Future, is reportedly financing the campaign, which frames pushback against data centers as a threat to jobs and American competitiveness.
A roundup identifies six external monitors recommended for Mac users, highlighting the Dell 27 Plus 4K as a budget-friendly standout among pricier options. The guide walks through four buying criteria: screen size, resolution, adjustability, and refresh rate, noting that Apple's own displays often lack height adjustment unless buyers pay extra.
Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist who relies on AI for research, spent eight weeks tracking 1,138 prompts he sent to Claude Code to estimate the electricity consumed at the data centers processing them. His findings suggest that AI agents, which perform multi-step autonomous tasks, draw significantly more power than the simple chatbot queries tech companies typically cite as low-energy examples.
New research suggests that friction and disagreement among colleagues can actually enhance creativity rather than simply causing conflict. Instead of avoiding pushback, employees who engage constructively with differing viewpoints often find better solutions and more original ideas emerge.
Nvidia confirmed DLSS 5 will officially launch this week, with NBA 2K27 as its sole debut title, ahead of a wider rollout to other games. Nvidia's own 4K benchmarks show only the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090, using 6X Multi Frame Generation plus DLSS Performance mode, with underlying render rates of roughly 39 and 62 FPS before frame generation inflates the final numbers to 233 and 370 FPS.