Google has acknowledged a bug in its Messages app that causes existing group conversations to unexpectedly split into multiple separate threads with the same participants, often erasing prior message history. The company is asking affected users to submit feedback tagged #splittingthreads to help its engineers investigate. Some users also report similar duplication happening in one-on-one RCS chats, though Google hasn't confirmed a link between the two issues.
Security researchers discovered that routers manufactured by Chinese firm ZBT and sold worldwide under various third-party brand names contain undisclosed backdoor implants built in by the manufacturer. Because these devices are rebranded and resold by numerous companies, the exact number of affected units in circulation is unknown.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk responded to Meta's settlement with almost all US states, which requires the company to add child safety features like time limits and parental controls. Meta has urged TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar measures, but Türk argued governments should not wait for litigation to force such protections across the whole industry.
Apple is reportedly preparing a new Apple TV 4K that could debut at its September 9 event, after being delayed from last fall. Leaked code and reports point to an updated Siri Remote, a faster A-series chip, the new N1 wireless chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and integration of Siri AI alongside broader Apple Intelligence features.
Apple this week rolled out updated Mac mini and Mac Studio models and sent out official invitations for its September event, where the iPhone 18 Pro lineup is expected to debut. Reports also point to additional fall product announcements still to come, alongside a small round of layoffs affecting roughly 200 employees.
Rockstar Games released an extended 27-minute look at Grand Theft Auto VI through Netflix rather than YouTube, blending cutscenes and gameplay footage into a cinematic narrative centered on protagonists Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos in Vice City. The footage mixes crime-heavy action sequences with quieter character moments, structured with film-like editing rather than a straightforward gameplay walkthrough.
Apple is adding an agentic AI feature to its Passwords app in iOS 27 that can automatically update weak or compromised passwords instead of requiring users to change them manually. The feature is part of a broader Apple Intelligence push and is currently in beta, with rollout timing uncertain between iOS 27.0 and a later 27.1 update.
Artificial Analysis has begun benchmarking small AI models that run directly on mobile phones, focusing on models that fit within 8 GB of memory after quantization, including KV cache at 8K context. The effort combines intelligence benchmarks with real on-device inference data gathered in partnership with Liquid AI, whose measurement methodology Artificial Analysis says it has independently validated.
Hugging Face and Pollen Robotics have announced the Microduck, a $399 waddling robot duck that follows their earlier Reachy Mini collaboration. The device features a camera eye, grabbing beak, wheeled feet, motion and depth sensors, and can be controlled via gamepad or laser pointer while also serving as a platform for AI and robotics experimentation. It's available for preorder now with delivery expected by year's end.
NASA is preparing to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on Sunday at 7:26 a.m. ET from Kennedy Space Center, using a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The telescope, arriving roughly eight months early and under budget, will travel to the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point about 1 million miles away after final inspections and fueling with 290 gallons of hydrazine.
Researchers used historic meteorological records to build satellite-style visualizations of the weather over Normandy on June 6, 1944. The reconstructed imagery shows only a brief, narrow break in the clouds that allowed the Allied invasion to proceed as planned, illustrating how marginal the conditions actually were.
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced that Amazon has become a participant in YouTube's creator affiliate shopping program. Creators can now tag Amazon products directly within videos, Shorts and livestreams, earning commissions when viewers buy through their links.
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