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Tech News
Google Street View publicly displays detailed exterior shots of homes, including house numbers, parked cars, and yard layouts, accessible to anyone who searches an address. Google has long allowed users to request blurring of this imagery, but the feature is hidden deep within Google Maps and rarely used because most people don't know it exists.
John Deere has introduced an AI-powered chatbot for farmers, alongside a restated set of data principles governing how the company handles farm information. The company reiterated that farmers retain control over their data, that it won't be sold, and that it is not used for commodity trading or speculation.
SurveyMonkey has launched its largest product overhaul since the company started in 1999, embedding AI tools throughout the platform. The update is designed to help users create surveys more quickly and to convert raw respondent feedback into actionable insights for businesses.
Google introduced Google Pics, a new design tool for Workspace users that combines Gemini with its Nano Banana image model to generate and edit 'professional-grade' visuals. It launches as both a standalone app and an integration inside Docs and Slides, with Drive support coming soon, letting users select objects or text within images and edit them via prompts.
Sony has unveiled three new tower-style speakers—the ULT Tower Max, Tower 7, and Tower 5—as the largest additions to its ULT Power Sound lineup. Each model adds USB-C, RCA, and XLR ports for wired connections, along with up to 100 LEDs for battery and Bluetooth status lights and synced light shows. The flagship Tower Max costs $1,499.99 and weighs 121 pounds, while the Tower 7 runs $649.99 at 50 pounds, and the Tower 5 is the smallest at 29 pounds.
Whoop has removed the membership requirement for its Advanced Labs blood-testing screenings, letting non-subscribers access them for roughly $70 per test. However, the Whoop band itself remains functionally locked without an active subscription, requiring at least $149 a year for basic features like recovery insights, sleep tracking, and VO2 max data.
United Airlines has introduced an app feature allowing travelers who were rebooked onto a later flight to add themselves to standby lists for up to three earlier flights heading to the same destination. The app tracks all three flights and alerts travelers by text when a seat becomes available, letting them decide whether to switch without losing their confirmed rebooked seat until they choose to.
Reports ahead of Apple's Sept. 9 event suggest the iPhone 18 Pro's main camera could gain a variable aperture, letting the lens opening physically adjust rather than stay fixed like on the iPhone 17 Pro. Samsung and Xiaomi both tried similar variable-aperture designs in past flagships but later dropped the feature.
The US Army's Joint Task Force Southern Border used a 20-kilowatt Locust Laser Weapon System to destroy three drones near the Rio Grande Valley overnight on August 25-26, after officials said the drones threatened military and border patrol personnel. The vehicle-mounted laser, derived from the Army's AMP-HEL program, was supplied by defense contractor AeroVironment, which delivered its first prototypes in September 2025 and expanded the fleet in December.
Domino's has launched a new single-serve Detroit-style pizza and is promoting it with a limited-time giveaway. Customers who show a receipt from a competing fast-food chain, such as McDonald's or Burger King, can redeem the new pizza item for free during the promotional window.
Bloomberg reported that Apple shares delivered a 2,736% total return during Tim Cook's tenure as CEO, growing the company from a $350 billion business to a $4.6 trillion one. Commentary responding to that data argues incoming CEO John Ternus shouldn't feel pressure to replicate those numbers, pointing to Steve Jobs' and Cook's own philosophy that financial results should follow great products rather than be pursued directly.
OpenAI has responded to a lawsuit from Apple alleging theft of trade secrets, arguing that most of the claims actually stem from Apple's own weak employee offboarding practices rather than any wrongdoing by OpenAI. The ChatGPT maker is pushing back against the legal action, framing it as a dispute rooted in Apple's internal security failures.