Developer TakaiSaisei has released a modified version of the Pixel IMS app, originally created by kyujin-cho in 2023, that lets Pixel owners enable VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling in markets Google doesn't officially support. Unlike the original tool, this version doesn't require the Shizuku system app and its settings persist after a device reboot, simplifying setup to sideloading the app and pairing it via wireless debugging.
Amazon has kicked off its 2026 Labor Day Sale with widespread discounts across Apple products, including $50 off AirPods Pro 3, AirTag 2 units as low as $20, and Apple Watch SE 3 hitting a record $200 price point. Renewed Premium iPhone 17 Pro units are discounted up to $290, and even the newly released M6 Mac mini is seeing early price cuts on its two entry configurations.
Moniepoint's Cloud Engineering team, led by Celestina Amadi, migrated its Kafka deployment from manually managed VMs running Docker Compose to Strimzi, a Kubernetes-native way of running Kafka. The change was made proactively, not in response to an outage, after the team recognized that the VM-based setup—which required SSH access and manual port-forwarding for even small configuration changes—could not scale to support Moniepoint's payment and savings products.
Apple unexpectedly updated its Mac Mini and Mac Studio desktops this week, timing the release alongside the teaser for its September 9 iPhone event themed 'Surprise and Shine.' The move deviates from Apple's usual September pattern, coinciding with John Ternus taking over as CEO. Separately, Walmart began accepting Apple Pay across US stores, marking another win for Apple this week.
New ALMA observations of Betelgeuse, taken in 2023 at record resolution, reveal an uneven, corrugated surface with bright hotspots up to 800 K warmer than the surrounding 2300 K atmosphere. Comparing these images to earlier 2015 ALMA data, astronomers found that a prominent hotspot in the northeast has remained in nearly the same position and brightness for years.
Labor unions are increasingly pushing back against data-center construction, warning politicians who support these projects that they risk losing union backing. The move signals that blue-collar workforce concerns are becoming a central point of contention in the broader public backlash against data-center expansion.
Apple's Shortcuts app can be used to build a CarPlay automation that plays a custom audio clip whenever an iPhone connects to a vehicle's infotainment system. The feature works alongside, not in place of, a car's built-in startup chimes, and relies on a short audio file stored in the Files app.
Despite underwhelming sales, Apple's ultra-thin iPhone Air appears to have served as a testing ground for thinner designs and component choices that could enable a foldable iPhone. Analysts suggest Apple may debut a foldable device, speculatively called the iPhone Ultra, at its September event, with a second-generation Air possibly following in early 2027.
Woot is selling the Hyper Dual Monitor Thunderbolt 4 Dock for $24.29 after applying the code WOOTDOCK, down from its usual $99.99 list price. The dock supports dual 4K60Hz displays or a single 8K30Hz monitor, offers 60W USB-C power delivery, two USB-A 10Gbps ports, a 1GbE ethernet port, and a 3.5mm audio jack, all through a single Thunderbolt 4 connection.
ZDNET is hosting a multi-round 'Big Guessing Game' where readers predict Apple's September 2026 announcements, such as a foldable iPhone or touchscreen MacBook, to win an Apple Watch. The contest's final round closes at 11:59 pm ET on September 1, with winners determined after Apple's event based on correct guesses. Early results show readers split, with 55% doubting a foldable iPhone and 28% expecting a touchscreen MacBook.
A new report from email platform Omnivery finds that automated bot clicks in consumer email inboxes have jumped from 2% to 16% since 2023, with Gmail alone seeing contamination rise from 2% to over 20%. The bots largely stem from mailbox providers' own security systems prefetching and scanning links before delivery, not malicious activity, but they still distort click-through metrics publishers rely on.
OpenAI has updated its Python SDK to use HTTPX2 instead of HTTPX for both synchronous and asynchronous HTTP clients, with HTTPX2 now installed automatically alongside the openai package. Existing API calls, streaming, retries and timeout settings keep working without code changes, but the SDK no longer installs the httpx or certifi packages by default.
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