Following the recent rollout of digital driver's licenses in Virginia and Oklahoma, Apple Wallet is expected to add support for Utah, Kentucky, and North Carolina in the near future. Utah has reportedly been detected in Apple's backend systems, Kentucky has completed a digital ID system upgrade tied to its planned launch, and North Carolina has publicly committed to Apple Wallet support by early 2027 as part of its new digital license system.
Ireland's Data Protection Commission, acting for the EU, fined Google €403 million (about $462 million) for mishandling location history and web/app activity data. The regulator found Google failed to be transparent about Location Accuracy on Android and unlawfully retained users' location data longer than necessary.
Apple's watchOS 27.2 beta 2, released to developers, brings back the App Switcher feature that had been removed in watchOS 27. Instead of the old double-click of the Digital Crown, users now activate it by pressing and holding the bottom of the screen while inside an app, then turning the crown to scroll through recent apps.
Napster, now owned by AI/VR firm Infinite Reality, has partnered with GEMS Education in the UAE to create AI-generated avatars of teachers that answer student questions around the clock in multiple languages. The system will run on Napster Learn and a wearable device called Napster View, with a rollout planned across GEMS Middle East schools by the end of 2026.
Weibo tipster Digital Chat Station claims the iPhone 20 Pro and Pro Max, expected in 2027 for Apple's 20th iPhone anniversary, will feature 6.41-inch and 6.96-inch displays, larger than this year's iPhone 18 Pro models. The leak also corroborates earlier Bloomberg reporting that the phones will adopt a quad-curved, nearly all-glass body with a metal band, replacing the current aluminum-and-ceramic-glass build, plus a shrunken Dynamic Island and smaller selfie cutout.
The European Commission has proposed requiring data centers with over 500 kW capacity to disclose their energy and water usage through a standardized rating system, similar to appliance energy labels. The rules would not cap power or water consumption but would require operators to report water use relative to local water stress and disclose whether they recycle waste heat back into local energy systems.
An Entrepreneur contributor argues that after years of brands chasing attention through content, emails and notifications, consumers are now seeking analog experiences like dinner parties, run clubs, and phone-free events. The piece suggests marketers should reframe their goal from maximizing time spent with a brand to helping people use their time more meaningfully.
Samsung phone owners have access to both Samsung Wallet and Google Wallet, which overlap heavily in basic functions like storing cards, tickets, passes, keys and IDs, as well as scanning physical cards via camera. Despite this overlap, each app has distinct strengths, with Samsung and Google diverging in areas such as ID support and cryptocurrency handling.
Apple's revamped Siri AI, launching with iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, is only accessible via a waitlist and requires devices from the iPhone 15 Pro series or later, or iPads with M1 chips or the seventh-generation iPad mini. The feature is currently unavailable to users with Apple Accounts registered in China or the European Union, and the most advanced capabilities like Expressive Voices are limited to iPhone 17 Pro models and newer.
Sony currently sells the PS5 in Slim and Pro tiers, with the Slim offering both digital-only and disc-drive versions while the Pro comes only in digital form with an optional $80 disc drive add-on. The digital Slim now costs $600 for 825GB, down from its original 1TB capacity, while the $650 disc version still ships with a full 1TB and can play physical games through 2027. The $900 Pro is largely sold out, likely due to demand tied to the GTA VI trailer reveal.
Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station claims Apple is prototyping two new iPhone displays—6.41 inches and 6.96 inches—for what may become the iPhone 20 Pro and Pro Max. The panels reportedly feature a bezel-less design that curves on all four edges, paired with a new punch-hole camera cutout, though no actual images of the hardware have surfaced.
A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist has released a new work examining how governments and tech-driven bureaucracies are increasingly automating public administration, raising questions about accountability. The book, titled around the concept of an 'artificial state,' traces how digital systems have reshaped the mechanics of governance over recent decades.
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