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McDonald's has begun a limited test showing third-party brand advertisements on digital drive-thru menu boards after customers place their orders, according to Bloomberg. The ads appear during the wait period before customers receive their food, and the pilot is currently confined to company-owned restaurants.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is preparing to unveil a new AI-powered home hub device—nicknamed 'HomePad'—as soon as next month. The gadget will run a custom operating system blending elements of iOS, tvOS and watchOS, built around Siri, and will come in tabletop or wall-mounted versions with a square touchscreen.
Apple originally designed a smaller, hinge-mounted Apple Pencil exclusively for its foldable iPhone Duo, but according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the accessory hit unresolved technical problems before mass production and was scrapped. Apple instead opted to support the existing USB-C Apple Pencil, though that compatibility won't be ready at launch and is expected to arrive later in 2026 after further software development and testing.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is considering repositioning Beats as a label for less refined, lifestyle-driven products, with gaming controllers as a starting point. The idea reflects Apple's interest in tapping into gaming culture without attaching its flagship brand to hardware that may not meet its usual design polish.
Reports say Apple is developing a privacy-focused home security and monitoring device that uses AI rather than video footage, tied to a new subscription service. Separately, executives including Eddy Cue are reportedly exploring ways to raise App Store margins and extract more recurring revenue from developers.
A new PricewaterhouseCoopers analysis, cited by Bloomberg, projects that worldwide spending on data centers could reach $31.6 trillion by 2050, with more than $15 trillion of that total in the United States alone. Under a more optimistic scenario involving faster AI adoption, PwC estimates spending could climb as high as $50 trillion over the next 25 years.
Uber is eliminating roughly 3,300 positions worldwide, around 10% of its total staff, as part of a broader restructuring effort announced by CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in an internal memo. The plan includes cutting management ranks by 20%, shrinking small teams, merging engineering and delivery units, and ending remote work for nearly all employees.
Apple has updated Apple Maps to display Lake Ontario as "Lake America" for users in the United States, following a similar change Google made earlier. The renaming stems from an executive order signed by President Trump amid trade tensions with Canada, which altered the lake's designation in the US Geographic Names Information System. Canadian users still see "Lake Ontario," while international versions of Apple Maps display both names.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple has internally prototyped and tested an Apple Pencil designed for its upcoming foldable iPhone, reportedly called the iPhone Ultra. However, Gurman says it's unlikely the stylus will be included when the device debuts at Apple's Sept. 9 event, with a shorter 'stubbier' Pencil variant possibly coming later.
Google has added the ability to import purchased Google Play Books directly into Gemini Notebook, letting users query and analyze book content alongside other sources like documents and videos. The feature initially covers about 100,000 titles from publishers such as Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, and O'Reilly Media, plus special notebooks created with over 15 bestselling authors. This launch marks the start of Google's broader Expert Intelligence initiative, which will eventually expand to other products, third-party subscriptions, and textbooks.
Reports suggest Apple will unveil AirPods 5 at its September 9 event alongside new iPhones and Apple Watch models. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says the lineup will include two variants—one with Active Noise Cancellation and one without—continuing the standard earbuds line last updated in 2024. Camera-equipped AirPods, previously rumored for this cycle, are now expected to wait until 2027.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple built and internally tested a stubbier stylus meant to pair with its upcoming foldable iPhone, but the company is unlikely to release it alongside the device's debut. The design would attach to the phone's side for charging and storage, similar to existing Apple Pencils, but that placement could interfere with the fold mechanism and risk scratching the more fragile foldable display.