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Tech News
Apple is preparing to launch a 14-inch MacBook Pro with its new M6 chip later this month, keeping the current design. The M6 adds a Dual 16-core Neural Engine for faster on-device AI processing, a 12-core CPU with a new three-tier core structure (super, performance, and efficiency cores), a 12-core GPU, and is built on a new 2nm manufacturing process that Apple says improves power efficiency.
OnePlus unveiled the OnePlus 16 in China, its first flagship since exiting the US and European markets earlier this year. The phone features a Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset, up to 1TB storage and 16GB RAM, a 9,000mAh silicon-carbon battery, 100W wired and 50W wireless charging, and a 185Hz OLED display. It also gets a camera upgrade with a 200-megapixel main sensor and a glowing LED accent on its back panel, starting at ¥5,699 (about $850).
BetterWispr is a new Apache 2.0-licensed dictation tool for macOS 14 and later that requires no subscription, account or API key. It runs speech-to-text locally using downloadable models or Apple's on-device speech recognition, letting users dictate into any text field via a hold-to-record shortcut like Option+Space.
Developer Skylar Taylor-Barrick built a project called gbos-vm that runs Google's Android-based Googlebook OS inside a virtual machine on Apple Silicon Macs, complete with hardware-accelerated graphics and a working Chrome browser. The tool bridges Android's Vulkan graphics calls to Apple's Metal system using POSIX shared memory and MoltenVK, letting the VM tap the Mac's GPU instead of relying on slower CPU rendering. It installs from a Dell Googlebook recovery image via a script and QEMU, requiring an Apple Silicon Mac with 16GB RAM, about 60GB storage, and developer tools like Xcode Command Line Tools and Homebrew.
Competing tech companies are striking alliances to secure scarce AI computing resources, according to a report describing a scramble for chips and data-center capacity. The report states that executives have had to step in personally to negotiate access to computing power needed to support AI development.
WIRED's Leah Feiger and Zoë Schiffer discuss Elon Musk's renewed political spending through America PAC heading into the midterm elections, following his major financial involvement in the 2024 cycle. They note this spending pattern is echoed by other Silicon Valley tech leaders and their own PACs, who are similarly active this election cycle.
GlobalFoundries and TSMC signed a five-year, $2 billion manufacturing agreement under which GlobalFoundries will produce silicon interposers for TSMC's CoWoS-S advanced packaging at its Malta, NY fab. Volume production is set to ramp in the first half of 2028, giving TSMC a U.S.-based source for these components.
The U.S. Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital has issued Wolfspeed Inc. a conditional 30-year loan commitment letter worth $1.5 billion. Wolfspeed, which makes silicon carbide and gallium nitride materials, plans to use the funds to upgrade GaN epitaxy capabilities and develop radiation hardening for its products. The loan requires Wolfspeed to issue warrants for up to 7.5% of its fully diluted equity, and remains subject to due diligence, government approvals and existing lender consent.
Google has introduced a new AI-powered note-taking application for Mac that operates entirely offline using on-device models. The app, named Google AI Edge Foresight, allows users to record, transcribe, and review meeting notes across various apps, supporting manual input and AI-generated summaries. It also enables document uploads to build a knowledge base for real-time question answering during meetings.
Developers have created an open-source installer that allows users of Apple Silicon Macs to run Google's experimental desktop operating system within a virtual environment. This tool provides a way to test Googlebook OS without official support from Google or Apple.
Google has released an experimental app called Google AI Edge Foresight that transcribes meetings and audio files entirely on-device, using its EmbeddingGemma 2 model. The free app turns shorthand notes into polished summaries and includes a built-in assistant that can answer questions about meetings or connected local files, with Google saying data never leaves the user's computer. It currently only works on Macs with Apple Silicon.
Chris Gober, a Republican candidate with connections to Musk’s PAC and AI lobbying, is contesting Texas’ newly redrawn 10th district against Democrat Caitlin Rourk. Gober’s background includes legal work related to redistricting, data centers, and defense tech, with the district hosting plans for a major semiconductor manufacturing facility by SpaceX and Tesla. The race highlights the influence of Silicon Valley interests and AI regulation debates in upcoming elections.