The latest tech news about the world’s best (and sometimes worst) hardware, apps, and much more. From top companies like Google and Apple to tiny startups vying for your attention, Verge Tech has the latest in what matters in technology daily.
Its full capabilities require heavy developer support, but the public beta version is a glimpse at how capable Apple’s assistant could become.
Intel has put chips in many a spacecraft. Until 2012, the International Space Station had 16MHz Intel 8086 chips as its primary brains, then received an “EPIC” upgrade to 266MHz Intel Pentium. Now, Intel is publicly marketing cut-down Panther Lake chips for private space industry too.
The latest evolution in prediction market technology is Kalshi’s “professional-grade desktop trading workstation,” a web UI now available publicly in a beta test that takes its styling cues from stock trading terminals instead of sportsbooks.
According to the company, Kalshi Pro is part of its “transformation from a retail app for prediction market trading into a full-service financial exchange for all types of investors.”
Hisense has started teasing an e-paper smartphone with a detachable LCD, instead of the other way around. I guess that’s one way to drop your Instagram Reels consumption.
Over the weekend, the three-year deal for Flock Safety’s 138 pole-mounted surveillance cameras came to an end, as the LA Times reports the LAPD CIO says it ended the arrangement while working on a new contract that has “very clear terms” about who owns the data collected and what happens to it.
An unnamed spokesperson for Flock told media outlets that unspecified “misconceptions” led to the pause.
[Los Angeles Times]
The 41-page complaint details how OpenAI allegedly ‘coached’ Apple employees on how to avoid security checks and asked for ‘show and tell’ during job interviews.
Xinzhou Wu on autonomy, Chinese cars, and if we really need lidar.
This Windows Central rumor says Windows 11 could add a dedicated flyout menu for the phone companion to show your phone’s status and things like DND status or “find my phone.” Other possible updates could bring a standalone SMS syncing app and sync your clipboard history beyond just the last entry.
Tom Blomfield, former CEO and cofounder of British fintech Monzo, announced a leave of absence from startup accelerator Y Combinator to join the company’s AI compute team. He’s the latest big-name hire in recent months, following Google’s Nobel winner John Jumper and former Tesla Boss Andrej Karpathy.
The infamous wormwood liqueur has enjoyed minor viral fame for its… let’s say unique flavor profile (frequently compared to bile). But, basic Malört reaction videos are old hat. The truly adventurous (or masochistic) are infusing Malört with ranch dip, brisket, and even Malört-flavored candy.
Don’t get too excited, but Mark Gurman says the styluses are being updated alongside new iPad Pros next year. In February, new EU rules go into effect that require batteries to be user-replaceable with basic tools. So maybe the next-gen Apple Pencil will be less of a nightmare to fix.
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This is a smart ring for new users. Everyone else should wait until their current ring dies.
Community pushback from across the US and beyond is making some companies reconsider their data center buildout plans.
The Image Line CEO hits the forums and subreddits every day to keep in touch with his users.
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The Hottap Go is an all-in-one hot water system that justifies its high price.
Toni Schneider took over on an interim basis in March, but said in a blog post that “the interim part of the title is gone” now. He also said that the platform is working on “the ability to create smaller spaces and more private communities” in the AT Protocol ecosystem, aka the Atmosphere — something Bluesky has been talking about for a little while.
Want a cool accessory that fits the Luna Ultra and/or its detachable screen? Bambu’s new contest is incentivizing makers to build some — there are already 23 new designs. Make your own by building around the 3D models, or just using ’em to punch a camera-sized receptacle in your design.
ICYMI, here’s my story, and I have new impressions indoors: Beni is… not great at tracking people inside my dim house, but obstacle avoidance works. When I held the joystick forward (after setting speed low), Beni automatically navigated my hallway. At walls, it automatically U-turned and kept going instead of getting stuck.
He had been set to talk to CNBC’s Julia Boorstin at 12PM ET, but a little over 10 minutes past the hour, Boorstin reported that “we just got word that he has to postpone.” Right now, we don’t know if or when the interview may actually happen.
Bloomberg reports on Phia, the price comparison app launched by Bill Gates’ daughter:
Bloomberg tested the Phia mobile browser extension across more than 50 websites and found that during the checkout process, Phia opened a background tab without user interaction and injected its own referral code that overrode legitimate referrals from other publishers… This allows Phia to claim a commission for sales it did not meaningfully influence.
Phia tells Bloomberg it “has since resolved the issue.”
My Trump phone review is here. And with that, it’s time to wrap up the weekly coverage. I’m not entirely done with the T1 yet — I’m still trying to find out how many buyers have one, and how and where it’s made — but I’ll give the execs at Trump Mobile a break for a bit.
As spotted by MacRumors, to get the new AI-powered camera features — text descriptions, searchable camera clips, and noteworthy clips — you’ll need Apple’s 2TB plan or higher.
HomeKit Secure Video has always required the base iCloud plan for recording, but now you may need to upgrade to get these smarter alerts. I’ve been testing them in the beta, and they’re a big improvement.
Game Developer reports the OneBGS union is holding the rally in support of laid off developers on July 15th at ZeniMax offices in Rockville, Austin, Dallas, and Montreal, as the union announced in an email to members:
“Microsoft and ZeniMax leadership have made the devastating decision to slash over 440 positions across BGS, ZOS, id, ZWU(QA) and ZeniMax corporate (including CTO and CSUR). Because we organized and certified our unions, we have hard-won legal rights and protections that non-unionized studios simply do not have. The company wants us to accept this as a done deal and quietly disappear. We won’t let that happen. Our next steps are to mobilize. We need every single member visible and unified.”
