Category: 4. Technology

Rakuten Mobile, Japan’s newest and most modern mobile network, announced that it will begin offering the Google Pixel series, starting with the latest Google Pixel 9a, available from 9 a.m. on July 1 on the Rakuten Mobile official website and the official Rakuten Mobile store on Rakuten Ichiba for 92,000 yen (tax included).

Rakuten Mobile’s device trade-in program allows customers to save up to half the price of the Google Pixel 9a, making it available from 37,728 yen (tax included) by returning the device in the 25th month.

The Google Pixel 9a features a refined camera design and a sleek, modern form. Engineered with IP68 water resistance (IPX8) and IP6X dust resistance, along with a scratch-resistant display, it delivers the highest durability within the Google Pixel A series. An adaptive battery provides over 30 hours of typical usage, and with the Super Battery Saver enabled, extends to up to 100 hours, positioning it as a long-lasting device optimized for demanding mobile users.

The camera incorporates AI-powered editing features, enabling natural composite photos and high-resolution macro photography. Google’s AI assistant, Gemini, is available to help users explore ideas through conversational interaction, create images from text and provide various support. The device also works seamlessly with Google apps such as Google Search, Google Maps and YouTube.

Starting today, the Google Pixel 9a has been added to the list of products eligible for Rakuten Mobile’s trade-in program, a service that allows customers to upgrade to new devices while making great savings.

Leveraging ongoing campaigns, new subscribers who switch to Rakuten Mobile and subscribe to the Rakuten Saikyo Plan while retaining their phone number are eligible to receive up to 16,000 Rakuten Points. This promotion essentially reduces the price of the Google Pixel 9a from 92,000 yen (tax included) to 76,000 yen (tax included), and can be combined with Rakuten Mobile’s device trade-in program.

Well-funded artificial intelligence startup Anysphere Inc. is expanding beyond its viral generative AI code editor and into “agentic AI” with the launch of new web and mobile browser-based orchestration tools for coding agents.

Anysphere last month closed on a bumper $900 million funding round that valued it at a cool $9.9 billion. It’s the company behind the popular AI code generating assistant Cursor, which automates software writing tasks for developers. Cursor embeds itself directly into the programmer’s integrated development environment and responds to natural language prompts by generating code, explaining it and performing various other tasks.

With today’s launch, Anysphere is accelerating an expansion beyond the IDE that began in May when it launched “background agents” that can help to automate coding tasks without any supervision from developers. A month later, as it announced its big funding round, it also debuted a Slack integration that makes it simple to assign tasks to these background agents within the popular chat application by tagging them @Cursor, similar to the way that Cognition AI Inc.’s Devin coding agent works.

Once again, Anysphere is putting its AI coding agents into more places, and this time it’s targeting the web browser. With its new application, developers can send natural language prompts from a mobile or web-based browser directly to the background agents, instructing them to perform tasks like writing new features or fixing bugs. Using the web app, developers can also monitor fleets of agents that are busy working on different tasks, check their progress and register those that have been completed within the underlying codebase.

Anysphere explained that developers can instruct its AI agents to complete tasks via the web app, and if they’re unable to do so, they can seamlessly switch to the IDE to take over and see what’s caused it to come unstuck. Each of its agents has its own shareable link, which developers can click on to see its progress.

Cursor’s evolution has helped to grow its popularity, and Anysphere said today it’s now generating more than $500 million in annualized recurring revenue from subscribers to the tool. It counts more than half of the Fortune 500 as customers, including illustrious names such as Nvidia Corp., Adobe Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc.

Last month, Anysphere launched a new $200-per-month “Ultra” tier for Cursor that’s aimed at these kinds of big enterprise users, giving them more advanced functionality and greater scale. As far as today’s move is concerned, it’s an effort to “remove the friction” for these users, Anysphere Head of Product Engineering Andrew Milich told TechCrunch. He explained that customers want Cursor to operate in more places, and “solve more of the problems they’re having.”

The new web app will be available to all subscribers who have access to its background agents, which basically means everyone except those on the free tier.

Anysphere is not the first AI startup to launch coding agents that can use multiple tools, but Anysphere Chief Executive Ben Thompson told Stratechery in an interview last month that it was necessary to wait for AI reasoning models to advance to a point where it can ensure the accuracy and reliability of its agents. That time has come, he said, so hopefully Cursor’s users won’t find themselves bogged down dealing with mistakes.

Image: Anysphere

Tinder is piloting a new featuring using facial recognition scans to verify profiles and increase security.

New users in California will now be mandated to take a video selfie during the app’s onboarding process which Tinder will compare against the user’s other photos to verify their profile is genuine.

The app will also check the scan against faces used on other accounts and provide verified profiles with a special badge.

Tinder will store a non-reversible, encrypted face map to detect duplications, according to Axios, which reported on the new feature.

“We see this as one part of a set of identity assurance options that are available to users,” Yoel Roth, head of trust and safety at Tinder’s parent company Match Group, told the outlet. “Face Check … is really meant to be about confirming that this person is a real, live person and not a bot or a spoofed account.”

The feature is already in use in Colombia and Canada, and California will be its first U.S. pilot market.

The stored facial data is deleted once a user deletes their profile, Tinder claims.

Computer and app users have long attempted to use fraudulent identities on public profiles, for purposes ranging from financial “romance scams” to full-blown, in-depth attempts at pretending to be someone else, a practice known as “catfishing.”

U.S. Justice Department and FBI officials told CBS News in 2024 that there were more than 64,000 romance scams in the U.S. the previous year.

The practice is common enough that it inspired a hit Netflix documentary about the “Tinder Swindler,” who is accused of using dating apps to swindle matches out of millions.

Tinder and its competitors have previously added features such as identification verification, real-time photo verification, and location-sharing to prevent safety issues.

Samsung Australia brings its new Smart Monitor lineup down under, helmed by a new flagship QD-OLED model M9. The Smart Monitor M9 is joined by refreshed M8 and M7 models, now offering personalised AI experiences

 

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced the availability of its latest Smart Monitor lineup in Australia, featuring the flagship Smart Monitor M9 (M90SF model) alongside updated Smart Monitor M8 (M80F) and Smart Monitor M7 (M70F) models. With the introduction of QD-OLED technology to the Smart Monitor M9 and Samsung Vision AI features across the lineup; the new Smart Monitor offerings provide personalised and connected screen experiences for work and entertainment.

 

“The Smart Monitor series continues to evolve to meet the needs of Australian consumers who are looking for premium monitor experiences that provide the best outcomes whether they are using it for work, entertainment or gaming,” said Neal Elliott, Acting Head of ProDisplay, Samsung Electronics Australia. “In pairing the best of Samsung’s QD-OLED display technology with the latest Samsung Vision AI features, the Smart Monitor M9 delivers a personalised experience with high picture quality and endless entertainment features, enabling Australians to work, watch and play in style, all within a single, versatile display.”

 

 

 

Smart Monitor M9 (M90F): OLED Picture, Intelligent Performance

 

The Smart Monitor M9 introduces QD-OLED technology to the Smart Monitor lineup for the first time. Its 32-inch 4K QD-OLED panel delivers deep contrast and vibrant colour, offering an immersive visual experience across productivity, streaming and gaming. Samsung OLED Safeguard+ helps maintain screen integrity over time with a proprietary cooling system designed to reduce the risk of burn-in. The M9 also features a Glare-Free display to minimise reflections and ensure consistent visibility and comfort — even in bright lighting conditions.[1]

 

The M9 is powered by AI Picture Optimiser, 4K AI Upscaling Pro[2] and Active Voice Amplifier (AVA) Pro, which work together to enhance picture and sound quality in real time based on content and surroundings. Whether users are watching, creating or multitasking, the display adapts automatically to deliver optimised performance.

 

The M9 also serves as a smart entertainment hub with access to popular streaming apps, Samsung TV Plus and Samsung Gaming Hub — which enables cloud-based gaming without a connected console or PC[3]. With a 165Hz refresh rate and a 0.03ms response time (GtG), the M9 supports smooth, fast-moving visuals ideal for high-performance use.[4]

 

The M9 features a slim metal design that blends premium aesthetics with functional form, creating a modern look that complements any workspace. The Smart Monitor M9 has also earned a Pantone Validated certification from Pantone. This certification highlights its advanced adaptive colour technology, which ensures an exceptional colour reproduction capability that meets Pantone’s rigorous standards for authentic colour that is nearly indistinguishable to the human eye under standard lighting conditions.[5]

 

 

Smart Monitor M8 (M80F) and M7 (M70F): Versatile Displays with AI Functionality and Enhanced Connectivity

 

 

The new Smart Monitor M8 and Smart Monitor M7 extend Samsung’s smart monitor experience to a broader audience, offering 32-inch 4K UHD screens with vibrant picture quality and built-in AI features. Equipped with Samsung’s advanced VA panel technology, both models deliver sharp detail and rich contrast, making them ideal for everyday productivity, streaming and much more. Tizen OS Home also personalises recommendations and makes it easier to access frequently used services and inputs.

 

Designed for flexibility, all three models – M9, M8, and M7 – integrate with SmartThings[6], support Multi Control[7] between Samsung devices and offer Multi View for side-by-side working or entertainment. With Microsoft 365[8] access, users can create and edit documents directly from the monitor without a PC, making the lineup a practical solution for modern work setups.

 

 

Availability

 

The Smart Monitor M9 (Silver), M8 (Black) and M7 (Black and White) are available in 32-inch screen sizes and will begin rolling out nationwide from today via Samsung’s Online Store and leading retailers. The Smart Monitor M7 will also be available in a 43-inch screen size (Black). Pricing is set at dealer discretion.

 

• Smart Monitor M90SF 32-inches (Silver). RRP: $2,499. Available via Samsung’s online store and retailers
• Smart Monitor M80F 32-inches (White). RRP: $999. Exclusive to Samsung’s online store
• Smart Monitor M70F 32-inches (White). RRP: $699. Exclusive to Samsung’s online store
• Smart Monitor M70F 32-inches (Black). RRP: $699. Available in leading retail stores
• Smart Monitor M70F 43-inches (Black). RRP: $849. Available in leading retail stores

 

Samsung offers up to seven years of One UI Tizen upgrades for the Smart Monitor lineup, allowing users to continue benefiting from the latest features and services over time.[9]

 

For more information about Samsung’s Smart Monitor lineup, please visit https://www.samsung.com/au/monitors/smart/

 

[1] The M9 has been independently verified as Glare Free: Reflection Glare UGR <10, Discomfort Glare UGR <22, Disability Glare UGR <34 by UL LLC. (UL Solutions), Certificate Number: V166045 – Exp. 31/12/2025

[2] Viewing experience may vary according to types of content and format. Upscaling may not apply to PC connection and Game Mode. Screen images simulated for illustrative purposes.

[3] A controller may be required depending on the specific game being played on the Gaming Hub.

Internet connection, additional gaming service subscriptions and third party apps (depending on game or service) may be required. Content services are subject to change without notice. Requires Samsung Account. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required. Fees apply.

[4] Refresh rate and response time may vary based on the performance of the input source. Based on GtG measured under internal test conditions. Results may vary by content and monitor settings. GtG (Grey to Grey) measures the time taken for a monitor pixel to change from one grey value to another.

[5] Validation for Monitor colour accuracy that expresses the same colour under standard light source (D65 based) with paper texture. (Error within ΔE ≤ 3.0 level that a person cannot feel colour difference).

[6] Available technology, functions and features may vary by country, service provider, network environment or product, and are subject to change without notice. Requires a Wi Fi, Bluetooth or other wireless network connection and devices registered to SmartThings app. Connected devices are sold separately. For full compatible device list, please check https://www.smartthings.com/au

[7] Each device must be registered with a single Samsung Account and connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Multi control requires updated Galaxy phones and tablets with One UI 5.1.1 or above and Galaxy Book series devices released in 2021 or later with Samsung Settings v1.5 (Intel) or Samsung Settings v3.3(ARM). Some functions (such as Copy & Paste or Drag & Drop) may not be available when using certain device models and apps. Feature availability may vary by region.

[8] Microsoft 365 requires Microsoft account. Some features of Microsoft 365 require subscription. Windows 10 Pro, Mac OS10.5 or higher, and compatible network settings are required for this feature.

[9] Free One UI Tizen upgrades are available for Smart Monitors models released in 2023 and onward. Content and services may vary by region and are subject to change without notice. Agreement to Smart Hub Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy is required before use. Some content and services require registration and subscription. Requires Samsung account. Tizen OS upgrades will be supported for up to 7 years starting from 2025, for products released in the year 2025. Please note that the upgrade does not cover hardware-related performance, features or durability.

Like Pudding Pops and Benetton sweaters, another 1980s icon is gone. After 40 years of delivering the tragic news of a PC crash to Windows users, Microsoft’s infamous “blue screen of death” is going away. A black screen of death will be replacing it, albeit without the sad face.

The blue screen of death has been around since Windows 1.0 came out in 1985. Named for its bright blue color, it’s a critical error screen that pops up on computers using the Microsoft Windows operating system when the system crashes. The text on the screen varies, but it’s sometimes accompanied by a frowning face made up of a colon and a left parenthesis. 🙁

Microsoft says the new black screen of death, which it calls a “simplified UI for unexpected restarts,” will appear in its place starting later this summer on all Windows 11, version 24H2 devices.

The black screen of death will show the stop code and faulty system driver, allowing IT admins to more quickly identify the issue that caused the crash, rather than having to use debugging software.

It’s not just a cosmetic change, it’s part of Microsoft’s Windows Resiliency Initiative, which is designed to increase resiliency and security in Windows systems. In a blog post on Thursday, Microsoft said that the new black screen of death is part of “streamlining the unexpected restart experience” and aiding in “quick machine recovery.” The aim is to reduce recovery time to 2 seconds following a PC crash.

The Windows Resiliency Initiative was launched following 2024’s CrowdStrike outage, which caused systems to go offline for numerous businesses, airports and governmental services. More than 8 million devices were affected.

A pop-culture icon

Over 40 years, the blue screen of death worked its way into pop culture, with plenty of memes, a subreddit devoted to it, and T-shirts and other items bearing its image. 

When Microsoft suffered a massive global IT outage due to a CrowdStrike security update in July 2024, one X user dubbed the day International BlueScreen Day, sharing a photo of a conference room full of laptops all showing the blue screen of death.

Something about the unmistakable blue color of the error screen mixed with the frowny emoticon — and the reminder that everyone’s computer crashed once in a while — made it an icon.

“I bought my husband a blue screen of death T-shirt and he wore it to work at Microsoft corporate headquarters back in the day,” CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper said. “I wondered for a minute if anyone would be offended, but the first day he wore it, multiple people came up to him in the cafeteria to compliment it and ask where they could buy one for themselves.”

Valve has added a new performance monitor to Steam that can help you understand why a game may or may not be running smoothly. Not only does it break out a game’s overall frame rate, it can tell you how many of those frames were generated by techniques like Nvidia’s DLSS or AMD’s FSR, according to a post.

The change is included as part of an update to the Steam Client that’s available now, though Valve notes that this “first version” focuses on “Windows users and on the most common GPU hardware.”

The company says the new performance monitor currently offers up to four different levels of detail: a single FPS value, FPS details, CPU and GPU utilization, and “FPS, CPU, GPU & RAM Full Details.” The more you choose to show, the more of your screen will be taken up by the performance monitor.

Steam previously offered a simple FPS counter, but separating out generated frames from the frames fully rendered by your graphics cores can help you better understand key differences between what you see and how a game feels. “Frame generation can’t help with things like input latency that matter to competitive gamers, but it can make things look visually smoother on today’s high refresh rate monitors,” Valve says in a detailed support document about the performance monitor.

In practice, what that should mean is that you can see whether your game feels like it’s running at just 30 fps because it actually is running at 30 fps inside the game engine, even though you’re seeing a visually smoother image due to Nvidia and AMD’s added “fake frames.” (It’s a whole debate in the PC gaming community, and it appears Valve isn’t taking sides here.)

Valve has already given handheld gamers a taste of these quick insights by building tools like MangoHud into the Steam Deck and SteamOS, which similarly let you monitor your CPU, graphics, RAM, and carefully ration out your battery life. But having a way to do so built into desktop Steam will make the insights much more accessible to many more gamers.

In the future, Valve says that it has plans to “add some additional pieces of data to the performance overlay going forward, to detect certain common bad hardware performance scenarios, and to show a larger summary of your game’s performance in the overlay itself when you hit shift-tab.”

It’s true: Apple’s iOS 26 (not iOS 19) is coming your way this fall with some cool new features you’ll want to try. For those of us who’ve been loyal to the iPhone for nearly two decades, we’re most excited about the fresh home and lock screen redesign. Dubbed Liquid Glass, the new look and feel will extend across all of Apple’s upcoming operating systems. The overhaul was one of several big changes coming to iOS, macOS, iPadOS and the rest of Apple’s software suite, all of which were showcased during the company’s WWDC keynote on June 9. If you’re a developer, you can check out the iOS 26 beta 2 now; the public beta coming in July.

After overpromising on AI plans last year, Apple kept its iOS roadmap focused more on basic quality of life improvements this year. There are multiple useful additions coming to the Phone and Messages apps on your iPhone, for instance: Apple execs outlined the ability to weed out spam texts or other unknown senders and an option to hold your spot on a phone call when you’ve been waiting for a representative to pick up. Plus, a treasured feature that we took for granted is coming back (hint: it’s in the Photos app).

Siri, meanwhile, is in a holding pattern. Apple has previously specified that its smarter voice assistant — first promised at WWDC 2024 — is delayed until some point “in the coming year,” so you shouldn’t expect any major changes in the current betas. But there are reports that Apple is aiming to give Siri a bigger brain transplant by basing it on third-party artificial intelligence models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude, which could make 2026 a pivotal year.

Keep reading to check out the most notable features coming to your iPhone this fall, according to Apple. Also, make sure your iPhone is eligible to download the iOS 26 update (thankfully, most recent models are).

What is iOS 26?

While the current iPhone operating system is iOS 18, Apple is skipping the numbering ahead to iOS 26 later this year. The company has decided to line up its iOS version numbers with a year-based system, similar to car model years. So while iOS and its sibling operating systems will be released in late 2025, they’re all designated “26” to reflect the year ahead. (Meanwhile, iOS 18 is still getting new versions this summer, too.)

What is Liquid Glass design?

Let’s be honest. Out of everything announced at WWDC this year, the new Liquid Glass design was the star of the show. The iPhone’s home and lock screens have looked pretty much the same year after year — the last exciting thing (in my opinion) was the option to add your own aesthetic to your home screen by customizing your apps and widgets. So seeing the home and lock screens’ new facelift is refreshing.

So what exactly is Liquid Glass? Apple calls it a “new translucent material” since, well, the apps and widgets are clear. However, the screen can still adapt to dark and light modes, depending on surroundings. You’ll also notice buttons with a new floating design in several apps, like Phone and Maps. They’re designed to be less distracting than the current buttons, but are still easy to see. While the design overhaul has proven to be controversial since its announcement, some — including Engadget’s own Devindra Hardawar — like the new direction, even if it’s somewhat reminiscent of Microsoft’s translucent Windows Vista Aero designs from nearly twenty years ago.

That said, as of the newly released iOS 26 beta 2, Apple has already incorporated some user feedback into the design, dialing back the transparency in at least some places. And while it will continue to evolve, Apple users won’t be able to escape it: Liquid Glass was designed to make all of Apple’s OSes more cohesive. Here’s a look at how the translucent aesthetic will look with the new macOS Tahoe 26 on your desktop.

What are the new and notable features of iOS 26?

iOS 26 has a laundry list of new features. Among the most worthwhile:

Phone app redesign: You’ll finally be able to scroll through contacts, recent calls and voicemail messages all on one screen. It also comes with a new feature called Hold Assist that’ll notify you when an agent comes to the phone so you can avoid the elevator music and continue on with other tasks.

Live Translation in Phone, FaceTime and Messages: iOS 26 is bringing the ability to have a conversation via phone call or text message with someone who speaks another language. Live Translation will translate your conversation in real time, which results in some stop-and-go interactions in the examples Apple shared during its presentation.

Polls in group chats: Tired of sorting through what seems like hundreds of messages in your group chat? You and your friends will soon be able to create polls in group messages for deciding things like which brunch spot you’re eating at or whose car you’re taking on a road trip.

Filtering unknown senders in Messages: If you haven’t received spam texts about unpaid tolls or other citations, you’re lucky. For those of us who have, those annoying messages will soon be filtered away in a separate folder.

Visual Intelligence: Similar to a reverse Google image search, this new feature will allow you to search for anything that’s on your iPhone screen. For instance, if you spot a pair of shoes someone is wearing in an Instagram photo, you can screenshot it and use Visual Intelligence to find those shoes (or similar ones) online.

Photos tabs are back: For anyone who’s still frustrated with the Photos changes made last year, you’ll be happy to know that your tabs are coming back. Library and Collections will have their own separate spaces so you don’t have to scroll to infinity to find what you’re looking for.

Which iPhones will be able to upgrade to iOS 26?

A few iPhone models that run the current version of iOS — iPhone XR, XS and XS Max — won’t be compatible with the latest upgrade. But any iPhones released in 2019 or later will be eligible for the iOS 26 update.

Not listed here are the presumed new iPhone 17 models (or maybe iPhone 26?) that are all but certain to be announced and released in September.

When will the iOS 26 beta be available?

If you’re a developer, you can check out the iOS 26 beta 2 now. The iOS 26 public beta will become available in July via the Apple Beta Software Program. If you’re not already a member, you’ll need to sign up to try out all the latest features. Just visit beta.apple.com and sign up with your phone number or email address. It’s free.

Once you’re in and the beta is available, you can install it by going to Settings > General > Software Update and selecting iOS 26 public beta.

A word of caution: Don’t sign up with your main iPhone unless you’re OK with any risks that occur with using an OS that isn’t finalized.

When will the final version of iOS 26 be released?

iOS 26 will be released to the public this fall. It usually comes in September, within a week of the Apple iPhone event. Last year, it rolled out to iPhone users on September 16 — exactly one week after the iPhone 16 lineup was announced.

If you’re more interested in the Apple Intelligence features coming, here’s everything Apple revealed for iOS, macOS and more during WWDC. Also, check out how iOS 26 screenshots could be an intriguing preview of Apple’s delayed Siri rework.

Update, June 30: Noted ongoing iOS 18 releases, and reports that Apple is considering additional external LLMs for Siri.

Update, June 25: Noted changes added in iOS 26 beta 2.

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