Category: 4. Technology

It took a minute, but Apple has at last activated its official Threads account. And thanks to its massive Instagram presence, it instantly picked up nearly 5 million followers.

Today’s move comes well after several Apple-related accounts joined Instagram’s alternative to X right out of the gate. Apple Music, Apple News, Apple Books, Shazam, and Beats by Dre were among the first to show up shortly after Threads launched in mid-2023, but the main @apple account remained absent until now.

Instant 4.8 million following

Despite having yet to post anything, Apple’s Threads debut already carries quite a bit of weight. The @apple account had over 4.8 million followers the moment it went live, thanks to Threads’ auto-follow feature for Instagram accounts. Given @apple’s massive Instagram presence, currently at over 34 million followers, the immediate boost isn’t surprising.

What makes the move notable is obviously the broader context. Apple has long maintained a strong presence on X, to the point of facing criticism in recent years.

Over there, it has nearly 10 million followers and continues to use the platform to promote events, ads, and product launches. The company has been quiet on alternative platforms like Mastodon, where only Phil Schiller, Apple Fellow and longtime marketing chief, maintains a personal presence.

9to5Mac’s take

Apple’s arrival on Threads may not signal a full-on platform shift just yet, but it does show the company is at least willing to play in the broader social network field. Whether that translates into actual posts, or even full-on marketing campaigns, remains to be seen.

Many companies have rushed to join new platforms, only to let them sit dormant after the initial wave of hype. Just today, The Telegraph published a story called “The Left is abandoning its online safe space“, to which social media consultant Matt Navarra noted:

Still, with Meta continuing to push Threads as a more stable alternative to X and, at the same time, signals it’s finally ready to move beyond being Instagram’s sidekick, Apple’s quiet entrance is worth noting.

Accessory deals on Amazon

• Anker 25,000mAh power bank, 100W, USB-C: $119.99
• Anker Foldable 3-in-1 wireless charger, 15W, Qi2: 20% off, at $71.99
• AirPods Pro 2: 20% off, at $199.00
• AirTag, 4 Pack: 24% off, at $74.99
• HomeKit Smart Plug, 15A, 4 Pack: 20% off, at $34.99

It’s nearly the end of the road for Warcraft Rumble. Blizzard has announced that it will no longer be developing new content for the free-to-play mobile strategy game, and instead focus on “regular, systemic in-game events and bug fixes.” The change comes as the rest of Microsoft’s business is in upheaval: The company is laying off as many as 9,000 employees across its global workforce.

Blizzard’s statement doesn’t get into the details of what motivated the decision, but is clear that Warcraft Rumble hasn’t been living up to expectations. The game “struggled to find its footing” relative to Blizzard’s ambitions, prompting the studio to explore different options to improve it over the last few years. “Some of that work showed signs of progress, but ultimately wasn’t enough to put the game on a path to sustainability,” Blizzard writes.

Warcraft Rumble was announced in 2019 as Warcraft Arclight Rumble. Much like Hearthstone, the game was a high-profile attempt to translate a popular Blizzard franchise into something that works on smartphones and tablets. Warcraft Rumble plays like a more flexible version of Clash Royale, where miniaturized armies face off in PVP or singe-player challenges, and the biggest strategic choices are when and where characters are placed.

Aftermath reports that winding down Warcraft Rumble is a direct result of the wider Microsoft layoffs effecting Blizzard. While some of the team who created new content for Rumble will be given new roles at the studio, others will be let go, according to a staff email sent by Blizzard president Johanna Fairies that Aftermath viewed. Blizzard’s public statement doesn’t acknowledge these layoffs beyond a mention that the studio is “focused on supporting [its] teammates,” which is telling in context.

While Warcraft Rumble will live on for now in a diminished state, some future Xbox games have been outright cancelled as a result of Microsoft’s restructuring, including Everwild and Perfect Dark. The bigger damage is the loss of talent. Greg Mayles, the lead designer on Donkey Kong Country and creative director of Sea of Thieves, is leaving Rare, according to Video Game Chronicle. ZeniMax Online Studios shared on X that director Matt Firor is also making an exit following the cancellation of the studio’s next MMO.

Microsoft’s layoff of roughly 9,000 employees is continuing to have downstream effects at the company’s subsidiaries. Aftermath reports that as many as 100 developers at Blizzard have been impacted, and as a result the studio is winding down development on its mobile tower defense game Warcraft Rumble.

In an announcement, Blizzard wrote that while the game will not be abandoned entirely, the company will cease development on any new content. “Moving forward, we’ll continue supporting Rumble with updates focused on regular, systemic in-game events and bug fixes, but no new content. ”

Blizzard continued, saying Rumble, “struggled to find its footing relative to our ambition for its long-term success.” And while its developers worked to respond to player feedback that, “ultimately wasn’t enough to put the game on a path to sustainability.”

Warcraft Rumble was the first mobile focused game in the Warcraft Universe. It launched in 2023 after nine years in development and was originally one of two mobile games Blizzard was working on, the other being Blizzard’s take on Pokémon Go. That game was never officially announced by Blizzard and cancelled sometime in 2022. Warcraft Rumble joins a handful of other Blizzard games in development stasis along with Starcraft II and Heroes of the Storm.

Smart glasses are among the latest and most interesting tech developments. They suit an audience of tech enthusiasts and photographers and can even help bridge the gap for those with visual impairment. Amazon took its stab at them, introducing the Echo Frames in 2019 and updating them periodically since. 

Also: The best Prime Day tech deals live now 

Luckily, Amazon is offering an early Prime exclusive bundle deal — even days ahead of Prime Day, which starts on July 8. For only $130, you can get the third generation of Echo Frames in any color, plus an Echo Spot. That’s an excellent offer, considering Amazon is selling the Echo Frames alone for $270. Amazon is also offering another Prime exclusive bundle at a discount. The Echo Frames and Echo Show 8 are on sale together for $240. 

A good way to describe the Echo Frames is as headphones with a little more utility. Besides wearing them for the aesthetic, the glasses offer many different features that substitute devices like your headphones or Bluetooth speaker and your Alexa devices.

Also: These smart glasses beat the Meta Ray-Bans in a few key ways

The glasses are still extremely capable. An Alexa assistant is available, and you can use it to listen to books, music, and podcasts, as the open-ear speakers direct sound to your ear while minimizing it for others around you. 

These frames are a good entry point into smart glasses, as the price is fair. However, the features are minimal compared to their competitors. For instance, the Echo Frames do not have a built-in camera. 

Also: The best Prime Day Echo device deals 

You can make calls, though, which would be a selling point for business professionals or those on the go. The glasses can also be used for controlling Alexa devices, like the Echo Spot, Amazon’s Alexa-enabled alarm clock, which comes with this bundle. 

Also: I took my Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses fly fishing, and they beat GoPro in several surprising ways

ZDNET expert Kerry Wan tested the Echo Frames and thought they were very convenient for daily use, especially for tasks like calling or listening to music while walking.

“Besides the smart features, I’ve also enjoyed listening to podcasts and making calls during my evening walks. Perhaps it’s the ability to listen to my on-device audio while staying aware of my surroundings, or the fact that the speakers on the Echo Frames favor the mid and high frequencies more than the bassy, engulfing lows,” he said. 

The Echo Frames are a great entry point into the world of smart glasses, and right now they’re much cheaper than a pair of Meta Ray-Bans. 

Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.

How I rated this deal 

With this deal you’re getting the Echo Frames at a significant discount, plus a free Echo Spot. We have factored in the 63% bundle discount, and have given this deal a 5/5 Editor’s deal rating. Not only is this a newer product with a price slash, but it also includes a compatible Alexa device. This deal would be great for those who want to try out new variations of tech without breaking the bank. 

There’s good news and bad news: The bad news is that Meta’s continued development of generative AI has led it to add a privacy nightmare setting to its Facebook app. The good news is that, in a big departure from Meta’s status quo, you have control over whether you participate.

It’s all about whether the company and its AI get access to your camera roll and all the pictures there, even the ones you haven’t posted anywhere.

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has been trying to keep up with AI heavyweights for the past few years in an ultracompetitive race to make the most advanced AI models. Meta distinguished itself by adding its AI to its social media apps, including Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger. Nowadays, most of us who use those apps have to interact with Meta AI, even if we don’t want to. 

The company also uses the social media posts that its adult users publicly share to train its AI. There is no way to opt out of training, though European users can object to their data being used thanks to more stringent privacy laws protecting them. For those of us who are concerned about AI systems eating up the content we share online, it’s been a nonstop headache.

So it’s not totally surprising to see this feature on Facebook. It’s called camera roll cloud processing, and Facebook says it’s a way to get more creative help when you share photos and videos. It pulls from your newer pictures, from the last 30 days or so, and recommends the best options, makes AI edits or entirely reimagines your photos with AI. It can also pull from your older photos for themed compilations like travel highlights, monthly recaps and birthday and special event content. You also get more ways to sort your photos and videos by topic and suggestions from Meta about the best photos to share.

Before you opt in, you need to understand the privacy implications.

Meta’s AI terms and how to access camera roll cloud processing

When you allow camera roll cloud processing, Meta can “automatically upload your photos and videos to our cloud so that we can create personalized creative ideas for you.” This is not the same as allowing Meta access to your camera roll so you can post photos and videos you took. If you enable this additional setting, Meta can upload your content to its cloud “on a regular basis to create ideas for you with machine learning and AI models.” Meaning Meta will have continual access to your photos, even if you don’t post them on Facebook or post the newly created suggestions.

A Meta spokesperson said, “We’re exploring ways to make content sharing easier for people on Facebook by testing suggestions of ready-to-share and curated content from a person’s camera roll. These suggestions are opt-in only and only shown to you — unless you decide to share them — and can be turned off at any time. Camera roll media may be used to improve these suggestions, but are not used to improve AI models in this test.”

The mobile app help page says that enabling this feature means you agree to Meta’s AI terms, and it says your photos won’t be used for advertising targeting. The feature is in early stages of testing for US- and- Canada based users, but it won’t be available for folks who live in Illinois or Texas. Your suggested photo won’t be shared automatically unless you choose to.

Here’s how to access the setting:

1. Open the Facebook app and tap Menu at the bottom right corner.
2. Tap the gear icon in the upper right corner. You can also scroll down to Settings & privacy and then navigate to Settings.
3. Tap Camera roll sharing suggestions.
4. Scroll to Get creative ideas made for you by allowing camera roll cloud processing.

This feature is currently only available on the iPhone or Android mobile apps. If you have this setting enabled but then change your mind, Meta’s help page says it will remove your content from its cloud after 30 days. There’s no way to confirm its removal, though.

For more, check out how to stay relatively safe while using AI models.

A mandatory update for Google’s mid-range Pixel 6A phones is coming next week that is meant to reduce the risk of the battery overheating on some devices. According to a support page post, Google is issuing the mandatory Android 16 update starting July 8 to all Pixel 6A devices. However, only users with “Impacted Devices” will see any effect on their battery.

Google says affected users will get a notification when the phone has completed 375 cycles, giving them a heads-up that the new battery management features will be activated soon. Once these management tools are in effect, the battery won’t last as long between charges.

According to Google, users may see other changes, “like reduced charging performance or short-term changes to how the battery-level indicator on your phone shows your battery capacity as your phone learns its revised battery capacity.” It’s not clear why some Pixel 6A phones are affected and others aren’t, but if yours is, Google is offering free battery replacement — you can check here to see if you’re eligible.

The company has already dealt with a similar issue on the Pixel 4A, offering owners a free battery replacement or a $100 credit towards a new phone. It currently has an extended repair program for battery swelling issues on the Pixel 7A.

We’re past the halfway mark of 2025, and Apple still has a lot of big plans for the year. In addition to major software updates like iOS 26, there are 15+ new Apple products in the pipeline that are expected to launch before the year ends. Here’s everything that’s coming.

iPhone 17 family

After years of fairly iterative iPhone updates, this year’s iPhone 17 lineup is set to elicit a lot more hype. The Plus model is out, replaced by a new iPhone Air, and there’s even potential for a rebranding of the Pro Max to give us the first iPhone Ultra.

M5 Macs and iPads

Apple has already launched several new iPads and Macs this year, but there’s more on the way, including the debut of the first products with an M5 chip.

• M5 MacBook Pro: Same basic design, but with M5, M5 Pro, and M5 Max configs.
• M5 iPad Pro: M5 chip and optimized for iPadOS 26’s multitasking upgrades.
• New Mac Pro: M3 Ultra like this year’s Mac Studio, and slim chance of a redesigned case.

Big wearables upgrades for Apple Watch and AirPods

Apple’s lineup of wearables is expected to get some strong updates this fall, largely due to the arrival of much-anticipated new versions of the Apple Watch Ultra, and likely new AirPods Pro.

Apple Home products

Apple has big ambitions for the smart home, but they’ve hit a snag due to ongoing Siri upgrade delays. Before the year’s out though, we’ll see at least two new Home products launch—and very possibly three.

• New Apple TV 4K: Likely Apple Intelligence capable, with upgraded A-class chip.
• HomePod mini 2: New Wi-Fi modem, enhanced compatibility with other Home products.
• ‘HomePad’: Smart home command center running homeOS, timing is TBD.

Everything else from Apple

What else is left? Just a few solid revisions for some of Apple’s other products.

• AirTag 2: New Ultra Wideband chip with improved range, plus stronger privacy features.
• M5 Vision Pro: Likely just a spec bump with the new M5 chip and minimal other changes.
• Studio Display 2: Same 27-inch size, but with MiniLED technology and likely camera improvements.

What other new Apple products could launch this year?

Rumors indicate the entire list of new products above is likely to launch this year, or very shortly afterwards. But are there any other launch possibilities?

One wildcard involves a very niche, rarely updated Apple product: the Pro Display XDR.

Reports indicate Apple may be preparing a Pro Display XDR 2 for later this year or shortly thereafter, which could pair nicely with the new Mac Pro launch.

In any case, with the many Apple products outlined above expected to launch this year, it should make for an especially exciting year for new hardware.

Which of this year’s new Apple products are you planning to buy? Let us know in the comments.

Best iPhone accessories

The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support.

In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with “significant” new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you send text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable. This feature will work without an iPhone, he said.

Gurman also expects the Apple Watch Ultra 3 to support a special version of 5G for smartwatches. The existing Ultra models support LTE.

Last year, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 received a black titanium case option, but otherwise the Ultra model has not received any hardware upgrades since 2023.

Other likely upgrades for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 include an S10 chip or newer, faster charging, and a wide-angle OLED display that is brighter when viewed from an angle and offers a higher refresh rate for the always-on display mode. All of these improvements were already introduced on the Apple Watch Series 10 last year.

In March, Gurman said Apple was still experiencing issues with a planned blood pressure monitoring feature for the Apple Watch, so it is unclear if that will be ready in time for the Ultra 3, which should launch in a little over two months from now.

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