Category: 4. Technology

Apple last month announced its latest update for MacOS 26, codenamed “Tahoe.” It’s full of new visual design elements like Apple’s Liquid Glass design theme, better integration with the iPhone, and a more robust Spotlight feature that’s better integrated with Shortcuts. 

The theme of all of Apple’s updates this year is streamlining both the visual UI and feature sets across Apple devices, while making more apps and features available on them, punctuated by Apple Intelligence. 

Also: The best MacBooks of 2025: Expert tested and reviewed

Following the same trajectory as the last few years, Apple’s announcement of MacOS 26 comes during WWDC, with a developer beta opening up now, and a public beta likely sometime this month. The full release of MacOS 26 won’t be out until this fall, however. 

Let’s take a look at the biggest announcements Apple made for MacOS. 

1. The Phone app on Mac

The Phone app has finally arrived on MacOS, allowing for a more streamlined user experience between your iPhone and computer. Users can now access recent calls and contacts synced from your iPhone, and make calls with a single click in the same way. What’s more, the Phone app will include the new features added in iOS 26, including Hold Assist and Call Screening. 

Also: New to MacOS? 8 beginner tips and tricks to try first – and why

In addition to calls and contacts, live activities from the iPhone will be visible on your Mac, such as tracking an Uber or a delivery from Seamless. Clicking on the live activity will open up iPhone Mirroring, which will allow you to take action directly from your Mac. 

2. Liquid Glass and visual consistency

Apple dropped a major visual overhaul for iOS with its Liquid Glass design theme, and many of those updates are filtering over to MacOS, streamlining the user experience across devices. 

The dock, sidebars, and toolbars have been redesigned in the same translucent aesthetic that’s intended to show more content on screen without UI clutter. In addition, the rounded elements and added dimensionality look a lot more like what you’d see on the iPhone. Customization also allows you to adjust the control center in the same way as the iPhone

Also: What is Liquid Glass? Here’s everything we know about Apple’s major UI overhaul at WWDC

Just like the iPhone, Macs will support additional personalization options, including dark or light mode, an all-clear icon, and dock theme, as well as customized color tones. This customization extends to folder icons themselves, with colors, themes, and even emojis. 

3. Shortcuts and Spotlight get smarter 

MacOS 26 adds a handful of smart integrations for the Spotlight feature. Instead of just being a simple search bar, Apple’s updates to Spotlight make it into a more powerful control panel that works with Shortcuts and can take app-specific actions, while powered by Apple Intelligence. 

For example, during the WWDC keynote, we saw a demo in a photo editing app, with the user adjusting the color tone by searching for that function in the Spotlight. In a complex app like Photoshop, for example, if you can’t find a specific function, Spotlight could step in to act as a top-level search function. 

Also: Apple’s secret sauce is exactly what AI is missing

In supporting additional productivity features, Spotlight will also contain clipboard history and allow you to create automations in conjunction with Apple Intelligence to make complex actions like summarizing text or creating images. You can access Apple Intelligence models on your device or ChatGPT. 

Spotlight will also support a handful of shortcut Quick keys, such as “sm” for “send message,” for example. That opens a thread where you can send a message directly from the Spotlight app itself, without swapping to Messages. 

4. Apple Intelligence, of course 

Some of the Apple Intelligence features that debuted on the iPhone will now be available in MacOS, including a more robust, personalized Siri, and a smarter Shortcuts app. 

Apple is also opening up MacOS 26 so third-party developers can start creating apps that actually integrate with Apple Intelligence. It’s a smart move, allowing some breathing room to further innovate on its own AI features (which some say have fallen behind competitors’) while allowing external developers to bring useful AI functions to the Mac. 

5. Apple Games 

Coinciding with the launch of the Games app on the iPhone, we’re also seeing Games come to MacOS 26 as a dedicated store, launcher, and leaderboard. The Games app also brings an overlay showing system settings like low power mode, as well as online friends and communications.

Metal 4 comes to MacOS 26 as well, offering higher quality graphics with MetalFX Frame Interpolation and MetalFX Denoising for smoother visuals and faster frame rates.

Let’s talk compatibility 

All of these updates sound great, but not every Mac will be compatible with MacOS 26 Tahoe. Older Macs with Intel processors, unfortunately, will not support the new OS version. This means any Mac with an M1 processor or later will run MacOS 26, but most devices from before the 2020 mark will not. 

Also: Your Apple Watch is getting a major upgrade. Here are the best features in WatchOS 26

This move all but seals the deal on phasing out older Intel-based models, something we’ve been expecting from Apple for a while. If you do have a Mac computer with an Intel processor, you can still run the previous MacOS, Sequoia, or its predecessor, Sonoma, depending on how old your device is. 

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This isn’t the first time scientists have created spongy materials that use sunlight as a sustainable energy source for cleaning or desalinating water. For example, a loofah-inspired hydrogel with polymers inside its pores was tested on chromium-contaminated water and, when heated by the sun, the hydrogel quickly released a collectible, clean water vapor through evaporation. But while hydrogels are squishy and liquid-filled, aerogels are more rigid, containing solid pores that can transport liquid water or water vapor. Aerogels have been tested as a means of desalination, but they are limited by their evaporation performance, which declines as the size of the material increases. So, Xi Shen and colleagues wanted to design a porous desalination aerogel that maintained its efficiency at different sizes.

The researchers made a paste containing carbon nanotubes and cellulose nanofibers and then 3D-printed it onto a frozen surface, allowing each layer to solidify before the next was added. This process formed a sponge-like material with evenly distributed tiny vertical holes, each around 20 micrometers wide. They tested square pieces of the material, ranging in size from 0.4 inches wide (1 centimeter) to about 3 inches wide (8 centimeters), and found that the larger pieces released water through evaporation at rates as efficient as the smaller ones.

In an outdoor test, the researchers placed the material in a cup containing seawater, and it was covered by a curved, transparent plastic cover. Sunlight heated the top of the spongy material, evaporating just the water, not the salt, into water vapor. The vapor collected on the plastic cover as liquid, moving the now clean water to the edges, where it dripped into a funnel and container below the cup. After 6 hours in natural sunlight, the system generated about 3 tablespoons of potable water.

“Our aerogel allows full-capacity desalination at any size,” Shen says, “which provides a simple, scalable solution for energy-free desalination to produce clean water.”

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong SAR, the Environment and Conservation Fund of Hong Kong SAR, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Summary

• Limited 2026 model features exclusive grey/yellow design and aero upgrades
• 416 hp turbo engine, 0–60 mph in 4.0 seconds with drift mode
• Launches early 2026 in the U.S. with enhanced interior and standard equipment

Mercedes-AMG has announced the CLA 45 S “Final Edition”, a high-performance sendoff for the compact sport sedan, arriving in limited numbers to U.S. dealerships in early 2026. Finished in MANUFAKTUR Mountain Grey Magno, the Final Edition features bold black and yellow graphics, 19-inch matte black forged wheels with yellow accents and exclusive aerodynamic enhancements from AMG’s wind tunnel testing.

Under the hood, the hand-built 2L turbocharged AMG engine delivers 416 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque, launching the car from 0–60 mph in 4.0 seconds. Power is distributed via an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission and AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive with torque vectoring and drift mode capability.

Inside, the Final Edition sports AMG Performance seats wrapped in black MB-Tex and microfiber with yellow contrast stitching, matching details on the dashboard, doors and AMG Performance steering wheel. Unique badging, yellow-stitched floor mats and illuminated yellow AMG door sills round out the design.

With extensive standard equipment including the AMG Night Package Plus and Aerodynamics Package Plus, the CLA 45 S “Final Edition” aims to offer both track-ready performance and refined exclusivity, marking the end of an era for AMG’s compact powerhouse.

KRK introduces the Kreate Series Studio Monitors, the newest addition to the brand’s wide range of audio offerings. The Kreate monitors bring extraordinary value and legendary KRK monitoring performance to emerging musicians, engineers, producers, and content creators. These best-in-class two-way studio monitors are designed specifically to meet the diverse needs of creatives, providing the tools necessary to reproduce every nuance of a production with astonishing clarity and accuracy. From casual playback to professional music and content production, the Kreate Series is designed to perform. The Kreate line is available through select dealers and online at krkmusic.com.

As the brand’s newest studio monitor line, the KRK Kreate Series represents KRK’s continued commitment to innovation, accessibility, and excellence, supporting a wide range of setups and needs. Great for mixing, producing, and content creation, the Kreate monitors have a variety of key features that stand out among other monitors in their class. This includes wireless audio streaming capabilities with a pairable Bluetooth® audio input alongside balanced and unbalanced analog inputs for flexible connectivity. The monitors also have a universal voltage, switch-mode power supply for seamless global operations.

Available in three sizes — three, five, and eight-inch — these entry-level active, two-way studio reference monitors feature a wide bandwidth, boundary and tuning EQs, new transducer designs, and Class D amplification. The Kreate Series also features useful acoustic boundary correction and tuning EQ combinations to help minimize and correct acoustic environment problems and dial in the voicing to meet specific application needs.

“The Kreate Series offers professional-grade sound and flexible functionality that empowers emerging artists, producers, podcasters, and all creators to embrace high-quality audio at an affordable price point,” says Sterling Doak, Senior Director of Marketing for Gibson. “The monitors fill a vital space in the KRK lineup and are ideal for those who demand quality without compromise. As the new introductory solution within the portfolio, the Kreate Series will enable users to begin their creative journey with confidence.”

With KRK Kreate, composite woven glass fiber cone woofers provide amazing dynamics with good damping and modal control to deliver tight and punchy mid and low-frequency response that’s perfect for casual and professional playback environments. The glass fiber structure is heat-resistant and features a high strength-to-weight ratio, ensuring the monitors are highly adaptable and sonically accurate.

Additionally, high-frequency reproduction emanates from a carefully designed woven-textile dome tweeter with a neodymium motor, which accurately extends the frequency range up to 40 kHz in the KRK Kreate 8 and 5 options, and up to 33 kHz in the 3 option, for a smoother, more detailed sound profile. The textile dome tweeters are used to create a smooth accurate response.

Furthermore, the system-tuning level control and low-frequency and high-frequency shelving filters allow for easy adjustment in various acoustic conditions. Hybrid Class D and Class AB amplification delivers power and headroom with excellent dynamics reproduction. The high-performance transducers are optimized for improved response and accuracy. For maximum transient response and dynamics reproduction, the amplifiers drive the transducers efficiently at reduced operating temperatures to ensure audio integrity during long work sessions.

The monitors are launching in KRK’s signature black/yellow and latte/black color scheme, with the Kreate 3 models sold as a pair and the Kreate 5 and Kreate 8 options priced individually. The series also continues KRK’s visual branding evolution, with packaging and stylization that closely align with other monitors from the brand’s product portfolio.

Motorola has announced the launch of two new smartphones, the motorola razr 60 and motorola edge 60 pro, in Australia.

Both devices showcase updated features, enhanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, and improvements in hardware and design compared to previous models.

Device features

The motorola razr 60 is engineered for compactness and durability, featuring a titanium-reinforced hinge that is reported to be up to four times stronger than surgical-grade stainless steel. The device’s foldable design includes a 3.6-inch external display that allows access to apps without unfolding the phone. Durability testing indicates the razr 60 can withstand up to 35% more folds than its predecessor.

The new Air Gesture feature on the razr 60 enables users to start, stop, and pause video recording with hand movements, supporting hands-free selfies and content creation. The camera system comprises a 50MP main sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS), a 13MP ultrawide and macro vision lens, and a 32MP front-facing camera. The razr 60 is also one of the first foldable smartphones to include a Pantone-validated display and camera.

The motorola edge 60 pro is designed with high-performing users in mind, equipped with a quad-camera system incorporating a Sony LYTIA sensor, a MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Extreme chipset, and 12GB of RAM. The device has a 6.7-inch pOLED HDR10+ display with a peak brightness of 4,500 nits. It offers a battery capacity of 6,000mAh, supports 90W TurboPower fast charging, and has received the Gold Label in battery performance from DXOMARK, along with a top global ranking for smartphone battery endurance.

The edge 60 pro also prioritises device endurance, featuring military-grade durability and IP68/IP69 water and dust resistance. Its display supports DCI-P3 wide colour range and Pantone-curated colours.

AI capabilities

Both devices are equipped with Motorola’s moto ai, which includes features such as Next Move and Playlist Studio. Moto ai is designed to assist users by providing real-time, contextual suggestions based on on-screen content. For example, Next Move can prompt users to save event dates or generate personalised images inspired by an activity. Moto ai is also involved in improving camera performance and supports Google Circle to Search and Gemini Live functionalities.

Praveena Raman, Country General Manager for Australia and New Zealand said, “We’re proud to continue leading the flip phone category and beyond, with devices that aren’t just well designed, but also smart – they bring meaningful AI features to Australians, that genuinely enhance daily life. Whether it’s anticipating your next move, generating the perfect playlist, or summarising your day, we’ve made sure moto ai1 genuinely makes life easier.”

In discussing the distinct qualities of the new launches, Raman also stated, “Additionally, the motorola razr 60 is a perfect example of how we’re combining iconic design with intelligent innovation, delivering a foldable experience that’s functional and fashionable, while the motorola edge 60 pro follows the success of its predecessor, featuring AI-powered enhancements and a refined design that lives up to our promise: every detail considered, every angle covered.”

Availability and pricing

Both the motorola razr 60 and motorola edge 60 pro are being released at the same recommended retail price of AUD $1,199. The razr 60 is available in Pantone Gibraltar Sea and Pantone Parfait Pink, exclusively through JB Hi-Fi. The edge 60 pro comes in Pantone Shadow and Pantone Sparkling Grape, with colour options depending on the retailer. The edge 60 pro will be available at JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Officeworks, The Good Guys, Mobileciti, Amazon, and Motorola’s Australian online store.

The devices are available for pre-sale and in-store from 10 July.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 series isn’t expected to arrive before 2026, but rumors about the lineup have been floating on the internet for some time now, with the latest talk centered around the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s battery capacity and primary camera.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra packed a 5,000 mAh battery, and according to GalaxyClub and UniverseIce, that’s not changing with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, with the latter claiming that while the battery capacity remains the same, the energy density has been increased, making S26 Ultra’s 5,000 mAh battery smaller than the S25 Ultra’s. UniverseIce also states that the S26 Ultra could charge faster, but doesn’t provide specifics. The S25 Ultra charges at up to 45W.

I speculate that the battery of Samsung S26 Ultra has increased energy density, and the 5000mAh battery is smaller in size, but Samsung did not use the extra space to increase the battery, but continued to reduce the thickness of the body. I also think that the charging power of…

— PhoneArt (@UniverseIce) July 2, 2025

Regarding the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s primary camera, GalaxyClub claimed that it will have a 200MP resolution, like the S25 Ultra, but it’s unclear whether the camera will use a new sensor.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

The Galaxy S26 series won’t be unveiled before January 2026, so expect to hear more about the lineup in the coming months.