Category: 4. Technology

SHENZHEN, China, July 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On July 1, JMGO, a leader in optical technology, officially unveiled the PicoPlay series, a new line of coffee-cup-sized portable projectors built for modern lifestyles. The series features two models, PicoPlay and PicoPlay+, each combining compact form, powerful projection, and integrated social entertainment tools.

The PicoPlay series is now available on Amazon and will soon be launched on offline retail channels across Europe. Both devices are designed to cater to the growing demand for flexible, on-the-go streaming and immersive visual experiences, all without the bulk of traditional projectors.

Both models deliver high-definition 1080P projection using DLP technology, supported by 400–450 ISO lumens of brightness. This enables sharp, vibrant visuals that significantly outperform conventional 100–200-lumen projectors. Integrated with official Google TV, the projectors offer access to over 10,000 apps and more than 700,000 movies and shows, with intuitive content recommendations and low-lag streaming performance.

Designed for seamless usability, the PicoPlay series introduces a simplified control interface featuring an action button for app shortcuts and touch controls for fast navigation, even in the absence of a remote. The auto-keystone adjustment is powered by a gimbal-inspired design that auto-focuses and aligns the image as the projector is tilted or moved. This hands-free calibration ensures instant setup with no manual adjustment required.

The series goes further in transforming entertainment into a social experience. Its Bluetooth speaker mode allows 360° music playback, while a Vertical Play feature optimizes TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts for large-screen vertical viewing. Enhancing the ambiance, colorful ambient lights and soft shadow filters create dynamic visual effects that sync with music or elevate a room’s atmosphere, whether for winding down or hosting a party.

Measuring just 85mm in diameter and weighing no more than 0.74kg, the PicoPlay series is engineered for portability. Both models are compatible with JMGO’s Power Bank Stand, a sleek, all-black accessory that functions as a projector stand and provides up to four hours of battery-powered runtime, making the projectors ideal for parties, outdoor events, or movie nights off the grid.

About JMGO

Founded in 2011, JMGO has consistently aimed at creating immersive large-screen experiences that blend portability with cutting-edge design and performance capabilities. By leveraging advanced optical technology, this brand continues its commitment toward delivering versatile home entertainment solutions suitable for audiences worldwide.

For more information, please visit https://global.jmgo.com/, or follow JMGO at https://www.instagram.com/jmgo_official/.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2723371/1_PC_KV.jpg

As smart technology becomes more common in our homes, it’s starting to influence our everyday family life in unexpected ways. Smart AI software and hardware like Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri, or Google Assistant have become familiar household voices by answering questions, playing music, setting alarms, or even helping with homework. For most adults, these AI-powered assistants are helpful, convenient, and sometimes also entertaining.

But for toddlers, who are still figuring out how the world works, these mysterious voices from a speaker can be scarier than entertaining. Unlike adults, young children are used to associating voices with visible people. When a device suddenly talks in a robotic tone without any face or body, it can be both confusing and scary.Recently, a new trend has taken off on social media, where short videos of toddlers getting frightened by voice assistants have gone viral.

Toddlers terrified by AI voices

One of the most viral Reels on Instagram of this trend was posted by creator Kyle Frisbey, known as @nightgod333. The video shows a series of toddlers reacting with confusion, fear, and even sobbing when smart assistants suddenly speak out loud. Some kids jump in shock, others start crying, while parents, who are usually off-camera can be heard laughing.In the caption, Kyle raises a curious point: “Are we missing something?” He suggests that it may not just be the voice, but possibly deeper, like “some frequency changes” that might be triggering this strong reaction in young children.

Social media reacts

While the video gained thousands of views and shares, the internet wasn’t entirely happy. According to comments under the post, many parents expressed discomfort about sharing such private and emotional moments online just for likes. One user wrote, “This feels wrong — laughing while your kid is clearly scared isn’t funny.” Others, however, found humor in the innocence of the reactions.On some parenting pages like Reddit and Quora, many moms and dads shared some reactions. Some said their toddlers were scared by the “mechanical tone” of the assistants, especially when giving reminders or answering questions. Others shared that the fear seemed to fade as their children got older and began to understand that the device was just a machine.With smart speakers becoming a common part of modern households, moments like these are likely to happen. While they can make for funny videos, it’s also a reminder that children experience technology differently than adults do.

The signs of a slowdown in growth have been evident in recent data on music consumption.

Now the latest figures from the BPI confirm that the market momentum is slowing in the UK, where single digit growth rates for streaming now appear to be the new normal.

According to the half-year market figures (based on Official Charts Company data), streaming consumption (SEA – streaming equivalent albums) was up 6.4% year-on-year in the first six months of 2025 to 93,632,987 units. The rate of growth has slowed during the course of the year with streaming consumption up 6.3% year-on-year in Q2, compared with 6.6% in Q1.

It means the market will have to really motor in the rest of the year if it’s to even come close to matching the 11% year-on-year SEA growth in 2024. That was consistent with the 11% growth at the mid-way point of 2024.

The overall music consumption results (Album Equivalent Sales – AES) across all formats for the half-year period showed an increase of 5.2%. Again, momentum was slowing in Q2 with a year-on-year increase of 4.3% compared to 6.2% in Q1.

The AES overall market results for the first half of 2025 compares with a 9.8% increase for the first six months of 2024. The overall result for 2024 was almost identical at 9.7%.

The BPI results for the UK coincide with a new report from industry analysts MIDiA, which found that the global music industry is “navigating a crucial period of recalibration”. It follows MIDiA’s warning on slowing growth earlier this year.

MIDiA Research Global Music Forecasts 2025-2032 report stated that 2024 marked a year of “tempered growth”, with global recorded music revenues up by a modest 4.5%.

Despite the near-term slowdown, the long-term outlook remains positive, according to the report. Retail revenues will reach $110.8 billion by 2032, surpassing the $100bn mark in 2030. Label trade revenues are expected to reach $58.2bn by 2032.

As streaming user growth slows in the West, getting music consumers to spend more is going to be central to revenue growth

Mark Mulligan

“As streaming user growth slows in the West, getting music consumers to spend more is going to be central to revenue growth,” said Mark Mulligan, managing director and senior music analyst at MIDiA Research. “The question is whether consumers have an appetite for spending that matches the industry’s expectations, which is why continued diversification of income will be so important for long term market growth.” 

PHYSICAL SALES

The upbeat story about physical album sales in the past year has also taken a knock with these latest results.

Physical sales are back into negative territory with the half-year numbers. Overall physical sales for the first six months are down 4.7% year-on-year to 7,664,596 units. While that’s not disastrous, the Q2 results for physical were dreadful – down 14.5% year-on-year – and that has dragged the half-year result down. Just three months ago, the physical sector was still buoyant with unit sales growth of 5.7%.

The main reason for the decline was an eye-watering 22.4% slump in CD sales in Q2 (and the format is down 12.8% so far this year). Last summer there had been talk of a CD revival.

Worryingly, vinyl sales are wobbling so far in 2025. While they were up 6% year-on-year to 3,235,244 units for the first six months, that compares to growth of 12.4% at this time last year (and 9.1% overall in 2024).

The real concern is that vinyl sales were down in Q2 by 2.8% year-on-year (1,532,884), despite another successful edition of Record Store Day during the quarter.

However, a one-off factor in that decline may be the absence of a Taylor Swift album in 2025. In Q2 of 2024, Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department moved 180,236 physical copies (109,392 CDs, 66,388 vinyl albums, 4,457 cassettes) in week one alone. That 66,388 for TTPD’s vinyl sales in the opening week outstrips the 43,979 decline in Q2 2025 vinyl units compared to the prior year quarter.

Nevertheless, it means that vinyl growth can no longer be taken for granted. 

HALF-YEAR CHART RESULTS

Alex Warren’s long-running No.1 Ordinary (Atlantic) was the biggest song of the first half of 2025 with consumption of 1,095,807 (Official Charts Company) – the only million-seller of the year so far. 

Messy (Island) by Lola Young, which was No.1 overall in Q1, is in second place with 996,063 units – although it has total consumption of 1,174,749 when counting streaming for the track in 2024.

Chrystal is the only other UK artist in the Top 10 (No.7, 680,923) with The Days (Chaos/Polydor), though RCA’s streaming sensation Myles Smith secures two entries in the year-to-date Top 20 with Nice To Meet You (No.19, 505,924) and Stargazing (No.20, 476,805). Stargazing has consumption to date of 1,489,504.

In the albums chart, Sabrina Carpenter is on top overall for the half-year with Short ’N Sweet (Polydor) on 347,717 units in 2025 (720,673 to date). With a follow-up album, Man’s Best Friend, out in August there’s a strong possibility that Carpenter could have two of the biggest albums of 2025.

Atlantic-signed Ed Sheeran is at No.2 with +–=÷× (Tour Collection) on 216,299 units so far this year. Sheeran, who has lined up new studio album Play for Q4, is one of five UK acts in the Top 10 (including Anglo-Americans Fleetwood Mac at No.4). 

Sam Fender’s album People Watching (Polydor) is at No.3 overall (188,682 units), making it the biggest new release of 2025.

He is joined by fellow UK acts Elton John with Diamonds (EMI/UMR) at No.8 (152,094 units this year) and Charli XCX’s Brat at No.9 (143,827 units this year).

As well as Top 10 album appearances for the half-year by The Weeknd, Chappell Roan and SZA, Tate McRae is just outside at No.11 with So Close To What (139,279). Released via Sony Music’s Ministry Of Sound, the Q1 album release has actually gained momentum in Q2 where it finished at No.7 overall.

Ahead of their comeback tour, Oasis also had a strong result in Q2 with a No.5 finish for Time Flies – 1994-2009 (Big Brother) on consumption of 74,001 in the quarter.

PHOTO: Banquet

Here are our biggest watch moments of May and June.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson bonds with Omega

On May 22, Omega announced Aaron Taylor-Johnson as its newest ambassador. The British actor is known for playing Pietro Maximoff in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, winning a Golden Globe in 2017 for playing Ray Marcus in Nocturnal Animals, and more recently for his trifecta of roles in 2024: The Fall Guy, Nosferatu and Kraven The Hunter.

More recently, as Amazon takes the reins of the Bond franchise, an Omega Seamaster Chronograph appeared in the trailer for 007 First Light, a video game slated for release on the PlayStation 5 next year.

The timing of Omega’s announcement of Taylor-Johnson as its new ambassador has led to speculation that the actor would be taking up the mantle of 007, especially after he visited the Omega headquarters sporting an Omega Seamaster First Omega in Space. He seems a perfect fit for the role, with a long CV in the action and romance genres. However, it’s all purely speculation at this stage.

Urban Jürgensen roars back to life

Samsung has released the Android 16-based One UI 8 beta for its flagships, but it’s yet to complete the rollout of One UI 7, which is based on Android 15. The Korean brand has been expanding the rollout of stable One UI 7 for its Galaxy devices, and the latest device to receive the One UI 7 stable update is the Samsung Galaxy A06 4G.

Samsung Galaxy A06

The One UI 7 stable update for the Galaxy A06 4G comes with firmware version A065FXXU4BYF6 and requires a download of around 3GB. In addition to bringing UI redesign and new features, One UI 7 also brings the dated May 2025 Android security patch to the Samsung Galaxy A06 4G.

Samsung Galaxy A06 4G

The update is seeding in Asian countries, including the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. If you haven’t received it yet, you can check for it manually by navigating to your Galaxy A06 4G’s Settings > Software update menu.

Via

Faster. Better. Smarter. Smoother.

What might sound like a Daft Punk lyric has become something of an anthem for tech startups. In recent years, a strong proportion of the pitches I’ve reviewed have been for startup ideas focused on incremental gains. Think faster versions of existing tools, smoother, more interoperable systems, and any other kind of upgrade ending in “-er”.

Of course, aiming for better is no bad thing. By improving on great ideas, we can drive progress and develop more tailored solutions. And there have been brilliant, highly successful businesses that have emerged as a result of this philosophy: zoning in on a need and applying tech or better design to make it more efficient, effective or enjoyable.

But, as I covered in my recent piece on moat building, the rise of vibe coding and open-source AI means being the ‘best version right now’ is no longer defensible as a long-term strategy. Betting on being the next best upgrade is a losing game. It leaves your offering just one fix or disrupter away from being replaced.

That’s why VCs like me are turning away from “incremental improvers” in favour of paradigm-shifting experiences; startups who are building something genuinely novel with a user experience that’s 5 or even 10 times better. So if you’re a founder hoping to attract investment, here are three things you can do to demonstrate that you’re more than a fixer-upper.

1. Disrupt, don’t decorate

The idea that ‘disruptors’ have the greatest potential for long-term impact is nothing new. But now, in a market increasingly saturated by ‘add-on’ technology, it’s more important than ever that founders distinguish themselves from what’s already out there.

That means daring to imagine where technology is heading, not just where it is today. Startups able to do this have a much greater shot at reaching and dominating untapped markets. Revolut’s $48 billion valuation and Airbnb’s $11bn annual revenue didn’t come from minor upgrades or applying a bit of polish around the edges. They’re the achievements of founders who believed that things could be done differently to deliver a customer experience that was unlike anything else. And then built platforms that made it a reality.

Perhaps you’re disrupting an industry because you’ve lived its challenges first-hand. This was the case for Molly Johnson-Jones, who co-founded Flexa (an Ada portfolio company) after being fired for asking to work from home while managing a chronic health condition. Today, millions of people use the platform to access transparent, verified information on different working environments and cultures, so candidates can find roles that actually work for them. With no predecessor and no playbook, Flexa has carved out a category of its own and become indispensable to modern jobseekers.

Or maybe you’re introducing much-needed digital solutions to fix an age-old analogue problem. Take Patchwork Health for example. Founded by two NHS doctors who were frustrated by the relentless pressure and lack of flexibility on the frontline, their digital workforce management tools are making sustainable staffing a reality in healthcare. Patchwork’s tech-led approach includes an app which lets clinicians book shifts, request holiday and manage their own schedules all in one place. Meanwhile, managers can view staffing trends and fill vacancies through the same platform. This isn’t just an upgrade, it’s a huge step in modernising a process that’s long been held back by archaic systems, siloed data and painstaking admin.

So if you find yourself saying ‘we’re the next [insert successful company],’ it’s worth asking: am I a disruptor, or merely a decorator neatly papering over cracks?

2. Uncover, then unlock

Fixer-upper founders jostle for space in a market. Real disruptors prise open the doors to places no one has set foot yet. They identify the unmet needs that have existed for so long that everyone else has just taken them for granted. And then they set about solving them.

A great example of this in action is Valla (an Ada portfolio company). Their AI-powered legal tech platform empowers workers embroiled in employment law disputes to access advice. An estimated 12.4 million employees are affected by employment law breaches each year. By bringing down costs and democratising access to support, Valla are unlocking a vast, overlooked user base with huge potential for growth. They’re truly offering a type of service that simply doesn’t exist anywhere else today.

Another example, also in the legaltech space, is Orbital. Through machine learning and AI, their platform streamlines the dense, paperwork-heavy processes of property due diligence, giving lawyers an instant view of the risks and red flags buried in leases and deeds. They’re not competing with innovations from last year – or even from this century. Instead, they’re transforming processes that date back to the Victorian era.

This is what investors like me are after: solutions to long-written-off problems, not face-lifts for challenges that have largely been addressed.

3. Think far, not fast

Disruption is not a product, it’s a process. It requires a continued commitment to uncover new market opportunities and develop new solutions for consumers. There is perhaps no greater example of this than the stratospheric rise of Netflix. What began almost 30 years ago as an innovative new model for DVD rentals is now the world’s largest streaming platform; an entertainment behemoth constantly improving to stay ahead of the competition.

Netflix’s dominance isn’t just the result of one good idea, or one small improvement to existing services, it’s a testament to their ability to look ahead. Instead of stopping at streaming (or indeed at rental by post!), Netflix has continued to lead the market with award-winning original content and unique in-app features. The lesson for founders here is clear: success requires you to champion a business model and a mindset that embraces change.

Of course, startups will always need to tinker with existing products and make tweaks to improve their offering. But this shouldn’t come at the expense of thinking big. This is where initiatives such as Google’s famous ‘20% time’ policy can be helpful; encouraging teams to regularly focus their efforts on more future-gazing projects, and proving to investors that you’re serious about driving impact.

Fixer-upper founders are stuck in the here and now. They admirably take on the pain points of today, but offer little inspiration for tomorrow. True disruptors don’t just muscle their way into new markets; they create new categories, cater to unmet needs, and put the work in to stay on top. If we’re to address some of society’s biggest challenges, we need more innovators and fewer renovators. And investors have their eyes trained on the difference.

The Apricorn Aegis Secure Key 3NXC is a 256-bit AES XTS hardware-encrypted flash drive with a USB-C connector. It is available in storage capacities ranging from 4GB to 512GB and holds FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validation. The device is OS-agnostic, meaning it can work with any device that has a USB-C port, whether it’s a phone, tablet, Windows PC, or Mac.

Apricorn Aegis Secure Key 3NXC setup

Before setting it up, the device must be connected to a powered USB port and charged for 60 minutes. When not in use, the device enters sleep mode, during which it locks itself and becomes inaccessible.

PIN requirements

The Aegis Secure Key 3NXC does not come with a preset PIN. To begin using it, you must first create an Admin PIN, which must be 7 to 16 digits long. The PIN cannot be made up of only identical or sequential numbers (e.g., 123456789, 987654321, 11111111). All configuration settings, like setting a Self-Destruct PIN or Brute-Force protection, require you to enter Admin Mode.

Since the key comes preformatted in NTFS, it must be reformatted before using it on a Mac.

The Aegis Secure Key can have one Admin and one User, making a total of two working PINs.

After setting up the Admin PIN, the User PIN can be created. The User has limited access: they can view and manage data, change their own PIN, and switch between Read-Only and Read/Write modes, but they cannot change Admin settings.

Configure multiple Apricorn secure devices

For larger deployments, companies can use the Aegis Configurator application along with a USB hub authorized by Apricorn to configure multiple devices simultaneously.

If you’re using the Aegis Configurator to set up your Aegis Secure Key or any other Apricorn secure drive, first make sure the device has the “Configurable” logo on the back. Also, do not manually set up the Admin or User PINs, the Aegis Configurator will handle these steps automatically. It will only work with devices that are either in their original factory state or have been fully reset.

Speed

Help Net Security conducted a speed test using the 128GB version of the Aegis Secure Key 3NXC. All tests were done using the same computer and USB port to keep results consistent. The table below shows the average time in seconds it took to transfer different file sizes.

According to official specifications, read and write speeds can reach up to 171MB/s and 160MB/s, respectively.

Advanced security features

The Aegis Secure Key 3NXC includes Brute-Force protection. By default, you are allowed up to 20 incorrect PIN attempts, but this can be reduced (in Admin Mode) to as few as 4.

The key also features a Self-Destruct mode that can be enabled or disabled only by the Admin. However, the Self-Destruct PIN can be created by either the Admin or a User. When this PIN is entered while the device is locked, the key will perform a crypto-erase, wiping all data permanently. After that, the device must be reformatted, and the self-destruct PIN becomes the new Admin PIN.

Another useful security feature is Read-Only mode. It’s especially helpful when you need to access your data in a public setting, since malware can easily attach themselves to USB drives.

Since its inception in the 1930s, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has undergone significant development. The smaller wavelength of electrons provides resolution that surpasses traditional light microscopy. Advances such as the introduction of direct electron detectors, cryo-preparation techniques, and image processing software have dramatically enhanced its resolution and versatility. These developments enable scientists to visualize specimens at atomic resolutions, which provides insights into nanostructures and, more recently, the structure and function of large biological assemblies to small proteins vital for drug discovery.

In 1933, Ernst Ruska first realized he could transmit electrons through a specimen of cotton fibers to form an image and was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery in 1986. In the following years, Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Franck, and Richard Henderson created a technique for generating a three-dimensional (3D) structure of the protein at an atomic level using a cryo-transmission electron microscope (cryo-TEM). Their technique taps vitrification to cool a sample to cryogenic temperatures, typically using liquid ethane around -180°C, which allows biomolecules to retain their native hydrated shape. This approach, commonly called cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), earned them the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017.

Detector technology resolves protein structure

During the past 30 years, every nut and bolt of the cryo-TEM has gradually been optimized. A major technical hurdle was overcome in 2010, when CMOS-direct electron detectors replaced charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras. Direct electron detectors (DEDs) have the advantage of providing immediate access to digital images and higher detective quantum efficiency (DQE) at a wide spatial frequency range, which results in images with a better signal-to-noise ratio. It enables scientists to get to high-resolution images and ultimately 3D reconstructions with fewer images, which is critical when imaging beam-sensitive biological samples.

DEDs can acquire data in movie mode to capture a series of frames at high speed during a single exposure. Further advancement came with the introduction of electron event representation (EER), which captures the position and time of each individual electron impact to enable the preservation of full temporal and spatial resolution of the data (i.e., super-resolution).

Energy filters, cold field emission guns help cross atomic barrier

In 2020, single particle analysis (SPA) cryo-EM broke the atomic resolution barrier, which allowed scientists to distinctly see atoms where blurry shapes and “blobs” once prevailed. Researchers harnessed technological improvements to determine breakthrough structure resolution of 1.2 Angstroms. For perspective, the first high-resolution structure by Henderson and colleagues was within the 10-Angstrom range attained in the early 1990s.

More recently, for the first time, researchers used the combination of a cold field emission gun electron source to lower the energy spread of the electrons, and more stable energy filters to remove inelastically scattered electrons. This combination contributed to increasing the image contrast while also boosting the resolution at the high spatial frequency range—and it allows researchers to break the atomic resolution boundary.

Most impressively, cryo-EM at atomic resolution enabled visualization of individual hydrogen atoms—even on water molecules inside of the protein structure. The visualization of hydrogen bonding networks inside protein structures and within drug binding pockets allows researchers to better understand how a drug interacts with its target molecule (see Fig. 1).

Autonomous microscopy and artificial intelligence (AI)

Cryo-EM innovation is reaching beyond higher resolution and contrast (see Fig. 2). Today, it’s also being adopted outside of academic labs by pharmaceutical institutions, which creates a need for automating routine workflows. Integrated software solutions offer a way to streamline data acquisition and 3D analysis with connected tools.

On Sunday, a 53-year-old man reached the summit of Snowmass Mountain and began his descent using a method called glissading, which involves sliding down snow-covered slopes. During the descent, he injured his wrist, which left him unable to continue the trek. The injury occurred at an altitude of nearly 11,000 feet, in an area with no cellular service, according to a KDVR (via Reddit) report.

Also read: Apple loses bid to halt court ruling that blocks some fees from its iPhone app store

How iPhone’s Satellite Message Triggers Emergency Response

Despite the lack of a cell signal, the man used the satellite messaging feature available on his iPhone to send a text to a family member. This message alerted the family, who then contacted the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office and Mountain Rescue Aspen for help.

Responders found the injured climber near Snowmass Lake, located about eight miles from the nearest parking area. Due to the severity of his injury, he could not walk out of the area on his own. A team of 17 rescuers hiked into the remote location and began evacuation efforts early Monday morning. They reached the climber at approximately 8:25 a.m. and successfully brought him out of the area by 5:30 p.m.

Also read: iOS 19 to take to boost iPhone’s battery life with help of AI

iPhone’s Satellite SOS Feature

The iPhone’s satellite communication function allows users to send messages without the need for cellular or Wi-Fi signals. This feature, available on iPhone 14 and later models, enables contact with emergency services in remote locations where traditional coverage is unavailable.

Also read: iPhone 17 Air likely to come with optional accessories for lasting battery life- Details

Following the rescue, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office emphasised the importance of knowing how to use satellite communication tools during outdoor activities. In a public advisory, officials encouraged hikers and climbers to carry emergency communication devices and understand how to activate satellite-based SOS features. They noted that using the SOS button can help rescue teams establish direct contact and reduce response time during emergencies.