Category: 4. Technology

Apple is preparing to launch its next Vision Pro headset “as early as this year,” according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The upcoming device will reportedly feature an upgraded M4 processor, along with a redesigned strap to combat neck and head pain.

The $3,499 Vision Pro, which was released in February 2024, uses a now-three-year-old M2 processor. As reported by Bloomberg, the Vision Pro’s next iteration could come with an emphasis on AI, a move that would align with the company’s efforts to infuse AI across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

According to Bloomberg, Apple could outfit the next Vision Pro with more than the 16 neural engine cores available on the current M2-equipped headset. If true, that would make it the first M4 chip with more than 16 neural cores — so far, only the M2 Ultra and M3 Ultra have come with more than that. Even without the extra cores, the M4’s 16-core NPU is still more than two times faster than one on the M2.

Bloomberg reports that Apple is also testing new Vision Pro straps to make the around 1.4-pound device more comfortable to wear as well. My former colleague Wes Davis found that the Vision Pro was most comfortable when the included Solo Knit Band was paired with a $50 Belkin Head Strap than with either of Apple’s two included bands on their own.

Apple (AAPL) should consider making a major acquisition if it wants to catch up to its peers in the artificial intelligence race, according to one Wall Street analyst.

Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives, a longtime Apple bull, wrote Wednesday that while Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google, OpenAI, and others have pulled ahead on AI, “Apple is at a highway rest stop on a bench.”

Ives’ solution for the iPhone maker is to “rip the band-aid off” and acquire Perplexity, along with its AI-driven search engine. Such a deal “could redefine Apple’s AI strategy and would fit in very well with Siri,” Ives said. “Perplexity’s AI algorithms and technology are some of the most impressive in the tech AI world.”

Perplexity, which is private, has a valuation of about $14 billion based on its current investing round, Ives noted. That said, even if Apple had to pay $30 billion to get the deal done, “it’s a drop in the bucket relative to the monetization opportunity Apple can achieve on AI,” he added. 

The delayed rollout of an AI-enhanced Siri has been a disappointment for Apple investors and analysts this year. Apple previously expected to release a more powerful version of its voice assistant Siri as early as this spring. However, the company suggested at its Worldwide Developers Conference last month that more information on that is unlikely to come before 2026. 

Apple has reportedly discussed with ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Claude developer Anthropic the possibility of relying on their AI models instead of in-house technology. Siri can already be used to access ChatGPT with some iPhone models. The company has also considered adding Perplexity’s search engine, said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, in May. 

Separately, Perplexity launched an AI-powered web browser on Wednesday known as Comet, in direct competition with Google Chrome and other web browsers, according to reports. The browser is currently available to subscribers of Perplexity Max, which costs $200 per month.

Apple Loses a Top AI Executive

The urgency around Apple’s AI progress comes after the company reportedly had its top executive in charge of artificial models poached this week by rival Meta Platforms (META). Ruoming Pang, the head of Apple’s foundation models team, was offered tens of millions of dollars a year to join Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s growing “Superintelligence” team, the report said. Zuckerberg has reportedly expressed frustration that Meta has not made enough progress with its AI models.

Shares of Apple were little changed Wednesday at about $211. The stock is down roughly 16% for 2025, making it the second-worst performer among the Magnificent Seven after Tesla (TSLA).

Simon Cocks is Good Housekeeping UK’s Technology Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy for the title. He previously also worked across other titles including Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.

Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, e-book readers and smartphones. He’s reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.

A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.

He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and money-saving advice guides and edited thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.

He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.

You can follow Simon on Instagram, on Bluesky, on LinkedIn and on Threads.

MellowTel is also problematic because the sites it opens are unknown to end users. That means they must trust MellowTel to vet the security and trustworthiness of each site being accessed. And, of course, that security and trustworthiness can change with a single compromise of a site. MellowTel also poses a risk to enterprise networks that closely restrict the types of code users are permitted to run and the sites they visit.

Attempts to reach MellowTel representatives were unsuccessful.

Tuckner’s discovery is reminiscent of a 2019 analysis that found browser extensions installed on 4 million browsers collected users’ every movement on the web and shared them with customers of Nacho Analytics, which went defunct shortly after Ars exposed the operation.

Some of the data swept up in the collection free-for-all included surveillance videos hosted on Nest, tax returns, billing invoices, business documents, and presentation slides posted to, or hosted on, Microsoft OneDrive and Intuit.com, vehicle identification numbers of recently bought automobiles along with the names and addresses of the buyers, patient names and the doctors they saw, travel itineraries hosted on Priceline, Booking.com, and airline websites, Facebook Messenger attachments and Facebook photos, even when the photos were set to be private. The dragnet also collected proprietary information belonging to Tesla, Blue Origin, Amgen, Merck, Pfizer, Roche, and dozens of other companies.

Tuckner said in an email Wednesday that the most recent status of the affected extensions is:

• Of 45 known Chrome extensions, 12 are now inactive. Some of the extensions were removed for malware explicitly. Others have removed the library.
• Of 129 Edge extensions incorporating the library, eight are now inactive.
• Of 71 affected Firefox extensions, two are now inactive.

Some of the inactive extensions were removed for malware explicitly. Others have removed the library in more recent updates. A complete list of extensions found by Tuckner is here.

Disney Dreamlight Valley’s recent update has introduced the Storm of Stories quest. It’s the crucial first quest of Storybook Vale’s 2nd chapter. Players must act swiftly to restore vanishing characters, uncover lost memories and solve some mystical puzzles. By any chance, if you get stuck, here is a complete guide to how to complete Storm of Stories quest and be a part of the captivating adventure.

Start the quest by answering Lorekeeper’s call

Begin your quest by checking the in-game mailbox. You will find a letter in it that’s titled “A Most Disturbing Development.” To open this letter would trigger The Storm of Stories quest. The urgent summons are from Lorekeeper.

Note: Lorekeeper is a sentient book that resides in the Library of Lore.In The Storybook Vale, head to the Library of Lore and speak to the floating book, the Lorekeeper, to learn about a strange sickness that’s been affecting the realm, erasing locations and characters. Your first directive now will be clear—seek Merida, who is fading away because of the magical storm. She has the first clue to the unfolding chaos.

Follow Merida to Whirlwind mystery

As you find Merida in the Vale, she will speak about the bizarre storm that’s centering The Bind’s bridge. She will then lead you to Mysterious Whirlwind near The Bind. Investigate the whirlwind.Upon your arrival, interacting with this phenomenon would trigger an eruption of Shadowy Bird Snippets. Ensure to catch 5 of them with Royal Net. Once they are collected, the Mysterious Story Page will spawn nearby. Give the page to Merida to restore her memory and halt her disappearance.

Aid Flynn and confront Hades

Your next task is to find Flynn Rider. He, too, is succumbing to sickness. He will point you towards another anomaly that’s in Everafter. It’s quite specifically near southern Trial grounds. Ensure to follow him to the new whirlwind.To engage with Whirlwind would release the Shadowy Frog Snippets this time. Catch all the five hopping nuisances. As they are captured, it will reveal Flynn’s Moment, which is a vital piece of the story. Present it to him, and it will solidify his presence again.

Now, the final afflicted ally here is Hades. Track him down fast and then accompany him to the whirlwind in Mythopia near Mount Olympus. Here, you will find Shadowy Demon Snippets. Net all the five demons and uncover the story page for Hades. Return it to him to stabilize his situation.

Unlock the path of Maleficent

With all three restored now, consult Lorekeeper once again. The next proposal received will be to solve the Journey puzzle of Maleficent in the story reordering interface. You can access it through dialogue.Unlock the puzzle with the use of Shadow Snippets that you gathered earlier. Next, arrange all the pieces in the right way to depict the tale of Maleficent. To solve it will reveal her entrapment in Unwritten Realms. To reach her, you must arrange larger circular tiles on Lore floor of the Library.Rotate three movable outer rings using posts. Align them to form a complete image of Maleficent facing in the correct direction. Your success here would open a massive swirling book portal on the floor. Step into the gateway for entering Unwritten Realms, completing the Storm of Stories quest and launching your next adventure.

It may be 14 years old at this point, but Pagani isn’t ready to move on from the Huayra just yet.

The Italian marque has just unveiled an open-top version of its second model’s Codalunga variant. The long-tailed hypercar may have lost its roof, but it holds onto its celebrated V-12 and is available with a manual gearbox.

The Huayra may have been around for close to a decade, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t evolved over that time. There’s no better proof of this than the Codalunga, which made its debut as a coupe in 2022. The ultra-exclusive—even by Pagani’s standards—variant has a stretched out rear end meant to give the hypercar a look more in line with the race cars of the 1950s and ’60s, in particular founder Horacio Pagani’s beloved Porsche 917.

With its wide-mouth grille, flowing lines, and flipped-up tail, the Codalunga is one of the most beautiful hypercars of the decade. The Coupe and Speedster look almost identical to one another with the exception of the roofs. Its absence on the latter has necessitated the inclusion of a roll bar behind the seats to maintain structural integrity (and, one assumes, for safety’s sake). The latest version of the variant also comes with a roof that can be deployed on days when the weather doesn’t play nice, and folds into the vehicle when it does.

Photographs accompanying the announcement depict the car in a gorgeous metallic mint green hue. The sparkling color carries over to the vehicle’s steampunk-like exterior. The open-air cabin remains as ornate as ever and even features a unique embroidered fabric on the seats, center console, and door panels.

The Codalunga Speedster, like the coupe before it, is powered by an AMG-sourced 6.0-liter V-12. The mill makes 852 hp and 811 ft lbs of torque, which is 13 hp more than the coupe. The glorious speed machine is also available with a seven-speed manual (making it only the second Huayra available with the option) or a seven-speed automated manual gearbox. No performance numbers were announced, but because it is a Huayra, we expect that it’s pretty fast.

Pagani plans to build just 10 Codalunga Speedsters, which would make it slightly more common than the one-of-five coupe. Price hasn’t been announced, which isn’t much of a surprise, but considering that the original Codalunga is reported to cost around $7 million, we imagine the open-top version will be just as expensive, if not more.

Click here for more photos of the Pagani Huayra Codalunga Speedster.

Amazon Prime Day is here but there are plenty of anti-Prime Day deals from other retailers and many offer exclusive perks! This Unistellar eQuinox 2 deal from BH Photo and Video is offering up to $600 off this powerful smart telescope. We picked the Unistellar eQuinox 2 as our best overall smart telescope in our best smart telescopes guide, thanks to its enhanced astrophotography capability and reliable smartphone app.

Get the Unistellar eQuinox 2 on sale for $2199 from BH Photo and Video.

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This has not been a good year for Prime Day gaming laptop deals. We’ve been collecting the best Prime Day deals all week (and liveblogging the whole event) There’s a lot of outdated, previous-gen laptops flooding the virtual Amazon store shelves, most of which are not discounted enough to be worth buying with the new RTX 50-series graphics having just come out.

There’s one diamond in the rough though—and it’s a laptop I tested out recently, the Asus ROG Strix G16. It’s one of the best gaming laptops you can buy. But hold tight, because there are a number of configurations on sale, and as often in tech, the devil’s in the details.

The biggest discounts are on the lower end configuration. It includes an RTX 4070, 32 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of storage, which is identical physically to the model I tested and was quite impressed with. It’s 22 percent off, bringing the price down to $1,800—the lowest price I’ve ever seen it.

Now, there’s also an RTX 4060 configuration on sale for $1,360, which is 20 percent off the retail price. It has the same storage and display, except with just 16 GB of RAM. That’s a really solid deal for the price. Importantly, both of these laptops come with 2560 x 1600 resolution display and a 240-Hz refresh rate.

These are, of course, last-gen Nvidia GPUs. But as has been well-documented, the increase to the newer RTX 50-series wasn’t as big of an improvement in raw performance as we all hoped for. One of the biggest limitations was in VRAM. Both the RTX 5070 and 5060 still only come with 8GB of VRAM. There’s no getting around that limitations of these GPUs, which can cause some performance issues in some modern, AAA titles. You can get 12 GB of VRAM in the RTX 5070 Ti, but normally, you won’t find a gaming laptop with that GPU for under $2,000. Nvidia may have stated that we’d be able to buy them starting at $1,600 when they were announced, but that has not played out over the past few months. For example, I tested an AMD version of this laptop with the RTX 5070 Ti, but it costs $2,500.

For Prime Day, though, Amazon is selling a brand-new version of the ROG Strix G16 with an RTX 5070 Ti for $2,000. That’s $400 off the retail price. It has a slightly streamlined shape over the previous model, and comes with a new tool-less design that gives you easy access to upgrading or swapping out RAM or storage. I haven’t reviewed this newer model myself yet, but I did see it at CES earlier this year, and the tool-less system really is neat.

For more recommendations, check out our full list of the best Prime Day laptop deals we’ve come across so far.

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HACKENSACK, N.J.—Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

The enhanced Actus X Intelligent Monitoring Platform debuts advanced AI capabilities and unified workflow tools that deliver measurable business value beyond traditional logging requirements without compromising on technical excellence, the company said.