tech30.25 min read
Apple unveils M6: a 2nm chip with more cores and AI, plus M5 Ultra for Mac Studio
16 minutes ago•Source: The Verge
Tech News
The latest tech stories, summarized by AI
Featured Tech Stories
View original source
23.615 min•27 minutes ago
Mac Studio gets M5 Ultra, Apple claims it’s the most powerful chip ever
Apple updates the Mac Studio with an M5 Max and a new M5 Ultra, unifying the lineup under one generation; the M5 Ultra uses UltraFusion to merge two M5 Max dies into a quad-die chip, delivering up to 1.2TB/s memory bandwidth, a 36-core CPU and 80-core GPU, and up to 4.3x faster AI compute; prices start at $2,499 for the M5 Max (36GB RAM/512GB) and $5,499 for the M5 Ultra (96GB RAM/1TB); macOS 27 Golden Gate arrives Sept 22, with the top 512GB RAM config landing in late October; RAMageddon pricing persists and the Mac Pro line is sunset, with support for up to four 5K Studio Displays.
More Tech Stories
16GB RAM for $520: HP’s OmniBook 3 16 shows cheap can beat pricey laptops
HP’s OmniBook 3 16 (16-inch, Snapdragon X) costs around $520 and comes with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD, delivering solid day-to-day performance and excellent battery life for the price. Its screen, speakers, and keyboard are merely decent, but the overall value is strong enough that the reviewer would pick it over pricier rivals for budget-conscious buyers.
HoverAir Versa halted in US as FCC drone ban tightens
HoverAir’s Versa, a pocket camera that can attach wings to become a drone, has stopped US orders just days after its Indiegogo debut as the FCC drone ban tightens; the company says it will ship only the camera in the US, not the Flight Kit that makes it a drone, and the FCC’s records show no current drone authorization for the device, signaling a likely ban and refunds for backers.
Apple trims Vision Pro and Siri divisions in major layoffs
Apple is cutting more than 200 jobs across its Vision Pro and Siri teams, including largely shutting down the Vision Pro gaming unit and downsizing the Vision Pro immersive-content group. The company says the restructuring is to evolve the business and deliver better experiences, with new roles to be created as it pursues future hardware like slimmer headsets and Apple glasses after the Vision Pro’s 2024 launch.
Walmart to enable Apple Pay and Google Pay via tap-to-pay starting August 24
Walmart will begin letting customers pay with Apple Pay or Google Pay at select Walmart and Sam’s Club locations starting August 24, 2026, with broader rollout to all U.S. stores by the end of the year and gas stations by mid-2027. The move ends Walmart’s long absence from NFC payments, which followed earlier attempts like Walmart Pay and the CurrentC saga, as the company says Tap to Pay will give customers more payment options.
HiLight Studio unlocks full LED customization for Pixel 11 Pro
HiLight Studio, a third‑party app by Dhananjay_Tech, lets the Pixel 11 Pro’s HiLight LED do rainbow pulses, waves, and other colors and animations, with adjustable timing, brightness, and presets. It isn’t on the Play Store yet and requires sideloading and enabling developer options to run.
Drone deliveries take a swim: Amazon drops packages in pools as expansion grows
Amazon’s Prime Air drone deliveries have dropped packages directly into swimming pools in Texas (and previously in Arizona), as the service expands to about 500 US cities; while Amazon says the drone checks for people and obstacles before delivery, questions remain about whether water is adequately considered a drop zone and past incidents include drones crashing or delivering soggy packages.
DJI’s banned Pocket 4P slips into the US market via third-party sellers
DJI’s Osmo Pocket 4P/4 Pro are banned from import into the US, yet US-based third‑party sellers on Temu, AliExpress, eBay, Mercari, Amazon, and Newegg are selling them, often with fast shipping. The Verge notes a buyer who spent $659.28 for a Pocket 4P Vlog Combo and received it from an Oregon fulfillment center in four days. The FCC revoked some certifications used to ground these cameras, DJI says it does not sell them in the US, and third-party sellers appear to be distributing them anyway, highlighting enforcement gaps and related loopholes like HoverAir Versa.
LG’s FLiPP OLED breakthrough could redefine display lifespans
LG Display unveiled FLiPP, a FMM-Less OLED patterning method that sequences RGB pixels and uses photolithography and UV light to remove unnecessary areas, promising panels that are 1.6x brighter, 2.4x longer-lasting, and 13% more energy-efficient, with no size or resolution constraints. The tech is slated for IT products first (tablets/monitors) before expansion to ultra-large TVs and wearables, but production timing hasn’t been announced.
HoverAir Versa tests camera-only loophole to dodge FCC drone ban
HoverAir’s Versa is pitched as a pocket camera with snap-on wings; HoverAir says the Flight Kit keeps it compliant by certifying only the camera, potentially letting it fly past the FCC’s foreign-drone ban, but the agency could still classify the Versa as a UAS critical component and reverse approvals within 30 days, so the loophole may not stick.
Meta AI Goes Mac: Screen-sharing and Workspace integration for productivity
Meta is launching a Mac app for its Meta AI chatbot that can share your screen, offer suggestions, answer questions, and generate content from what’s on your screen, with dictation across apps. The app also connects to Google Workspace and can tie into Instagram and Facebook ad campaigns, enabling it to pull data to create decks, docs, and spreadsheets and handle recurring tasks, signaling a shift toward a desktop productivity assistant to compete with rivals like Google Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Anthropic’s Claude.