Innehållsförteckning för #738 från Techlife News

Researchers have developed autonomous microrobots that rank among the smallest ever demonstrated, capable of controlled movement without direct human intervention. The robots measure on the scale of a few hundred micrometers, placing them closer in size to single-celled organisms than to conventional machines. Despite their dimensions, the devices can navigate environments, respond to external stimuli, and perform basic programmed behaviors. The work reflects ongoing efforts in microengineering and robotics to shrink mechanical systems while preserving functional control. At this scale, conventional components such as motors, batteries, and onboard computers are not practical, requiring alternative design approaches that rely on material properties, external fields, and simplified control logic. HOW THE MICROROBOTS OPERATE AT MICRO SCALE The microrobots achieve autonomy through a combination of structural design and environmental interaction rather than traditional…

Meta has paused its plans to bring third-party virtual reality headsets to market through partnerships with manufacturers such as Asus and Lenovo, according to recent reporting. The decision slows an initiative that aimed to broaden the Meta Quest ecosystem by allowing hardware partners to ship headsets running Meta’s VR software, expanding the platform beyond Meta-branded devices. The move comes as Meta continues to reassess how it allocates resources across its Reality Labs division, which oversees virtual and augmented reality development. While Meta has positioned VR and mixed reality as long-term priorities, the company has also adjusted timelines and investment levels in response to market adoption, costs, and shifting internal focus. Pausing third-party headsets does not signal an exit from VR hardware, but it does narrow the company’s near-term approach to…

In the shadow of Infinite Loop's gleaming facade, where Steve Jobs once orchestrated Apple's ascent from near-bankruptcy to tech colossus, a quiet storm is brewing. As 2025 draws to a close, Apple, now a $4 trillion behemoth, finds itself at a leadership crossroads. LEADERSHIP CROSSROADS Tim Cook, the steady hand who steered the company through a decade-plus of unprecedented growth, faces mounting pressures from an AI-fueled tech landscape that's accelerating faster than even Jobs could have imagined. Whispers of executive departures, stalled moonshots, and a yawning innovation chasm with rivals like Google and Meta have ignited speculation: Is Apple's leadership ready for the next act, or is it time for a bold rewrite? This isn't just boardroom gossip but a pivotal moment. Apple's vaunted ecosystem, built on seamless hardware-software integration,…

The idea of placing data centers in space has moved from science fiction into serious discussion among aerospace companies, cloud providers, and artificial intelligence researchers. Proposals to deploy orbital computing infrastructure have gained visibility alongside rapid growth in AI workloads, rising energy costs on Earth, and mounting pressure on terrestrial data center capacity. With some proponents pointing to 2027 as a possible milestone year, the concept raises questions about technical feasibility, economic rationale, and whether space-based computing can move beyond experimental demonstrations. The renewed interest reflects broader constraints facing the data center industry. AI training and inference demand increasingly dense compute clusters, which in turn require massive amounts of power, cooling, and land. In some regions, grid limitations and environmental permitting have slowed or halted new construction. Against that backdrop,…

The net worth trajectories of Larry Page, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk illustrate how different business models, ownership structures, and market conditions have shaped the fortunes of some of the most influential figures in modern technology. While all three are closely associated with companies that transformed global industries, their personal wealth has evolved in distinct ways over time, reflecting strategic choices, market cycles, and the maturity of the businesses they helped build. Recent estimates place Elon Musk at the top of this group in terms of net worth, followed by Jeff Bezos and then Larry Page. These rankings, however, are not static. They fluctuate alongside equity markets, corporate performance, and investor expectations tied to future growth rather than current earnings alone. Understanding how each individual accumulated and preserved wealth helps…

Apple TV’s weekly audience rankings once again place Pluribus at the top of the platform’s most-watched chart, according to viewership data tracked across Apple’s original programming lineup. The science-fiction drama has maintained its position as the service’s leading title for a second consecutive week, holding off competition from a mix of returning series and newer releases. The continued performance underscores how Apple TV’s strategy of staggered episode releases and sustained promotion can extend momentum beyond a premiere window. Pluribus follows a pattern seen in previous Apple TV originals that gradually built audiences over multiple weeks rather than spiking briefly at launch. Viewership tracking indicates that the show’s serialized structure, combined with weekly cliffhangers, has encouraged repeat viewing and discussion, keeping it visible on the platform’s home screen and recommendation surfaces.…

Apple has extended the availability of its Fitness+ subscription service to 28 additional countries, broadening the geographic reach of one of the company’s most tightly integrated digital services. The expansion adds new markets across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, bringing Fitness+ to a significantly larger portion of Apple’s global user base and marking another step in the gradual international rollout of the platform since its introduction. Fitness+ is designed to work primarily with Apple Watch, using real-time biometric data such as heart rate and activity rings to tailor on-screen workout guidance. The service is delivered through the Fitness app on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, positioning it as part of Apple’s broader ecosystem rather than a standalone streaming product. With this latest expansion, Apple continues to prioritize scale through regional…

Researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence system designed to identify underlying physical laws by analyzing raw data, offering a different approach to how scientific models are built. Instead of relying on predefined equations or assumptions supplied by human researchers, the system examines observations and infers mathematical relationships that describe how a system behaves. The work builds on a long-standing challenge in physics and related sciences: translating complex measurements into concise, interpretable rules. Traditionally, this process depends on human intuition, theoretical frameworks, and iterative testing. The new AI-driven method shifts part of that burden to computation, allowing patterns to emerge directly from experimental or simulated data. According to the researchers behind the project, the system is not intended to replace theory-driven science but to assist in situations where the governing…

The United States government has launched a coordinated campaign to recruit artificial intelligence engineers and technical specialists into federal roles, signaling a shift in how Washington plans to build and manage its own AI capabilities. The effort, announced by senior officials, aims to attract talent that has traditionally gravitated toward private-sector technology firms, at a moment when AI systems are becoming embedded in national security, public services, and regulatory oversight. Federal agencies have long relied on contractors and private partners to supply advanced technical expertise. The new recruitment push reflects concern that this model leaves the government without sufficient in-house capacity to understand, audit, and deploy AI systems that increasingly shape policy decisions and public infrastructure. Officials said the initiative is intended to bring experienced engineers directly into government service…

Apple has released security updates addressing two previously unknown vulnerabilities that the company said were actively exploited in what it described as sophisticated attacks. The fixes were delivered through emergency patches for iOS and iPadOS, underscoring the continued focus on closing security gaps that can be abused before researchers or vendors are aware they exist. The two flaws were identified as zero-day vulnerabilities, meaning they were exploited before Apple had released a fix or publicly disclosed their existence. According to Apple’s security advisories, both issues could allow attackers to compromise devices under specific conditions, prompting the company to urge users to install the updates as soon as possible. The vulnerabilities were addressed in software updates for supported iPhone and iPad models, as well as other Apple operating systems that share…

Apple’s AirPods Max turned five years old this week, and a new roundup of rumors has outlined what a second-generation model could add if Apple refreshes its over-ear headphones on a longer cycle than the standard AirPods lineup. The current AirPods Max received smaller updates recently, including a switch to USB-C and new color options, and later gained support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio. The headphones still rely on Apple’s H1 chip, introduced in 2019, which limits access to several features Apple has added to newer AirPods and AirPods Pro models. The latest reporting centers on a straightforward idea: if Apple ships an AirPods Max 2, an internal silicon update would likely be the key to unlocking most of the changes people associate with recent AirPods generations. Separately,…

Tesla shares moved higher after chief executive Elon Musk confirmed that the company has begun testing fully driverless robotaxis, marking a new phase in Tesla’s long-running effort to commercialize autonomous driving. The confirmation came amid heightened investor attention to Tesla’s autonomy roadmap, which has increasingly become central to how markets assess the company’s long-term prospects. Musk said the testing involves vehicles operating without a human driver behind the wheel, a distinction that separates the current phase from Tesla’s earlier supervised Full Self-Driving system. The announcement followed months of speculation about when Tesla would move beyond driver-assisted autonomy into real-world testing of vehicles operating entirely on their own. The market reaction reflected how closely Tesla’s valuation is tied to expectations around autonomy. While Tesla continues to generate most of its revenue…

Apple may be preparing to reintroduce the iMac Pro as early as 2026, according to supply chain signals and internal roadmaps cited in recent industry reporting. The workstation-class all-in-one, which Apple discontinued in 2021, has remained absent from the company’s desktop lineup as the transition to Apple silicon reshaped its product strategy. A potential revival centered on the M5 Max chip would position the iMac Pro as a high-performance option distinct from the standard iMac and Mac Studio. The original iMac Pro was designed to serve professional users who wanted workstation-level performance in an integrated form factor, offering Intel Xeon processors, discrete graphics, and expanded memory options. Its discontinuation followed Apple’s move away from Intel and the emergence of Apple silicon systems that delivered strong performance at lower power consumption.…

Instagram has expanded the reach of Reels by bringing the short-form video format to Amazon Fire TV devices, extending viewing beyond phones and tablets to the living room screen. The update allows Fire TV users to watch Reels directly through a dedicated Instagram experience designed for television, adapting vertical, mobile-first content to a larger display environment. The rollout places Instagram alongside other social platforms that have been experimenting with TV-based consumption, reflecting changes in how short-form video is consumed across devices. While Reels were originally built for quick, personal viewing on smartphones, their arrival on Fire TV introduces a more passive, lean-back viewing context. HOW REELS WORK ON FIRE TV On Fire TV, Reels are presented through a simplified interface optimized for remote control navigation rather than touch or swipes.…

Ford’s experience with the F-150 Lightning has become a case study in how difficult it is to translate electric vehicle momentum into the pickup truck segment. Once positioned as a flagship example of how legacy automakers could electrify their most important nameplates, the electric version of the best-selling F-Series has faced slower demand, production adjustments, and persistent questions about whether the market was ready for an electric pickup at scale. The F-150 Lightning was never intended as a niche experiment. Ford framed it as a strategic extension of its most valuable brand, designed to bring electric propulsion to customers who rely on trucks for work, recreation, and daily driving. Yet the realities of pricing, infrastructure, and buyer expectations have shaped a more complicated outcome, forcing Ford to reassess how quickly…

An internal Apple software leak has revealed a broad snapshot of features and system changes under development for future versions of iOS, offering an unusually detailed look at how the company is evolving its mobile platform behind closed doors. The information, first uncovered through internal documentation and pre-release system files, points to refinements across core apps, deeper operating system integration, and changes to how Apple manages long-term feature rollouts rather than a single headline update tied to one iOS release. The leaked material does not describe a finished product or a single launch timeline. Instead, it reflects Apple’s internal planning process, where features are developed in parallel, tested across multiple iOS branches, and sometimes delayed or abandoned before ever reaching public betas. This snapshot provides insight into Apple’s software priorities…

Apple Music is set to integrate with ChatGPT, expanding how users can discover and interact with music through conversational artificial intelligence. OpenAI confirmed that the feature will allow ChatGPT users to connect directly to Apple Music, enabling song discovery, playlist creation, and music-related recommendations without leaving the chat interface. The integration places Apple Music alongside a growing list of services that are becoming accessible through AI-driven assistants, reflecting broader changes in how consumers search for content and make entertainment choices. Rather than relying on traditional search or app navigation, users will be able to describe moods, genres, artists, or moments in natural language and receive tailored music suggestions that link directly into Apple Music. The rollout represents a new distribution surface for Apple’s streaming service, which has historically focused on…

Apple has quietly expanded the reach of its Apple TV app by adding native Google Cast support on Android, allowing users to stream content directly from their phones to Chromecast-enabled TVs and other Castcompatible devices. The change marks a technical and strategic shift for Apple’s video service, which has historically relied on AirPlay and tight integration with Apple hardware to deliver content to the largest screen in the home. The update does not alter Apple TV’s pricing, catalog, or subscription structure, nor does it introduce new exclusive content. Instead, it focuses on distribution, lowering the friction for Android users who want to watch Apple TV originals without owning Apple hardware or relying on a smart TV app that may not be available on their device. HOW GOOGLE CAST SUPPORT WORKS…

Artificial intelligence use in the workplace has risen sharply in recent years, with surveys showing that a much larger share of workers now report using AI tools in their daily roles compared with just a few years ago. According to data from polling firms, the share of American employees who say they use artificial intelligence in their jobs at least a few times per year has nearly doubled, while more frequent use has also increased substantially. These trends reflect changes in the software and tools available to workers, as well as broader organizational efforts to integrate AI into operational processes. The shifts in adoption have not been uniform across sectors, and different types of tools are being used for distinct tasks. Chat interfaces, writing support software, and coding assistants are…