Google Chrome’s long, long project to implement a new browser extension platform is seemingly going to happen, for real, after six years of cautious movement.
One of the first ways people are seeing this is if they use uBlock Origin, a popular ad-blocking extension, as noted by Bleeping Computer. Recently, Chrome users have seen warnings pop up that “This extension may soon no longer be supported,” with links asking the user to “Remove or replace it with similar extensions” from Chrome’s Web Store. You might see a similar warning on some extensions if you head to Chrome’s Extensions page (chrome://extensions).
What’s happening is Chrome preparing to make Manifest V3 required for extensions that want to run on its platform. First announced in 2018, the last word on Manifest V3 was that V2 extensions would start being nudged out in early June on the Beta, Dev, and Canary update channels. Users will be able to manually re-enable V2 extensions “for a short time,” Google has said, “but over time, this toggle will go away as well.” The shift for enterprise Chrome deployments is expected to be put off until June 2025.
Google has said that its new extension platform was built for “improving the security, privacy, performance, and trustworthiness of the extension ecosystem.” The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) disagrees most strongly with the security aspect, and Firefox-maker Mozilla, while intending to support V3 extensions for cross-browser compatibility, has no plans to cut off support for V2 extensions, signaling that it doesn’t see the big improvement.
Perhaps the biggest point of friction is with ad blockers. Google has said it “isn’t killing ad blockers” but “making them safer,” in an explanatory blog post. Google noted in November 2023 that Manifest V3 allowed for a greater number, and more dynamic updating, of content-blocking rules in extensions, specifically ad blockers.
But one of the biggest changes is in disallowing “remotely hosted code,” which includes the filtering lists that ad blockers keep regularly updated. Ad blockers that want to update their filtering lists, perhaps in response to pivots by platforms like Google’s YouTube and ad servers, will have to do so through the Chrome Web Store’s review process. Ad-blocking coders see it as an intentional gatekeeping and slowing.
Google said before the initial May push toward V3 that 85 percent of actively maintained extensions in its store had Manifest V3 versions ready. Raymond Hill wrote on uBlock Origin’s GitHub page Friday that there will not be a full version of uBlock Origin that works with Manifest V3, but instead a “Lite” version that is “a pared-down version of uBO with a best effort at converting filter lists used by uBO into a Manifest V3-compliant approach.”
Enlarge/ NZXT’s subscription program charges $169/month for this build.
NZXT, which sells gaming PCs, components, and peripherals, has a subscription program that charges a monthly fee to rent one of its gaming desktops. Subscribers don’t own the computers and receive an upgraded rental system every two years.
NZXT’s Flex program subscription prices range from $49 to $169 per month, depending on the specs of the system, as you can see below:
Enlarge/ The footnote is: “Specs of PCs subject to change based on availability.”
NZXT
There’s also a one-time setup and shipping fee for the rentals that totals $50. NZXT says it will “likely” charge subscribers a separate fee if they return the rental without the original box and packaging (NZXT hasn’t disclosed how much).
The systems received, per NZXT’s website, will be “new or like-new.” Users may get refurbished systems and should check their rental for any defects, per subscription agreement terms from Fragile, which helps manage the subscription service.
NZXT says subscribers get 24/7 customer support with their subscription. The Irvine, California-headquartered company also says that there are no cancellation fees, and subscribers get a prepaid return label with their rental system. As noted by The Verge, NZXT started promoting Flex as early as February; it’s unclear how much interest it has garnered.
Per the subscription agreement, users can be charged the full retail value of the system if it’s returned damaged or altered (self-upgrades/repairs have limits) and monthly interest rates of 8 percent if they stop paying the monthly fee for over 60 days.
Who’s this for?
In an announcement Wednesday, NZXT looked to frame Flex as a way to make PC gaming more accessible and highlighted use cases where it thinks rental PCs make sense.
In a shared statement, the CEO of esports team FlyQuest suggested there’s a place for rental PCs in esports, which often relies on expensive gear delivered through sponsorships. In a statement, Brian Anderson said: “New hardware is being released frequently, and having access to industry-leading products is vital to staying competitive. NZXT Flex provides us with the confidence that we’ll always have access to the top-of-the-line builds so that we can create content and play at our highest level for our fans.”
The announcement also highlights a supposed customer who said the program let them immediately get a gaming PC that they can’t afford. The program also targets people who only need a high-end PC for a short period or who want easy biennial upgrades.
But for most, rental PCs don’t make much fiscal sense long-term, as monthly fees add up over time. For example, the cheapest plan would cost $758 the first year (including the setup/shipping fee), which is more than various prebuilt gaming PCs and DIY builds.
Subscribers also don’t own the computer. They can get an upgraded system after two years, but in that time, they will have spent $1,466 to $4,106 for hardware that they don’t own. Meanwhile, $1,466 to $4,106 could fetch a quality PC that you could own and continue getting value from beyond two years.
Flex also competes with PC rental programs from companies like Rent-A-Center and Aaron’s that let people rent to own. A few months ago, an NZXT representative confirmed via Reddit that Flex isn’t a rent-to-own program. The rep said that computer buyouts could be allowed but that only a portion of rental payments would apply to the purchase.
Those seeking immediate PC gaming gratification with limited funds also have options in payment plans/financing, used systems, and cloud gaming—all of which have drawbacks but let you compute and play games with hardware that you own.
Recently, more tech brands have been showing interest in trying to draw subscription dollars from consumer gadgets that typically only net a one-time profit. HP, for example, has a printer rental program where you pay to use a printer that you don’t own and that HP tracks. Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber also recently discussed interest in selling a “forever mouse” that people would own but requires a subscription to receive ongoing software updates.
Enlarge/ Even mainstream CPUs like the Core i5-13400 could theoretically be affected by Intel’s crashing issues.
Andrew Cunningham
Intel will be releasing a microcode update to prevent further damage to crashing 13th- and 14th-generation desktop processors sometime this month if it can stick to its previously announced schedule. This fix should be available via BIOS updates from PC and motherboard makers and from Microsoft as a Windows update. But it will take time for those updates to roll out to users, and Intel has said that processors that are already exhibiting crashes have been permanently damaged and won’t be fixed by the microcode update.
In an effort to provide peace of mind to buyers and cover anyone whose CPU is subtly damaged but not showing explicit signs of instability, Intel is extending the warranty on all affected 13th- and 14th-generation CPUs by an additional two years, Tom’s Hardware reports. This raises the warranty on a new boxed Intel CPU from three years to five. For processors that came installed in pre-built PCs, Intel says users should reach out to their PC’s manufacturer for support instead.
Though owners of high-end chips like the Core i9-13900K and Core i9-14900K were the most frequently affected by the crashing issue, Intel says that any 13th- or 14th-generation desktop CPU with a base power of 65 W or higher could ultimately be affected. This means that even slower, more budget-oriented chips like the Core i5-13400 could end up having problems.
According to Intel, the root cause of the issue was “a microcode algorithm resulting in incorrect voltage requests to the processor,” a bug that caused motherboards to supply too much power to a CPU. This resulted in damage to the silicon over time, leading to crashing and instability. The problem was also exacerbated by enthusiast motherboards that didn’t stick to Intel’s recommended default power and performance settings.
Intel says it is “investigating options to easily identify affected processors” to help give users peace of mind, and it will have more to share on both these testing options and the details of the extended warranty “in the coming days.” Anyone experiencing problems should reach out to Intel or their PC’s manufacturer, depending on whether they bought a separate CPU or a complete system.
Enlarge/ The Pocket 386 is fun for a while, but the shortcomings and the broken stuff start to wear on you after a while.
Andrew Cunningham
The Book 8088 was a neat experiment, but as a clone of the original IBM PC, it was pretty limited in what it could do. Early MS-DOS apps and games worked fine, and the very first Windows versions ran… technically. Just not the later ones that could actually run Windows software.
The Pocket 386 laptop is a lot like the Book 8088, but fast-forwarded to the next huge evolution in the PC’s development. Intel’s 80386 processors not only jumped from 16-bit operation to 32-bit, but they implemented different memory modes that could take advantage of many megabytes of memory while maintaining compatibility with apps that only recognized the first 640KB.
Expanded software compatibility makes this one more appealing to retro-computing enthusiasts since (like a vintage 386) it will do just about everything an 8088 can do, with the added benefit of a whole lot more speed and much better compatibility with seminal versions of Windows. It’s much more convenient to have all this hardware squeezed into a little laptop than in a big, clunky vintage desktop with slowly dying capacitors in it.
But as with the Book 8088, there are implementation problems. Some of them are dealbreakers. The Pocket 386 is still an interesting curio, but some of what’s broken makes it too unreliable and frustrating to really be usable as a vintage system once the novelty wears off.
The 80386
Enlarge/ A close-up of the Pocket 386’s tiny keyboard.
Andrew Cunningham
When we talked about the Book 8088, most of our discussion revolved around a single PC: the 1981 IBM PC 5150, the original machine from which a wave of “IBM compatibles” and the modern PC industry sprung. Restricted to 1MB of RAM and 16-bit applications—most of which could only access the first 640KB of memory—the limits of an 8088-based PC mean there are only so many operating systems and applications you can realistically run.
The 80386 is seven years newer than the original 8086, and it’s capable of a whole lot more. The CPU came with many upgrades over the 8086 and 80286, but there are three that are particularly relevant for us: for one, it’s a 32-bit processor capable of addressing up to 4GB of RAM (strictly in theory, for vintage software). It introduced a much-improved “protected mode” that allowed for improved multitasking and the use of virtual memory. And it also included a so-called virtual 8086 mode, which could run multiple “real mode” MS-DOS applications simultaneously from within an operating system running in protected mode.
The result is a chip that is backward-compatible with the vast majority of software that could run on an 8088- or 8086-based PC—notwithstanding certain games or apps written specifically for the old IBM PC’s 4.77 MHz clock speed or other quirks particular to its hardware—but with the power necessary to credibly run some operating systems with graphical user interfaces.
Moving on to the Pocket 386’s specific implementation of the CPU, this is an 80386SX, the weaker of the two 386 variants. You might recall that the Intel 8088 CPU was still a 16-bit processor internally, but it used an 8-bit external bus to cut down on costs, retaining software compatibility with the 8086 but reducing the speed of communication between the CPU and other components in the system. The 386SX is the same way—like the more powerful 80386DX, it remained a 32-bit processor internally, capable of running 32-bit software. But it was connected to the rest of the system by a 16-bit external bus, which limited its performance. The amount of RAM it could address was also limited to 16MB.
(This DX/SX split is the source of some confusion; in the 486 generation, the DX suffix was used to denote a chip with a built-in floating-point unit, while 486SX processors didn’t include one. Both 386 variants still required a separate FPU for people who wanted one, the Intel 80387.)
While the Book 8088 uses vintage PC processors (usually a NEC V20, a pin-compatible 8088 upgrade), the Pocket 386 is using a slightly different version of the 80386SX core that wouldn’t have appeared in actual consumer PCs. Manufactured by a company called Ali, the M6117C is a late-’90s version of the 386SX core combined with a chipset intended for embedded systems rather than consumer PCs.
Enlarge/ Microsoft’s Arm-powered Surface Laptop 7. We’re still waiting for Arm chips to make their way into cheaper PCs.
Andrew Cunningham
For the first time in the decade-plus that Microsoft has been trying to make Arm-powered Windows PCs happen, we’ve finally got some pretty good ones. The latest Surface Pro and Surface Laptop (and the other Copilot+ PCs) benefit from extensive work done to Windows 11’s x86 translation layer, a wider selection of native apps, and most importantly, Snapdragon X Pro and X Elite chips from Qualcomm that are as good as or better than Intel’s or AMD’s current offerings.
The main problem with these computers is that they’re all on the expensive side. The cheapest Snapdragon X PC right now is probably this $899 developer kit mini-desktop; the cheapest laptops start around the same $1,000 price as the entry-level MacBook Air.
That’s a problem Qualcomm hopes to correct next year. Qualcomm CEO Christiano Amon said on the company’s Q3 earnings call (as recorded by The Verge) that the company was hoping to bring Arm PC prices down to $700 at some point in 2025, noting that these cheaper PCs wouldn’t compromise the performance of the Snapdragon X series’ built-in neural processing unit (NPU).
That Amon singled out the NPU is interesting because it leaves the door open to further reductions in CPU and GPU performance to make cheaper products that can hit those lower prices. The Snapdragon X Plus series keeps the exact same NPU as the X Elite, for example, but comes with fewer CPU and GPU cores that are clocked lower than the Snapdragon X Elite chips.
Qualcomm may want to keep NPU performance the same because Microsoft has a minimum NPU performance requirement of 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS) to qualify for its Copilot+ PC label and associated features in Windows 11. Other requirements include 16GB of memory and 256GB of storage, but Microsoft specifically hasn’t made specific CPU or GPU performance recommendations for the Copilot+ program beyond the basic ones necessary for running Windows 11 in the first place. Copilot+ PCs come with additional AI-powered features that take advantage of local processing power rather than sending requests to the cloud, though as of this writing, there aren’t many of these features, and one of the biggest ones (Recall) has been delayed indefinitely because of privacy and security concerns.
Lofty goals for Arm PCs
Both Arm and Qualcomm have made lofty claims about their goals in the PC market. Arm CEO Rene Haas says Arm chips could account for more than half of all Windows PC shipments in the next five years, and Amon has said that PC OEMs expect as much as 60 percent of their systems to ship with Arm chips in the next three years.
These claims seem overly optimistic; Intel and AMD aren’t going anywhere and aren’t standing still, and despite improvements to Windows-on-Arm, the PC ecosystem still has decades invested in x86 chips. But if either company is ever going to get anywhere close to those numbers, fielding decent systems at more mass-market prices will be key to achieving that kind of volume.
Hopefully, the cheaper Snapdragon systems will be available both as regular laptops and as mini desktops, like Qualcomm’s dev kit desktop. To succeed, the Arm Windows ecosystem will need to mirror what is available in both the x86 PC ecosystem and Apple’s Mac lineup to capture as many buyers as possible.
And the more Arm PCs there are out there, the more incentive developers will have to continue fixing Windows-on-Arm’s last lingering compatibility problems. Third-party drivers for things like printers, mice, audio preamps and mixers, and other accessories are the biggest issue right now since there’s no way to translate the x86 versions. The only way to support this hardware will be with more Arm-native software, and the only way to get more Arm-native software is to make it worth developers’ time to write it.
Nothing has a new smartphone—the Phone (2a) Plus—nearly identical to the Phone (2a) it released earlier this year, but with slightly beefed-up specs. It costs $399 and is available in the US through the same beta program. But it isn’t the new Android handset we find most interesting, it’s the company’s new widget.
The “News Reporter” widget, available by default on all Nothing and CMF smartphones plus other Android and iOS devices via the Nothing X app, lets you quickly play a news bulletin summarized by artificial intelligence. It is read out by the synthesized voice of Tim Holbrow, the company’s chief financial officer. (Nothing is using ElevenLabs’ tech for sound synthesis and output.) As soon as you tap the widget, you’re greeted by a soothing British voice:
“Welcome to Nothing News, where the only thing we take seriously is not taking anything seriously. I’m Tim, your CFO and reluctant news reader. Today, we’re making something out of nothing, because that’s literally our job.”
The widget will start cycling through a selection of news stories—you can press and hold the widget and tap Edit to add or remove categories you’re interested in, such as business, entertainment, tech, and sports. These news stories are pulled from “trusted English-language news sources” through News API, using Meta’s Llama large language models for the summary.
Enlarge/ Nothing’s News Reporter widget is available on all Nothing and CMF phones by default. If you download the Nothing X app, you can also access it on Android and iOS.
You can swipe down the notification bar and press the next button on the media playback notification to skip a story, to which Holbrow will add a quip. “Not feeling that one? Let’s find another.” After I skipped quite a few in a row, AI Holbrow asked, “Do you even like news?”
The summaries are one minute each (roughly), and you get eight stories per day. Every morning, the widget will refresh with a fresh batch. Unfortunately, and frustratingly, the widget doesn’t give you much to go on if you want to read more. There’s no attribution to where it pulled the news from, and no links are provided to read directly from the source.
Every smartphone company has been touting some kind of generative AI feature in new devices this year. Samsung has Galaxy AI; Google has its Gemini chatbot and a bevy of AI features in Pixel phones; Motorola introduced Moto AI recently; and even OnePlus has been teasing a few AI features in its phones, like AI Eraser, which lets you remove unwanted objects from photos. Nothing introduced a ChatGPT integration in its earbuds earlier this year, and this widget is the latest generative AI feature to land.
That said, it’s hardly the first time we’ve seen a news summarization feature. Back when Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant were gaining popularity, one of the top features was to ask the voice assistant to play the news—you’d be able to hear short news clips from various sources, like NPR and CNN. That said, I like the implementation in Nothing’s widget, but I’d also like to see attribution and a way to dig deeper into a story if it’s interesting.
What about that phone?
As for the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus, I’ve been using it for several days and it’s … indiscernible from the Phone (2a) I reviewed positively in March. I love the new gray color option, which hides smudges on the rear better and makes the phone’s already fun design pop even more. You still get the same Glyph light functionality, allowing the LEDs to light up for notifications and calendar events, and even double as a visualizer when playing music.
Enlarge/ Nothing Phone (2a) on the left, Nothing Phone (2a) Plus on the right.
The top change here is the processor. Inside is MediaTek’s Dimensity 7350 Pro 5G (as opposed to the Phone (2a)’s Dimensity 7200 Pro), which offers a 10 percent increase in CPU power, and a 30 percent jump in graphics performance. Honestly, I didn’t notice a huge bump in speed, and my benchmark scores show a very tiny boost.
The next upgrade is in the camera, namely, the selfie camera and its new 50-MP sensor that can shoot 4K at 30 frames per second (up from 32 megapixels). The company says it has issued seven updates since the launch of the Phone (2a) with 26 improvements to the camera, which include upgrades to loading speeds, color consistency, and blur accuracy in portrait mode. The Phone (2a) Plus launches with all of those improvements, and the 50-MP front and ultrawide cameras on the rear are the same.
Selfies indeed look much nicer, especially in low light, where my face appears sharper with better HDR and a more balanced exposure. The rear cameras produce nice results considering the price, and I found daytime renders to deliver natural-looking colors. It can still struggle with super high-contrast scenes, but this is a solid camera system.
Lastly, the wired charging on the phone now supports 50 watts (up from 45 watts), which supposedly gets you a 10 percent charging speed boost. Everything else is identical from the Phone (2a)’s specs, from the 6.7-inch AMOLED display to the 5,000-mAh battery.
Nothing new
I’ve enjoyed the phone over the past few days, but its launch is so peculiar, considering it doesn’t introduce any groundbreaking updates to the Phone (2a). So I asked the company why it decided to launch the (2a) Plus now. “We aren’t launching Phone (3) until next year, and we saw an opportunity to enhance the smartphone we launched in March with Phone (2a) Plus, a new smartphone—catered towards power users—at an accessible price point,” says Jane Nho, Nothing’s head of PR in the US. The company launched its last flagship phone, the Phone (2), in July 2023.
So there you have it: The Phone (2a) Plus is a seemingly painless way for Nothing to try and stay relevant amidst all the other smartphone launches, still have an AI story, boost sales, and oddly try and make some sort of digital celebrity out of its CFO.
Nothing says it’ll go on sale August 3 in London at Nothing’s store in Soho, in gray and black, with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. In the US, the device will follow the same beta program system as the Phone (2a) and CMF Phone 1. That means you’ll have to sign up for the beta, and once you’re accepted, you’ll be able to purchase the device for $399. It’ll be available on August 7 at 9 am ET.
Enlarge/ Oclean’s X Ultra, released in July, has optional Wi-Fi connectivity.
Oclean
One of the most unlikely passengers on the AI gadgets hype train is the toothbrush. With claims of using advanced algorithms and companion apps to help you brush your teeth better, toothbrushes have become a tech product for some brands.
So-called “AI toothbrushes” have become more common since debuting in 2017. Numerous brands now market AI capabilities for toothbrushes with three-figure price tags. But there’s limited scientific evidence that AI algorithms help oral health, and companies are becoming more interested in using tech-laden toothbrushes to source user data.
AI toothbrushes
Kolibree was the first company to announce a “toothbrush with artificial intelligence.” The French company debuted its Ara brush at CES 2017, with founder and CEO Thomas Serval saying, “Patented deep learning algorithms are embedded directly inside the toothbrush on a low-power processor. Raw data from the sensors runs through the processor, enabling the system to learn your habits and refine accuracy the more it’s used.”
That’s pretty much how other AI toothbrush companies describe their products: There’s a vague algorithm working with an unnamed (likely cheap) processor and sensors to gather information, including how hard, fast, or frequently you brush your teeth. Typically, Bluetooth connectivity enables syncing this data with an app, purportedly letting users see interpretations of their brushing habits and how they could improve.
Kolibree now licenses its technology to Colgate-branded AI toothbrushes. The associated app, Colgate Connect, allows users to order Colgate products, sometimes at a discount. Other companies selling “AI toothbrushes” with connected e-commerce apps are Procter & Gamble’s (P&G’s) Oral-B, Philips, and Oclean, which announced a new tech-equipped toothbrush in July. Unlike many other toothbrushes, Oclean’s X Ultra can work with Wi-Fi.
An Oclean spokesperson told Ars Technica via email:
The toothbrush’s chip and accelerometer collect user behavior data. The embedded algorithm processes this data, and the brushing data is uploaded to the cloud in real time (no need to open the app once Wi-Fi is connected). Data processed on the toothbrush is displayed on the screen with limited dimensions, while cloud-processed results are shown on the mobile app with more dimensions and AI suggestions (based on recent or long-term brushing habits).
Assuming you could find an AI toothbrush that delivers on its claims by helpfully pointing out that you tend to miss your top-right molar, there’s reason to be skeptical about the necessity of such technology and the underlying motivations a brand may have in releasing an app-connected toothbrush.
AI toothbrushes help companies sell, develop products
Outside of toothbrushes, personal care brands have been seeking new ways to make money beyond selling units. As Stéphane Bérubé, CMO at beauty brand L’Oréal, put it, the industry can get value from selling services instead of just products. “I believe that the company that just sells products will not be successful,” she said at a 2018 marketing conference.
AI toothbrushes follow a similar approach. Toothbrushing tips act as a service, while the connected apps offer ways to potentially diversify a company’s business, make more revenue through product sales, and get an intimate understanding of how people use a product. The Oral-B toothbrush app, for example, can provide users information about their toothbrushing habits and recommend P&G products to buy while providing purchase links.
P&G has also discussed using AI in general as a way to get information that could help shape product development. As explained by P&G CIO Vittorio Cretella in a 2022 blog post, “algorithms can be defined to process consumer feedback on product changes and flag R&D engineers in real time, along with recommending adjustments accordingly.” As P&G’s R&D team has pointed out, traditional methods for collecting data on consumers, like surveys and focus groups, rely on self-reporting that can be inaccurate. Using tech to gather information about the way people use products is a way for corporations to address that flaw.
Enlarge/ Intel’s Lunar Lake Core Ultra CPUs will be announced in September.
Intel
Intel announced today that it plans to launch its next-generation Core Ultra laptop chips on September 3, just ahead of this year’s IFA conference in Berlin.
This announcement-of-an-announcement offers few specifics on what the next-gen chips will be like beyond promising “breakthrough x86 power efficiency, exceptional core performance, massive leaps in graphics performance and… unmatched AI computing power.” But we do already know a few things about the next-generation CPUs, codenamed Lunar Lake.
We know that, like current-generation Meteor Lake chips, Lunar Lake will combine multiple silicon “tiles” into one large die thanks to Intel’s Foveros packaging technology. We know that Intel will use a mix of up to four E-cores and four P-cores in the CPU, a step down in core count from what was available in Meteor Lake. We know Lunar Lake includes a next-generation Arc GPU based on the “Battlemage” architecture that promises up to 1.5 times better performance than the current Arc-integrated GPU. We know that at least some models are shifting to RAM that’s soldered to the CPU package, similar to how Apple packages RAM in its M-series processors. And we know that Lunar Lake includes a boosted neural processing unit (NPU) for local generative AI processing, Intel’s first chip fast enough to qualify for Microsoft’s Copilot+ label.
Intel usually announces next-generation chips toward the end of the year in December, and actual laptops using those chips are announced at CES a few weeks later. We don’t know exactly when Lunar Lake systems will show up—announcing products in September doesn’t mean they’ll be readily available in September—but Intel does seem to be operating on an accelerated timeline this year.
That’s almost certainly because of competitive pressure. Qualcomm finally launched its Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips earlier this month, the first Arm processors for Windows PCs that could compete with and beat x86 laptop chips on both performance and battery life. And AMD has already started shipping Ryzen AI processors, which combine a Copilot+ capable NPU with the company’s new Zen 5 architecture and an updated integrated GPU (the version of Windows 11 that will actually enable Copilot+ features for x86 PCs should arrive later this year).
And the first-generation Meteor Lake Core Ultra chips haven’t been as compelling as they could be. They got a nice integrated GPU performance boost for the first time in years, but their single-core CPU performance was actually a minor regression from the 13th-generation Core processors they replaced. And despite being marketed as the first in a wave of “AI PCs,” Microsoft kind of pulled the rug out from under Intel and AMD, setting the Copilot+ NPU requirements to a performance level considerably higher than what either company had been shipping up to that point. It’s anyone’s guess whether Lunar Lake will be an across-the-board upgrade or whether it will be able to keep pace with the new Snapdragon PCs’ lower heat and fan noise and better battery life.
Apple has some minor updates for all its operating systems, and the releases include iOS 17.6, iPadOS 17.6, tvOS 17.6, watchOS 10.6, and macOS Sonoma 14.6.
Apple’s notes for these updates simply say they include bug fixes, security updates, or optimizations. However, there are a few hidden features.
macOS 14.6 reportedly enables multi-display support in clamshell mode on the M3 MacBook Pro, allowing users of that device to use two external displays at once. That was already possible on the M3 Pro and M3 Max variations. Apple had previously released a similar update to bring that functionality to the M3 MacBook Air.
iOS 17.6 and iPadOS 17.6 have added a feature called Catch Up, which is targeted at sports fans who use Apple’s TV app.
The feature allows users to watch a quick sequence of highlights that have been produced so far from an in-progress Major League Soccer game before joining the live feed.
That’s about it, though. These are minor updates, and they are likely the final ones other than security hotfixes until Apple begins rolling out its annual updates, such as iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia 15, later this fall.
Those updates are expected to include several new features, though the biggest—Apple Intelligence, a suite of generative AI features—will not arrive until iOS 18.1, which was just released as a developer beta for the first time.
iOS 17.6, iPadOS 17.6, tvOS 17.6, watchOS 10.6, and macOS Sonoma 14.6 are available to download and install on all supported devices now.
Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber recently discussed the possibility of one day selling a mouse that customers can use “forever.” The executive said such a mouse isn’t “necessarily super far away” and will rely on software updates, likely delivered through a subscription model.
Speaking on a July 29 episode of The Verge’s Decoder podcast, Faber, who Logitech appointed as CEO in October, said that members of a “Logitech innovation center” showed her “a forever mouse” and compared it to a nice but not “super expensive” watch. She said:
… I’m not planning to throw that watch away ever. So why would I be throwing my mouse or my keyboard away if it’s a fantastic-quality, well-designed, software-enabled mouse? The forever mouse is one of the things that we’d like to get to.
The concept mouse that Faber examined was “a little heavier” than the typical mouse. But what drives its longevity potential for Logitech is the idea of constantly updated software and services.
To be clear, Logitech hasn’t announced concrete plans to release such a product. But Faber seemed optimistic about the idea of a mouse that people never need to replace. The challenge, she admitted, is finding a business model that supports that idea without requiring an exorbitant hardware price. “Our stuff will have to change, but does the hardware have to change?” she asked. “I’m not so sure. We’ll have to obviously fix it and figure out what that business model is. We’re not at the forever mouse today, but I’m intrigued by the thought.”
The price of a “forever mouse”
Speaking with Faber, Decoder host and Verge Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel suggested that a “forever mouse” could cost $200. While that would be expensive compared to the typical mouse, such a product wouldn’t be the first software-heavy, three-figure-price computer mouse. Still, a price tag of around $200 would limit the audience to professionals or enthusiasts.
Faber also said the average price of a mouse or keyboard is $26, though she didn’t cite her source. Logitech is seeking growth by appealing to the many people who don’t own both a mouse and keyboard and by selling more expensive devices. A “forever mouse” could fall under the latter. Alternatively, the price of the mouse’s hardware could be subsidized by subscription payments.
In any case, pushing out software updates would require Logitech to convince its customers to use an app to control their mouse. Such software can offer a lot of programmability and macro support, but the need to constantly run peripheral software could be a nuisance that eats up computer resources. Earlier this year, users complained when Logitech added a ChatGPT launcher to its peripherals.
Mouse subscription
Subscription models have been gaining popularity among business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) tech companies because they offer a more reliable, recurring revenue source than hardware sales. When Patel asked Faber if she could “envision a subscription mouse,” she responded, “possibly.”
Faber said subscription software updates would mean that people wouldn’t need to worry about their mouse. The business model is similar to what Logitech already does with video conferencing services (Logitech’s B2B business includes Logitech Select, a subscription service offering things like apps, 24/7 support, and advanced RMA).
Having to pay a regular fee for full use of a peripheral could deter customers, though. HP is trying a similar idea with rentable printers that require a monthly fee. The printers differ from the idea of the forever mouse in that the HP hardware belongs to HP, not the user. However, concerns around tracking and the addition of ongoing expenses are similar.
What about hardware durability?
Logitech’s CEO didn’t discuss what durability features a long-lasting mouse might incorporate. But enabling easier self-repairs and upgrades would be a different approach to a longer-lasting computer mouse that could more directly appeal to users.
Logitech already sells parts for self-repairs of some of its mice and other gadgets through iFixit. This shop could be expanded to feature more parts, offer more guides, and support more products.
A “forever mouse” would also benefit from a design with self-repairability in mind. Features like hot-swappability for mouse button switches for upgrades/repairs; easily replaceable shells, wheels, and feet; detachable cables; and customization options—all accompanied by readily available parts and guides—could go a long way toward making a mouse that fits users’ long-term needs.
During the interview, Faber also discussed Logitech’s goals of doubling its business and cutting its carbon footprint by 50 percent by 2031.
Enlarge/ Graphene is a remarkable allotrope, deserving of further study. GrapheneOS is a remarkable ROM, one that Google does not quite know how to accommodate, due to its “tiny, tiny” user numbers compared to mainstream Android.
“If it’s not an official OS, we have to assume it’s bad.”
That’s how Shawn Wilden, the tech lead for hardware-backed security in Android, described the current reality of custom Android-based operating systems in response to a real security conundrum. GrapheneOS users discovered recently that Authy, a popular (and generally well-regarded) two-factor authentication manager, will not work on their phones—phones running an OS intended to be more secure and hardened than any standard Android phone.
“We don’t want to punish users of alternative OSes, but there’s really no other option at the moment,” Wilden added before his blunt conclusion. “Play Integrity has absolutely no way to guess whether a given custom OS completely subverts the Android security model.”
Play Integrity, formerly SafetyNet Attestation, essentially allows apps to verify whether an Android device has provided permissions beyond Google’s intended models or has been rooted. Root access is not appealing to the makers of some apps involving banking, payments, competitive games, and copyrighted media.]
There are many reasons beyond cheating and skulduggery that someone might root or modify their Android device. But to prove itself secure, an Android device must contact Google’s servers through an API in Google Play Services and then have its bootloader, ROM signature, and kernel verified. GrapheneOS, like most custom Android ROMs, does not contain a Google Play Services package by default but will let users install a sandboxed version of Play Services if they wish.
Wilden offered some hope for a future in which ROMs could vouch for their non-criminal nature to Google, noting “some discussions with makers of high-quality ROMs” about passing the Compatibility Test Suite, then “establishing some kind of relationship we can use to trust them.” But it’s “a lot of work on both sides, including by lawyers,” Wilden notes. And while his team is happy to help, higher-level support is tough because “modders are such a tiny, tiny fraction of the user base.”
The official GrapheneOS X account was less hopeful. It noted that another custom ROM, LineageOS, disabled verified boot at installation, and “rolls back security in a lot of other ways,” contributing to “a misconception that every alternate OS rolls back security and isn’t production quality.” A typical LineageOS installation, like most custom ROMs, does disable verified boot, though it can be re-enabled, except it’s risky and complicated. GrapheneOS has a page on its site regarding its stance on, and criticisms of, Google’s attestation model for Android.
Ars has reached out to Google, GrapheneOS, and Authy (via owner Twilio) for comment. At the moment, it doesn’t seem like there’s a clear path forward for any party unless one of them is willing to majorly rework what they consider proper security.
Enlarge/ Apple Intelligence was unveiled at WWDC 2024.
Apple
As was just rumored, the iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 developer betas are rolling out today, and they include the first opportunity to try out Apple Intelligence, the company’s suite of generative AI features.
Initially announced for iOS 18, Apple Intelligence is expected to launch for the public this fall. Typically, Apple also releases a public beta (the developer one requires a developer account) for new OS updates, but it hasn’t announced any specifics about that just yet.
Not all the Apple Intelligence features will be part of this beta. It will include writing tools, like the ability to rewrite, proofread, or summarize text throughout the OS in first-party and most third-party apps. It will also include new Siri improvements, such as moving seamlessly between voice and typing, the ability to follow when you stumble over your words, and maintaining context from one request to the next. (It will not, however, include ChatGPT integration; Apple says that’s coming later.)
New natural language search features, support for creating memory movies, transcription summaries, and several new Mail features will also be available.
Developers who download the beta will be able to request access to Apple Intelligence features by navigating to the Settings app, tapping Apple Intelligence & Siri, and then tapping “Join the Apple Intelligence waitlist.” The waitlist is in place because some features are demanding on Apple’s servers, and staggering access is meant to stave off any server issues when developers are first trying it out.
