Technology News Today — Latest Tech Headlines
The latest technology news today — AI, gadgets, startups and the companies shaping the future, summarized clearly on Plax.
Apple and Epic argue over how much Apple should get from purchases made outside the App Store
In a new filing in its long-running legal dispute with Epic Games, Apple has proposed a structure that would allow it to collect fees on digital purchases made via external links that don't use the company's in-app purchase system. Epic has…
The Verge · 13 Aug, 11:13 pmInvestors sue Selena Gomez alleging fraud tied to her mental health startup
The plaintiffs say they invested nearly $1.2 million in the company, and are accusing Gomez of failing to build and market the startup.
TechCrunch · 13 Aug, 10:12 pmFlock says its new tool will help identify police abuse, but hasn’t explained how it works
The surveillance company announced it's making a tool called "Audit Assistance" mandatory for all customers, claiming it's already helped catch abuse. But the company has yet to explain how the tool works in detail, raising questions about…
TechCrunch · 13 Aug, 10:02 pm‘That is not acceptable’: Judge orders Google to make rival app store installs easier
One month after Epic Games and Google seemingly stopped fighting over the future of Android app distribution, they were back in a San Francisco courtroom today - where Judge James Donato just ordered Google to make it easier to install riva…
The Verge · 13 Aug, 09:53 pmIf Apple sends you a push notification alerting you to a spyware attack, take it seriously
Apple now sends out push notifications to iPhone lock screens when the company identifies government spyware targeting someone's devices.
TechCrunch · 13 Aug, 09:50 pmThe fight over Flock and other ALPRs
There are over 120,000 of Flock’s automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras installed all over the US. Flock’s cameras, and others like them, use AI to identify and track vehicles based on their license plate number, make, model, color,…
The Verge · 13 Aug, 09:46 pmMicrosoft’s Clippy-like Mico character is no longer the face of Copilot
Microsoft Copilot will no longer show its emotive yellow blob, Mico, when you use the chatbot's voice mode. In a support page, Microsoft says it's going to move Mico to its Learn Live platform, where the avatar will have "more to react to,"…
The Verge · 13 Aug, 09:42 pmWriter introduces new AI model and upgraded harness to contain token costs
Built as a post-training variation on Z.ai's open source model GLM-5.2, Writer says the new system should provide deployment-ready capabilities at a much lower price.
TechCrunch · 13 Aug, 09:13 pmNetflix is closing two game studios
Netflix plans to shut down two of its gaming studios, as reported by Game File and Variety, as it makes a bigger shift toward party games and titles streamed to TVs. One of the studios being shut down is Night School Studio, creators of the…
The Verge · 13 Aug, 08:52 pmDatabricks wanted to raise $1B, investors wanted $15B. It settled on $5B at a $190B valuation.
AI is expensive, Ali Ghodsi tells TechCrunch. With so many investors wanting into his latest round, he said yes to more than planned.
TechCrunch · 13 Aug, 08:14 pmThis school-friendly laptop from HP is $300 off
With memory prices still high and showing no signs of dropping, we’re always happy to find a good deal on a budget-friendly system with an adequate amount of RAM. Best Buy has the HP OmniBook X Flip discounted by $300, bringing the cost dow…
The Verge · 13 Aug, 08:07 pmPrivate security firms will soon be allowed to hack overseas cybercriminals
Trump memo is first time gov't has authorized private sector to perform cyberattacks.
Ars Technica · 13 Aug, 07:38 pmOpenAI is losing its second executive this week
Another OpenAI executive is departing. Denise Dresser, who joined OpenAI as its chief revenue officer in December after serving as CEO of Slack, will be leaving in the "coming weeks" to "pursue other opportunities," she said in a team note…
The Verge · 13 Aug, 07:28 pmOpenAI introduces ‘Ultrafast,’ a new mode that makes GPT-5.6 Sol work at 14x the speed
OpenAI is launching a preview of a sped up version of its latest, most powerful model, in an effort to court enterprise users.
TechCrunch · 13 Aug, 07:22 pmIBM partners with OpenAI to bolster enterprise AI push
IBM plans to train and certify tens of thousands of consultants on OpenAI's technologies as part of this deal.
TechCrunch · 13 Aug, 07:19 pmVirgin Galactic wants your help naming its new Delta class spaceship
Will it be the VSS... Horizon , Explorer , Ascend or Apeiron ?
Ars Technica · 13 Aug, 07:12 pmThe Trump admin will start letting private firms launch international cyberattacks
The Trump administration is launching a new program that will allow private firms to perform cyberattacks against foreign criminals, as reported earlier by Bloomberg. The private firms would operate "under the control and oversight" of the…
The Verge · 13 Aug, 06:56 pmUkrainian drones wipe out entire US tank brigade in live war game
Ukrainian drone pilots teach the US military and NATO hard battlefield lessons.
Ars Technica · 13 Aug, 06:31 pmI finally found a robot lawnmower I’d trust with my yard
Robot lawnmowers are finally good enough to take a lot of work out of maintaining a yard, but they’re still not set-it-and-forget-it machines. If you don’t want these autonomous cutting machines to tear up your lawn or go roaming in your ne…
The Verge · 13 Aug, 06:30 pmAnthropic set AI agents loose on the same task. They started a turf war.
Anthropic researchers found AI agents can clash, collude, and coordinate in unexpected ways, raising new questions about whether today’s safety tests capture the risks of multi-agent systems.
TechCrunch · 13 Aug, 06:28 pmFlock “can’t tech its way out” of the stalker cop problem, experts say
Flock to lock out cops who stalk exes, but agencies can still hide abuse.
Ars Technica · 13 Aug, 06:10 pmYou can now just point at a mess and this robot vacuum will suck it up
Matic, my current favorite robot vacuum, just got a big upgrade. The company has launched Matic Cues, which brings voice and gesture control to the robot. Now, you can talk directly to your vacuum to tell it what you want it to do, or just…
The Verge · 13 Aug, 06:00 pmThe new Instagram logo is the perfect embodiment of AI slop
Opinion: Some remarks about the new wordmark accidentally being perfectly awful.
Ars Technica · 13 Aug, 05:32 pmOpenAI hires new CRO as executive shake-up continues
OpenAI has replaced chief revenue officer Denise Dresser after just nine months on the job, tapping Wiz president and chief operating officer Dali Rajic to take on frontier lab's top sales job.
TechCrunch · 13 Aug, 05:07 pmGoogle announces Gemini 3.7 Flash just three weeks after previous release
Gemini 3.6 Flash debuted just 3 weeks ago, but Google says 3.7 has "substantial improvements."
Ars Technica · 13 Aug, 05:00 pm