WhatsApp is testing an 'answerphone' for missed calls
WhatsApp would like you to leave a message after the beep. In what feels like a blast from the past, Meta is testing what equates to an answerphone service in WhatsApp.
Currently undergoing beta testing with a limited number of users, the feature seeks to encourage conversation and connectivity. You have almost certainly been notified of a missed WhatsApp call on your phone, but how many times has the person who called followed up with a text message? Probably not often, and this is something WhatsApps is looking to address.
US government to acquire nearly 10% stake in Intel as part of President Trump's plan to boost American chip manufacturing
Intel has confirmed widely reported plans that it intends to sell nearly 10 percent of its shares to the U.S. government under a new $8.9 billion agreement with the Trump administration aimed at expanding American semiconductor production.
The deal gives the American government a direct equity stake in the struggling iconic chipmaker, and comes as part of President Trump’s much publicized push to strengthen domestic manufacturing.
First release of Kodi 22 'Piers' is available to download NOW
It’s been a whopping seven months since The Kodi Foundation rolled out Kodi 21.2 ‘Omega’, coming five months after the previous release.
The last build came with a raft of changes and improvements and was designed to keep things ticking along while the team worked on the next version of its popular home theater software -- Kodi 22 'Piers'.
Rokid takes on Meta with new AI-powered smart glasses
Rokid will unveil its newest wearable, the Rokid Glasses, at a launch event in New York City on August 26. The company says the device is the world’s lightest full-function AI and AR smart glasses, combining translation, navigation, transcription, and a first-person camera in an everyday design.
The glasses run on Qualcomm’s AR1 platform and include features such as real-time multilingual translation, live transcription, a teleprompter function, and object recognition. Rokid is also building around a developer ecosystem that already counts more than 15,000 developers in China, with plans to expand internationally.
Belkin's new UltraCharge collection brings faster Qi2 wireless charging to Apple iPhone and Android
Belkin has announced a new line of wireless chargers that use the new Qi2 25W standard. The UltraCharge series includes three products designed for different use cases, all capable of charging devices faster and more efficiently than earlier Qi models.
Qi2 is the newest wireless charging standard created by the Wireless Power Consortium. It allows speeds of up to 25W, greater energy efficiency, and better compatibility across devices from multiple brands.
Chinese smartphone maker vivo takes aim at Apple and Meta with its first mixed reality headset
vivo has entered the mixed reality market with the launch of its first headset, the vivo Vision Discovery Edition. The headset enters a field dominated by Meta, Apple, and other global players, but is the first mixed reality device from a Chinese smartphone maker.
The device has been in development for four years and vivo says it is for “everyday use” rather than short demos or niche applications.
Free Windows backup and sync tool Synchredible 9 offers speed and design upgrades
Synchredible 9 is the latest version of the popular free Windows backup and synchronization tool that aims to make managing files and folders less of a chore.
The program has long been known for its flexible scheduling and detailed sync options, and this latest release brings a series of updates designed to improve speed, usability, and reliability.
Chatbots account for over 58 percent of all AI tool traffic
Over the year from August 2024 to July 2025 the top 10 AI chatbots collectively pulled in 55.88 billion visits, accounting for 58.8 percent of all AI tool traffic.
Within this group, ChatGPT is the undisputed leader, drawing 46.6 billion visits (up 106 percent year-on-year) and holding 48.36 percent of the entire AI tools market share.
Boards should bear ultimate responsibility for cybersecurity
A new State of the Security Profession survey from The Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec) shows that 91 percent of the profession believe ultimate responsibility for cybersecurity lies with the board and not security managers or CISOs (just 31 percent).
The survey focused on regulation in the light of a wave of major regulations either recently passed or coming into force -- including the EU AI Act, DORA, NIS2 and the UK’s Data (Use and Access) Bill.
Microsoft is still slowly chipping away at the Control Panel in Windows 11
The death of the Control Panel has been slow and painful. The long and drawn out move from the Control Panel to the Settings app started years ago, and it is still an ongoing process in Insider Builds of Windows 11.
It is not really clear why Microsoft is taking so long to migrate options across from the Control Panel to Settings, other than factoring in the idea that it is really not considered a priority. But with the release of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27928 to the Canary Channel this week, the Control Panel continues to be subjected to a death by a thousand cuts.
Google is bringing an AI fitness coach to Fitbit thanks to Gemini
There is nothing that technology companies will not try to enhance with AI. Google is no stranger to this with Gemini, and the company has announced an AI-powered fitness coach for the Fitbit platform.
But this is more than just a fitness coach. Google describes it as a “a fitness trainer, a sleep coach and a health and wellness advisor” all rolled into one. The aim is to be the AI coach that is suitable for everyone, so what can it do?
The challenge of moving AI from prototype to production [Q&A]
More organizations are turning to AI to assist in their digital transformation efforts, but many projects get stuck in the pilot phase.
That’s not necessarily a sign of failure though. Rather, it reflects that AI is still in its formative stage, with its most transformative impact still ahead. We spoke to Nadav Eiron, SVP of cloud engineering at Crusoe to learn more about how AI can transition from experimentation to integration, and from potential to permanence.
Microsoft gives Copilot on Windows another new look
Microsoft could be accused of many things in relation to Copilot on Windows, but standing still is not one of them.
Both in terms of functionality and design, the company seems to be constantly at work and this is something that is evident in the latest Insider build of Windows 11. Microsoft is rolling out new features such as Semantic Search, and also a completely redesign home page for Copilot on Windows.
Google releases Password Manager app
Whether you have been waiting for it or not, Google Password Manager is now available as a standalone app for Android users.
Breaking the Password Manager component out of the Chrome browser is an interesting move. There is no real reason for Google doing so other than making it slightly easier to access saved passwords and usernames.
Insider threats become more effective thanks to AI
Artificial intelligence is making insider threats more effective according to a new report which also shows that 53 percent of respondents have seen a measurable increase in insider incidents in the past year.
The survey, of over 1,000 cybersecurity professionals, from Exabeam finds 64 percent of respondents now view insiders, whether malicious or compromised, as a greater risk than external actors. Generative AI is a major driver of this, making attacks faster, stealthier, and more difficult to detect.
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