Samsung profits jump 1,800% as AI chip sales soar:
South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics says it expects to post a 19-fold jump in its profits, driven by global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips. The company forecast that it made 89.4tn won (£43.6bn; $58.4bn) between the start of April and the end of June, marking its third record quarterly operating profits in a row. Major South Korean firms like Samsung release forecasts of their earnings ahead of official detailed reports to help guide investors.
Developer Turns Headphones Into Real-Time Head Tracker for Games:
A developer has created a free Windows application that turns the motion sensors inside compatible Sony headphones and earbuds into a real-time head tracker for PC games. The open-source project, called Sony Head Tracker, was developed by Nicholas Slattery. It works with OpenTrack, allowing head movements to control the in-game camera in racing, flight, and other simulator titles.
Your Xiaomi Phone Could Get Major Upgrades Next Month:
Xiaomi could introduce HyperOS 4 as early as August, according to new reports from China. Rumor has it that the new OS is set to bring noticeable performance improvements and more. The next major software update is expected to bring a redesigned interface, extensive changes to the system architecture, and several artificial intelligence features. However, Xiaomi has not officially announced HyperOS 4 or confirmed its launch schedule. Leaks claim Xiaomi has rebuilt key parts of HyperOS 4 using the Rust programming language and Flutter development framework.
From Backups to Cyber Recovery: Rethinking Recoverability in the Age of Ransomware:
For decades, backups have been the default answer to data protection. Most enterprises have established processes, familiar tools, and long-standing policies built around them. The problem is that many of these practices haven’t kept pace with how threats have evolved. Ransomware has changed the rules. Attackers no longer just target production systems; they actively seek out and compromise backup environments. In the majority of ransomware incidents, backup infrastructure is targeted, and in many cases, successfully breached. The assumption that backups guarantee recovery is no longer safe to make.
Google Pixel 11 Launch Date Confirmed:
Google has officially scheduled its next Made by Google event for August 12, correcting an earlier rumor that pointed to an August 11 launch. The company sent invitations for the event, which will take place in New York City at 6 PM Eastern Time. Google is expected to introduce its Pixel 11 smartphone lineup during the event. Google has not yet officially detailed every product it plans to reveal. However, leaks suggest the smartphone lineup will include the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pixel 11 Pro Fold.
DeepSeek Is Developing Its Own AI Chip to Challenge Nvidia:
Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek is reportedly developing its own AI chip as it seeks to reduce its dependence on hardware supplied by Nvidia and Huawei. The proposed processor will focus on AI inference, according to three people familiar with the project cited by Reuters. Inference is the process through which a trained AI model generates responses for users. DeepSeek has reportedly started discussions with external chip designers, semiconductor manufacturers and memory suppliers.
Meta Hit With $1.4 Trillion Fine For Addicting Children to Social Media:
Four US states are seeking up to $1.4 trillion in penalties from Meta over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict young users and that the company misled the public about their safety. California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey calculated the potential penalties using the estimated number of affected young users and the fines allowed under their respective state laws, Reuters reported. The amount is close to Meta’s market value of approximately $1.5 trillion.
Google Can Now Use Your Search Data to Train Its AI:
Google has introduced a new account setting that allows it to save images, files, audio, and video submitted through its Search-related services and use that content to improve its artificial intelligence models. The change applies to media submitted through services including Google Search, Lens, Maps, Translate, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, and News. TechCrunch first highlighted the wider implications of the updated policy, while Engadget reported that the feature covers most forms of media uploaded during a Search interaction.
Nothing Ear (3a) Can Help You Record Calls, Meetings, Lectures:
Nothing has introduced the Ear (3a), a new pair of wireless earbuds positioned between the affordable Ear (a) and the flagship Ear (3). The earbuds offer built-in audio recording, active noise cancellation, LDAC support, and up to 42 hours of total battery life for $99. They are available now through Nothing’s website.
Govt Approval May Be Needed for Ufone-Telenor Rebranding:
The federal government may eventually be required to clear Pakistan Telecommunication Mobile Limited’s (PTML) proposed rebranding to e&, but the process cannot move forward until the company first updates its corporate records with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. PTA sources told ProPakistani that it is still too early to determine whether the rebranding will be approved, as PTML must complete the legal and documentation process with SECP before formally seeking regulatory clearance.
Google Will Start Counting All Android Backups Toward Cloud Storage Limits:
Google is changing how Android backups affect Google Drive account storage, with all backed-up phone data now counting toward a user’s Google Account storage allowance. The new policy takes effect on July 7 for people setting up Android backups for the first time. Google will gradually apply the change to existing users over the coming months. Under Google’s previous policy, most Android backup data did not count toward the account’s storage limit.
Microsoft Cuts 4,800 Jobs and is Selling Four Xbox Studios:
Microsoft has announced plans to eliminate 4,800 jobs, representing around 2.1% of its global workforce, as it begins a major restructuring of its Xbox gaming business. Xbox will account for 3,200 of the planned job reductions. Microsoft immediately eliminated around 1,600 Xbox positions, while the remaining cuts will take place during its 2027 fiscal year.
Nothing Launches New Cheaper Phone Lineup With Phone 4b:
Nothing has finally launched its long-teased Phone 4b, kicking off a new lineup of budget phones that sit under the A series of phones in terms of pricing. Phone 4b has only launched in India and Europe for now, but given its popularity and presence of local distributors, it should come to Pakistan soon, too. The display panel is a 6.77-inch LTPS AMOLED with 1080 x 2344 pixels resolution, which is higher than 1080p, but slightly below 1440p. It can hit 2000 nits of peak brightness, supports a 120Hz refresh rate, and also has 480Hz PWM dimming for flicker-free viewing.
Robots available for rent: But what can they do?:
In hospitals across the US, patients and staff have become accustomed to seeing a one-armed, four-foot high, friendly-looking white robot going about its business. Nurses have been known to greet Moxi, as the robot is called by its maker Diligent Robotics, with a “good morning”, a high five or even a hug.
AI is ‘not smart’ so what’s next in artificial intelligence?:
“We don’t have robots that are nearly as good at understanding the physical world as a rat,” says Yann LeCun, one of the leading figures in the world of artificial intelligence. He worked at Facebook-owner, Meta, for a decade, where he was chief AI scientist, but left in 2025 and founded Advanced Machine Intelligence Labs (AMI Labs). His goal is to move AI beyond current systems like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. They have their uses, he says, but will never be able to tackle complicated situations in the real world, like getting a robot to do household chores.
Rogue landlord used AI to fake smoke detector:
A rogue landlord used AI to try to trick a council into believing he had installed a smoke detector in a house he was subletting. Mindaugas Palaima was being investigated by Bradford Council over safety issues at one of his unauthorised rental properties – but when they visited it, no smoke alarm was fitted and officers realised he had used a fake AI-generated image of one. Bradford Magistrates’ Court heard he had rented two properties and converted them into House in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) without the permission of the building owners.
Clarkson’s Farm crowds drive support for parking plan:
Plans by Jeremy Clarkson to keep his temporary car park at Diddly Squat Farm have been backed by a council. The TV presenter was granted temporary planning permission for three years for the car park at his farm in the Cotswolds in 2023. A planning application stated that it should be extended until 2030, “in light of the continued popularity of the site and associated television programme”.
Hospital first to use AI for spotting infections:
A Kent hospital is the first NHS trust in the country to use a potentially life-saving artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can help clinicians identify infections at an early stage. East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust (EKHUFT) is using AI at Kent and Canterbury Hospital to analyse clinical information such as blood tests, blood pressure and temperature to generate an individual infection risk level for each patient. The software, called MEMORI, is part of a collaboration between the trust and Sanome, a UK health technology company.
Amazon bars breastfeeding boss from business course:
A breastfeeding boss has been barred from a business course run by online retailer Amazon because it would not let her child on to the site. Rachael Bews said she had let Amazon know a week ahead of the in-person event at an Amazon warehouse in Dunfermline, Scotland, that she would need to take her 20-week-old baby with her as she was breastfeeding. However, she said she was told over the phone on the train to the event that children under six were not allowed on site.
Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs and shrinks Xbox in ‘significant restructure’:
Microsoft has announced it has cut 4,800 jobs – roughly 2.1% of its workforce – with Xbox to bear a large number of its latest layoffs. Amy Coleman, executive vice president at Microsoft, told employees in a memo that the tech giant needed to focus on areas that can deliver for customers amid a “fast-changing industry”. The sweeping layoffs will see more than 1,600 roles immediately axed at Xbox.
India orders Meta to remove ads promoting child sexual abuse:
The Indian government has directed Meta to immediately disable advertisements and content on Instagram that promote or facilitate child sexual abuse material, a senior official said. It comes after a BBC Eye investigation found that Instagram has been running paid adverts promoting child sexual abuse material in India, some of which linked users to Telegram channels where the material was offered for sale. The government has also sought an explanation within a week on how advertisements containing such material were allowed on the platform, the official said.
Scientist who cleaned space toilet on work experience now leading Mars exploration teams:
Cleaning a space toilet while on work experience was Claire Parfitt’s first introduction to a career away from Earth’s orbit. But she never imagined her time at the National Space Centre in Leicester, when she was 14, would one day see her lead a team exploring future Mars missions. Parfitt, originally from Nottingham, now works for the European Space Agency’s European Space Research and Technology Centre in the Netherlands.
TikTokers on how Manchester became an ‘influencer heaven’:
Towers of luxury apartments loom over waterside bars beside Deansgate-Castlefield station. On hot sunny days, the area is packed. “Everyone is always there during the summer,” Ruwaydah says. “It’s like influencer heaven.” She began making TikTok videos about her favourite places in Manchester six years ago, after moving into one of the city’s sky-scraping apartments.
Texan moves to Suffolk and becomes a social media sensation:
The idea of upending your entire life and moving nearly 5,000 miles away might prove a daunting prospect. But that’s what Darrell Fishbeck did last summer when he and his wife moved from Blanco, in Texas, to Felixstowe, Suffolk. After touching down on airport tarmac in the UK in August, the 54-year-old was braced for a settling-in period of adapting to an alternative culture and a new way of living.
Parents warned not to publicly share children’s images amid AI abuse risks:
Parents should not publicly post images of their children online due to the growth of AI-generated abuse imagery, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned. Along with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), it said there is a growing threat of children’s images online being used to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM). More than 8,000 AI-generated images and videos of realistic child sexual abuse were identified by the IWF in 2025, it said – adding this was a 14% increase on the year before.
Culture secretary quits X in protest at ‘misinformation’:
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has announced she and her department are leaving Elon Musk’s X platform. Explaining her decision in what seemingly will be her last post on X, Nandy said the platform “isn’t healthy for our democracy or our communities and I don’t want to support it”. “A platform originally designed for free speech and expression now favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate,” she wrote.
Meta glasses wearers hit with paywall to use built-in feature:
Owners of Meta’s AI glasses have been told they must pay a monthly fee if they want full access to a feature that was previously free. Users will have to shell out $19.99 every month to use “Conversation Focus”, which uses the microphones on the glasses to make it easier to hear people you’re talking to, for more than three hours a month. Meta says those who hit the “free monthly usage limit” will have to wait for their free hours to refresh each calendar month unless they subscribe.