Tech News Hub
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max Leak Hints at Thicker Design and Bigger Battery
A new leak indicates Apple's next iPhone 17 Pro Max will have a thicker design than its earlier counterpart, possibly allowing it to accommodate a bigger battery.
As per reliable source Ice Universe, the iPhone 17 Pro Max could be 8.725mm thick, up from the 8.25mm thickness of the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Though this 0.5mm difference might appear insignificant, it could translate into a perceivable battery gain — something fans have been clamoring for.
Along with the Pro Max leak, speculation on an iPhone 17 Air persists. Rumor has it that this model will concentrate on a lighter and thinner build, which might attract buyers who want a thin alternative.
Interestingly, 2025 is also when the first iPhone Ultra might make an appearance, or so speculates Ryan Christoffel of 9to5Mac. It is possible Apple is gearing up for a relabeling of sorts, situating the iPhone 17 Pro Max as the inaugural 'Ultra' model.
With the changes in place, Apple's future lineup promises to bring about enhanced battery performance as well as creative design options.
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Bluesky Plans AI Data Consent Framework to Empower Users
Bluesky's Privacy Push at SXSW
Bluesky is stepping up its privacy game by exploring a new framework that gives users control over how their data is used in AI training. During the SXSW conference in Austin, CEO Jay Graber revealed that the social network is actively developing a system to ensure user consent for data utilization in generative AI models.
Previous AI Data Concerns
Bluesky's open social network structure has previously allowed third-party developers to access user content for AI training. This became evident last year when 404 Media discovered a dataset containing one million Bluesky posts on Hugging Face.
Meanwhile, competitor X has been more aggressive in this area. The platform not only feeds users’ posts to its sister company xAI for chatbot training but also updated its privacy policy last fall to permit third-party AI training on user data. This move coincided with Elon Musk’s rising political influence, prompting user migration from X to Bluesky.
User Consent Framework in Development
As Bluesky’s user base has surged past 32 million in two years, the need for a clear AI data policy has grown. Although Bluesky doesn’t plan to train its own AI on user posts, Graber emphasized the company’s commitment to user choice.
The proposed framework aims to let users decide how their data is used, similar to the robots.txt file system that websites use to control search engine scraping. While such files don’t guarantee prevention, they are widely respected by search engines — a model Bluesky hopes to replicate.
Proposed Consent System
The proposal, now available on GitHub, outlines consent options at both the account and individual post levels. Bluesky will also encourage other companies to honor these user preferences.
Positive Step for Data Privacy
Graber stressed that the initiative aligns with broader concerns about AI's impact on data privacy. “We believe this is a positive step in the right direction,” she concluded.
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Japan’s Service Robot Market Expected to Triple by 2030 Amid Workforce Crisis
Japan is quickly turning towards service robots to counter its acute labor shortage, with the market expected to almost triple to ¥400 billion (around $2.7 billion) by 2030, according to research firm Fuji Keizai.
Facing Labor Shortages
Japan has a major labor shortage, with the Recruit Works Institute predicting an 11 million-employee deficit by 2040. Compounding the issue, close to 40% of Japan's population will be aged 65 or above by 2065, according to an estimate by a government-funded institute.
Businesses are turning to robotics to ensure efficiency and continuity of service.
Robots in Action
One prominent example is Skylark, Japan's biggest table-service restaurant chain, that has installed approximately 3,000 cat-eared robots to help deliver food. The robots move around the dining hall, delivering food quickly while minimizing the workload for human staff.
At one of Skylark’s Tokyo outlets, 71-year-old employee Yasuko Tagawa shared that half of her job now involves working alongside these robots. Tagawa even expressed her appreciation to one of the machines, saying, “Thanks for your hard work. I’ll be counting on you.”
The Future of Robotics in Japan
As the population of Japan continues to age, dependency on service robots will be on the rise across various sectors. From hospitality to healthcare, automation is turning out to be a vital solution to maintain productivity and cope with increasing demands.
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Google Unveils Gemini Embedding Model: Enhanced Text Representation for Developers
Google has released a new experimental model named Gemini Embedding, which is aimed at making computers better understand text. It can be accessed via the Gemini developer API and holds promising possibilities for developers.
What is Gemini Embedding?
Envision providing text to a computer—such as sentences, paragraphs, or code—and having it comprehend the meaning behind the text. That's what Gemini Embedding accomplishes by converting text into numerical information known as embeddings. The embeddings make tasks such as document search, classification, and data organization better and save money while increasing performance.
Why Developers Should Care
Gemini Embedding extends Google's powerful Gemini AI model with greater language and context understanding. This makes it particularly valuable for finance, science, law, and search applications.
The main advantages are:
- Greater Language Support: Gemini Embedding supports more than 100 languages, twice as many as Google's earlier model, text-embedding-004.
- Increased Text Capacity: The developers can now process larger pieces of text and code, which is perfect for processing complicated data.
- Improved Performance: Google states that Gemini Embedding surpasses text-embedding-004 and competes favorably with leading embedding benchmarks.
Experimental Release
Gemini Embedding is currently in an experimental release, which means access is restricted, and functionality could change prior to a stable release. Google will make it widely available sometime in the next few months.
With its enhanced accuracy, wider language support, and capacity for bigger text inputs, Gemini Embedding is poised to be an indispensable asset for text data-working developers.
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Microsoft Expands AI Ambitions: Developing New Models to Rival OpenAI
Microsoft is stepping up its AI game, developing its powerful models to compete with OpenAI — a company it has heavily invested in.
Reports suggest Microsoft has created its own AI "reasoning" models similar to OpenAI’s o1 and o3-mini. Tensions between the two firms reportedly rose after OpenAI declined to share technical details about its o1 model.
In addition, Microsoft has introduced a family of models known as MAI, which are said to perform on par with OpenAI’s technology. There’s speculation that Microsoft may offer these models through an API later this year.
To diversify its AI strategy, Microsoft is also testing models from xAI, Meta, Anthropic, and DeepSeek as potential alternatives for powering its Copilot assistant.
Despite investing around $14 billion in OpenAI, Microsoft appears to be preparing for greater independence in the AI space. Notably, the company recently hired Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind and Inflection, to spearhead its AI initiatives.
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ChatGPT for macOS Can Now Directly Edit Code Inside Developer Tools
OpenAI has brought a significant update for macOS users—ChatGPT can now edit code directly inside developer tools such as Xcode, VS Code, and JetBrains. This avoids the inconvenience of copying and pasting, and coding becomes smoother and more efficient.
Auto-Apply Mode for Quicker Edits
To accelerate the workflow, ChatGPT now has an auto-apply mode, which enables changes to be applied immediately without the need for approval. The feature is supported by ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team users, with a wider release to Enterprise, Edu, and free users later this week.
Windows Support Coming Soon
For the time being, this feature is available only on macOS, but OpenAI has assured that Windows users will receive access in the near future, providing cross-platform support for developers.
Competing with GitHub Copilot and Cursor
This update expands on OpenAI’s "work with apps" feature, which launched in beta in November 2024, enabling ChatGPT to interact with code directly inside development environments. With this new editing capability, ChatGPT is becoming a strong rival to AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot and Cursor.
AI Coding: The Benefits and Challenges
Code-generation tools powered by AI are also becoming increasingly popular, with the most recent GitHub survey showing that the majority of developers now make use of AI in their processes. Yet, difficulties persist—a report by Harness revealed that code created by AI usually needs more debugging, while Google identified that AI accelerates code reviews but has the potential to affect software stability at times.
The Future of AI-Powered Development
OpenAI is also said to be developing a special AI tool for software developers that could further change how developers write and optimize code. As AI continues to improve at a rapid pace, ChatGPT's recent additions herald the trend toward more intelligent and automated software development.
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Reddit Introduces New Tools to Help Users Post and Engage More Effectively
Reddit is making it easier for users to contribute and connect with its latest set of features. These updates are designed to help users find the right communities, follow subreddit rules, and better understand their post performance. Whether you’re new to Reddit or a longtime user, these tools aim to improve the overall experience.
One of the largest additions is Community Suggestions, which assists users in discovering the appropriate subreddit to share their content. If you don't know where to share, Reddit will now suggest communities for you based on your content, and this will make it simpler to share with the proper audience.
To avoid posts from being taken down, Reddit is launching Post Check, a feature that alerts you to possible rule breaks before you publish. By tapping the wand icon in the post editor, you'll be warned if something in your post could violate subreddit rules, allowing you to correct it before it goes live.
If a post does get taken down, Reddit now has Repost Assistance, enabling users to easily repost their material in a new, more appropriate subreddit. Rather than losing a post altogether, this tool enables users to locate another subreddit where their content will be accepted.
For users who currently do not satisfy a subreddit's engagement criteria—like a required minimum karma—the platform will now give tips on being qualified. Examples might be an invitation to get more involved through posting or commenting on the platform.
Finally, Reddit is enhancing Post Insights, providing you with a more detailed view of how your posts are doing. You'll be able to see in-depth statistics such as upvote trends, shares, and engagement patterns to help you better optimize your posting strategy.
All these features are available now on both mobile and desktop, and Reddit is now more accessible and user-friendly than ever.
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