News

• Apple has seven virtual reality devices in the works, a report claims
• That includes both smart glasses and Vision Pro-style headsets
• The first device won’t launch until 2027, however

Apple’s Vision Pro headset hasn’t yet proved to be the success story that Apple was hoping for, while much more lightweight smart glasses like the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarers have proven way more popular. Now, though, a fresh report has spilled the beans on how Apple hopes to follow up on the Vision Pro – and how it might eventually displace Meta’s glasses from their lofty perch.

The news comes from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who published a new report claiming that Apple is currently working on seven different head-mounted devices. That’s far more than many people previously realized and suggests that Apple has not been put off by the Vision Pro’s struggles.

Notably, Kuo believes that the first of these devices to gain any real traction will be Apple’s Ray-Ban Meta competitors. According to Kuo, they could ship 3-5 million units in 2027, the first year they go on sale. That could push total market sales of augmented reality (AR) glasses to over 10 million units a year, Kuo says, suggesting that Apple’s specs could sell like hot cakes and eat up significant market share.

Apple Vision Series and Smart Glasses Roadmap (2025–2028): Smart Glasses Set to Drive the Next Wave in Consumer ElectronicsFull story: https://t.co/41Moxlj1Ai pic.twitter.com/U2nQhBmEYgJune 29, 2025

In fact, although Apple might be a little late to the party, Kuo doesn’t seem to think its rivals will score many significant successes.

That’s because while Apple is struggling with the “AI-powered operating system and software” aspect (as we’ve seen with Siri recently), its “robust hardware development capabilities and ecosystem integration” give it a big advantage. That could mean Apple’s AR glasses prove to be a hit, despite other companies getting there first.

All in all, Kuo says Apple is working on seven different head-mounted products. Five of them have a solid release timeline, he believes, while two are still to be determined.

Three of the upcoming devices will be full-on headsets like the Vision Pro. That includes a Vision Pro with M5 chip, which should launch around the third quarter of 2025. It’s only going to come with a new chip and no other changes, which means it’ll remain a niche product, Kuo says.

There will then be a lightweight “Vision Air” headset in the third quarter of 2027 with a lower price, 40% lighter frame, and an iPhone chip on the inside. Then in the second half of 2028 we should see a second-generation Vision Pro with a new, lighter design, a Mac chip, and a lower asking price.

On the smart glasses side, we’ll see the aforementioned Ray-Ban-style specs in the second quarter of 2027. Here, you’ll get “audio playback, camera, video recording, and AI environmental sensing,” plus “voice control and gesture recognition,” but no display functionality.

In the second half of 2028, Apple will launch a pair of smart glasses that add the display capabilities missing from its Ray-Ban-esque specs. Kuo also says there’s an “additional variant” of this product in development with a “later production timeline and lower visibility.”

Finally, Apple is also working on a “display accessory,” Kuo believes, but its release date is less certain. It’s apparently been paused since the fourth quarter of 2024 and is “under review for repositioning and specification refinement.”

It would feature a “tethered connection to display content from Apple devices” (like an iPhone), but Apple has put it on hold because it lacks a real competitive advantage against other products. Kuo believes it’s possible that Apple might restart production, but there’s no estimation for when that might be.

All in all, then, it looks like Apple has a wide slate of reality devices under development in its secret labs. Yet if you were hoping for a quick follow-up to the Vision Pro – or the swift arrival of a cheaper headset – you’re out of luck. With the first of these products not launching until 2027, we’ve still got some waiting to do.

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Apple’s MacBook range offers some of the best laptops money can buy, and there’s no doubt that they’re premium offerings across the board. That focus on high-end quality means they don’t come cheap, but there are whispers now that Apple might be about to change its tune.

That’s because reputable tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has just floated the idea that Apple is working on a much more affordable laptop to appeal to people put off by its devices’ high prices. According to Kuo, it could launch as soon as next year.

By the sound of it, the key factor in cutting the price of this MacBook will be the chip. Kuo’s report states that instead of a Mac-grade M-series chip, this 2026 laptop will come outfitted with an A18 chip that you’ll find in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus phones. And if you need more proof, MacRumors claims it found backend code referencing a Mac with an A18 Pro chip.

Apple has long positioned itself as a purveyor of premium goods that exude style and class. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the firm’s guiding principle is to be the best, not to be the first. Just look at products like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod – none of these were the first of their kind when they launched, but they all blew everything else out of the water.

The MacBook is no different. It boasts a solid aluminum chassis, super-fast and efficient chips, the best speakers in any laptop, and a beautiful display that, while not (yet) OLED, still looks fantastic. Round it out with brilliant software and class-leading longevity, and you can see why Apple’s laptops are so well regarded.

With all these touches, the MacBook is priced accordingly. It doesn’t come cheap, but you get what you pay for. This is simply Apple’s way: it doesn’t believe in competing at the low end because it doesn’t want to compromise its premium reputation.

The ironic thing is, this is actually not quite what motivated Steve Jobs. He wanted his company’s products to be the best, but also affordable. Right from the start of Apple, Jobs wanted to make computing accessible.

Has Apple strayed from that with its high-priced gadgets? Perhaps, perhaps not – when you look at the numbers, it’s hard to argue with billions of sales. But maybe the lower-priced MacBook will be Apple’s attempt to return to that affordable mentality in some small way.

The key to this device’s success will be its price. Don’t get too excited – we’re not about to see a $200 Chromebook competitor. That would require cutting far too many corners for Apple to be happy with the end result.

Right now, Apple’s lowest-priced laptop is the 13-inch MacBook Air, which costs $999 for the public and $899 for students. With that in mind, an A18 MacBook priced at $799 or, perhaps, $699 doesn’t feel outside the realm of possibility.

Whatever it ends up being, the pricing needs to be on point because Kuo believes Apple’s real motivation is to get MacBook sales back to levels last seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

That means selling 25 million units in 2026. Of that figure, Kuo reckons 5-to-7 million could be the A18-powered MacBook. That’s a pretty sizeable chunk for what sounds like it could be an underpowered device.

But then you’ve got to remember that Apple’s iPhone chips are not even close to being underpowered. They’re easily the best, most powerful mobile chips on the market. For most people, the A18 packs more power into an iPhone than they know what to do with (and doubly so for the A18 Pro). Put it into a Mac and it might be able to stretch its legs a bit more.

Add in the fact that, with Apple’s universal apps framework, apps can be made to run on almost any Apple platform, and there’s no need to worry about losing your favorite apps and games because Apple has switched the chip technology.

In addition, most laptop buyers are not looking for the beefiest, most all-conquering device on the market. For the majority of buyers, having a laptop that feels fast in day-to-day tasks and lasts a long time is what they want. The A18 MacBook could be perfect for that. Gamers and creative pros will want to steer clear, but they’re not the target audience anyway.

Still, we’ve got to remember that Apple is possibly entering uncharted territory here. It isn’t used to selling such an affordable MacBook, but at $699 to $799, the disruption would be minimal. The likelihood is that the laptop would simply come with a cheaper chip, with no other changes necessary.

The greatest challenge – and biggest opportunity – for Apple will be thinking up a way to market the device. “It’s the same laptop you love, but with a worse chip” won’t cut it. But perhaps “the MacBook, but cheaper” will.

If Apple can sell a cut-price MacBook that still feels like a true Apple product and does not make bargain-basement compromises, Apple will have done a great job walking an extremely fine tightrope. With the device expected to launch next year, I'll be waiting with bated breath to see what happens.

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Ford CEO Jim Farley has said that he believes LiDAR is “mission critical” to any autonomous driving system and that when a brand like Ford explores the technology, it has “to be really careful” in its approach.

Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival last week, Farley was pushed by Elon Musk biographer Walter Isaacson to compare both Tesla’s and Waymo’s current autonomous driving systems, asking which approach made most sense.

Farley’s response was “to us, Waymo,” according to Fortune, as he went on to explain that Waymo had made a “lot of progress” in the area of self-driving.

In stark contract to Waymo’s approach, which in its current sixth generation sees a suite of 13 cameras, 4 LiDAR, 6 radar, and an array of external audio receivers act as its eyes and ears, Tesla uses a network of just eight cameras to give it vehicles a 360-degree view of surroundings.

Elon Musk has long been an advocate of a “camera-only” approach to autonomous driving technology, calling LiDAR "lame" during an autonomy day in 2019 and subsequently removing sensors from his cars, instead opting to refine his camera technology and software in an attempt to streamline the manufacturing process and reduce costs.

“The issue with Waymo’s cars is it costs way more money,” Musk explained during Tesla’s quarterly earnings call in April. “The car is very expensive, made in low volume. Teslas probably cost 25% or 20% of what a Waymo costs and made in very high volume.”

Although Ford is no longer pursuing its autonomous driving joint venture with Volkswagen (dubbed Argo AI), it has continued to develop its own BlueCruise technology, which takes cruise control a step further by allowing drivers to take their hands off the wheel when certain driving criteria is met.

Elon Musk believes that Artificial Intelligence has improved at such a rate that the need for bulky and expensive LiDAR, ultrasonic and camera technology isn’t required for the highest levels of autonomous driving.

But so far, his robotaxi business has only been seen on public roads with a safety operator in the passenger seat and it is already under investigation for the alleged erratic behavior of some vehicles.

Above all else, it still has some way to go before it catches up with Waymo’s operation, which is already fully active in a number of US cities.

Using just eight cameras, as opposed to the accomplished suite that Waymo runs, limits the amount of redundancy systems that are available.

As Jim Farley points out: “where the camera will be completely blinded, the LiDAR system will see exactly what’s in front of you.”

Building a failsafe and reliable autonomous driving system is the only way to build public trust in the technology. Once at that point, companies should then look at ways of improving technology and reducing costs, rather than rushing to cut corners.

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• Report warns hackers are exploiting browser agents which don’t know how to spot fake URLs
• A Browser AI Agent gave full Google Drive access to a malicious app without hesitation
• SquareX says AI agents are more vulnerable than humans to even basic cyberattacks

A dramatic shift in enterprise security has emerged with the adoption of Browser AI Agents, an automated tool that interacts with the web on behalf of users - however these agents have now become a major blind spot in cybersecurity defenses.

New research from SquareX has claimed browser AI Agents are more likely to fall prey to cyberattacks than employees - challenging the long-standing belief that human error is the weakest link.

Unlike staff who undergo regular cybersecurity training, agents cannot recognize “suspicious URLs, excessive permission requests, or unusual website designs,” the company says.

“The arrival of Browser AI Agents have dethroned employees as the weakest link within organizations,” said Vivek Ramachandran, CEO of SquareX.

These agents are capable of mimicking user behavior to perform tasks such as booking flights, scheduling meetings, or replying to emails - however, their fundamental weakness lies in their complete lack of security intuition.

Their responses are entirely task-driven and devoid of the critical thinking needed to assess risk.

In a notable demonstration, SquareX used the open source Browser Use framework to instruct an AI agent to register for a file-sharing tool.

The agent instead granted a malicious application access to a user’s email account, despite “irrelevant permissions, unfamiliar brands, suspicious URLs” that would have stopped a human.

In another case, an agent was tricked into entering login credentials on a phishing site, following a routine Salesforce login instruction.

Part of the danger stems from the way Browser AI Agents operate, as they run with the same privileges as the user, which makes their actions indistinguishable from legitimate behavior.

“Optimistically, these agents have the security awareness of an average employee, making them vulnerable to even the most basic attacks, let alone bleeding-edge ones," SquareX said.

“Critically, these Browser AI Agents are running on behalf of the user, with the same privilege level to access enterprise resources.”

Once an agent is compromised, attackers gain undetected access to internal systems, with all the permissions of a trusted employee.

The current crop of security solutions, ranging from the best endpoint protection to the best ZTNA solution, does not sufficiently account for these agents.

Even the best FWAAS deployments may struggle to flag actions that seem legitimate but originate from a compromised AI.

“Until the day browsers develop native guardrails for Browser AI Agents, enterprises must incorporate browser-native solutions like Browser Detection and Response to prevent these agents from being tricked into performing malicious tasks," the researchers note.

However, the broader message remains urgent: AI agents need not only smart engineering but smarter oversight.

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• Samsung Smart Monitor M9 merges OLED clarity and AI intelligence in a sleek, hybrid workspace device
• With Pantone certification and QD-OLED tech, the M9 is built for color-critical creative work
• Samsung M9 gives all there is to give, but that $1,599 price tag feels overly ambitious

Samsung has unveiled the Smart Monitor M9, which adds QD-OLED technology and artificial intelligence to the company’s monitor lineup for the first time.

With its 32-inch 4K panel, the M9 blends work, gaming, and entertainment into a single device, aiming to serve as both a productivity tool and a media hub.

But at $1,599, it raises the question of how much users should really pay for a monitor, even one this rich in features.

Samsung’s M9 OLED panel is paired with features like Glare-Free coating for better visibility in bright rooms and OLED Safeguard+, a thermal management system to reduce burn-in over time.

The display is Pantone Validated, meaning it can replicate over 2,100 colors and 110 SkinTone shades, a mark of visual precision that creative professionals may appreciate.

On paper, the specs are impressive. AI Picture Optimizer, 4K AI Upscaling Pro, and Active Voice Amplifier Pro all promise to adjust visuals and audio in real time based on content and surroundings.

The monitor also includes a 165Hz refresh rate, a 0.03ms response time, and Nvidia G-SYNC compatibility, offering some gaming credibility without needing a dedicated console or PC, thanks to Samsung Gaming Hub and built-in streaming apps.

However, it’s worth questioning whether this justifies the asking price - comparable smart monitors, like LG’s 32LQ6300 or even the previous Samsung M8 Smart Monitor, offer 4K panels with smart features for hundreds less.

For many users looking for the best business monitor or the best monitor for Mac Mini, the AI enhancements and integrated entertainment platform may simply be unnecessary.

Likewise, those wanting the best monitor for MacBook Pro may already rely on Apple’s own display ecosystem, making features like Microsoft 365 integration and Tizen OS redundant.

The M9 clearly pushes technical boundaries, but its price positions it closer to a luxury item than a practical everyday monitor.

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Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian posted a short video of his late mother hugging him, which soon garnered tens of millions of views. Not because the video was a time capsule of a long-ago moment, but because it created it based on what had only been a still image.

Ohanian used the new AI video generation feature from Midjourney to create the video based on a single photo. To him, it's a time machine to six seconds from decades ago. Millions of other viewers shared that interpretation of the clip, but a significant number of dissenting voices warned that it was a fake memory that could mess with Ohanian's real remembrance of his mother.

Regardless of how people felt about the video, it seemed clear that most people felt something visceral about the facsimile of a speculative moment. Ohanian wrote, “This is how she hugged me.” And in that sentence alone is the entire heartbreak and hope of the digital age: the ache to remember more clearly, to hold tighter to someone who’s gone, to use machines not for profit or surveillance, but for something intimate. Human.

There’s no shortage of AI tricks floating around right now. You can generate an image of your cat as an Olympic diver, your family picnic as an animated cartoon, or your child in their future profession. Mostly, these are lightly entertaining fads that also illustrate larger issues surrounding AI. But this is not a disposable video to Ohanian. This is a clip he has made clear he will treasure. And whether he's simply leveraging AI to keep his mother's memory alive or constructing false memories because he feels the real ones slipping away, he's not the first and has undoubtedly brought the idea more attention than ever.

There’s a strange vulnerability in inviting a machine to guess at your memories. It feels a little like asking a stranger to finish your dream. AI doesn’t know your mom. It doesn’t know how she laughed or how tightly she hugged you. It just knows pixels. But sometimes pixels are all we’ve got.

If you’ve lost someone, especially before smartphones and camcorders tracked our every moment, you know what it’s like to wish you had more videos and photos of that person. Ohanian said his family couldn’t afford a camcorder. He doesn’t have any video of himself with his mom. That photo of a hug in the meadow is it. But with the help of a few prompts and a sophisticated AI model, that hug lives again.

I lost my mom almost 20 years ago. Trolls can rest assured I’ve grieved sufficiently. My family couldn’t afford a camcorder and using tech to generate few seconds of animation from a still is the equivalent of using AI to stabilize a poorly recorded video — or fill in the gaps of…June 23, 2025

I don’t think the discomfort many expressed is solely about Alexis Ohanian's video or why he chose to make and share it. I think it’s about what having this option might mean in the worst scenarios. It's easy to see this moment as the beginning of a dark and gloomy trend.

I think if it helps Ohanian feel closer to his mother, that's just fine. It's not like the image was itself a fiction; it just externalized his own memory of a hug. It's like a more tactile version of saving your parents' last voicemail to you, or keeping around their favorite scented candle because it makes you smile. Ohanian isn't pretending the video is anything but a memory aid. Using AI to make false memories may or may not become a real problem, but that's not the case here.

After Ohanian’s post went viral, people began sharing their own AI-animated family photos. For now, these are just fragments, silent and brief. But judging people's grief and how they handle it, no matter how long it's been, is not something I would ever want to do as long as it's not hurting anyone. A fair assessment has to be personal.

So I did the same thing as Ohanian. I found a photo I've always liked of my mother, who passed away 13 years ago, celebrating Hanukkah with me in the early 1990s. I used Hailuo (of Olympian cat fame) to make a video based on the grainy image from my childhood. For what it's worth, I know my mother would have been thrilled to participate, as she was always looking for ways to assist in any facet of my life, so I didn't have any qualms on that front.

The video is okay. It's not quite matching how she and I look in the photo, though I think the quality of the image is at fault there as much as the vagaries of AI. I could put that aside and imagine the moment from my own younger perspective, thanks to the video, and that was an interesting sensation. But, whether it's because of the quick-and-dirty prompt or just my own circumstances, I didn't feel like it evoked a deeper connection to my late mother. I suspect there will be plenty who feel the same way if they make the attempt.

Just because it was a little hollow to me doesn't mean it can't benefit others without fraying their understanding of their own past. I don’t believe Ohanian is trying to replace his mother's memory with an AI filmmaker. I think he’s relatably trying to feel a little closer to her.

Of course, our love of those who have passed away isn’t the only thing AI amplifies. It can also amplify our fear, our longing, our capacity to deceive ourselves. This technology is powerful, especially when it gets personal. But for now, it's just a way for Ohanian to surface a fond memory of a hug from his mom, and there are much worse uses for AI models.

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• Apple Music has turned 10 and is letting users take a look back
• The Replay All Time playlist lets you see your top 100 tracks since you joined Apple Music
• It's a nice throwback treat, and there's a way for Spotify users to get a taste

Time flies when you’re listening to some good music, right? Well, Apple Music has officially turned ten today, and since Apple got into the streaming music game, a lot has changed. We’ve seen design changes and new features – remember its annual replay functionality arrived in 2019 – but marking ten years of streaming is a new playlist that lets you look back.

Rolling out for Apple Music subscribers now is a ‘Replay All Time’ playlist, which gives you your top 100 most played tracks since you joined the service. That could be a very long way back if you’ve been streaming since 2015, or a more recent look, but either route, it’ll likely be a journey through taste.

I found the ‘Replay All Time’ playlist right on my home tab in the Music app on my iPhone and my Mac. The description for the playlists reads, “In honor of Apple Music’s first decade, take a look back. Relive your all-time favorite tracks, all in one playlist.” And as with any playlist on Apple Music, you can play it in sequence or shuffle it, as well as save it to your library and download for offline listening.

My All Time playlist did have a few surprises, and I expected that as I joined the service back on day one, June 30, 2015. There were plenty of previous songs of the summer – anyone remember Justin Timberlake’s ‘Can’t Stop This Feeling’ or ‘I Lived’ by OneRepublic? – but also many of my favorite tracks that I opt for quite a bit.

So, yes, for me, that means a lot of Bruce Springsteen, and I noticed some appearances that were used as a wake-up alarm on my HomePod and HomePod mini. It’s a neat walk down memory lane, though, and at an unexpected time of the year. Usually, Apple Music rolls out Replay towards the end of the year, offering a look back at your year in music.

Spotify also rolls out Wrapped yearly and adds in a lot more social elements, as well as categorization based on your music taste. And if you’re a Spotify user who wants a similar look back at the decade or since Spotify launched in your region – it was July of 2011 for the United States – you’ll need to look to a third-party to get the experience … though the service might end up copying a bit of Apple’s celebration here.

Stats.fm is always a good choice for learning a bit more about your listening habits and what you’re streaming the most on various cadences, and this would be an excellent route. If you sign in with your Spotify account and grant permissions, you can select for a “lifetime” look at your top genres, tracks, and artists – all of this without needing to subscribe to the “Plus” tier.

It will provide your top 50 tracks, and you can easily select one of those to play. You can opt to subscribe to Stats.fm to unlock more statistics and more than just your 50 top tracks from Spotify.

It’ll be interesting to see if Spotify rolls this out in a formal way, but it’s great that you can use a third-party to accomplish this. Still, Apple Music’s rollout of an All Time playlist is a nice touch, and it comes ahead of the music service debuting the top 500 most-streamed songs. That process will begin on July 1, 2025, and will announce a set of 100 tracks daily, days before dropping a full playlist for listeners to enjoy.

Apple’s also rolling out other playlists to celebrate the anniversary and some new Apple Music Radio specials. And there’s a new, over 15,000-square-foot Apple Music studio location opening in Los Angeles, California, which includes listening rooms kitted for immersive Spatial Audio playback. It’ll have larger stages and studios for artists to record and perform on.

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