The UK government’s grand plan for AI in the public sector is struggling in the face of growing technological challenges, a report by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), a bipartisan group of elected members of parliament, has found.

Many of these problems will be familiar to anyone who has tried to make AI work inside an organization: the dead hand of obsolete systems, poor quality data, and a chronic lack of skilled people to implement the technology.

But beyond these issues lies another problem that could prove just as difficult: the monopolistic power of tech vendors that control the AI technology the government so badly desires.

Coming only weeks after the Government Digital Service (GDS) was created to drive AI, the committee’s initial assessment in the AI in Government report is a sobering reality check.

For the birds

The committee’s report identifies several areas of concern, starting with poor-quality data “locked away in out-of-date legacy IT systems.” Of the 72 systems previously identified as being legacy barriers, 21 hadn’t even yet received remediation funding to overcome these problems, it found.

It also noted a lack of transparency in government data use in AI, which risked creating public mistrust and a future withdrawal by citizens of their consent for its use. Other problems included the perennial shortage of AI and digital skills, an issue mentioned by 70% of government bodies responding to a 2024 National Audit Office (NAO) survey.

Additionally, government departments were running AI test pilots in a siloed way, making it difficult to learn wider lessons, said the committee.

“The government has said it wants to mainline AI into the veins of the nation, but our report raises questions over whether the public sector is ready for such a procedure,” said committee chair, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown.

“Unfortunately, those familiar with our committee’s past scrutiny of the government’s frankly sclerotic digital architecture will know that any promises of sudden transformation are for the birds,” he added.

AI oligopoly

There’s a lot at stake here. AI is often talked up by the ministers as the key to overhauling the state, getting it to work more efficiently and cheaply. It’s a story that has become hugely important in many countries. If progress slows, that promise will be questioned.

In its report, the committee drew attention to the market power of a small band of AI companies. The tech industry has a tendency towards monopolies over time, it said, but with AI it was starting from this position, which might lead to technological lock-in and higher costs, hindering development in the long term.

According to the Open Cloud Coalition (OCC), a recently formed lobby group of smaller cloud providers backed by Google, the UK government’s struggles with AI mirror what happened with cloud deployment from the 2010s onwards, which included the lack of competition.

“This report shows that the dominance of a few large technology suppliers in the public procurement of AI risks stifling competition and innovation, while also hampering growth, exactly the same problems we’ve seen with cloud contracts,” commented Nicky Stewart, senior advisor to the OCC.

Cloud and AI are symbiotic, she noted, and the domination of one or both by a small group of mostly US tech companies risks building monopolies it might be difficult to escape from.

“Without reform, the government will remain over-reliant on a handful of major providers, limiting flexibility and access to innovative, leading edge technology, whilst locking taxpayers into expensive, restrictive agreements,” she said.

Sylvester Kaczmarek, CTO at OrbiSky Systems, a UK company specializing in integrating AI into aerospace applications, agreed that supplier dominance could stifle innovation, but remained just as skeptical of AI’s projected cost savings. Implementation was always where technologies proved themselves, he pointed out.

“Are savings over-sold? Most likely, in the short run,” said Kaczmarek. “There is a lot of groundwork to be laid before large-scale, reliable AI deployment can safely deliver meaningful savings. [governments need to] prioritize realistic roadmaps and more comprehensive value.”

Source:: Computer World

By Adarsh Verma There is a new wave of organized crime sweeping across cities, where criminals increasingly target USPS…
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By Nadeem Sarwar Experts at the University of Leeds have created a penny-sized rolling robot that can non-invasively capture ultrasound scans of the gut to look for signs of cancer.

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By Deepti Pathak Getting locked out of your Android phone can be frustrating, especially when almost all your photos…
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US Department of Government Efficiency tech advisor Edward Coristine previously ran a small infrastructure provider that offered services to a cybercriminal group, it has been alleged.

While in high school in 2022 the then-16-year-old DOGE senior advisor ran a company called DiamondCDN that supported a website used by a cybercriminal group named ‘EGodly’, Reuters reported Wednesday.

The connection between DiamondCDN and EGodly was established through digital records preserved by threat intelligence company DomainTools and online cybersecurity tool Any.Run, the Reuters report said.

It’s not clear that Coristine was aware of EGodly’s activity but in early 2023 the group thanked the company on Telegram for helping to keep its dataleak.fun website up and running:

“We extend our gratitude to our valued partners DiamondCDN for generously providing us with their amazing DDoS protection and caching systems, which allow us to securely host and safeguard our website,” read the message.

Records seen by Reuters show this support ran from October 2022 to June 2023 and that users attempting to reach the dataleak.fun site would first have to pass a DiamondCDN anti-bot ‘security check.’

Breaking into law enforcement accounts

Crimes EGodly boasted it had carried out include cryptocurrency theft, phone number hijacking, and breaking into law enforcement email accounts, Reuters said. The group also circulated personal details of an FBI agent it believed was investigating it, and engaged in swatting, the practice of calling armed police to a target’s house on false pretenses as a form of intimidation.

This is not the first time Coristine’s past has been questioned. In February Bloomberg reported that he was fired in 2022 by cybersecurity company Path Network for allegedly “leaking proprietary information.” Separately, it has been reported that Coristine was associated with a Telegram/Discord cybercriminal social network called ‘The Com.’

However, for now, the allegations against him are just that — allegations. He has not commented on any of them.

None of this would hold wider significance if Coristine, now 19 years old, wasn’t one of DOGE’s super-nerds. His celebrity has also been bolstered by DOGE booster Elon Musk himself, who in February tweeted on X that “Big Balls is awesome,” a reference to his vulgar nickname in high school.

Meanwhile, Coristine has access as part of his job to some of the most confidential servers in the US government, including ones that normally require a high level of security clearance.

It’s a reminder that every job candidate should be carefully vetted, said cybersecurity expert Graham Cluley.

“When you hire someone for a job, you’re wise to take a look at what they’ve done in the past. It gives you an idea of both their achievements, as well as, potentially, anything they might have got up to which would help shine light on their judgement, their ethics, and how they might perform in the role,” Cluley said by email.

Source:: Computer World

Google is beating the drum for Gemini 2.5, a new AI model that reportedly offers better performance than similar reasoning models from competitors such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Deepseek. Google calls it its “most intelligent AI model yet.”

According to a post on The Keyword blog, Gemini 2.5 can, among other things, analyze information, draw logical conclusions, take context into account, and make informed decisions. It can also interpret text, audio, images, video and code, which means it can be used to create apps and games, for example.

In the video below, a game is being created from a simple text prompt.

Gemini 2.5 can be tested using the Google AI Studio. The AI model is also available through the Gemini Advanced subscription service.

Source:: Computer World

By Deepti Pathak In today’s digital world, where almost everyone relies on text messages for communication, scammers have found…
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By Siôn Geschwindt A new algorithm has improved the ability of quantum computers to model new materials and chemicals by a factor of 10. That’s according to its developer, UK startup Phasecraft.  The Bristol- and London-based company describes the breakthrough as the largest single leap in quantum simulations to date — moving us a step closer to real-world quantum applications. Quantum computers improve on classical simulations by accurately modelling complex quantum behaviours — like the ever-changing interactions between molecules or the evolution of materials over time — that are too difficult for classical computers to simulate efficiently. This could lead to technological leaps…This story continues at The Next Web

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By Hisan Kidwai Location trackers like AirTags have become insanely popular recently, thanks to their ability to track items…
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Apple will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) online from June 9-13, with a small number of developers and students invited to attend in person for the keynote and state of the union announcements at Apple Park.

As it has been since the Covid-19 pandemic, WWDC will be an online event. That’s great for developers, as it gives everyone more equal access to the tools, developer contacts and advice offered to attendees. Apple says the event will give developers unique access to Apple experts, and insight into new tools, frameworks, and features, which is what this show is normally about.

“We’re excited to mark another incredible year of WWDC with our global developer community,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “We can’t wait to share the latest tools and technologies that will empower developers and help them continue to innovate.”

Why WWDC matters

WWDC is a critical event in the Apple calendar. It’s where the company reveals upcoming enhancements to its operating systems, developer tools, and hints at hardware news. It’s also the most revealing glimpse we get into the company’s strategic approach to the coming months.  

This is going to be of particular importance this year, as the company works at redeeming the reputational damage it has taken thanks to not yet delivering all the features of Apple Intelligence it promised in 2024.

You’ll be able to watch the keynote online, via Apple TV, and on YouTube. Registered developers will also be able to access all the resources Apple makes available at WWDC using the Apple Developer app, Apple Developer website, and Apple Developer YouTube channel. This year’s conference will include video sessions and opportunities to connect with Apple engineers and designers in online labs.

The Swift Student Challenge takes place along with the show. Successful applicants will be announced March 27 and given a chance to join the special event at Apple Park. In addition, 50 Distinguished Winners, who are recognized for outstanding submissions, will be invited to join WWDC in California.

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Source:: Computer World

If you’ve been interested/enthusiastic about China’s DeepSeek AI, you’re not alone – Apple CEO Tim Cook also seems impressed with the tech, which he calls “excellent” – though he fell short of sharing any plans to integrate these models within his company’s own AI efforts.

Cook was in China to woo government and suppliers as the company remains anxious to maintain its second largest business geography even in the face of growing politically-driven tensions with the US. Apple shareholders would expect nothing less from company leadership than to work to preserve company revenue. Apple’s long-standing manufacturing alliance with China also counts for something, even as iPhone sales have declined 25% in the region.

Deep local partnerships

Apple Intelligence, the company’s so-far disappointing take on generative AI (genAI), is not yet available in China, but it’s thought the company has been speaking with local partners and officials to find some way to make it available. Apple is required to work with a Chinese provider of AI services in the market. To that end, it is expected to introduce support for AI models from Baidu and/or the Alibaba Group to replace ChatGPT in Apple’s implementation. (The assumption about why DeepSeek was not selected is that it is not yet ready to scale to meet the needs of Apple’s huge customer base.)

Apple is holding a developer conference in China this week, where it is expected to announce additional plans for Apple Intelligence there. 

Cost and scale

But the capacity to scale, or lack of it, doesn’t mean DeepSeek isn’t impressive. It is, particularly as its powerful R1 model with its estimated development price of just $5.6 million compares really well to more costly models from US-based genAI firms. During the last financial call, Cook discussed DeepSeek’s low cost and high performance, characterizing the achievement as proof that “innovation that drives efficiency is a good thing.” 

It certainly contrasts with the hundreds of millions of dollars Apple presumably spent on developing Apple Intelligence features it still can’t bring to market. Given the chaos that has hit the Siri team since he made those statements, I’m in little doubt he’d quite like to have seen the Apple Intelligence team forge a similar path to success. But perhaps the challenges of linking legacy Siri technologies with advanced AI remain too great for this to happen. Perhaps there’s a solution available?

Tariff troubles

The other challenge in China is the scale to which the current US administration will apply tariffs against Apple products imported from China. With new tariffs as high as 20% being discussed, Apple will want to find some way to navigate the two nations to maintain business in both regions while minimizing the impact of tariffs on product prices. It will, after all, be Apple’s US customers who end up paying more for the products taxed in this way and the company will want to manage the impact on them.

Fundamentally, there is one very big reason Apple makes so many of its products in China — the distribution of skills. Apple continues to invest in efforts to educate tomorrow’s generations of developers, but China can already field them by the thousands. 

It’s not just cost

Cook explained this a few years back: “In the US, you could have a meeting of tooling engineers, and I’m not sure we could fill the room,” Cook said. “In China, you could fill multiple football fields.” He also explained that labor costs are only part of the equation, the “quantity of skill” is also important. The upshot is that until the US solves the fundamental challenge of building workforces fully skilled up for advanced technology manufacturing, no number of tariffs will force jobs to move there. It needs to invest before US leaders can expect that to happen.

Apple has made big attempts to build business outside China since 2018. Today, just over 15% of its iPhones are made in India, and it has factories in locations across the world. It is also investing heavily in US manufacturing, including its $10 billion Advanced Manufacturing Fund, an academy in Detroit, and its new server factory in Houston. 

But one thing it hasn’t got — at least, not yet — is its own slick, small and economical answer to DeepSeek. Not for lack of trying.

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Source:: Computer World

By Siôn Geschwindt BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has launched its first Bitcoin product in Europe, a move that industry experts say will help legitimise cryptocurrencies in mainstream finance.  “This is a landmark development for crypto, displaying confidence in Bitcoin for mainstream investments,” Meryem Habibi, chief revenue officer at London-based cryptocurrency trading platform Bitpace, told TNW.  “Through this first in Europe, BlackRock is not only legitimising the asset class but also paving the way for increased institutional and retail participation,” she said. BlackRock’s product is called an “iShares Bitcoin ETP” (exchange-traded products). ETPs let investors buy and sell Bitcoin without directly owning…This story continues at The Next WebOr just read more coverage about: Bitcoin

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By Siôn Geschwindt San Francisco-based 23andMe, which sells at-home DNA testing kits, has filed for bankruptcy in the US and is looking for a new buyer — heightening concerns about the personal data of millions of people.     23andMe experienced a major data breach in 2023, which exposed personal information like family trees, birth years, and geographic locations of approximately half of the company’s 15 million users.    Now, with the company sinking, 23andMe customers are considering deleting their accounts amid fears of another hack or changes to the company’s privacy controls under a new owner.  In the EU and the UK, 23andMe users are…This story continues at The Next Web

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By Siôn Geschwindt The Netherlands has ranked 10th in a global index of tech competitiveness, ahead of the entire G7 group of the world’s largest so-called “advanced” economies. The country was praised for its thriving digital economy, mature biotech and semiconductor industries, and strong digital skills underpinned by “engineering excellence.” London-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) and consultancy SThree produced the index, which ranks 35 countries based on economic indicators such as level of high-tech exports, number of software developers, and patent filings related to AI.  Several European countries joined the Netherlands near the top of the rankings. Ireland placed second…This story continues at The Next Web

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By Deepti Pathak Abbreviations and acronyms change daily, so keeping up with the latest slang can be difficult if…
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Beneath the hyperbole around Apple Intelligence and intensifying regulation, you might have missed that Apple recently introduced a new MacBook Air equipped with an M4 chip. It’s a compelling upgrade to the world’s best-selling laptop, and I’ve had time to put it through its paces.

It’s an important Mac, given that the Air is probably Apple’s biggest-selling computer. Its journey began back when Apple’s then-CEO,Steve Jobs drew the first ever model out of a brown paper envelope, stressing the power and portability of the system. “We think that this is the future of notebooks…. All notebooks will be like this someday,” he said at that time. 

He was right, and also wrong, because I don’t think there’s anything else quite like the MacBook Air at this price.

You see, these (from) $999 computers deliver almost equal computational performance when measured in Geekbench 6 to the M1 Max Mac Studio Apple introduced three years ago.  

I don’t know how you see that, but to me, given the extent to which everyone was blown away by just how powerful those Studio Macs were, the fact that you can now put near-equivalent performance under your arm for less than $1,000 should make the M4 MacBook Air popular with consumers and business users alike. 

Ready for an upgrade?

That’s something that matters as Microsoft ends support for Windows 10 later this year, giving lots of PC users a really good opportunity to upgrade to the Mac. Many already are Canalys recently reported that US Mac shipments in Q4 2024 increased 25.9%, year-on-year, even as the PC industry as a whole grew just 5.7%.

“The Windows refresh cycle provides fertile ground for Apple to target both consumers and businesses that may be open to switching operating systems,” Canalys said.

The fertility of that ground cannot have been far from Apple’s mind when it decided to add a 10-core M4 chip to the MacBook Air — especially given the speed and energy efficiency that defines the range of every single M-series Mac released. That it managed to reduce the entry-level price by $100 just adds to the appeal.

Performance comes at lower cost

Let’s roll out the Geekbench 6 benchmarks. They show that, iteration by iteration, Apple is delivering compelling performance improvements that cement its reputation as the leading PC maker.

M1 MacBook Air: 2,346 single-core; 8,356 multi-core.

M2 MacBook Air: 2,588 single-core; 9,691, multi-core. 

M3 MacBook Air: 3,065 single-core; 11,959 multi-core.

M4 MacBook Air: 3,833 single-core; 14,871 multi-core. 

Look at that data. 

Not only does it illustrate the extent to which Apple Silicon has transformed the Mac, it also shows us just how solid the company’s processor development road map has turned out to be. Seeing is believing, and since the first M1 machines appeared, Apple has managed to deliver compelling upgrades on a near-annual basis. It will continue to do so, even as competitors flail in their attempts to catch up on machines that can match Apple on performance, price, and energy consumption.

Thanks for the memory

One big upgrade in this iteration is that Apple doubled the memory inside these systems. Ostensibly to run artificial intelligence in the form of Apple Intelligence, the inclusion of 16GB as the base memory makes for improved performance in everything else you do on your Mac. Don’t underestimate the grunt here — not only can it handle existing Apple Intelligence operations, but it is plain that once Apple does deliver contextual smarts in Siri, the new Air will be able to handle it, in part thanks to that memory. 

I also think the combination of a better processor with more built-in memory makes this model a compelling upgrade proposition, even if you are running an M2 MacBook Air, and certainly for M1 users. Of course, if you are using an Intel-based Mac of any kind, then any M-series Mac is a significant upgrade. (You also get a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera for those inevitable video meetings that punctuate most days.)

What’s like blue, but not as heavy?

Light blue is the new color to show off. It’s quite a subtle blue — nothing like a sky blue — but pleasing all the same. To my mind, it’s more a blue-tinged silver. But the votes in my house are broadly positive for the new shade, which will no doubt appear in student halls, coffee shops, meeting rooms, and offices near you in the coming months.

However, every silver lining comes wrapped up in its very own cloud, and the M4 MacBook Air is no different. The design hasn’t shifted one iota — it’s still aluminum, still beautiful, and now features more than 55% recycled content, including a 100% recycled aluminum enclosure. It also means a 13.6-in. display in my test unit, a 2,560×1,664-pixel resolution, two Thunderbolt 4, headphone, and one MagSafe 3 port.  If you want more display space, you’ve got it: the M4 Air will run up to two external displays in addition to the built-in Mac display.

Once again, this means it can be the heart of all kinds of complex professional tasks; if you want even more performance you’ll choose a MacBook Pro. 

So, is this a Pro Mac at a consumer price? 

Yes, and no. First, it is worth noting that Geekbench currently lists the current M4 MacBook Pro as delivering 3,750 single-core and 14,707 multicores, which basically means the new Air offers close to pro performance, but there are some compromises. 

Those compromises include a smaller display (compared to a 14.2-in. display), a slightly slower chip with significantly fewer CPU, and GPU cores than in the Pro, less memory and storage upper capacity, and battery life that is four hours shorter. (You’ll get 22 hours from a 14-in. M4 MacBook Pro compared to 18 hours from the new Air.) The MacBook Pro also offers much higher memory bandwidth, which means it can handle tougher tasks.

The differences basically come down to this: If you are doing computationally intensive work in any profession, you’ll want to go pro. But if you occasionally need to do something demanding you’ll be able to achieve it on a MacBook Air, though it might take a bit longer.

So, if you have a need for the most robust professional tasks, you should go up the scale, and if you want something that’s equal to most challenging tasks, and more than equal for most of the things most people use their computers for, then this is it. It is faster than other PCs in its class with outstanding battery life and speakers smart enough to wrap your ears in a cocoon of spatially balanced sound when you need it.

That focus on the user has always been a hallmark of the Air line-up, and the experience of using this one remains just as compelling as it was when that first one jumped out of that brown envelope back in 2010 — one of the best in its class.

Buying advice

We’re running out of superlatives. This is a significant upgrade to an already excellent machine and the addition of an M4 chip just means the world’s best-selling notebook is an even better value than before. I don’t believe a PC that offers the combined appeal of these Macs really exists, which means that if you are in the market for a computer upgrade, you should certainly take a look at this. The M4 MacBook Air maintains Apple’s tradition of notebook excellence. 

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Source:: Computer World

Two new studies from ChatGPT developer Open AI and MIT show that increased use of the chatbot correlates with increased loneliness and less social time with other people, according to Bloomberg.

ChatGPT users in the study also reported feeling increasingly emotionally dependent on the chatbot the more often they used it — and they perceived their use as increasingly problematic.

The first study followed close to 1,000 people for more than a month with varying levels of experience with ChatGPT. They were either given a text version of the chatbot or one of two voice-based versions, which they used for at least five minutes a day.

Some were instructed to have open conversations about anything, while others were instructed to have either non-personal or personal conversations with the service. The researchers reportedly saw no difference in results between text-based and voice-based chatbots.

The second study analyzed 3 million user conversations from ChatGPT and surveyed how users interacted with the AI tool. The results show that very few people use ChatGPT for emotional conversations.

None of the studies have yet been reviewed by other researchers.

Source:: Computer World

By Siôn Geschwindt Last week, Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service was installed at the White House. A week before that, Donald Trump promoted Tesla on the White House front lawn, after rallying people to buy the company’s cars and stock.  The Trump administration’s endorsements of Musk’s companies are attracting growing scrutiny. Critics argue that they’re breaking laws and threatening democracy. For the world’s richest man, the relationship is also causing business problems. One involves Italy’s plans for Starlink. The country has halted talks for a proposed €1.5bn contract with the service, defence minister Guido Crosetto said in an interview Saturday.   “Everything has come…This story continues at The Next Web

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Researchers at the University of Cambridge, together with the Alan Turing Institute, Microsoft Research, and the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts, have developed a new AI-based weather forecasting system — Aardvark Weather — that could revolutionize the field of meteorology.

Aardvark Weather can apparently provide weather forecasts that are tens of times more accurate, while requiring dramatically less computing power than modern systems. “Aardvark is thousands of times faster than all previous methods of weather forecasting,” Professor Richard Turner of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, who led the research, said in a statement.

The AI system achieved this by replacing the entire process of weather forecasting with a single machine-learning model; it can take in observations from satellites, weather stations and other sensors and then generate both global and local forecasts.

In the past, a forecast required several different models, each of which relies on a supercomputer and a support team to run. With Aardvark Weather, the same work can be completed in just a few minutes and with a standard desktop computer.

The results were published in the journal Nature.

Source:: Computer World

We’re now in the century sci-fi writers made their fortunes writing about — and hardware manufacturers seem keen to explore new products and processes that make some of those predictions a reality. Just as Minority Report comes pretty close to predicting visionOS and Spatial Computing, so too will a whisper of Ringworld be reflected in the hard but soft metal substance Apple might use in future devices, principally the folding iPhone.

Liquid Metal has been around in the Apple-verse for a long time. It’s a zirconium- and titanium-based alloy stronger than steel and more flexible than aluminium; the company has licensed it since around 2010 for use as the SIM card removal tool that looks like it wants to be a paper clip and once found in the box with iPhones. While it doesn’t share all the same qualities as Larry Niven’s “Unobtanium” used to make the Ringworld space station, it does at least deliver resilience and flexibility and it’s the latter that matters according to Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo.

He says Apple will use liquid metal to make the foldable hinge in the so-far-unannounced or confirmed folding iPhone it hopes to introduce next year. 

Pour me another

Kuo explains that Apple wants to use the substance to build a folding device that is flatter and more durable than existing devices of its type, as well as having a hardly discernible crease. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has previously told us that Apple really wants to build a fold mechanism that isn’t visible when unfolded and does not deteriorate in use.

To achieve this, key iPhone fold components including hinges will be crafted from liquid metal. The analyst predicts Android device makers will soon follow suit, which is good news for exclusive liquid metal supplier, Dongguan EonTec, the analyst said. Apple’s 21st-century take on a folding device is likely to be thin, like the iPhone 16e, and almost certainly built to the high-end design aesthetic Apple maintains across its product range. It will also have a high-end price to match, which implies this will be the device to slam ostentatiously on the table during board meetings. 

Et tu, Siri?

While the hardware seems to be coming into view, it’s clear that one essential component isn’t yet in place, and that’s Siri. Only two weeks ago, Kuo told us Apple wants to position the device as a true AI-driven iPhone, with the power of artificial intelligence artfully combined with the large display. The snag? Siri isn’t ready yet, which has made for big staffing changes within Apple’s Siri team. Reflecting the strategic importance of AI to Apple, CEO Tim Cook has put Apple’s best product designers in to sort Siri out, moving former Siri boss John Giannandrea aside to make way for genius engineer Mike Rockwell, who led Vision Pro development. (Giannandrea hasn’t left the company, incidentally, but seems to have been given a more limited sphere of responsibility and is no longer reporting directly to Cook, who has lost confidence in his ability to execute on product development.)

Apple’s Game Of Thrones is interesting, but what it truly represents is the importance the company attaches to Siri on iPhones — and not just iPhones. Apple has a number of additional products in the pipeline, including a home control device, some of which have allegedly also been delayed due to contextual Siri’s no-show. In that light, the fact that a folding iPhone is expected to become a poster child for AI on a mobile device depends on what the new Siri team can build.

No pressure, then.

What else do we know about the folding iPhone? In development intermittently since at least 2014, Apple’s hardware engineers now seem to feel the tech and the time is right for the device. Kuo tells us to expect a 7.8-in. display when unfolded and a 5.5-inch display at rest. You’ll have rear and front camera, eSIM, Apple’s C2 5G modem,  and Touch ID as a side button. The device should be as slim as 9mm when closed but isn’t expected to appear until next year’s main iPhone refresh cycle in late 2026. Final specifications will be set in stone later this year. Apple will likely follow this up by developing and optimizing the manufacturing process in preparation for mass production next year.

But a lot depends on getting those Siri improvements in place.

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Source:: Computer World