🤖 OpenAI Shuts Down Atlas Browser

OpenAI will disable its AI browser Atlas on August 9, less than a year after its October launch on macOS. All browser features will move into the updated ChatGPT desktop app, with users notified by email and in-app messages.

Atlas offered an Agent mode to automate tasks but remained niche, limited to Macs and paid subscribers. The new ChatGPT app combines ChatGPT, Codex, and ChatGPT Work with a built-in browser that can browse sites, compare sources, open Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 files, and continue tasks while showing results.

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Ⓜ️ Meta’s Muse AI blends code and images

Meta’s Muse Image and Muse Video, under Meta Superintelligence lab, combine diffusion and large language models. Muse can write Python code, parse the web, generate fractal code, embed graphs, and create precise HTML layouts like menus.

Muse also self-corrects image flaws using a method like Test-Time-Scaling. It ranks second on image-to-image benchmarks, just ahead of Nano Banana 2 and Reve-2, though Reve-2.1 has since surpassed it. The video model ranks top 3, beating Alibaba’s happyhorse.

Muse sparked controversy by defaulting to generating Instagram user faces from @tags. Access is currently limited to US Instagram, with Europe’s rollout delayed indefinitely.

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🚀 China catches Long March 10B rocket stage at sea

On July 10, China launched the Long March 10B rocket and successfully recovered its first stage by catching it on a sea platform net. The 70-meter rocket lifted off from Wenchang and the stage slowed down to land vertically on the platform.

The rocket is two-stage, medium-lift, powered by seven YF-100K engines running on kerosene and liquid oxygen. It can deliver up to 16 tons to low Earth orbit, mainly for cargo missions.

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🍏 Apple debates hinge tech for foldable iPhone

Apple is still deciding how to build the hinge for its rumored foldable iPhone Ultra. Insider Fixed Focus Digital says the company is choosing between two methods to create a nearly invisible crease.

One option uses liquid metal, an amorphous alloy known as metallic glass, which offers flexibility, scratch resistance, and shape memory. The other is 3D printing, which is cheaper and easier to produce.

Apple’s choice depends on chip supply. Limited memory availability favors the liquid metal hinge for small batches. If memory supply improves, Apple may switch to 3D printing. The final decision is expected by the end of July.

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🤖 OpenAI hired Apple engineers as spies

OpenAI recruited former Apple employees and asked them for secret Apple data. One ex-iPhone engineer was caught after refusing to return his work laptop, which he used to download confidential Apple files while at OpenAI.

He boasted to former colleagues about retained access and made guides on copying files undetected. This may have been led by Tang Tan, OpenAI's hardware chief and former lead iPhone developer who recruited Apple staff for design documents.

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🤖 1X unveils humanoid hands with human-like dexterity

Each hand has 25 movable joints with motors hidden in the forearm, transmitting movement through tendons like a human hand. Every joint includes a force sensor, allowing the robot to feel how hard it presses on objects.

The humanoid NEO can perform tasks like assembling LEGO, handling coins, screwing in bulbs, using a screwdriver, zipping zippers, pouring tea, catching soft balls, inserting USB-C, and signing in gestures.

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🤖 OpenAI Enables ChatGPT to Speak and Listen Simultaneously

OpenAI replaced ChatGPT's voice mode with new full-duplex models GPT-Live-1 and GPT-Live-1 mini. These models let the assistant speak and listen at the same time, avoiding awkward interruptions and enabling live translation.

The voice model streams complex queries to text models like GPT-5.5 in real time, can pause to absorb context, and shows visual responses. The voice product lead uses it for 30-40 minute walks. Live translation still struggles, with a strong American accent on Hindi demos.

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🤖 ChatGPT Codex lifts session limits

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🍏 Apple’s Car Project Sparked AI Chips

Apple’s abandoned self-driving car project drove the development of its powerful AI chips. The car needed strong on-device AI without cloud reliance. Though the car’s processor never launched, its work evolved into the Neural Engine.

The Neural Engine debuted in 2017 with the iPhone X and A11 Bionic chip, handling tasks like Face ID and AR. It became the base for Apple’s on-device AI and later appeared in M-series desktop chips.

Apple’s AI software still trails, but its hardware leads and supports privacy by keeping data local. The upcoming M6 chip will skip Pro, Max, and Ultra versions, focusing on the M7 with a stronger Neural Engine due next year. The M7 Ultra will power a new server with up to 1.5 TB RAM.

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🍏 Apple sues OpenAI over trade secrets

Apple accuses OpenAI of recruiting former Apple employees to steal trade secrets for a new device designed by ex-Apple design chief Jony Ive. The lawsuit names two former Apple staff, Tang Tan and Chang Liu, alleging they brought confidential info to OpenAI and bypassed Apple's exit procedures.

Tang Tan reportedly asked Apple candidates to bring real device parts and share secret details during interviews. Chang Liu allegedly downloaded sensitive files after joining OpenAI. Apple also claims OpenAI sought demos of Apple's metal processing tech from its suppliers.

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🚀 Japan tests reusable rocket RV-X

On July 11, Japan's space agency JAXA performed the first hop test of the reusable rocket RV-X at Noshiro. It rose 11 meters, moved 16 meters sideways, stayed stable, and landed softly in under a minute.

RV-X is 7.3 meters tall with a reinforced engine and four landing legs, developed with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It aims to create a reusable successor to Japan's single-use H3 rocket to reduce launch costs.

The engine passed 165 static tests. Future tests will reach about 100 meters. This follows China’s recent recovery of a Long March 10B booster on a sea platform, showing faster progress in reusable rockets.

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❤️ Telegram Launches Major Update with Communities Feature

Telegram has rolled out its largest update in recent times, introducing Communities, a new feature that groups channels, chats, and bots into a single space with unified navigation. This addition is already being compared to Discord servers.

The update also includes an enhanced post editor featuring tables, checklists, and other formatting tools, AI-powered content generation on demand, and secret messages from bots visible only to specific users.

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🤖 Claude’s behavior shifts by language and model

Anthropic analyzed 300,000 real dialogues with Claude and found its responses vary by language and model version. They identified four value axes: compliance vs caution, warmth vs strictness, depth vs brevity, and openness vs obedience.

Different Claude models lean differently. Sonnet 4.6 is warm and encouraging, Opus 4.7 is cautious and questioning, Opus 4.6 is brief and task-focused. Language also matters: Claude is softer and humorous in Hindi and Arabic, but strict and demanding in English and Russian.

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