#LEGO brings its iconic building sets to life with clever innovations.

LEGO has announced the SMART PLAY system, which uses bricks with custom chips to "bring LEGO play back to life" without relying on screens.

At the core is the SMART Brick, which can synthesize sounds, detect nearby SMART PLAY system bricks and detect motion. The SMART Brick is activated using SMART Tags, which tell the brick what object to behave and sound like. There are also SMART Minifigures, which SMART Bricks detect and play sounds for.

The first sets with the SMART PLAY technology are based on the Star Wars universe.

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#Apple is upgrading Siri later this year - with a little help from #Google.

Google has officially announced that the two companies have entered a "multi year collaboration" in AI.

Next generation Apple Foundation Models, which power Apple Intelligence, will be based on Google's Gemini models. Notably, this confirms a report from November about the long-awaited upgraded version of Siri being powered by a variant of Gemini. This version is now confirmed to come "later this year", likely at WWDC.

The partnership also includes Google's cloud technology, though Apple Intelligence will still run on Apple's Private Cloud Compute system.

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Internal troubles at #OnePlus: not shutting down, but not in a good position either.

The death of an innovative company in the Android space is always a sad sight to see. We've seen giants like LG and recently Asus shut down their smartphone divisions, and now, it seems that another brand will soon join them.

According to an Android Headlines article, OPPO, which owns OnePlus, is looking to shut down the beloved brand. Like those before it, the company is reported to continue support, while ceasing smartphone production. OnePlus has seen bad performance in India and China, even reportedly cancelling the OnePlus 15s and Open 2.

However, OnePlus India CEO Robin Liu dismissed the report, calling it "misinformation" and saying that the company will continue operation. Similarly, when contacted by Android Authority, OnePlus North America representatives stated that the American branch "continues to operate, with full guarantee of users’ after-sales support, software updates, and rights commitments."

Photo by Erik Škof on Unsplash
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#Apple CEO Tim Cook might resign this year.

Tim became CEO in August of 2011, after Steve Jobs resigned. He helped transform Apple into a company valued at $4 trillion, launching new product categories like the Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro. But now, reports indicate that it's time for him to leave the prestigious position.

Reports indicate that he has told executives that he could resign sometime in 2026. However, according to a new report from Bloomberg, there are no signs within Apple that Tim might resign soon.

In any case, the most likely candidate for Apple's next CEO is John Ternus. The same report reveals that, at the end of last year, Tim quietly asked him to oversee the company's design department, acting as an "executive sponsor". Notably, this is a role reserved for the company's most prominent figures: after Jony Ive left in 2019, it has been overseen by COO Jeff Williams from 2019 to 2025, and it has been overseen by Cook himself from 2015 to 2017. Bloomberg also claims that Cook is trying to expose Ternus to more parts of the company’s operations.

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The #Galaxy S26 series is coming on February 25.

Samsung has officially shared the invitation for its annual Unpacked event, where the company is expected to unveil the Galaxy S26 series. The tagline is "The Next AI Phone Makes Your Life Easier", with the invitation referencing Galaxy AI. According to rumors, Samsung will announce a new version of Bixby powered by Perplexity.

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#Apple announces its next 'Apple Experience' event.

The event will take place in Apple stores in New York, Shanghai and London on March 4.

Unlike the traditional Apple keynotes, which take place in Apple Park and are live-streamed, Apple Experience events are small scale events where journalists and content creators get to experience upcoming Apple products. The last Apple Experience marked the announcement of the Apple Creator Studio bundle.

Meanwhile, this Apple Experience will reportedly be where the iPhone 17e and a new budget MacBook are announced. Notably, the invite - often a hint at what's to come - is multi-colored, and rumors indicate that the upcoming entry level MacBook will also have multiple color options.

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