This week was a little quieter than last in the tech news space — if you ignore the hullabaloo caused by various AI companies that their models might one day kill us all if regulation doesn’t arrive.
A bit heavier than an Apple iPhone event, but important nonetheless.
To catch up on that and this week’s lighter (but still essential and biggest) tech news stories, scroll down for our ICYMI recaps and links to the full articles. But before you read about the news, you might want to try your hand at our quiz to see how much you remember of last week’s ICYMI roundup.
7. We interviewed John Ternus
You’ve just been named CEO of one of the world’s most important tech companies; what runs through your mind? I asked John Ternus that question to his face, and his answer was perfect. It was all part of a wide-ranging interview we conducted with our friends over at Tom’s Guide. Lots of good bits about what innovation means at Apple and why the Cupertino giant is finally making a foldable.
- Read the full story:‘I don’t think we ever lost innovation’: New Apple CEO John Ternus defends Apple’s track record
6. Google Live Translate went offline
Arguably the best Google Translate tool is its Live feature — which lets you converse with someone in your respective native tongue, and each sees a real-time translation of what the other has said.
It can break down the language barrier, if you have an internet connection, that is, though that is changing.
Google has started rolling out an offline mode for Live Translate. There are some limitations — it only supports translation from English to French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Russian, and Swedish — and it’s only coming to the Google Pixel 11 series, Pixel 10 line, and Pixel 9 series.
- Read the full story:Google’s new offline Live Translate tool looks like my new vacation essential
5. Canon launched the EOS R8 Mark II
Canon has debuted the EOS R8 Mark II, with a design that supposedly takes its cues from decades-old analog SLR cameras — there’s a slight resemblance, but we’d argue that Canon’s design department could have been given a bit more latitude.
Nonetheless, the second-generation model introduces useful upgrades over the original EOS R8, for a price that could tempt Canon enthusiasts who want powerful features but who don’t need the tough build quality, high-spec displays, or long-lasting battery life of the EOS R6 series.
- Read the full hands-on review:I tried Canon’s new-look EOS R8 Mark II
4. We tried the Snap Specs
A decade on from Snap’s first Spectacles launch (back when it was still Snapchat), we’ve tried the next evolution in its wearable tech: full-on AR glasses, and they’re incredible.
They’re still quite chunky, and the demo wasn’t without its quirks, but they were fun to use and comfortable to wear.
You can currently pre-order the Snap Specs for an eye-watering $2,195 (around £1,640 / AU$3,090) with a $200 deposit.
- Read the full story:I tried out Snap Specs, the social platform’s chunky AR smart glasses
3. We reviewed Apple’s tech
We reviewed all of Apple’s new tech, and yet again we were impressed.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max take last year’s Pro reinvention and refine it in all the right places — but the cameras are where Apple has made the biggest leap, with a variable aperture and finally useful Pro controls.
Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 might look and be priced similarly to what came before, but the big difference is the battery — with a promised up to 50 hours in normal use, up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode, and up to 45 hours in Max Extended Workout Mode.
The Apple Watch 12 feels fresh with a new health-sensing system, a new SoC under the hood to power some new features, and a good bit of AI on top of what we knew was coming with watchOS 27.
- Read ouriPhone 18 Pro review
- Read ourApple Watch 12 review
- Read ourApple Watch Ultra 4 review
2. iOS 27 gave our iPhones a huge upgrade
This week Apple gave millions of iPhones their biggest software upgrade this year. iOS 27 rolled out (if you haven’t got it yet, check General > Software Update), and it includes Siri AI — a new version of the voice assistant that is, finally, good.
Like all major iOS updates, there are lots of smaller quality-of-life upgrades that we’re enjoying too. These include the ability to make Shortcuts with natural language, a neat ‘Reframe’ feature for Photos, and the long-awaited option to set alarm volumes separately from your main ringtone. We’d highly recommend downloading iOS 27 now if you haven’t already.
- Read the full story:I’ve been using iOS 27 for 3 months already — these are the 5 best features arriving on your iPhone today
1. We debated AI slowdown
In a move that’s managed to draw in commentary from Donald Trump, JD Vance, and pretty much every major news organization on the planet, some of the biggest names in AI — including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and Elon Musk — are calling for the development of frontier models toslow down while stronger safeguards are introduced.
They argue that increasingly capable, autonomous AI could escape human control, attack critical infrastructure or help bad actors create catastrophic weapons. Proposed protections include independent evaluators inside AI companies, international safety standards, government oversight, “kill switches” and restrictions on releasing especially powerful models.
Donald Trump rejects these concerns as a “hoax”, arguing that slowing development would damage the US economy and hand China an advantage in the global AI race. That means global consensus on how AI regulation should work is unlikely to arrive anytime soon. Until then, we better hope our new AI overlords are as bad at reaching a global consensus as us.
- Read the full story:5 things you need to know about Trump’s AI regulation battle
