Your Hub for Tech News and Handy Online Tools.
Samsung is reportedly developing a triple-folding smartphone for release later this year. TM Roh, head of consumer electronics, mentioned the company's aim to launch the device, focusing on perfecting its usability. While the name is undecided, a final decision is expected soon as the product nears completion.
An unnamed executive confirmed that the tri-fold device is ready for production.
Elon Musk's xAI has released its latest AI model, Grok 4, along with a new $300-per-month subscription plan called SuperGrok Heavy. Grok 4 is positioned as a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, with enhanced capabilities including image analysis.
The launch follows a tumultuous period for xAI, marked by Grok's antisemitic comments on X, leading to temporary restrictions and revisions to the AI's system prompts. Despite these incidents, xAI focused on showcasing Grok 4's performance, claiming it outperforms competitors on benchmarks like Humanity's Last Exam and the ARC-AGI-2 test.
SuperGrok Heavy subscribers will gain early access to Grok 4 Heavy and upcoming features, including an AI coding model, a multi-modal agent, and a video generation model. xAI aims to integrate Grok with cloud platforms and attract developers through its API.
Despite its strong performance, xAI faces the challenge of overcoming recent controversies to establish Grok as a reliable alternative to established AI models in the business sector.
California State Senator Scott Wiener has introduced amendments to SB 53, aiming to mandate AI companies to publish safety protocols and reports on safety incidents. This bill is influenced by recommendations from California's AI policy group, emphasizing transparency.
Key points of SB 53 include:
The bill seeks to balance transparency with fostering AI industry growth, addressing concerns raised about previous legislation like SB 1047. New York is also considering similar AI safety measures with the RAISE Act.
Revolut is reportedly seeking a new funding round that could value the company at $65 billion, according to the Financial Times. The UK-based fintech firm is in discussions to raise approximately $1 billion through the issuance of new shares and the sale of existing ones. Greenoaks, a US-based firm, is reportedly leading the round, although the deal is not yet finalized.
In 2024, Revolut experienced a 72% increase in revenue, reaching $1 billion in profit, and expanded its user base to over 50 million customers. The company also obtained its banking license to operate in the UK and now serves over 30 countries. Revolut's last valuation was $45 billion in 2024 after a secondary market sale.
Linda Yaccarino's two-year tenure at X saw a notable impact on the social network's advertising business. According to data from Guideline, U.S. ad spending on X was up 62% year-over-year in the first half of 2025. Yaccarino had previously stated that 96% of X's advertisers had returned as of May 2025.
However, X's advertising business faced significant challenges, including an advertiser boycott in November 2023 following Elon Musk's endorsement of an antisemitic post. This led to brands like Apple, Disney, and IBM pausing their ad spending on the platform. Musk's controversial statements and actions further complicated the situation, even resulting in legal action against advertising groups.
Despite these challenges, Guideline's data indicates increased U.S. ad spend since December 2024. Yaccarino also implemented measures to improve brand safety, such as partnering with adtech companies and offering advertisers tools to control ad placement sensitivity. Nonetheless, X remains a controversial platform regarding ad safety, highlighted by recent antisemitic outbursts from its AI bot, Grok.
Yaccarino's departure raises questions about X's future profitability, especially as the company's reliance on alternative revenue streams like X Premium subscriptions and the X Money payments service remains limited.
YouTube is updating its monetization policies on July 15 to combat the rise of AI-generated, low-quality content, often referred to as "AI slop." The updated policies aim to prevent creators from earning revenue from mass-produced and repetitive videos.
The changes are intended to clarify what constitutes "inauthentic" content and are designed to target spam-like videos created with AI technology. While YouTube insists this is a minor update, it reflects concerns over the proliferation of AI-generated content, including AI voiceovers, fake news videos, and even AI-generated documentaries.
The goal is to protect YouTube's reputation and value by preventing the monetization of content that viewers consider spam and ensuring clear policies are in place to address the growing problem of AI-generated content.
Apple is reportedly in talks to acquire the streaming rights for Formula 1, aiming to expand its investment in live sports. This move follows Apple's existing deals with Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer. ESPN's current contract for F1 is set to expire next year, and Apple will face competition from ESPN and other potential bidders.
This news coincides with the success of Apple's new F1 movie, produced by Lewis Hamilton, and the overall surge in popularity of F1. Netflix's "Drive to Survive" series played a significant role in introducing the sport to a broader audience, particularly in the U.S., leading to increased viewership of live F1 races, especially among young women.
Perplexity has launched Comet, its first AI-powered web browser, to compete with Google Search. Initially available to Perplexity Max subscribers and select invitees, Comet features Perplexity's AI search engine as the default, providing AI-generated summaries of search results.
Key features include Comet Assistant, an AI agent that automates tasks such as summarizing emails and managing tabs. While Comet Assistant shows promise for simple tasks and contextual assistance, it struggles with more complex requests and requires extensive user access to personal data.
Comet enters a competitive market with existing AI-powered browsers like The Browser Company's Dia and potential offerings from OpenAI. Perplexity aims to leverage its existing user base and the increasing popularity of its search products to gain traction in the browser market.
iMerit is shifting its focus to better-quality data, utilizing expert-led approaches for enterprise AI solutions. The company's Scholars program aims to build a workforce of experts to fine-tune AI models for enterprise applications.
iMerit differentiates itself by focusing on high-accuracy, human-in-the-loop labeling, and deep domain-specific oversight. The company emphasizes attracting and retaining cognitive experts to customize AI models towards solving enterprise problems.
iMerit's approach contrasts with high-throughput, developer-focused "blitz data" and aims to provide the level of quality that enterprises need. The company works with top AI firms to improve their foundation models, focusing on finance and medicine, highlighting that generative AI is its fastest-growing area.