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Cheaper, faster, and culturally aware, Avataar’s video AI is built for India’s scale

Avataar AI's distilled video model is priced at $0.005 for every second of generation.

Apple’s new Foundation Models explained: on-device AI, cloud AI, and everything in between

During the WWDC26 keynote, Apple announced its third generation of Apple Foundation Models (AFM), comprising five models, some of which are local, some of which are cloud-based, and one of which lives in Google’s servers running on Nvidia chips. Here’s a breakdown of how that will work.

AI summary Apple announced its third generation of Apple Foundation Models (AFM) during WWDC26, comprising five models that are local, cloud-based, or running on Google’s servers with Nvidia chips (as reported by 9to5Mac). According to a Habr article, Apple previewed Foundation Models for developers at iOS 26's launch in 2025, and later in January 2026, Bloomberg reported a deal with Google for the next AFM generation to be based on Google Gemini technology.

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Theker just raised $85M to build the factory robot that doesn’t specialize in anything

Unlike humanoid robots designed around a fixed form — think Boston Dynamics — Theker's machines are built to be reconfigured.

Fast, reliable detection of trace gases by resonant photoacoustics

The photoacoustic effect has been known for more than 150 years: Gases exposed to light heat up. Pulsing the light generates periodic pressure fluctuations, or sound waves, with frequencies that can be uniquely assigned to individual gases. This photoacoustic effect forms the basis for a measurement method that is highly precise even at low gas concentrations. Despite its high sensitivity, the…

Strava expands hiking tools with better maps, route planning, and trail navigation

Strava improved on its hiking toolset today with new route-planning, navigation, and sharing tools, including a welcome addition to its Apple Watch app. Here are the details.

Anthropic announces 'Claude Corps' to teach nonprofits to use AI more effectively

Anthropic will donate $150 million to launch a fellowship program that places people early in their careers with nonprofits around the country to help them use artificial intelligence more effectively in their work.

Why You Might Already Own SpaceX Shares, Siri’s AI Makeover, and Knicks Owner’s Surveillance Machine

Today on Uncanny Valley, we take an early look at the SpaceX IPO and why you might find yourself among the investors without even realizing it.

Microsoft’s open-source SkillOpt automatically upgrades AI agent skills without touching model weights

Agent skills have become an important part of real-world AI applications, providing a mechanism — a set of instructions saved in a folder of text-based markdown (.md) files, usually — for models to adapt to specific enterprise use cases and complex workflows. However, optimizing these skills is a slow process and faulty process, as they cannot be trained in the same way as the parameters of the…

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iOS 27: All the New Health and Fitness Features

Apple was rumored to be working on an AI health service, but it was scrapped well before the iOS 27 beta came out. It could resurface in the future, but for now, there are a handful of health and fitness changes in the update. Design Apple redesigned the Browse section of the Health app, and it now uses a card-style interface instead of a list. It is more colorful and easier to see the different…

Xiaomi's new open source, agentic AI coding harness MiMo Code beats Claude Code at ultra-long, 200+ step tasks

Xiaomi's MiMo AI team has open-sourced MiMo Code V0.1.0 , a terminal-native AI coding assistant that the Chinese electronics giant says outperforms Anthropic's Claude Code on key agentic coding benchmarks, especially on long-horizon, multi-step tasks (200+ steps) — at least, according to its own internal beta release and survey of 576 developers. It's also bundling limited-time free access to…

AI summary Xiaomi has open-sourced MiMo Code V0.1.0, a terminal-native AI coding assistant developed by its MiMo AI team. The tool is available for free, can be hosted on local servers, and performs tasks such as code reading, writing, bug fixing, and running tests. According to Xiaomi's internal beta release and a survey of 576 developers, MiMo Code outperforms Anthropic's Claude Code on agentic coding benchmarks, particularly for long-horizon tasks involving over 200 steps.

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Bipartisan lawmakers reintroduce bill to limit Big Tech gatekeeping, Apple shoots back

After a bipartisan group of senators reintroduced the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) today, reviving an effort that could have major implications for Big Tech if enacted into law, Apple issued a strong rebuttal of the proposal. Here are the details.

Claude is ready for its corporate close-up

IDC says recent moves show Anthropic racing to meet enterprise requirements

High prevalence of poor sleep quality among Japanese esports players

A research team at the University of Tsukuba reported that 43.3% of Japanese esports players were classified as having poor subjective sleep quality, according to a cross-sectional survey. In particular, poor sleep quality was common among individuals who engaged in esports play between 3:00 a.m. and 8:59 a.m. The study also identified differences in sleep patterns according to competitive level:…

‘Hands Off Our NHS’: Anti-Palantir Protests Break Out in UK Over Deal With National Health Service

Crowding the gates of a major health care conference, protesters called for Palantir to be booted out of the UK’s National Health Service over privacy concerns and political grievances.

WhatsApp rolling out multi-account support more widely on iOS

WhatsApp is finally rolling out multi-account support on iPhone, bringing one of its most requested features to iOS. Here are the details.

NASA robotic tech demonstration will advance prototype gamma-ray detectors

A new type of gamma-ray sensor developed by NASA, called AstroPix, will take part in a robotic arm demonstration on the agency's upcoming Fly Foundational Robots mission, set to launch in late 2027.

Everyone hates frontier AI labs, says Palantir boss

'Enterprises are fed up,' says Alex Karp, because LLM makers 'want to tokenmax' instead of understanding enterprise needs

iPhone Ultra is coming: Six new features in Apple’s top-tier model

Apple’s first foldable iPhone is coming this fall , and rumors say it will be called iPhone Ultra. Here are six features to expect from Apple’s new high-end iPhone Ultra.

Are you a developer? Apple wants your thoughts on WWDC26

Apple has published a survey invitation on its Developer blog, asking developers for their thoughts on this year’s WWDC. Here’s how you can participate.

This specially-designed jacket pulls drinking water from thin air

Engineers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a jacket that harvests drinking water directly from the air. The technology could benefit anyone who spends a lot of time in areas without easy access to drinking water, from hobbyist hikers, campers and runners to agricultural workers, emergency responders and soldiers. The advance in fabric technology comes alongside a new benchmark…