Google DeepMind vote to unionize, Alexa+ ‘miles ahead of competition’

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Workers developing Google’s artificial intelligence products in the UK have voted to unionize, in part out of concerns about a deal between the company and the US military that was announced last week. In a letter slated to go to management on Tuesday and shared exclusively with the Guardian, workers at Google DeepMind, the company’s AI research laboratory, requested recognition of the Communication Workers Union and Unite the Union as joint representatives of the lab’s UK-based staff. DeepMind’s UK workers voted to unionize in April. One of the workers said they were particularly driven by reports that Google was close to reaching a deal with the US defense department. Guardian 

Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the fourth betas.

Registered developers can download the betas from the Settings app on the iPhone or iPad by going to the General section and selecting Software Update. iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 do not include new Siri capabilities, suggesting any ‌Siri‌ updates are being held until iOS 27. Mac Rumors

Apple will doubtless launch its next iPhones in September. And it looks like this fall will see three phones: iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and the company’s first folding phone, which is increasingly believed to be called iPhone Ultra, but could still be named iPhone Fold. But when will we see these new models, exactly? Apple is a creature of habit (except for surprise announcements like the recent AirPods Max 2), and September is its month of choice for its biggest event of the year. Forbes

Amazon Alexa was a magical concept at launch. It finally felt as though the future that Star Trek promised us was here, with a personal assistant you could talk to. As good as it was, clunky interactions via ‘Alexa Speak’ and several limitations ended up with Alexa (and its competition) feeling slightly more niche. Amazon Alexa+ fixes that. The GenAI-powered voice assistant is miles ahead of the original, and miles ahead of the competition. I wrote about my initial thoughts after a week with the service, describing what Alexa+ was good at (and what it needed to improve), but I’ve had more time with the system, so read my full review to find out why it’s the best. Trusted Reviews 

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing is to offload his £4.3bn stake in VodafoneThree in the wake of the merger of the two telecoms giants. Mr Li’s CK Hutchison, which currently owns 49pc of the UK mobile network operator, has struck a deal with Vodafone to sell its holding by cancelling shares. The move, which will give Vodafone full control of the company, is expected to be completed in the second half of the year. CK Hutchison owned Three before its merger with Vodafone, which was first announced in 2023. Telegraph 

Sony is rumoured to be announcing a new pair of high-end over-ear wireless headphones later this month. In the meantime, it seems that a Hollywood actor has been pictured wearing the so-called ‘WH-1000XX The ColleXion’ before the Met Gala. From the picture above, it is evident that Damson Idris is wearing a pair of Sony over-ear headphones. However, their design differs from existing pairs like the recent WH-1000XM6 (curr. $428 on Amazon). For instance, a metal headband is visible throughout, which is missing on the WH-1000XM6 and its predecessors. Notebook Check 

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