Tech News Roundup — June 11, 2026 (PM)
This evening’s tech roundup is headlined by major developments across open source, AI governance, and gaming hardware strategy. Git 2.55-rc0 ships with Rust enabled by default — a landmark integration. Anthropic apologises after being caught stealth-throttling Claude Fable 5 with hidden guardrails. Microsoft’s Xbox CSO warns of a “crisis” in memory availability for next-gen consoles, while FISA’s Section 702 warrantless wiretap authority lapses after Congress fails to pass an extension. On the hardware front, the Trump-branded phone is revealed as a rebadged HTC, and Alpine unveils a 470hp electric sports car.
Apple
Apple Watch Walkie-Talkie removed in watchOS 27. Apple quietly dropped the Walkie-Talkie app from the first developer beta of watchOS 27. The feature disappeared from the app list and the Control Centre with no announcement — raising the question of whether anyone was actually using it.
Is Apple TV the new HBO? The Verge’s Lowpass newsletter examines Apple TV+’s growing catalogue of critically acclaimed shows (Severance, Pachinko, Silo, Ted Lasso) against its still-small audience share. Apple’s service failed to crack Nielsen’s top 10 streaming services list, trailing even free ad-supported platforms like Tubi.
[The Verge]
Microsoft & Windows
Windows 11 runs “quite enjoyably” on 8GB of RAM. Windows Central tested Windows 11 with 8GB of RAM to push back against recent negativity, finding the experience viable for everyday use and lighter workloads. The piece notes that heavy multitasking and gaming still benefit from 16GB, but 8GB is far from the unusable experience some claim.
Windows 11’s new customizable Start menu impresses. A hands-on look at the redesigned Start menu shows significant improvements in flexibility, allowing users to tailor layout and pinned content more freely than previous versions.
Files app adds one-click folder size viewer. Microsoft has refused to add a native folder size indicator to File Explorer, so the third-party Files app has stepped in with a clever new button that shows folder sizes on demand without consuming background resources.
Microsoft fixes Teams performance issues. After widespread complaints about sluggishness, Microsoft has addressed the key issues that made Teams feel slow. The question remains: is it enough to win back users who have already migrated to alternatives?
Microsoft wants to end Windows printer problems. A new Pplware report highlights Microsoft’s renewed effort to finally fix the long-standing printer driver issues that have plagued Windows users for decades. Details of the approach remain under wraps.
Gaming
“The crisis is the right term”: Xbox strategy chief warns of memory shortages. Xbox CSO Matthew Ball says a RAM crisis is impacting development of the next-gen Project Helix console. Microsoft is working to adapt to the shortage, but Ball described the situation as a genuine crisis for the industry. Separately, Xbox reaffirmed its commitment to console hardware even as it pushes aggressively into PC and mobile.
Capcom confirms Resident Evil: Veronica remake is fully third-person. In a Q&A with Campaign Mode, Capcom confirmed that the next Resident Evil remake will be played entirely in third-person, following the style of the RE2 and RE4 remakes rather than the original game’s fixed camera angles.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader gets third DLC expansion. The Infinite Museion adds over a dozen hours of new storylines, a new companion, and major gameplay changes — especially rewarding for players who enjoy Heretical playthroughs.
“AI is going to help you not finish games even more”: original Halo artist weighs in. The artist behind Halo’s iconic designs offered a characteristically candid take on AI’s role in game development, suggesting it will accelerate the trend of players abandoning titles before completion.
Linux & Open Source
Git 2.55-rc0 released with Rust enabled by default. This is the landmark feature of the release: Rust support is now compiled in by default, marking a significant step in the Git project’s gradual migration to memory-safe Rust code. The release candidate is the first tagged test version of Git 2.55.
YSERVER: a modern X11 server written in Rust with Claude Code. Developer Jos Dehaes announced a ground-up X11 server written in Rust, developed with assistance from Anthropic’s Claude Code. The project aims to modernise the decades-old display server protocol while maintaining compatibility.
Ubuntu 26.10 amd64v3 packages benchmarked. Canonical engineers continue experimenting with x86_64-v3 package builds for Ubuntu. Phoronix benchmarked the performance benefits of the amd64v3 archive against conventional amd64 builds, showing measurable gains on modern hardware.
OpenJPH 0.28 delivers up to 1.9x faster performance with AVX2. The high-throughput JPEG 2000 decoder continues to benefit from optimisation work, with new AVX2 vectorised code delivering dramatic speed-ups.
Airoha AN8801R Gigabit Ethernet PHY driver coming to Linux 7.2. A new network driver targeting the upcoming Linux 7.2 merge window adds support for the Airoha AN8801R PHY, bringing gigabit Ethernet to more embedded and consumer hardware.
Intel Open Image Denoise 2.5 delivers solid performance improvements. The latest version of Intel’s denoising library for ray-traced rendering shows meaningful speed-ups and quality improvements for production rendering pipelines.
GNOME Foundation announces first fellowship participants. The GNOME Foundation’s new fellowship programme, announced in March, has selected its first cohort of independent contributors who will receive funding over twelve months to work on the GNOME desktop ecosystem.
Khronos releases glTF 2.1. The open standard for 3D asset delivery receives a major update, improving how 3D models and scenes are represented for web, mobile, and XR applications.
AI/ML
Engineer sues xAI after being fired for warning about Grok dangers. A former xAI engineer has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s AI company, alleging retaliatory dismissal after raising serious safety concerns about the Grok chatbot. The case highlights ongoing tensions between AI safety researchers and companies racing to deploy.
Anthropic apologises for invisible Claude Fable guardrails. Anthropic admitted to stealthily throttling Claude Fable 5 with hidden safety restrictions that undermined researchers and rivals using the model. The company is reversing course and promising more transparency — even if that means Fable refuses more queries outright.
[The Verge]Bing adds a “kill switch” for Copilot AI answers. Microsoft’s search lead introduced a new browser extension that lets users remove AI-generated answers from Bing search results entirely. “Not everyone wants AI for everything,” the announcement stated.
Deezer launches AI music detector for other streaming services. Since no other platform adopted Deezer’s AI-detection technology, the company launched a tool that scans users’ playlists across any streaming service — not just Deezer — to identify AI-generated tracks. The move pressures Apple, Spotify, and others to adopt stronger AI labelling.
[The Verge]AMD CEO Lisa Su: “For everything that AI can do, AI cannot replace the human role.” Speaking at a recent event, Su offered a measured take on AI’s capabilities, emphasising that human judgment and creativity remain irreplaceable despite rapid AI advances.
Security
FISA Section 702 warrantless wiretap law lapses — but surveillance networks aren’t “going dark.” Congress failed to pass a three-week extension of Section 702, voting 218-198 against reauthorisation. The controversial spying programme now appears set to lapse, but the Verge notes that the US intelligence community retains other surveillance authorities that continue uninterrupted.
[The Verge]
Hardware
Trump-branded phone is a rebadged HTC U24 Pro. Both Pplware and iFixit independently confirmed that the Trump Mobile T1 shares most of its internal architecture with the HTC U24 Pro. iFixit’s teardown reveals minimal customisation beyond branding, raising questions about the phone’s claimed uniqueness.
Dell 32" 4K QD-OLED monitor with 120Hz and built-in soundbar reviewed. Windows Central calls Dell’s S3225QC “the monitor that shouldn’t exist” — a 4K QD-OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and exceptional built-in speakers — now with a 38% discount.
Dell XPS 14 with 3.2K OLED touch display on sale. One of the best-reviewed Windows ultraportables is available with a significant discount, pairing a gorgeous OLED panel with the latest Intel processors.
Boox Go 6 (Gen II) e-reader adds note-taking. The new 6-inch E Ink reader keeps the 300PPI display but adds 3GB of RAM and stylus support, positioning it as a Kindle alternative that also replaces a digital notepad. Available for preorder at $199.99.
[The Verge]Logitech Mobi Fold: the brand’s first folding mouse. Designed for professionals on the move, the Mobi Fold features a compact folding mechanism, silent clicks, and 30 days of battery life.
Alpine A390 GTS: the French electric sports car with 470hp. Alpine continues expanding its electric lineup with the A390 GTS, a production version of a striking concept car. Tested on the roads of Lombardy, Italy, it represents one of the most ambitious projects from the French marque.
Beginner NAS for backups and home media servers. A hands-on look at an affordable NAS solution that works well with Windows for backups, Plex, and home server duties.
Startups & Telecom
Cash App launches a phone service. Cash App Mobile is an AT&T-based MVNO offering unlimited 5G data for $40/month including taxes and fees. Powered by Gigs (the same firm behind Klarna Mobile), it’s rolling out initially to select users with plans for broader availability.
[The Verge]Waymo introduces $30/month premium tier. Waymo Premier offers priority pickups, 10% cash back on trips, early robotaxi access in new cities, and up to five free cancellations per month. Initially available to select riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.
[The Verge]
In Brief
- YouTube is reintroducing DMs — the platform is rolling out in-app private messaging again, available to users 18+ in the US and other global regions. [The Verge]
- Canada proposes banning social media for under-16s — the government presented a new bill to restrict minors’ access to social platforms, joining a growing list of countries pursuing similar legislation. [Pplware]
- “MANGOS” replaces FAANG — a new tech industry acronym has emerged in 2026 as the dominance of the traditional FAANG group shifts: MANGOS (Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Google, OpenAI, SpaceX/Samsung?) reflects the changing landscape. [Pplware]
- Ryanair under investigation — the budget airline is being investigated for charging parents extra to sit next to their children, drawing scrutiny from regulators. [Pplware] [The Verge]
- Elon Musk encourages anti-immigration riots — on the eve of SpaceX’s IPO, Musk amplified calls from the hard-right Restore Britain party in response to Belfast riots, sparking widespread condemnation. [The Verge]
- Library streaming services roundup — streaming services offered by public libraries are increasingly competitive with the big commercial platforms. [The Verge]
- Price-matching policies compared — Best Buy, GameStop, and others’ price-matching policies broken down for savvy shoppers. [The Verge]
- Weather Channel app now predicts bad allergy days — a new feature uses pollen data and weather patterns to forecast high-allergy days in your area. [The Verge]
- Nintendo Switch 2 is $15 off at Woot — a rare discount on Nintendo’s latest console. [The Verge]
- BYD launches 1500kW ultra-fast charging — the Chinese EV giant claims its new Flash Charging technology can charge from 0 to 70% in just 5 minutes. [Pplware]
- Portable espresso in the woods — The Verge’s journalist went camping with a portable espresso setup and had surprisingly excellent results. [The Verge]
- MIDI controller Goldilocks — a hands-on review of a portable MIDI controller that hits the sweet spot between features and portability. [The Verge]
- Sports streaming future uncertain — with the World Cup looming, no clear successor has emerged for the sports streaming market. [The Verge]
Tech roundup compiled from the TTRSS Tech feed. 53 articles from 5 sources summarised.