Tech News Roundup — June 30, 2026 (AM)

Tech News Roundup — June 30, 2026 (AM)

The Xbox vendor purge is now bleeding into companies Microsoft doesn’t even own, Microsoft is buying another year of Windows 10 because Win11 is still losing, the iPhone 18 Pro shows up on the dark web courtesy of a Tata Electronics ransomware leak, and the Supreme Court eviscerates FTC independence. On the lighter side: Git 2.55 lands with Rust-by-default, Rocket Lab buys Iridium for $8 billion to square up with SpaceX, and WhatsApp finally lets you stop sharing your phone number.

Microsoft, Xbox, and the Windows slowdown

Xbox’s reported layoffs may now be impacting companies it doesn’t even own. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reports that Assembly — Xbox’s main PR agency and a Microsoft contract vendor — is laying off staff today, with the bigger Xbox headcount cuts still scheduled to land after Microsoft’s fiscal year ends. CEO Asha Sharma is in the middle of a sweeping Xbox restructuring, and contract vendors are being cut first. Separately, Microsoft is extending Windows 10 support to 2027 — quietly admitting that Windows 11’s upgrade numbers aren’t where the company wants them. The Verdict from Windows Central: As Xbox Series X|S prices jump on August 1 (and Sony says it’s “carefully monitoring the market”), even State of Decay 3 is reportedly facing cancellation, and Activision has had to publicly state that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare IV will not be on Game Pass this year. The Verge is covering the Xbox-ecosystem fallout as well: Is Xbox freezing third-party Game Pass deals, and what’s a “distorted market crippled by DRAM oligopolists” doing in a new class-action going after RAM makers? Windows Central Windows Central Windows Central Windows Central Windows Central Windows Central Windows Central Windows Central

Apple

Leaked iPhone 18 Pro photos reportedly wound up on the dark web after a ransomware attack on Tata Electronics — Apple’s India-based manufacturing partner — exposed more than 200,000 internal files. The leaked images reportedly show a drop test of a three-camera iPhone 18 Pro with an Apple logo, alongside parts lists. The breach is the work of the World Leaks group, which posted the trove on the dark web last week. The Verge also notes that Apple’s M3-powered iPad Air is currently $499, the lowest price we’ve seen on that model. [The Verge]

Google

Google warns that EU Digital Markets Act rules forcing it to open Android and Search will “fuel crime and fraud” ahead of the European Commission’s final decisions in July on two key DMA questions. The company argues that mandatory interoperability and alternative-app-store provisions will create security gaps that bad actors can exploit. Separately, Google’s Gemini assistant is rolling out to all Renault vehicles equipped with the openR link system, expanding the assistant’s automotive footprint in Europe. Pplware Pplware

Linux & Open Source

Git 2.55 is out, and the headline change is Rust support enabled by default alongside the usual history-rewrite fixups. On the Wine side, Wine 11.12 ships with Wayland fractional-scaling support and other Wayland driver improvements after slipping a week past its bi-weekly cadence. Phoronix also reports that the next Bcachefs release (v1.38.7) will start landing Rust code in the kernel module itself, on top of the Rust user-space tooling that’s already shipping. Linux 7.2-rc1 is in early testing on Threadripper with measurable I/O and poll improvements, plus some regressions. The new Infinity Scheduler project is positioning itself as a cleaner alternative to the existing Linux kernel scheduler, and a Red Hat ARM engineer publicly walked away from ARM64 Linux on the desktop and went back to AMD Ryzen. Finally, Microsoft today shipped the first public preview of WSL Containers (WSLC) — Linux containers running natively inside WSL on Windows 11. Phoronix Phoronix Phoronix Phoronix Phoronix Phoronix Phoronix

AI/ML

Senators Warren and Scanlon are planning a new version of the Health and Location Data Protection Act that explicitly covers what people reveal to AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude — the original 2022 bill only restricted data brokers, not the AI apps that now ingest the same data. The EU also gave final approval to a law banning AI systems that generate non-consensual sexual images, with implementation beginning immediately. On the hardware side, OpenAI is teasing a Codex-branded device launching July 15 — but it’s a partnership with mechanical-keyboard maker Work Louder for a macro-pad-style device, not the long-rumored Jony Ive consumer AI gadget. Tidal, meanwhile, says it will not pay royalties on AI-generated music but is not banning it outright. The Verge Pplware The Verge The Verge

WhatsApp usernames

WhatsApp is launching usernames as a way to add and chat with people without sharing your phone number. Reservations open this week, with full rollout expected “later this year” — Meta says it’s a privacy play to keep phone numbers hidden from non-contacts. [The Verge] Pplware

Policy

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump v. Slaughter that the president has the authority to fire FTC commissioners — including the two Democratic commissioners Trump removed earlier this year — overturning the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent that protected independent-agency commissioners from at-will removal. The decision is the latest expansion of presidential power over once-independent agencies, and a follow-up ruling on the Federal Reserve carries similar implications for household finances. [The Verge] [The Verge]

Hardware & Gaming

MSI’s new Claw 8 EX AI+ handheld gaming PC sold out at Best Buy, Newegg, Micro Center, and B&H over launch weekend, despite its $1,799 price tag — roughly $500 above what reviewers expected, driven by ongoing RAM and storage shortages. Daniel Rubino called it a “generational leap” in his review thanks to Intel’s new Arc G3 Extreme chip, and early r/MSIClaw posts show near-universal praise. The handheld-PC ecosystem around Valve’s Steam Machine is also heating up: DIY builders are cropping up with 3D-printed cases and RTX 5060 GPUs trying to recreate the Steam Machine at home, and Dbrand’s viral Portal Companion Cube case for the Steam Machine was canceled after the company admitted it never actually asked Valve for permission. Valve’s Gabe Newell separately resurfaced with a quote on piracy: “Piracy is not a pricing issue. It’s a service issue” — pointed timing, given the Sony xbox-price-increases news above. Windows Central Windows Central Windows Central Windows Central [The Verge]

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ handheld

Space

Rocket Lab Electron launch

Rocket Lab is buying Iridium Communications for $8 billion, combining its small-satellite launch services and spacecraft manufacturing with Iridium’s constellation of 66 low-Earth-orbit satellites and its 2.5 million subscribers across maritime, aviation, and remote-connectivity markets. The deal is explicitly framed as Rocket Lab positioning to take on SpaceX’s Starlink-direct rival ambitions. [The Verge]

Gaming

Sony says its next-generation PlayStation will go “beyond the living room” — vague enough to mean almost anything, but suggests cloud and mobile gaming will be central to the PS6’s positioning. [The Verge]

After a strong start, DC’s new cinematic universe is already slowing down at the box office, according to The Verge’s culture desk. [The Verge]

In Brief

Roundup compiled from the TTRSS Tech feed. 47 articles from 5 sources (Windows Central, Phoronix, The Verge, Pplware, Marius Hosting) clustered into 18 stories.

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