TechCapsules

Composer Austin Wintory, known for scores in Journey and Sword of the Sea, released 22 minutes of music he had drafted for the canceled Mass Effect 5. After EA shut down BioWare, Wintory posted the tracks online, describing the project as a “white whale” and a love letter to the franchise. He had proposed building on the original score with analog synths and a larger orchestra. The release offers fans a rare glimpse of material that would never see [...]

Apple expanded Siri AI to five new languages—French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish—during the iOS 27.2 update, increasing the assistant’s reach from a single language to six. The company also announced that four additional languages will be added by year‑end, likely with the upcoming iOS 27.3 release in December, whose beta may appear soon. While Siri AI will support Traditional Chinese, it remains unavailable in China, where Apple plans to launch other AI features later in the [...]

Astronomers have identified GRB 220706A, a gamma‑ray burst that remained active for approximately 27 days, surpassing the previous record of six days for delayed X‑ray flaring. Detected on July 6, 2022, the burst’s prolonged activity suggests an ongoing central engine, possibly a magnetar or interaction with surrounding material. The event also produced a bright supernova, hinting at a massive progenitor star. This unprecedented duration challenges current models of ultra‑long GRBs and their underlying mechanisms.

Google released Health app version 5.11 for Android and iOS, adding the Health Guardian feature to Fitbit Air users. The update provides Blood Pressure and Insulin Resistance trend insights after five and seven days of wear, respectively, and offers a monthly health summary for Health Premium subscribers. Automatic activity tracking now logs workouts lasting 15 minutes or more, and Fitbit Air and Pixel watches can detect up to 100 activities. Glucose tracking is renamed, and sleep tracking gains [...]

Edwards Vacuum unveiled a new 5,000‑liter‑per‑second turbomolecular pump at SEMICON West, marking a significant leap in pumping speed without increasing the device’s footprint. The pump was developed using AI‑driven modeling that optimizes blade geometry and drag stages, a technique Edwards calls “Rocket Technology.” The higher flow rate shortens residence time, boosting uniformity, yield, and throughput for advanced FinFETs, gate‑all‑around transistors, and deep memory structures. A 7,000‑liter‑per‑second model is in development, with aerospace alloys being explored for further [...]

Microsoft released its first firmware update for the Surface Laptop Ultra on October 22, addressing key issues reported since the device’s launch. The update, titled “Microsoft Corporation System Hardware Update (200.0.7.0),” fixes long reboot times and eliminates screen flickering, though ghosting remains. Additional improvements include performance boosts and fewer unexpected restarts. The Ultra, priced at $2,599 and powered by RTX Spark, is expected to receive firmware updates for six years until 2032.

Apple released iPadOS 27.2, adding a new Siri AI feature that appears when users select text with a trackpad or mouse. The contextual “Ask Siri” popup, already present on macOS, also brings back Writing Tools commands such as rewrite and proofread. Siri now supports French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. The update introduces Apple TV user profiles on iPad, anniversary reminders during calls, and yearly App Tracking Transparency prompts for EU users. The Health app redesign will return [...]

Bedrock Robotics secured $600 million in a Series C round, valuing the autonomous‑vehicle startup at $4.1 billion. The funding, led by CapitalG and Emergence Capital, follows the company’s first commercial deployments of self‑driving excavators at sites in Nevada, Texas, and a large civil project with Zachry Construction. Founded in 2024 by former Waymo and Anki leaders, Bedrock has raised nearly $1 billion to date and plans to expand its kit‑based autonomous system across construction sites to address operator shortages. [...]