☕️ Apple plans three new Ultra tier devices

Hi there, this is your daily ☕️ Techpresso.

In today's Techpresso:

🚀 Apple plans three new Ultra tier devices

🤖 Microsoft announces Copilot Cowork

⚖️ Anthropic sues Trump administration over Pentagon blacklist

🦞 OpenClaw mania hits China

👀 Xiaomi uses humanoid robots to build electric cars

📈 Nasdaq and Kraken partner 24/7 tokenized stock trading

Plus: 🎁 15 other news you might like, 🧰 5 tools, and 📚 1 papers.

🚀 Apple plans three new Ultra tier devices LINK

Apple is reportedly planning three new "Ultra" tier devices: a foldable iPhone, camera-equipped AirPods, and a MacBook with a touch-enabled OLED display, marking a shift in its premium product strategy.

The foldable iPhone may feature a book-style folding design wider and shorter than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, with a 4:3 aspect ratio display, four cameras, and Touch ID instead of Face ID.

The new AirPods model could include computer-vision cameras that feed visual information into an AI-powered Siri, while the MacBook may run on an M6 chip built on a 2nm process.

🤖 Microsoft announces Copilot Cowork LINK

Microsoft announced Copilot Cowork, a new feature built with Anthropic that can independently complete tasks like creating spreadsheets, running reports, and doing research using your files, email, and calendar.

A Microsoft executive described Cowork as a "fire and forget" tool, showing how it analyzed his meeting calendar, recommended which ones to skip, and declined them with AI-written notes attached.

Copilot Cowork is rolling out now as a limited research preview, while Microsoft's agent management platform, Agent 365, will become generally available on May 1 with new models from Anthropic and OpenAI.

⚖️ Anthropic sues Trump administration over Pentagon blacklist LINK

Anthropic has sued the Trump administration after the AI startup was blacklisted by the Pentagon and labeled a threat to U.S. national security, calling the actions "unprecedented and unlawful."

The company said in its complaint that federal contracts are already being canceled and private deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars are now in doubt because of the designation.

Anthropic was officially designated a supply chain risk, a label historically reserved for foreign adversaries, which forces defense vendors to certify they don't use Anthropic's models.

🦞 OpenClaw mania hits China LINK

Tencent, Alibaba, ByteDance, JD.com, and Baidu have all launched competing free-installation campaigns for the open-source AI agent OpenClaw, known as "Little Lobster," fueling what Pandaily calls "Lobster mania" across China.

The mania spread from developer circles into mainstream Chinese tech conversation after Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun publicly endorsed OpenClaw, and Tencent drew crowds ranging from retired engineers to librarians at Shenzhen installation events.

Shenzhen's district government has drafted policy support for OpenClaw-related AI development, adding a regulatory dimension to a phenomenon that shifted from technical niche to strategic priority in weeks.

👀 Xiaomi uses humanoid robots to build electric cars LINK

Xiaomi recently tested two humanoid robots on the assembly line at its Beijing electric vehicle factory, where they completed 90.2 percent of their assigned work over a three-hour trial period.

The robots applied lugnuts to a vehicle chassis at a cycle time of 76 seconds, which Xiaomi president Lu Weibing said is fast enough to keep up with the factory's pace.

UK-based firm Humanoid ran a similar pilot in February with over 90 percent success, but its robots were fixed to a stable base rather than standing on two legs like Xiaomi's.

📈 Nasdaq and Kraken partner 24/7 tokenized stock trading LINK

Nasdaq and crypto exchange Kraken are partnering to build a system for issuing and trading tokenized versions of stocks and other exchange-traded products, with a launch expected in early 2027.

Tokenized shares would carry the same corporate governance rights as ordinary stock, including voting in proxy ballots and receiving dividends, with blockchain automating parts of those processes.

Kraken will distribute one-to-one tokenized versions of public company shares to its customers outside the United States, focusing on Europe and other international markets.

Other news you might like

• Nvidia backs AI data center startup Nscale as it hits $14.6 billion valuationLINK

• VPNs surge in Australia as mandatory age verification for adult content beginsLINK

• Amazon’s Zoox will test its robotaxis in Dallas and PhoenixLINK

• OpenAI Robotics lead quits citing ethics concernsLINK

• Apple is reportedly looking into 3D printing aluminum iPhones and Apple WatchesLINK

• OpenAI is delaying its adult mode for ChatGPTLINK

• US Plans AI Chip Export Rules For All CountriesLINK

• Former Google AI Researcher Sets Up AI Robotics Startup in TokyoLINK

• Ring’s Jamie Siminoff has been trying to calm privacy fears since the Super Bowl, but his answers may not helpLINK

• China warns of fresh chip shortage as Nexperia dispute escalates again - Dutch headquarters allegedly locked Chinese staff out of IT systemsLINK

• OpenAI employees hint at a new omni modelLINK

• Amazon's Rufus AI shopping assistant can be easily jailbroken and tricked into answering other questionsLINK

• Qualcomm's new Arduino Ventuno Q is an AI-focused computer designed for roboticsLINK

🧰 Trending tools

Timelaps: measures brand marketing effectiveness through surveys of 4,000+ targeted consumers, delivering affordable real-time insights compared to traditional research agencies.LINK

Dex: an AI data analyst that connects to databases and BI tools, answering business questions in plain English with actionable insights for founders.LINK

simply: delivers daily, actionable nutrition tips from certified nutritionists to help users build sustainable healthy eating habits without restrictive diets.LINK

SCRAPR: Turn any URL into structured data. No browsers. No code. No API keys for sources.LINK

Skir: a serialization framework similar to Protocol Buffers with simplified configuration through a single YAML file for mixed-language development stacks.LINK

📚 Trending papers & reports

Consciousness theory paper proposes mathematical framework for why some physical systems are conscious, potentially guiding which AI architectures might develop genuine awareness.LINK

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