☕️ OpenAI gets US approval to launch GPT-5.6

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In today's Techpresso:

🇺🇸 OpenAI gets US approval to launch GPT-5.6

🖼️ Meta launches its first in-house AI image generator

🍎 Apple commits $30B to Broadcom for US-made chips

🕶️ Meta glasses now shut off camera if privacy light is tampered

📱 Anthropic's Claude Cowork now runs on your phone

🎁 + 13 other news you might like

🧰 + 5 trending tools

📚 + 4 trending papers

🇺🇸 OpenAI gets US approval to launch GPT-5.6 LINK

OpenAI won approval from the US Department of Commerce to launch GPT-5.6 more widely this Thursday, July 9, after weeks of technical evaluation and talks with federal officials over the model's release.

The clearance follows an earlier, limited launch last month that restricted GPT-5.6 to government-approved organisations, with the Center for AI Standards and Innovation assessing the model before giving OpenAI the go-ahead for a wider release.

OpenAI kept a technical team in Washington during the review to answer questions from officials, and it will also launch its Terra and Luna models alongside the broader rollout of GPT-5.6.

🖼️ Meta launches its first in-house AI image generator LINK

Meta has released Muse Image, its first in-house AI image generator built by Meta Superintelligence Labs, offering it for free through the Meta AI app, Instagram Stories, and WhatsApp.

The tool, code-named Mango internally, can make cartoonish images, custom ads, and interior decoration mockups tied to Facebook Marketplace, and it comes with presets and prompt-based editing to erase photobombers or build QR codes.

Meta is also adding new AI effects for Instagram Stories powered by Muse, and while everyday creation stays free up to a limit, heavier use requires a subscription plan; Muse Video is already in development.

🍎 Apple commits $30B to Broadcom for US-made chips LINK

Apple has extended its custom chip partnership with Broadcom through 2031, keeping the longtime supplier on board for AI hardware even as the iPhone maker moves more of its component work in-house.

The expanded agreement covers custom ASIC chips that can speed up AI workloads, and it appears Apple lacks the expertise to build these itself, which has prolonged its reliance on Broadcom.

Apple reportedly wants advanced AI servers to train models and run inference for Siri by early 2027, using a chip codenamed Baltra, a supersized M5 Ultra headed to the next Mac Studio.

🕶️ Meta glasses now shut off camera if privacy light is tampered LINK

Meta will roll out a software update to its smart glasses that turns off the camera whenever the device detects that someone has tampered with or destroyed the built-in privacy LED light.

The change targets modders who drill into the LED light, going further than an earlier measure that prompts users to uncover the recording light when it is blocked with tape or other objects.

Meta's VP of wearables Alex Himel told The Verge the update was coming weeks ago, after cheaper Meta Glasses launched without Ray-Ban branding, and acknowledged the company was aware of rising misuse.

📱 Anthropic's Claude Cowork now runs on your phone LINK

Anthropic has extended Claude Cowork, its agent for general knowledge work, from the desktop app to web and mobile, launching in beta to Max subscribers first so tasks can continue even with the laptop closed.

A feature called Dispatch keeps one persistent thread that routes each request to the right engine, sending development work to Claude Code and knowledge work to Cowork, then messaging back the result instead of every step.

Anthropic sampled 1.2 million sessions from over 600,000 organisations and found business process work led at 33.4%, content creation followed at 16.4%, while software development made up just 8.7%.

Other news you might like

• Blue Origin reportedly raising $10B at $130B valuationLINK

• Anthropic Removes Hidden Claude Code Tracker After Researchers Raise Privacy ConcernsLINK

• Apple begins testing CXMT chips for devices sold in China, FT saysLINK

• DMA designation sticks as Apple loses legal battle against EU rulesLINK

• AI chip maker SambaNova raises $1B at $11B valuation, 5 months after last mega roundLINK

• Microsoft joins AI cost-cutting trend by relying more on its own modelsLINK

• SpaceXAI and Cursor could ship their first joint AI model as soon as todayLINK

• Data centers’ energy demand threatens Trump’s “Made in America” planLINK

• Apple puts a $30bn US-manufacturing flag on its Broadcom chip dealLINK

• Chinese AI startup MiniMax plans to open-source a 2.7 trillion parameter model later this yearLINK

• Exclusive: Tesla Cybercab Includes More Powerful FSD HardwareLINK

• LG and Alienware monitors caught auto-installing Windows adwareLINK

🧰 Trending tools

IvyForms: a WordPress form builder that turns submissions into structured workflows using drag-and-drop, conditional logic, and integrations with popular tools.LINK

Bono AI: converts a 10-minute voice conversation into ready-to-publish blog posts, LinkedIn content, and newsletters written in your own voice.LINK

LemonLime: automatically builds and suggests AI-powered workflow automations by analyzing your existing tools, deployable with a single click.LINK

PopTask for Apple: a menu bar and Control Center task tool that converts natural language input into scheduled, recurring tasks without forms or date pickers.LINK

Orbit for Mac: lets you run multiple Google accounts in isolated, native windows without subscriptions, switching instantly between Gmail, Drive, and Calendar.LINK

📚 Trending papers & reports

Git's "Verified" commit badge can be faked without stealing any signing key, meaning the green checkmark developers trust to confirm untampered code is not actually a reliable guarantee.LINK

Autonomous software agents can be hijacked by disguising malicious instructions as normal data, bypassing existing defenses and enabling attackers to hijack web browsers or execute harmful code remotely.LINK

Sandboxing tools in OpenBSD have been steadily and broadly adopted across 19 releases, suggesting that locking down what programs can do is far less painful to implement than previously assumed.LINK

Google's Gemma 4 models now understand text, images, and audio together, reason through problems before answering, and match much larger competing open models despite being smaller and cheaper to run.LINK

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