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Owen Poole covers today's biggest tech stories. Apple partners with Google's Gemini 3 to power a "more personalized" Siri. Meta removes over half a million accounts for teens and children in Australia due to world-first social media ban. Countries consider banning X after Grok AI created nonconsensual explicit images.
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 Apple is preparing to mass-produce its own AI-focused server chips in the second half of 2026 amid reliance on a short-term partnership with Google to meet immediate AI expectations, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
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 Starting with the iOS 26.3 beta, Apple appears to be laying the groundwork for carriers to be able to support end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages, and that news should actually have even bigger implications for the Messages app on the iPhone.
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 Apple appears close to supporting end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages, almost a year after the GSM Association said it was working to implement the privacy feature for messages sent between Android and iPhone devices.
Je viens de vérifier les carrier bundles d'iOS 26.3 bêta 2, et Apple a ajouté un nouveau paramètre permettant aux opérateurs d'activer le chiffrement pour le RCS
Pour le moment, aucun opérateur ne l'a encore activé
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Apple and Google have confirmed that Gemini's models power the new version of Siri and other generative AI features. CNBC broke the news, but Apple and Google soon followed up with a lengthy joint statement. Here's part of it: "Apple determined that Google's Al technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models… Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, while maintaining Apple's industry-leading privacy standards."
In June, it was reported that Apple was considering partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic for Siri (the voice assistant can currently tap ChatGPT for certain queries as part of Apple Intelligence). Two months later, Google emerged as a contender. Another report suggested Apple might build the new Siri using a custom version of Gemini — and that it would pay Google around $1 billion a year for the privilege. However, no official deal numbers were shared.
It's also notable that current iPhones have direct access to OpenAI's ChatGPT. But how long for?
— Mat Smith
The other big stories this morning
Engadget Podcast: Best of CES 2026 and a chat with Pebble's founder
Meta closes 550,000 accounts to comply with Australia's kids social media ban
The best winter tech to get y
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The annual CES tech event kicks off this week, with all kinds of companies showing off new products that are going to launch throughout 2026. Unsurprisingly, AI is the theme of this year's show, and almost everything you can think of is getting an artificial intelligence upgrade.
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