Tech

Meta’s flagship metaverse service leaves VR behind

gaming, horizon worlds, Meta, metaverse, Mixed Reality, quest, Tech, vr / Shannon Garcia / February 20, 2026

Some of the changes—like the removal of individual worlds from the VR store—are presented by the company as efforts to make the store a better discovery platform for third-party developers.

In general, Meta frames many of its recent moves as a pivot away from first-party development of VR experiences to a focus on a third-party developer ecosystem, with stats like “86% of the effective time people spend in their VR headsets is with third-party apps.”

“We’ll continue to support the third-party community through strategic partnerships and targeted investments—as we have since the beginning,” writes Meta Reality Labs VP of Content Samantha Ryan.

Meta launched a Horizon Worlds mobile app last year and found it attracted an influx of new users interested in the service’s social gaming aspects, except for the VR element. It seems that the mobile launch was successful enough to merit focusing the entire service on that platform and audience, rather than shutting it down amid the other closures of internal content projects.

As far as we know, Meta plans to continue to design, make, and sell VR hardware and maintain the storefronts that third-party developers sell on for those platforms. It won’t make much content in-house, and you don’t see much talk about the promise of an all-encompassing, transformational metaverse anymore.

Instead, Meta’s speculative investment appears focused on smart glasses, as well as AI models, technologies, and applications.

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Rubik’s WOWCube adds complexity, possibility by reinventing the puzzle cube

puzzles, Reviews, Rubik's Cube, Tech, Toys / DJ Henderson / February 19, 2026

Technology is a double-edged sword in the $399 Rubik’s Cube-inspired toy.

There’s something special about the gadget that “just works.” Technology can open opportunities for those devices but also complicate and weigh down products that have done just fine without things like sensors and software.

So when a product like the beloved Rubik’s Cube gets stuffed with wires, processors, and rechargeable batteries, there’s demand for it to be not just on par with the original—but markedly better.

The Cubios Rubik’s WOWCube successfully breathes fresh life into the classic puzzle, but it’s also an example of when too much technology can cannibalize a gadget’s main appeal.

Rubik's WOWCube with hearts screensaver — The WOWCube showing off one of its screensavers. Credit: Scharon Harding

The WOWCube is a modern take on the Rubik’s Cube, an experiment from Hungarian architecture professor Ernő Rubik. Rubik aimed to make a structure composed of eight cubes that could move independently without the structure collapsing. The Rubik’s Cube became a widely distributed toy, an ’80s craze, and, eventually, a puzzle icon.

The Rubik’s Cube did all that without electronics and with a current MSRP of $10. The WOWCube takes the opposite approach. It’s $399 (as of this writing) and ditches the traditional 3×3 grid in favor of a 2×2 grid that can still do the traditional Rubik’s puzzle (albeit on a smaller scale) and perform a host of other tricks, including playing other games and telling the weather.

A smaller puzzle

The WOWCube’s 2×2 grid will disappoint hardcore puzzlers. There’s no way to play the traditional 3×3 version or even harder modified versions of the 2×2 grid. With only 24 squares, compared to the traditional 54, solving the WOWCube is significantly easier than solving a standard Rubik’s Cube. Although skilled players might enjoy the challenge of trying to solve the WOWCube extra rapidly.

For people who are awful at the original Rubik’s Cube, like this author, a more accessible version of the puzzle is welcome. Solving the new Rubik’s Cube feels more attainable and less frustrating.

The WOWCube is made up of eight modules. Each module has its own PCB, processor, gyroscope, and accelerometer. That may explain why Cubios went with this smaller design. The predicament also begs the question of whether electronics really improve the Rubik’s Cube.

Games and other apps

Once I played some of the WOWCube’s other games, I saw the advantage of the smaller grid. The 2×2 layout is more appropriate for games like White Rabbit, which is like Pac-Man but relies on tilting and twisting the cube, or Ladybug, where you twist the cube to create a path for a perpetually crawling ladybug. A central module might add unneeded complexity and space to these games and other WOWCube apps, like Pixel World, which is like a Rubik’s Cube puzzle but with images depicting global landmarks, or the WOWCube implementation of Gabriele Cirulli’s puzzle game, 2048.

At the time of writing, the WOWCube has 15 “games,” including the Rubik’s Cube puzzle. Most of the games are free, but some, such as Space Invaders Cubed ($30) and Sunny Side Up ($5), cost money.

Unlike the original Rubik’s Cube, which is content to live on your shelf until you need a brain exercise or go on a road trip, the WOWCube craves attention with dozens of colorful screens, sound effects, and efforts to be more than a toy.

With its Widgets app open, the cube can display information, like the time, temperature, and alerts, from a limited selection of messaging apps. More advanced actions, like checking the temperature for tomorrow or opening a WhatsApp message, are unavailable. There’s room for improvement, but further development, perhaps around features like an alarm clock or reminders, could turn the WOWCube into a helpful desk companion.

Technology overload

The new technology makes the Rubik’s Cube more versatile, exciting, and useful while bringing the toy back into the spotlight; at times, though, it also brought more complexity to a simple beloved concept.

Usually, to open an app, make a selection, or otherwise input yes, you “knock” on the side of WOWCube twice. You also have to shake the cube three times in order to exit an app, and you can’t open an app when another app is open. Being able to tap an icon or press an actual button would make tasks, like opening apps or controlling volume and brightness levels, easier. On a couple of occasions, my device got buggy and inadvertently turned off some, but not all, of its screens. The reliance on a battery and charging dock that plugs into a wall presents limitations, too.

The WOWCube showing its main menu while sitting next to its charging dock. Credit: Scharon Harding

The WOWCube’s makers brag of the device’s octads of speakers, processors, accelerometer, and gyroscopes, but I found the tilting mechanism unreliable and, at times, frustrating for doing things like highlighting an icon. Perhaps I don’t hold the WOWCube at the angles that its creators intended. There were also times when the image was upside down, and main information was displayed on a side of the cube that was facing away from me.

Rubik's WOWCube with pomodoro timer — One of my favorite features: WOWCube’s pomodoro-like timer app. Credit: Scharon Harding

The WOWCube has its own iOS and Android app, WOWCube Connect, which lets you connect the toy to your phone via Bluetooth and download new apps to the device via the dock’s Wi-Fi connection. You can also use the app to customize things like widgets, screensavers, and display brightness. If you don’t want to do any of those things, you can disconnect the WOWCube from your phone and reconnect it only when you want to.

I wasn’t able to use the iOS app unless I agreed to allow the “app to track activity.” This gives me privacy concerns, and I’ve reached out to Cubios to ask if there’s a way to use the app without the company tracking your activity.

New-age Rubik’s Cube

Cubios attempted to reinvent a classic puzzle with the WOWCube. In the process, it added bells and whistles that detract from what originally made Rubik’s Cubes great.

The actual Rubik’s Cube puzzle is scaled back, and the idea of spending hours playing with the cube is hindered by its finite battery life (the WOWCube can last up to five hours of constant play, Cubios claims). The device’s reliance on sensors and chips doesn’t always yield a predictable user experience, especially when navigating apps. And all of its tech makes the puzzle about 40 times pricier than the classic toy.

IPS screens, integrated speakers, and app integration add more possibilities, but some might argue that the Rubik’s Cube was sufficient without them. Notably, the WOWCube began as its own product and got the rights to use Rubik’s branding in 2024.

We’ve seen technology come for the Rubik’s Cube before. The Rubik’s Revolution we tested years ago had pressure-sensitive, LED-lit buttons for faces. In 2020, Rubik’s Connected came out with its own companion app. Clearly, there’s interest in bringing the Rubik’s Cube into the 20th century. For those who believe in that mission, the WOWCube is a fascinating new chapter for the puzzle.

I applaud Cubios’ efforts to bring the Rubik’s Cube new relevance and remain intrigued by the potential of new software-driven puzzles and uses. But it’s hard to overlook the downfalls of its tech reliance.

And the WOWCube could never replace the classic.

Scharon is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer gadgets and services. She’s been reporting on technology for over 10 years, with bylines at Tom’s Hardware, Channelnomics, and CRN UK.

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5 changes to know about in Apple’s latest iOS, macOS, and iPadOS betas

Apple, ios 26, ipados 26, macos 26 tahoe, Tech / 9u50fv / February 18, 2026

The 26.3 updates were mostly invisible; these changes are more significant.

A collection of iPhones running iOS 26. Credit: Apple

This week, Apple released the first developer betas for iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, macOS 26.4, and its other operating systems. On Tuesday, it followed those up with public beta versions of the same updates.

Usually released around the midpoint between one major iOS release and the next, the *.4 updates to its operating system usually include a significant batch of new features and other refinements, and if the first beta is any indication, this year’s releases uphold that tradition.

A new “Playlist Playground” feature will let Apple Music subscribers generate playlists with text prompts, and native support for video podcasts is coming to the Podcasts app. The Creator Studio version of the Freeform drawing and collaboration app is also available in the 26.4 updates, allowing subscribers to access stock images from Apple’s Content Hub and to insert AI-generated images.

But we’ve spent time digging through the betas to identify some of the more below-the-surface improvements and changes that Apple is testing. Some of these changes won’t come to the public versions of the software until a later release; others may be removed or changed between now and when the 26.4 update is made available to the general public. But generally, Apple’s betas give us a good idea of what the final release will look like.

One feature that hasn’t appeared in these betas? The new “more intelligent Siri” that Apple has been promising since the iOS 18 launch in 2024. Apple delayed the feature until sometime in 2026, citing that it wasn’t meeting the company’s standards for quality and reliability.

Reports indicated that the company had been planning to make the new Siri part of the 26.4 update, but as of earlier this month, Apple has reportedly decided to push it to the 26.5 release or later; even releasing it as part of iOS 27 in the fall would technically not run afoul of the “2026” promise.

Before we begin, the standard warning about installing beta software on hardware you rely on day to day. Although these point updates are generally more stable than the major releases Apple tests in the summer and fall, they can still contain major bugs and may cause your device to behave strangely. The first beta, in particular, tends to be the roughest—more stable versions will be released in the coming weeks, and we should see the final version of the update within the next couple months.

Charging limits for MacBooks

The macOS 26.4 update includes a slider for manually limiting your Mac’s battery charge percentage. Credit: Andrew Cunningham

In macOS 11 Big Sur, Apple added an on-by-default “Optimized Battery Charging” toggle to the operating system that would allow macOS to limit your battery’s charge percentage to 80 percent based on your usage and charging behavior. The idea is to limit the time your battery spends charging while full, something that can gradually reduce its capacity.

The macOS 26.4 update adds a new slider similar to the one in iOS, further allowing users to manually specify a maximum charge limit that is always observed, no matter what. It’s adjustable in 5 percent increments from 80 to 100 percent.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that limiting your charge percentage can lengthen the useful life of your battery and reduce wear, but there’s nothing that will fully prevent a battery from wearing out and losing capacity over time. It’s up to users to decide whether an immediately noticeable everyday hit to battery life is worth a slightly longer service life.

In the current macOS betas, enabling a charge limit manually doesn’t disable the Optimized Battery Charging feature the way it does in iOS. It’s unclear if this is an early bug or an intentional difference in how the feature is implemented in macOS.

End-to-end encryption (and other improvements) for non-Apple texting

Apple has been infamously slow to adopt support for the Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging protocol used by most modern Android phones. Apple-to-Apple messaging was handled using iMessage, which supports end-to-end encryption among many other features. But for many years, it stuck by the aging SMS standard for “green bubble” texting between Apple’s platforms and others, to the enduring frustration of anyone with a single Android-using friend in a group chat.

Apple finally began supporting RCS messaging for major cellular carriers in iOS 18, and has slowly expanded support to other networks in subsequent releases. But Apple’s implementation still doesn’t support end-to-end encryption, which was added to the RCS standard about a year ago.

The 26.4 update is the first to begin testing encryption for RCS messages. But as with the initial RCS rollout, Apple is moving slowly and deliberately: for now, encrypted RCS messaging only works when texting between Apple devices, and not between Apple devices and Android phones. The feature also won’t be included in the final 26.4 release—it’s only included in the betas for testing purposes, and it “will be available to customers in a future software update for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS.”

Encrypted iMessage and RCS chats will be labeled with a lock icon, much like how most web browsers label HTTPS sites.

To support encrypted messaging, Apple will jump from version 2.4 of the RCS Universal Profile to version 3.0. This should also enable support for several improvements in versions 2.5, 2.6, and 2.7 of the RCS standard, including previously iMessage-exclusive things like editing and recalling messages and replying to specific messages inline.

The return of the “Compact” Safari tab bar

The Compact tab view returns to Safari 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4. Credit: Andrew Cunningham

As part of the macOS 12 Monterey/iPadOS 15 beta cycle in 2021, Apple attempted a pretty radical redesign of the Safari browser that combined your tabs and the address bar into one, with the goal of increasing the amount of viewable space on the pages you were viewing. By the time both operating systems were released to the public, Safari’s default design had more or less reverted to its previous state, but the “compact” tab view lived on as an optional view in the settings for those who liked it.

Tahoe, the Safari 26 update, and iPadOS 26 all removed that Compact view entirely, though a version of the Compact view became the default for the iPhone version of Safari. The macOS 26.4, Safari 26.4, and iPadOS 26.4 updates restore the Compact tab option to the other versions of Safari.

On-by-default Stolen Device Protection

Originally introduced in the iOS 17.3 update, Apple’s “Stolen Device Protection” toggle for iPhones added an extra layer of security for users whose phones were stolen by people who had learned their passcodes. With Stolen Device Protection enabled, an iPhone that had been removed from “familiar locations, such as home or work” would require biometric Face ID or Touch ID authentication before accessing stored passwords and credit cards, erasing your phone, or changing Apple Account passwords. Normally, users can enter their passcodes as a fallback; Stolen Device Protection removes that fallback.

The iOS 26.4 update will make Stolen Device Protection on by default. Generally, you won’t notice a difference in how your phone behaves, but if you’re traveling or away from places where you regularly use your phone and you can’t use your passcode to access certain information, this is why.

It’s possible to switch off Stolen Device protection, but doing so requires biometric authentication, an hour-long wait, and then a second biometric authentication. (This extended wait is also required for disabling Find My, changing your phone’s passcode, or changing Touch ID and Face ID settings.)

Rosetta’s end approaches

The macOS 26.4 update will add the first user-facing notifications about the end of Rosetta support, currently slated for macOS 28 in 2027. Credit: Andrew Cunningham

Apple’s Rosetta 2 was a crucial support beam in the bridge from the Intel Mac era to the Apple Silicon era, enabling unmodified Intel-native apps to run on the M1 and later processors, with noticeable but manageable performance and responsiveness hits. As with the original Rosetta, it allowed Apple to execute a major CPU architecture switch while keeping it mostly invisible to Mac users, and it bought developers time to release Arm-native versions of their apps so they could take full advantage of the new chips.

But now that the transition is complete and the last Intel Macs are fading into the rearview, Apple plans to remove the translation layer from future versions of macOS, with some exceptions for games that rely on the technology.

Rosetta 2 won’t be completely removed until macOS 28, but macOS 26.4 will be the first to begin warning users about the end of Rosetta when they launch Intel-native apps. Those notifications link to an Apple support page about identifying and updating Intel-only apps to Apple Silicon-native versions (or universal binaries that support both architectures).

Apple has deployed this “adding notifications without removing functionality” approach to deprecating older apps before. Versions 10.13 and 10.14 of macOS would show users pop-ups about the end of support for 32-bit apps for a couple of years before that support was removed in macOS 10.15, for example.

Andrew is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica, with a focus on consumer tech including computer hardware and in-depth reviews of operating systems like Windows and macOS. Andrew lives in Philadelphia and co-hosts a weekly book podcast called Overdue.

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Google’s Pixel 10a arrives on March 5 for $499 with specs and design of yesteryear

android, Google, pixel 10a, smartphones, Tech / Kelly Newman / February 18, 2026

It’s that time of year—a new budget Pixel phone is about to hit virtual shelves. The Pixel 10a will be available on March 5, and pre-orders go live today. The 9a will still be on sale for a while, but the 10a will be headlining Google’s store. However, you might not notice unless you keep up with the Pixel numbering scheme. This year’s A-series Pixel is virtually identical to last year’s, both inside and out.

Last year’s Pixel 9a was a notable departure from the older design language, but Google made few changes for 2026. We liked that the Pixel 9a emphasized battery capacity and moved to a flat camera bump, and this time, it’s really flat. Google says the camera now sits totally flush with the back panel. This is probably the only change you’ll be able to identify visually.

Specs at a glance: Google Pixel 9a vs. Pixel 10a
Phone	Pixel 9a	Pixel 10a
SoC	Google Tensor G4	Google Tensor G4
Memory	8GB	8GB
Storage	128GB, 256GB	128GB, 256GB
Display	1080×2424 6.3″ pOLED, 60–120 Hz, Gorilla Glass 3, 2700 nits (peak)	1080×2424 6.3″ pOLED, 60–120 Hz, Gorilla Glass 7i, 3000 nits (peak)
Cameras	48 MP primary, f/1.7, OIS; 13 MP ultrawide, f/2.2; 13 MP selfie, f/2.2	48 MP primary, f/1.7, OIS; 13 MP ultrawide, f/2.2; 13 MP selfie, f/2.2
Software	Android 15 (at launch), 7 years of OS updates	Android 16, 7 years of OS updates
Battery	5,100 mAh, 23 W wired charging, 7.5 W wireless charging	5,100 mAh, 30 W wired charging, 10 W wireless charging
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6e, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, sub-6 GHz 5G, USB-C 3.2	Wi-Fi 6e, NFC, Bluetooth 6.0, sub-6 GHz 5G, USB-C 3.2
Measurements	154.7×73.3×8.9 mm; 185 g	153.9×73×9 mm; 183 g

Google also says the new Pixel will have a slightly upgraded screen. The resolution, size, and refresh rate are unchanged, but peak brightness has been bumped from 2,700 nits to 3,000 nits (the same as the base model Pixel 10). Plus, the cover glass has finally moved beyond Gorilla Glass 3 to Gorilla Glass 7i, which supposedly has improved scratch and drop protection.

Google notes that more of the phone is constructed from recycled material, 100 percent for the aluminum frame and 81 percent for the plastic back. There’s also recycled gold, tungsten, cobalt, and copper inside, amounting to about 36 percent of the phone’s weight. The phone also continues to have a physical SIM slot, which was removed from the Pixel 10 series last year. The device’s USB-C 3.2 port can also charge slightly faster than the 9a (30 W versus 23 W), and wireless charging has gone from 7.5 W to 10 W. There are no Qi2 magnets inside, though.

Internally, the Pixel 10a is even more like its predecessor. Unlike past A-series phones, this one doesn’t have the latest Tensor chip—it’s sticking with the same Tensor G4 from the 9a. That’s a bummer, as the G5 was a bigger leap than most of Google’s chip upgrades. The company says it stuck with the G4 to “balance affordability and performance.”

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RAM shortage hits Valve’s four-year-old Steam Deck, now available “intermittently”

gaming, ram shortage, steam deck, steamos, Tech, valve / DJ Henderson / February 17, 2026

Earlier this month, Valve announced it was delaying the release of its new Steam Machine desktop and Steam Frame VR headset due to memory and storage shortages that have been cascading across the PC industry since late 2025. But those shortages are also coming for products that have already launched.

Valve had added a note to its Steam Deck page noting that the device would be “out-of-stock intermittently in some regions due to memory and storage shortages.” None of Valve’s three listed Steam Deck configurations are currently available to buy, nor are any of the certified refurbished Steam Deck configurations that Valve sometimes offers.

Valve hasn’t announced any price increases for the Deck, at least not yet—the 512GB OLED model is still listed at $549 and the 1TB version at $649. But the basic 256GB LCD model has been formally discontinued now that it has sold out, increasing the Deck’s de facto starting price from $399 to $549. Valve announced in December that it was ending production on the LCD version of the Deck and that it wouldn’t be restocked once it sold out.

The Steam Deck’s hardware is four years old this month, and faster hardware with better chips and higher-resolution screens have been released in the years since. But those Ryzen Z1 and Z2 chips aren’t always dramatically faster than the Deck’s semi-custom AMD chip; many of those handhelds are also considerably more expensive than the OLED Deck’s $549 starting price. When it’s in stock, the Deck still offers compelling performance and specs for the price.

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The first Android 17 beta is now available on Pixel devices

android, android 17, Google, smartphones, Tech / Mike M. / February 13, 2026

In short, the first Android 17 beta is chock full of things that may interest developers and modders, but there’s little in the way of user-facing changes right now.

Android 17 release schedule

Google has made some notable changes to how it releases Android updates, and Android 17 continues the trend. Like last year, there will be two Android 17 releases in 2026. The first one, coming in Q2, will be the more significant of the two. It will include a raft of new APIs, behavioral changes, and feature updates. This split release setup was implemented to better align with when major OEMs release new devices, but Android 17 availability still focuses mainly on Pixels. Google’s phones receive immediate updates, but everyone else has to wait for OEMs to roll out updates over the following weeks or months.

At the end of the year, another version (you can think of it as Android 17.1 even though Google doesn’t give it a name) will become available on supported devices. This “minor SDK release” will include some API and feature changes, but Google doesn’t have any details at this time.

Android release schedule — Credit: Google

Before we get to that, Google plans to launch a second beta release in March. The company says Beta 2 will include final APIs, allowing developers to complete testing and roll out updates. Developers will have “several months” to get that work done before the final version hits Pixels.

In 2025, Google also changed the way it updates the open source parts of Android. Rather than regular code dumps, Google now only updates the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) twice yearly, in the second and fourth quarters, when new versions are released. That makes it harder to know what to expect from upcoming versions of Android, but Google insists this is more efficient.

If you want to check out Android 17 today, you’ll need a Pixel device. It supports the Pixel 6, Pixel 7, Pixel 8, Pixel 9, and Pixel 10 generations. The Pixel tablet and original Pixel Fold are also included. Other phone makers may release beta builds in the weeks ahead, but it’s a Google-only event for now. You can opt in to get an OTA to Android 17 on the beta program website.

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DIY PC maker Framework has needed monthly price hikes to navigate the RAM shortage

framework, framework desktop, framework laptop, Tech / Beth Washington / February 12, 2026

AI-driven memory and storage price hikes have been the defining feature of the PC industry in 2026, and hobbyists have been hit the hardest—companies like Apple with lots of buying power have been able to limit the price increases for their PCs, phones, and other gadgets so far, but smaller outfits like Valve and Raspberry Pi haven’t been so lucky.

Framework, the company behind repairable and upgradeable computer designs like the Laptop 13, Laptop 16, and Laptop 12, is also taking a hard hit by price increases. The company stopped selling standalone RAM sticks in November 2025 and has increased prices on one or more of its systems every month since then; this week’s increases are hitting the Framework Desktop and the DIY Editions of its various laptops particularly hard.

The price increases are affecting both standalone SODIMM memory modules and the soldered-down LPDDR5X memory used in the Framework Desktop. Patel says that standalone RAM sticks are being priced “as close as we can to the weighted average cost of our purchases from suppliers.” In September, buying an 8GB stick of RAM with a Framework Laptop 13 cost $40; it currently costs $130. A 96GB DDR5 kit of two 48GB sticks costs $1,340, up from $480 in September.

Framework Desktop systems and boards with built-in RAM are seeing price increases between 6 and 16 percent—in general, the more RAM you’re buying, the higher the increase. The base Framework Desktop system with 32GB of LPDDR5X now starts at $1,209, a $110 increase since launch. The maxed-out 128GB desktop starts at $2,599, a whopping $600 more than the system cost at launch.

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It took two years, but Google released a YouTube app on Vision Pro

Apple, apple vision pro, Google, Mixed Reality, Tech, vision pro, visionOS, XR, youtube / Mike M. / February 12, 2026

When Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset launched in February 2024, users were frustrated at the lack of a proper YouTube app—a significant disappointment given the device’s focus on video content consumption, and YouTube’s strong library of immersive VR and 360 videos. That complaint continued through the release of the second-generation Vision Pro last year, including in our review.

Now, two years later, an official YouTube app from Google has launched on the Vision Pro’s app store. It’s not just a port of the iPad app, either—it has panels arranged spatially in front of the user as you’d expect, and it supports 3D videos, as well as 360- and 180-degree ones.

YouTube’s App Store listing says users can watch “every video on YouTube” (there’s a screenshot of a special interface for Shorts vertical videos, for example) and that they get “the full signed-in experience” with watch history and so on.

Shortly after the Vision Pro launched, many users complained to YouTube about the lack of an app. They were referred to the web interface—which worked OK for most 2D videos, but it obviously wasn’t an ideal experience—and were told that a Vision Pro app was on the roadmap.

Two years of silence followed. Third-party apps popped up, like the relatively popular Juno app, but it was pulled from the App Store on Google’s claim that it violated API policies. (Some others remained or became available later.)

Google is building out its own XR ambitions, so it’s possible the Vision Pro app benefited from some of that work, but it’s unclear how this all came to be. But it’s here now. Next up: Netflix, right? Sadly, that’s unlikely; unlike Google, Netflix has not announced any intention here.

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Byte magazine artist Robert Tinney, who illustrated the birth of PCs, dies at 78

art, BYTE magazine, computer history, Illustration, magazines, Media, Obituaries, obituary, personal computing, retrocomputing, retrotech, Robert Tinney, Tech, Vintage computing / DJ Henderson / February 11, 2026

On February 1, Robert Tinney, the illustrator whose airbrushed cover paintings defined the look and feel of pioneering computer magazine Byte for over a decade, died at age 78 in Baker, Louisiana, according to a memorial posted on his official website.

As the primary cover artist for Byte from 1975 to the late 1980s, Tinney became one of the first illustrators to give the abstract world of personal computing a coherent visual language, translating topics like artificial intelligence, networking, and programming into vivid, surrealist-influenced paintings that a generation of computer enthusiasts grew up with.

Tinney went on to paint more than 80 covers for Byte, working almost entirely in airbrushed Designers Gouache, a medium he chose for its opaque, intense colors and smooth finish. He said the process of creating each cover typically took about a week of painting once a design was approved, following phone conversations with editors about each issue’s theme. He cited René Magritte and M.C. Escher as two of his favorite artists, and fans often noticed their influence in his work.

A phone call that changed his life

A recent photo portrait of Robert Tinney provided by the family. Credit: Family of Robert Tinney

Born on November 22, 1947, in Penn Yan, New York, Tinney moved with his family to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a child. He studied illustration and graphic design at Louisiana Tech University, and after a tour of service during the Vietnam War, he began his career as a commercial artist in Houston.

His connection to Byte came through a chance meeting with Carl Helmers, who would later found the magazine. In a 2006 interview I conducted with Tinney for my blog, Vintage Computing and Gaming, he recalled how the relationship began: “One day the phone rang in my Houston apartment and it was Carl wanting to know if I would be interested in painting covers for Byte.” His first cover appeared on the December 1975 issue, just three months after the magazine launched.

Over time, his covers became so popular that he created limited-edition signed prints that he sold on his website for decades. “A friend suggested once that I should select the best covers and reproduce them as signed prints,” he said in 2006. “Byte was gracious enough to let me advertise the prints when they could fit in an ad (it did get bumped occasionally), and the prints were very popular in the Byte booth at the big computer shows, two or three of which my wife, Susan, and I attended per year. When an edition sold out, I then put the design on a T-shirt.”

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“Windows 11 26H1” is a special version of Windows exclusively for new Arm PCs

Tech, Windows 11, windows 11 24h2, windows 11 25h2, windows 11 26h1 / Beth Washington / February 11, 2026

But for app developers, IT shops, and anyone else who needs to test things against multiple Windows versions at once, it does create an odd period of overlap where they’ll need to account for one version of Windows that runs just on these brand-new PCs, and one version of Windows that covers everybody else.

Special treatment for Arm PCs

Releasing a new version of Windows that just covers new Arm PCs is another signal of Microsoft’s commitment to Arm processors and the Arm version of Windows, after decades of near-exclusive focus on the x86 version of the OS that ran on Intel and AMD’s chips.

Microsoft offered multiple versions of both Windows 10 and Windows 11 in both x86 and Arm editions, but the 24H2 update was a major milestone for Arm PCs. It came with big under-the-hood changes to Windows’ compiler, kernel, and scheduler, and an optimized x86-to-Arm translation layer called Prism that enhanced the compatibility and performance of apps that hadn’t been built to run on Arm processors.

The 24H2 update also coincided with the release of the first-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon X-series processors, high-performance Arm chips developed by some of the same people behind Apple’s M-series chips for Macs. Many third-party developers have also finally released Arm-native versions of their Windows apps, which are faster and more responsive than translated x86 apps.

Microsoft’s confidence in the Arm version of Windows was so great that the new Surface PCs released in mid-2024 used Qualcomm’s processors exclusively, relegating Intel chips to offshoot versions for businesses with strict compatibility requirements. For years previously, Microsoft had treated the Intel- and AMD-based Surfaces as the “main” ones and the Arm-based Surface Pro X as the offshoot.

Since the 24H2 update, development on the Arm and the traditional x86 versions of Windows has happened at slightly different rates. Some features, particularly things like Recall and Click To Do that were only rolling out to Copilot+ PCs with fast built-in neural processing units (NPUs), have been available for the Arm versions of Windows for a few weeks or months before they hit the x86 versions. Windows 11 24H2 itself was also shipping on Arm PCs in stores several months before Microsoft began rolling the update out to the wider PC ecosystem.

We’ve asked Microsoft to elaborate on what the Windows 11 26H1 update includes and whether it contains any changes that will benefit the wider PC ecosystem somewhere down the line. We’ll update the article if we receive a response.

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Google recovers “deleted” Nest video in high-profile abduction case

Google, Nest, privacy, Tech / 9u50fv / February 11, 2026

Suspect attempts to cover the camera with a plant.

In statements made by investigators, the video was apparently “recovered from residual data located in backend systems.” It’s unclear how long such data is retained or how easy it is for Google to access it. Some reports claim that it took several days for Google to recover the data.

In large-scale enterprise storage solutions, “deleted” for the user doesn’t always mean that the data is gone. Data that is no longer needed is often compressed and overwritten only as needed. In the meantime, it may be possible to recover the data. That’s something a company like Google could decide to do on its own, or it could be compelled to perform the recovery by a court order. In the Guthrie case, it sounds like Google was voluntarily cooperating with the investigation, which makes sense. Publishing video of the alleged perpetrator could be a major breakthrough as investigators seek help from the public.

It’s not your cloud

There is a temptation to ascribe some malicious intent to Google’s video storage setup. After all, this video expired after three hours, but here it is nine days later. That feels a bit suspicious on the surface, particularly for a company that is so focused on training AI models that feed on video.

We have previously asked Google to explain how it uses Nest to train AI models, and the company claims it does not incorporate user videos into training data, but the way you interact with the service and with your videos is fair game. “We may use your inputs, including prompts and feedback, usage, and outputs from interactions with AI features to further research, tune, and train Google’s generative models, machine learning technologies, and related products and services,” Google said.

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Apple releases iOS 26.3 with updates that mainly benefit non-Apple devices

Apple, ios 26, ipados 26, macos 26 tahoe, Tech, watchos 26 / DJ Henderson / February 11, 2026

Other additions, and other OSes

Another iOS 26.3 update is also aimed at interoperability, though it may only apply to iPhones covered by European Union regulations. A feature called “notification forwarding” will send your iPhone’s notifications to third-party accessories, including Google’s Android-based Wear OS smartwatches. Once the setting is enabled, users will be able to decide which apps can forward notifications to the third-party device, similar to how Apple Watch notifications work.

In current betas, Apple allows notifications to be forwarded to only one device at a time, and forwarding notifications to a third-party device means you can’t send them to an Apple Watch.

Finally, both iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 are introducing a feature for some newer devices with Apple’s in-house C1 and C1X modems: a “limit precise location” toggle that Apple says “enhances your location privacy by reducing the precision of location data available to cellular networks.”

This feature is currently only available on a handful of devices and even fewer carriers: In the US, Boost Mobile is the only one. Only the iPhone Air, iPhone 16e, or the M5 iPad Pro will offer the toggle; devices like the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and older phones with Qualcomm or Intel modems won’t support the feature.

Apple has also updated all of its other major operating systems today. But macOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, watchOS 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3 and version 26.3 of the HomePod software are all quieter updates of the bug-fixes-and-performance-improvements variety. Beta testers have found early evidence of support for the M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips, pointing to pending refreshes for some higher-end Macs, but that doesn’t tell us much we didn’t already know.

The 26.3 updates are mostly sleepy, but the 26.4 releases may be a bigger deal. These are said to be the first to include Apple’s “more intelligent Siri,” a feature initially promised as part of the first wave of Apple Intelligence updates in iOS 18 but delayed after it failed to meet Apple’s quality standards.

Apple and Google jointly announced in January that the new Siri would be powered by Google’s Gemini language models rather than OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other competing models. As with other Apple Intelligence features, we’d expect the new Siri to be available to testers via Apple’s developer and public beta programs before being released to all devices.

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