This week, we saw the return of Anthropic’s Fable, and PlayStation set the video game world on fire by announcing the end of physical discs for its consoles in 2028.
To keep up with these two mega-stories and several others, scroll down to read our recaps of the biggest tech news stories from the past seven days. You’ll find links to the original, longer stories below each entry if you need to know more.
Before you catch up on this week’s tech news, why not test yourself on the seven biggest tech news stories from last week to see how good your memory is? Take the quiz below or scroll down for the biggest tech news of the week…
7. Tidal fought back against AI-created music
Tired of music created from text prompts seeping into your recommended feeds? You are in good company; it seems the tide is finally turning towards AI-generated audio.
This week, in what must be extremely welcome news for recording artists (and their parents, owners, significant others, and simply lovers of original musical works with human voices and instruments), high-resolution music streaming giant Tidal has drawn a line in the sand.
The platform released a new comprehensive AI policy with the tagline “Promoting fairness and economic empowerment in the era of AI-generated music.” The main thing is that as well as Working with what the platform told TechRadar is “an external partner to handle detection,” the site will also exclude entirely AI-generated music from all royalty payments.
The news follows huge strides in this area by Deezer, with its free AI detection tool that works on any streaming platform, Bandcamp’s strong and concise anti-AI stance outlined in January, Qobuz’s announcement of a proprietary AI detection system in February, Apple Music’s “transparency tags” in the March issue (which unfortunately rely on record labels and distributors to tag AI content), and Spotify’s Verified by Spotify badge, which certifies that an artist is human, but doesn’t help filter AI remnants from your playlists.
All this makes Tidal’s position, although not before time, particularly firm.
6. Netflix received another hated account update
A handful of Netflix users have noticed a new pop-up in the app that requires each member of a shared account to add individual email addresses to their individual profiles, instead of using the account owner’s email address as the primary address. One of the most shocking aspects is that the pop-up only clears if the request is fulfilled.
Netflix household accounts have always been built on the traditional “one email, one password” basis, but why Netflix decided to launch a new crackdown is the question on everyone’s mind.
Although Netflix says this is to make way for more convenient logins and more personalized recommendations, users believe it will give the streaming giant another way to better distinguish activity from individual profiles, or even transfer them to individual accounts later.
Netflix said the rollout began on June 15, so we imagine a global rollout is on the way.
5. We ran with the Garmin Forerunner 70
We tested this new Garmin running watch. While it offers clear improvements over the Forerunner 55 that preceded it, these improvements come at a cost ($249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399), making this gadget less budget or entry-level and more mid-range.
The problem is not specifically with this smart watch. In fact, with new training and smartwatch features, a vibrant AMOLED display, and solid compatibility between Android and iOS, the watch is pretty solid. What concerns us with the Forerunner 70 is that at this price (or for just a few dollars more), you can get watches from competing brands with richer features and newer hardware.
At four stars, it’s definitely good, but if you’re looking for the best, or even just the best at this price point, the Garmin Forerunner 70 may not be what you need.
4. The exhausted steam engine in Japan
Valve’s next PC-game console hybrid has launched and the reality is that it’s a pretty terrible deal on the face of it – although that hasn’t stopped it from selling out in Japan and scalpers asking ridiculous prices for their reservation spot (allowing people a better chance of acquiring the device).
Instead of fighting the disappointment of pre-orders or the high costs of the right machine, some have looked for alternatives, but you’ll have to be careful. For every Stim Machine that presents itself as a sensible alternative (with some recognizable drawbacks), there are a host of cheap alternatives online that are frankly too good to be true.
Boasting components that wouldn’t actually fit into the chassis pictured, a combination of parts that wouldn’t work together, and the plethora of never-before-seen companies offering Steam Machine alternatives at incredibly low rates, it suggests that the majority of these options are likely some sort of scam.
3. Anthropic’s Fable 5 was cleared for release
Anthropic’s Fable 5, the public version of its Mythos model, is back after the US government lifted export controls that had forced the company to suspend access to it, as well as Mythos 5, earlier in June. The models were removed after officials raised national security concerns related to possible jailbreaking, a method of circumventing an AI model’s security restrictions.
Anthropic reacted strongly, saying it believed it was a “misunderstanding” and arguing that evidence of a broad or universal jailbreak had not been shown. The company said governments should be able to block dangerous AI deployments, but only through a process that is transparent, fair, clear and based on technical facts.
The return of Fable 5 is important because it shows how AI launches at the frontier can increasingly be shaped by governments, not just tech companies. Powerful models can now be launched, restricted, traded and restored in weeks.
2. WhatsApp launched usernames
WhatsApp revolutionized its platform this week by introducing usernames, allowing you to create your contact information without sharing your phone number. They won’t completely take over for a while, but people are already reserving their usernames so they’re ready for the full update.
While many are quite optimistic about this change, many are concerned that it will increase the presence of cybercrime frauds and scams as bad actors book and use names that attempt to impersonate politicians, celebrities, and businesses. This problem is not new to social media, but given the more direct nature of WhatsApp and the fact that businesses use the platform to chat with their customers, potential scams could be easier.
WhatsApp responded by saying that “only legitimate account owners can reserve names of well-known public figures.” However, it’s unclear whether, with enough imagination, people will find ways to reserve names that the Meta-owned platform hasn’t been able to accommodate.
1. PlayStation killed physical games
Just a few days later Grand Theft A 6 pre-orders open with both purely digital and code-in-a-box releases, PlayStation shook the gaming world this week by announcing that it was ending all releases of new PlayStation games on physical discs starting in January 2028. It also comes just days after Sony removed some films from digitally purchased user accounts and offered no compensation.
By saying the move “will allow us to more closely align with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today,” Sony appears to be reflecting recent statistics that show the vast majority of game purchases are indeed digital.
This decision has not been well received by fans, gamers, and the industry as a whole, as it likely paves the way for an all-digital future, and perhaps a critical, perhaps final, blow to the used games market, the ability to share games with others, and, from a game preservation standpoint.
This also means that the PS6 will likely be fully digital by default – perhaps with an optional disc drive – and won’t be released until 2028 at the earliest. With rumors that Xbox may follow suit with its next-generation console, the future is looking increasingly digital, and game collectors like us are deeply worried and saddened by it.
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