[LINK] interesting stuff

[Stephen Loosley]

By Tim Biggs The Age August 29, 2025

Google has announced a major change to how apps work on Android, which will effectively stop users from “side-loading” content made by anonymous developers. The change is set to hit globally in 2027, and will require developers to register their personal details with Google to avoid having their apps blocked on all devices. The company says the measure is to stop malware, but some developers have said it will mark the end of Android as an open computing system.


Elon Musk’s xAI is suing Apple and OpenAI, alleging anticompetitive schemes to keep xAI’s Grok chatbot down. Reading through his statements, Musk is mostly upset that Grok has been unable to outrank ChatGPT on the App Store, and is not featured in Apple’s “must-have apps” list. As far as entitlement goes, it’s up there with previous Musk complaints about people not liking his tweets, or advertisers not wanting their brands on X. OpenAI and Apple deny Musk’s claim.


Following its launch in China last month, Honor has brought its Magic V5 phone to Europe, claiming it’s the thinnest foldable phone in the world. Of course, it only beats Samsung’s offering by a tenth of a millimetre, and you’d have to ignore that its camera bump is clearly bulkier, but it seems the claim is technically true. More impressive is that Honor has managed to cram in a 5820mAh battery, which is much bigger than Samsung’s. An Australian release has not been confirmed.

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