New Android malware PlayPraetor infects 11,000+ devices, targeting banking users via fake Play Store links.
Category: mobile phones
Apple CEO: AI Is ‘As Big or Bigger’ Than the Internet, Smartphones
Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees at an all-hands meeting that the AI revolution is “as big or bigger” than the internet, smartphones, cloud computing, and apps. According to Bloomberg’s Power On newsletter, Cook said, “Apple must do this,” adding that this is “ours to grab.” He expressed hopes that, though Apple has been relatively late in rolling out AI tools—Apple Intelligence was only unveiled in 2024 —it could still dominate its rivals.
“We’ve rarely been first,” the CEO told staff. “There was a PC before the Mac; there was a smartphone before the iPhone; there were many tablets before the iPad; there was an MP3 player before iPod.”
But Cook argued that Apple invented the “modern” versions of those products, adding: “This is how I feel about AI.” He also discussed practical steps Apple is taking to make these plans a reality. Cook said Apple is investing in AI in a “big way,” and that 40% of the 12,000 employees hired last year are set to work on research and development.
New Wi-Fi fingerprint system re-identifies people without devices
Surveillance in the digital age is no longer limited to cameras and smartphones. From facial recognition to GPS logs, the tools used to monitor people have grown increasingly sophisticated.
Now, researchers in Italy have shown that even ordinary Wi-Fi signals can be used to track people, without needing them to carry any device at all.
A team from La Sapienza University of Rome has developed a system called ‘WhoFi,’ which can generate a unique biometric identifier based on how a person’s body interacts with surrounding Wi-Fi signals.
Italian researchers turn Wi-Fi signals into biometric tools, enabling passive tracking of individuals without phones using AI.
Synthetic data boosts gait analysis: AI trained on simulations rivals existing models
Gait assessment is critical for diagnosing and monitoring neurological disorders, yet current clinical standards remain largely subjective and qualitative. Recent advances in AI have enabled more quantitative and accessible gait analysis using widely available sensors such as smartphone cameras.
However, most existing AI models are designed for specific patient populations and sensor configurations, primarily due to the scarcity of diverse clinical datasets—a constraint often driven by privacy concerns. As a result, these models tend to underperform when applied to populations or settings not well represented in the training data, limiting their broader clinical applicability.
In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from IBM Research, the Cleveland Clinic, and the University of Tsukuba propose a novel framework to overcome this limitation. Their approach involves generating synthetic gait data using generative AI trained on physics-based musculoskeletal simulations.
New approach enables independent lasers to cooperate for unified light emission
Known for their ability to seamlessly integrate into semiconductor chips, VCSELs (vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers) are used in everything from computer mice to face-scanning hardware in smartphones. However, these devices are still very much an active field of research, and many researchers believe there are still important applications waiting to be discovered.
The laboratory of Kent Choquette, a professor of electrical and computer engineering in The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has developed a new design in which light from multiple VCSELs combines to form a single coherent pattern called a “supermode.”
As the researchers report in the IEEE Photonics Journal, the result is a controllable pattern brighter than what is possible with an array of independent devices, adding to the capabilities of these already-versatile devices.
Apple Loses Fourth AI Researcher in a Month to Meta’s Superintelligence Team
Apple Inc. has lost its fourth AI researcher in a month to Meta Platforms Inc., marking the latest setback to the iPhone maker’s artificial intelligence efforts.
Bowen Zhang, a key multimodal AI researcher at Apple, left the company on Friday and is set to join Meta’s recently formed superintelligence team, according to people familiar with the matter. Zhang was part of the Apple foundation models group, or AFM, which built the core technology behind the company’s AI platform.
How materials science could revolutionise technology — with Jess Wade
Jess Wade explains the concept of chirality, and how it might revolutionise technological innovation.
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Watch the Q&A here (exclusively for our Science Supporters): https://youtu.be/VlkHT-0zx9U
This lecture was recorded at the Ri on 14 June 2025.
Imagine if we could keep our mobile phones on full brightness all day, without worrying about draining our battery? Or if we could create a fuel cell that used sunlight to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen? Or if we could build a low-power sensor that could map out brain function?
Whether it’s optoelectronics, spintronics or quantum, the technologies of tomorrow are underpinned by advances in materials science and engineering. For example, chirality, a symmetry property of mirror-image systems that cannot be superimposed, can be used to control the spin of electrons and photons. Join functional materials scientist Jess Wade as she explores how advances in chemistry, physics and materials offer new opportunities in technological innovation.
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Good vibrations: Scientists use imaging technology to visualize heat
Most people envision vibration on a large scale, like the buzz of a cell phone notification or the oscillation of an electric toothbrush. But scientists think about vibration on a smaller scale—atomic, even.
In a first for the field, researchers from The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have used advanced imaging technology to directly observe a previously hidden branch of vibrational physics in 2D materials. Their findings, published in Science, confirm the existence of a previously unseen class of vibrational modes and present the highest resolution images ever taken of a single atom.
Two-dimensional materials are a promising candidate for next-generation electronics because they can be scaled down in size to thicknesses of just a few atoms while maintaining desirable electronic properties. A route to these new electronic devices lies at the atomic level, by creating so-called Moiré systems—stacks of 2D materials whose lattices do not match, for reasons such as the twisting of atomic layers.