We are a month away from the initial rollout of Google's Android developer verification system, which requires developers outside the Play Store to verify their identities, just like it does for devs publishing on its platform. The company contends this policy does not impinge on the platform's open nature. Still, the restrictions will be a big change, and there are still some unanswered questions. An issue that has come up repeatedly in the run-up to verification is what will happen to devs who can't verify because of where they live. It turns out that Google has a cryptic answer for that buried in an FAQ.

Developer verification will soon block the installation of apps from unverified developers on any Android device running Google services, which is functionally all Android phones outside Russia and China. Developers who want to keep releasing software, even if it's not in the Play Store, have to provide Google with their ID and pay a small fee.

But what if you're an Android developer living in a sanctioned nation? Currently, the US sanction list includes Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and occupied areas of Ukraine. Given the current uncertain state of US foreign policy, that list could change in the future. Google doing any business with developers in those places is a thorny issue, and it seems like the company has decided to just leave them hanging.

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Apple saw an excellent and better-than-anticipated Q3 2026 in terms of iPhone sales, but its revenue for services—like Apple TV, Apple Music, AppleCare, or iCloud—slipped downward, disappointing experts who were hoping for more. Further, fears about memory prices and supply constraints slightly soured reception to what could have otherwise been a slightly positive but business-as-usual quarter.

That's the key takeaway from the company's Q3 2026 earnings call today.

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Satellite images have revealed new damage to Amazon data centers in the Middle East along with at least one crucial Saudi oil facility, following missile and drone attacks by Iran and its Houthi allies.

The images from Europe’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites provide evidence of a widening war as the United States and several Gulf states exchange military strikes with Iran, the Houthi faction in Yemen, and Iran-backed militias in Iraq. Such satellite images also offer independent verification of claimed war damage, despite the US government having pressured US commercial firms and even Europe to restrict satellite imagery of the region.

Three Amazon data centers in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were already previously damaged by Iranian drone strikes on March 1. Those earlier attacks stuck Amazon with months of expected repairs and forced Amazon Web Services customers in the Middle East to migrate workloads to other cloud regions.

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Governments around the world are suddenly very keen on online age verification requirements. In some places, this takes the form of ID requirements to access adult content, but several US states have also focused on app stores. With these laws now going into effect, Google has announced an expansion of its beta Play Age Signals API, which it claims will allow developers to confirm user ages without impinging on privacy.

Google's system doesn't require an ID or selfie verification—it's connected to the company's existing Family Link app. The idea is that parents will set age ranges for their kids' managed accounts. For example, you might set a range like 16–17, allowing apps to tailor experiences and content for teenagers.

Google notes that the ranges are dynamic and may change as young users get older. So a kid who's 13 may be in the same app content bracket for a few years before hitting the next level. Parents have the option to set and share these ranges if they want that additional level of control over what their children can access in Google Play. However, it's not mandatory for child accounts—it's fully opt-in and can be turned off at any time.

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A new Airbus passenger jet completed an ultra-long test flight between Australia and France lasting more than 24 hours—paving the way for the world’s longest nonstop commercial flights starting up next year.

The Airbus A350-1000ULR was developed specifically for Qantas Airways’ planned nonstop flights between Sydney and either New York or London. The Australian airline has ordered a dozen of the new airliners for its Project Sunrise routes that aim to start offering tickets for sale in 2027.

The aircraft had been doing initial test flights near the Airbus facilities in Toulouse, France, with a small team of test pilots and test engineers before conducting its first ultra long-haul test flight last week. After taking off from Toulouse on July 23, it flew for 19 hours and 13 minutes before landing in Melbourne, Australia, on July 24.

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Apple has released iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS 26.6. Apart from potential security hotfixes, these are likely the last updates before the arrival of iOS 27, macOS 27, and so on.

All of today's releases include minor bug fixes, and there are numerous security updates: more than 150 for macOS 26.6. Apple also rolled out macOS 14.8.8 and macOS 15.7.8 for older devices, also focused on security fixes.

In terms of new features, you won't find many in these releases, as they mainly pave the way for the next major OS update, likely to hit sometime in September. Most notably, the release notes for iOS and iPadOS 26.6 say the update "optimizes the Spotlight index to prepare for iOS 27." This update will kick off some indexing work that will then be leveraged in an ostensibly much more robust Spotlight search feature when iOS 27 launches next month.

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In early 2025, Atlanta resident Samuel Tunick was on his way home following a trip abroad. After landing in the US, customs agents demanded access to his Pixel phone, which was running an alternative version of Android called GrapheneOS. Rather than hand over his data, Tunick used a clever feature of the software to delete everything. Now, he's facing federal charges.

The first hearing in this case happened last week, according to The Guardian, during which government attorneys and agents claimed that Tunick was subjected to a standard secondary interrogation at an international airport. During that encounter, agents were "looking for anything that’s prohibited." However, Tunick's legal team alleges he was targeted for his activism.

Tunick was involved with a group called Defend the Atlanta Forest, which opposed the construction of an enormous law enforcement training facility in the area often known as Cop City. What Tunick didn't know, according to his lawyers, was that he'd been placed on a watch list for his actions and that Customs and Border Protection had discussed over email plans to detain him upon his arrival back in the US for "suspected terrorism activities."

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I've liked the Framework Laptop 13 since the first time I used it, partly because I just think the idea of a repairable and upgradeable laptop is cool and partly because it's not Yet Another Ultraportable Trying To Be A MacBook Air Clone. But the design has always had real shortcomings—the most noticeable and serious being its mediocre battery life.

Enter the Framework Laptop 13 Pro. While all previous Laptop 13 refreshes have tinkered around the edges with the original design (a tweaked lid design here, new hinges or new speakers there), the Laptop 13 Pro is as close as we've gotten to a second-generation revision for the original design.

This means that it breaks backward compatibility for some (but not all) Laptop 13 components, most notably the bottom case, the keyboard and trackpad, and the original 55 WHr and 61 WHr battery designs. But by allowing itself to make larger changes to the design, Framework has made major strides in battery life and general fit and finish.

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