The rumors were true: Apple has introduced a high-powered headless desktop that sits between the Mac mini and Mac Pro. The company has launched the Mac Studio, a compact machine with up to a 20-core M1 Ultra chip, a 64-core GPU and more expansion than its mini counterpart. Not surprisingly, Apple is making bold performance claims — it believes the Studio is up to 80 percent faster than the Intel-based Mac Pro tower in certain circumstances.

You'll have plenty of choice for peripherals with four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI and Ethernet on the back. And yes, Apple is aware you want front ports — two USB-C connectors and an SD SD card slot will spare you from reaching behind the system to upload photos. The computer is also power-efficient. Apple claims the Mac Studio uses about 100W less power than a 16-core Windows at similar performance levels.

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Catch up on all of the news from Apple’s Peek Performance event right here!

Some of the better-known minds in tech are uniting to tackle one of computing's greater challenges. CNBCreports LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman (pictured above) have formed Inflection AI, a company that will use artificial intelligence software to help humans talk to computers. The hope, according to Suleyman, is that you'll speak to computers in ordinary language — this will "almost certainly" be possible in five years, he said.

Suleyman will serve as CEO, while fellow DeepMind alumni Karén Simonyan will operate as Inflection's chief scientist. The company aims to stay relatively small to preserve the team's focus and speed.

The move was a long time in coming. Hoffman and Suleyman have known each other for nearly a decade, and Suleyman backed away from DeepMind in August 2019 following both a desire to "recharge" and criticisms of his management style in previous years. He became Google's VPP for AI product management and policy in December of that year, but left this January to work with Hoffman at venture capital firm Greylock Partners.

There are still many unknowns surrounding Inflection. It hasn't pinpointed its target audience or a timeline for its first products. The DeepMind veterans could help its chances, however, and they're trying to solve a common problem. Existing AI assistants aren't particularly clever, and fixing that could improve everything from the phone in your pocket to next-generation robots.

You're probably aware that some brands' devices are easier to repair than others, but an influential advocacy team may have just confirmed your suspicions. The Vergenotes the US Public Interest Research Group has published a repairability report card grading major laptop and phone brands both on the ease of fixing their devices (based partly on French repair scores) and the company's overall stance on repairs. As you might guess, Apple, Google and Microsoft fared poorly with D grades and one F for iPhones — their historically sealed-in designs, lack of parts and lobbying against Right to Repair legislation didn't win them any points.

No company on the report card received an A grade. However, there were some highlights. Laptops from Acer, ASUS, Dell and Lenovo all earned solid B grades for easier access and reduced opposition to Right to Repair, while Motorola was the only phone maker to match that performance with its relatively fixable phones. HP and Samsung each mustered a C grade.

PIRG's aim is clear. As with its campaign to open up ventilator repairs, the interest group wants PC and phone makers to factor repairability into their designs, after-sale service and politics. Easier-to-fix products reduce e-waste and save money, PIRG argued.

The tech industry is already evolving to some extent. The Biden administration has ramped up pressure on American companies to embrace Right to Repair, including a plan to enforce pro-repair laws. Some of the companies are already changing their attitudes, if partly to head off potential legislation. Apple will start selling parts to customers this year, while newer Microsoft Surface devices are relatively simple to fix. PIRG's clout may still help, but it isn't the only one nudging the tech world toward better repairability.

Solid-state batteries promise a huge upgrade for electric vehicles thanks to higher energy densities and safer designs compared to lithium ion, and Gogoro appears closer to making them a practical reality. The scooter and energy brand has teamed up with ProLogium Technology to reveal what they say is the world's first swappable solid-state EV battery. The lithium ceramic prototype is compatible with Gogoro's current scooters, but should deliver a much higher capacity — the two companies are targeting 2.5kWh versus the 1.7kWh of existing hardware.

The design should provide significantly greater range while offering improved safety. Gogoro and ProLogium didn't estimate what that range might be, but the inherently safer nature of a solid-state battery should reduce the chances of fires compared to 'conventional' EVs.

The prototype isn't just for show. Gogoro and ProLogium expect to produce a "commercial offering" at an unspecified point in the future. That could help Gogoro's business by expanding the coverage of its scooter network, not to mention lowering the risks for riders. For many, though, availability of technology like this in larger vehicles is the bigger concern — range and weight remain significant obstacles in electric cars, and solid-state batteries could go a long way toward solving those problems.

Samsung may be in legal trouble following worries that it's throttling app performance. Sources for The Korea Herald claim South Korea's Fair Trade Commission is "expected" to investigate Samsung over allegations it violated advertising law when marketing the Galaxy S22 phone series. While the company claims the S22 has the "best performance ever," its Game Optimizing Service limits speed to both preserve battery life and prevent overheating — and you can't currently override it.

The regulatory crackdown might not be Samsung's only problem. Yonhap News Agencyclaims Galaxy S22 owners in South Korea are preparing a class action lawsuit against the company for distorting the phone's capabilities. They feel "cheated" and are asking for 300,000 won (about $243) in compensation per person, according to the news outlet.

Recently, Samsung promised a GOS update that will give users control over throttling. However, the tech firm has denied reports it's slowing down general apps like Netflix and TikTok, not just games. Some also say it's removing speed caps for benchmarks like 3DMark and GeekBench, providing an unrealistic view of the Galaxy S22 in synthetic tests.

We've asked Samsung for comment. Performance throttling is a common practice for smartphones, as mobile processors can't always run at full speed for sustained periods. The concern, however, is that Samsung is throttling more aggressively while giving users no say in the matter, much like Apple did during its "batterygate" scandal. There's no guarantee Samsung will face penalties or do more than release its planned update, but the story is a familiar one so far.

Russia's ongoing campaign to block social apps during the invasion of Ukraine now includes voice clients. ZDNetreports Russia's telecom regulator Roskomnadzor has banned the walkie-talkie app Zello over claims users were spreading "false information" about the invasion (which Russia falsely labels a "special operation"). Officials said they asked Zello to block transmissions of the offending messages on March 4th, but that it "did not comply" with the request.

Russia blocked Zello in 2017 after it didn't obey a 2016 law requiring storage of user and chat data inside the country. Zello defied the move, developing a workaround that kept the software usable. The app has been popular among protesters despite its work-oriented focus. Before the invasion of Ukraine, vaccine mandate opponents in Canada and elsewhere used Zello to coordinate their protests.

The crackdown was virtually expected. Russia has rushed to cut access to numerous major social platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, while also making it illegal for media outlets to share anything beyond the Putin administration's official narrative on Ukraine. Zello has also surged in popularity since the invasion started. The ban theoretically helps Russia silence political dissent, especially when it involves coordination between Ukrainians and sympathetic Russians.

Instagram isn't just waving goodbye to its IGTV app. As TechCrunchreports, social media consultant Matt Navarra and various Twitter users (including KenSchillinger and WFBrother) have all noticed that Instagram's dedicated Boomerang and Hyperlapse apps have disappeared from the Apple and Google app stores. Boomerang was still available for Android on Google Play through a direct link as of this writing, but searches no longer produce results.

In a statement to Engadget, parent brand Meta said Instagram pulled the software to "better focus [its] efforts on the main app." Apptopia data suggests Instagram pulled Boomerang and Hyperlapse from app stores after March 1st. Boomerang (the only one of the two available on both Android and iOS) was still relatively popular, according to Apptopia, with an average of 26,000 downloads per day before it left. Layout is still available if you want to create collages.

The removal isn't exactly surprising. The launches of Hyperlapse in 2014 and Boomerang in 2015 offered stabilized timelapse and looping videos at a time when Instagram tried to keep its app relatively lean, particularly given the lesser performance of some phones at the time. In 2022, however, Instagram is content to include a flurry of features as it fends off rivals, ranging from Snapchat-like Stories through to TikTok-style Reels. Boomerang and Hyperlapse are now just camera options. Toss in faster smartphones and there's little need for standalone apps revolving around single features.

The departures also make sense in the context of IGTV's exit. At the time, Instagram said it wanted to improve the video experience for both creators and viewers. This latest move is just an extension of the earlier strategy — it wants to save you from juggling apps just to produce a clip.

Google is determined to claim the browser performance crown, and not just on its own platform. The company claims Chrome 99 is significantly faster on macOS and Android, with some particularly large gains on Macs. Thanks to a speed-focused "build optimization technique" and refined graphics processing, Chrome is reportedly 7 percent faster overall than Safari, with 15 percent faster graphics — it even outperforms Safari in Apple's own Speedometer benchmark on an M1 Max-equipped MacBook Pro, according to Google.

The internet pioneer added that Chrome is nearly 43 percent faster than it was when the first M1 Macs arrived in late 2020. One of the largest improvements came in late 2021, when Google introduced a new JavaScript compiler that offered particularly strong benefits for Apple Silicon.

Android users should see a meaningful upgrade, too. Chrome on Google's mobile OS is 15 percent faster (in aggregated real-world data) thanks to optimized navigation that includes prioritizing "critical" interface moments. Performance isn't directly comparable between this and Safari on iOS, of course, but it could still make a noticeable difference if you thrive on the mobile web.

The claimed speed-ups won't always translate to your own experience. We also wouldn't be surprised if Apple has a response before too long. There's a historical back-and-forth as Apple and Google tweak their browser code to beat each other and win users. In that sense, the Chrome speed boost might be useful simply to spur competition.

Apple TV+ has reached one of its last frontiers: the American cable subscriber. As promised, Apple's streaming service is now available across Comcast's Xfinity platforms, including the Xfinity X1 set-top, XClass TVs and the Xfinity Flex streaming service. You can now watch the likes of Ted Lasso or Severance even if you can't use a dedicated streaming device or Apple's own smart TV apps.

Any Xfinity users new to Apple TV+ can get a three-month free trial if they sign up by April 25th. Comcast first revealed plans to support Apple's service in October. Americans are latecomers to some degree — Sky Q and Sky Glass users in Europe and the UK had access to Apple TV+ in December.

The expansion comes long after Apple TV+ was available elsewhere, including many common TV models, media players and game consoles. However, the Xfinity launch might help Apple cover the "last mile" of potential viewers who either won't buy separate hardware or are simply unaware of services that aren't available through their cable hardware.

A combination of AI and robotics might help people recover from spinal cord injuries. A Rutgers-led team has used the technology to stabilize an enzyme, Chondroitinase ABC (ChABC), that can degrade scar tissue from spinal cord injuries and encourage tissue regeneration. Where the enzyme only lasted for a few hours at body temperatures, it now lasts over a week — enough to have a more substantial effect.

The researchers started by using machine learning to identify synthetic copolymers (artificial polymers made from more than one monomer) that would last the longest inside a human. Liquid-handling robotics synthesized the copolymers and conducted the tests. This was one of the "first times" AI and robotics have been used in tandem to produce therapeutic proteins that were effective to such a degree, according to Rutgers assistant professor and lead study investigator Adam Gormley.

The stabilized enzyme doesn't amount to a functional treatment for spinal cord injuries, at least not yet. The scientists noted their tech pairing created a "promising pathway" toward longer-term tissue regeneration, not the solution itself. Even so, this project highlights one of the advantages of using AI to develop treatments. Algorithms can find compositions that would be difficult or time-consuming to locate for human researchers, making therapies practical where they weren't an option before.