There is a lot happening in the world of connectivity this week. Elon Musk-led SpaceX is now positioning itself as a serious challenger to the carrier giants with its own mobile network ambitions. After dominating satellite internet with Starlink, Musk is now coming for terrestrial networks. Elsewhere, OpenAI and Anthropic’s AI models again went rogue during tests, and this time, they learned a new trick — deception. Talking about AI, a recent study says humans actually scored AI-written stories higher, but they would still prefer a human label on them. And finally, China’s Geely put an uber-affordable EV in the European streets, showing just what the US buyers are missing out on.
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SpaceX has its sights set on becoming a wireless carrier in its own right, going head to head with the likes of Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.
SpaceX has officially declared its ambitions to become a full-blown wireless carrier, putting it on a collision course with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. During its first earnings call, Elon Musk framed the company's recent EchoStar spectrum acquisition as the cornerstone of something far larger than Starlink's existing satellite internet business.
SpaceX claims the next-generation Starlink Mobile V2 satellites deliver a service up to 100 times better than what exists today. Rather than constructing traditional cell towers, Musk proposed mounting small base stations alongside the Starlink dishes already installed on rooftops across the country, a move he said could cut deployment costs considerably. The company is targeting the end of next year for commercial service, with support for voice and video calls through apps like Signal and WhatsApp.
AI facial analysis apps are profiting from women's insecurities with junk science
A growing category of AI-powered "facial analysis" services is charging women hundreds of dollars for pseudoscientific reports that catalog their physical flaws and recommend lengthy menus of cosmetic procedures. Experts say the services are exploiting genuine insecurities under the cover of peer-reviewed research. Companies like Qoves, Facemaxify, and Epica have built large followings on TikTok and YouTube by wrapping the language of "facial harmony" and quantifiable beauty in citations to academic studies.
Dr. Mitch Brown, who has studied the science of attraction for over a decade, said the available literature is too heterogeneous to support universal claims, adding simply: "I don't think the science is anywhere clear enough to do that." Dr. Tracy Vaillancourt, a psychology professor whose bullying and mental health research Qoves also cites, warned that the services are especially dangerous for people with body dysmorphia, eating disorders, or low self-esteem, and that age restrictions meant to screen out vulnerable minors are trivially easy to bypass.
Geely's E2 hatchback starts at just $22,490 in Europe, highlighting the stark gap with America's cheapest EVs, which all sit above $28,000.
This is not the first time I’ve watched European or Chinese car shoppers, for that matter, get a chance to buy genuinely affordable EVs. Meanwhile, American buyers keep hearing and talking about higher starting prices and fewer features on the entry-level trim. Geely’s new compact electric hatchback costs 19,490 EUR in Belgium, or roughly $22,490, and is yet another example of the same.
While the entry price is only available for a limited time, I’m talking about the overall package the automaker is offering. This Geely E2 was China’s best-selling car in all of 2025. After moving 465,000 units that year, it’s already leading sales again through the first half of 2026. It offers a 35 kWh battery pack on the base Pro trim, which provides a claimed WLTP range of 156 miles. Buyers also get seven airbags, a 14.6-inch infotainment screen, a 375-liter trunk, and a 70-liter frunk.
AI-written stories score higher but readers still prefer humans
If you think AI writing is easy to spot, a new study suggests you may be overestimating your ability to tell the difference. Researchers from Villanova University have found that readers struggled to tell AI-generated stories from human-written ones and frequently rated the AI versions higher.
The study, led by Dr. Deena Skolnick Weisberg and published in the journal Judgment and Decision Making (via The Guardian), asked more than 1,600 participants to rate one of six short stories, three written by a human and the rest generated by ChatGPT, on quality and engagement. Readers who got an AI-generated story rated it as more absorbing and higher quality than readers who got a human-written one. At the same time, stories labeled as human-written scored better than those labeled AI, regardless of who actually wrote them.
Quick Hits
Computing
Asus and Gigabyte are raising prices on RTX 50-series and Radeon GPUs, making an already expensive graphics card market even harder to stomach. (More)
Most meeting recorders show up in your calls as an awkward third wheel. This one is invisible. (More)
Huawei's new laptop tips the scales at just 798 grams and has a magic key that turns the screen into a private display (More)
Mobile
Google's rumored Pixel Tag may cost just $29, nearly identical to Apple's AirTag, with Android integration being the key differentiator. (More)
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra's red tint display issue now has an official fix, though affected owners will need to visit a store in person to get it applied. (More)
Gaming
Fire Emblem Engage introduced the series' most diverse cast yet, but fans have noticed its darker-skinned characters suffer from oddly washed-out, ashy skin tones. (More)
Xbox turns 25 this month, and Microsoft is marking the occasion by handing every player a set of freebies. No purchase, no catch. (More)
Entertainment
Disney just handed TikTok creators the keys to its most valuable characters. The company is offering licensed access to hundreds of properties across Marvel, Star Wars, and its other franchises. (More)
Netflix 4K streaming in Chrome is finally here for Windows 11 users, ending Edge's long-held exclusivity on the feature. (More)
Zero Dark Thirty is now streaming on Netflix, giving you a chance to revisit the 2012 Kathryn Bigelow thriller that helped put Chris Pratt on the action-star map. (More)
AI
Gemini Notebook on a foldable phone turns out to be a significantly better experience than on a standard slab, according to a week of testing on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. (More)
ChatGPT Atlas is going away. OpenAI has set the shutdown for August 9, and anyone still using the browser has a narrow window to save what matters before the lights go off. (More)
Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI is heating up, with the company now requesting expedited discovery after claiming even more ex-employees may have leaked trade secrets. (More)
Smart Home
Proxima's at-home blood test device delivers full blood-count results from a finger prick in 20 minutes, though FDA clearance and clinical proof will determine whether it can truly replace lab equipment. (More)
Cars / EV
Google Assistant will be shut down on eligible mobile devices starting September 4, with Gemini taking its place while cars and smart-home hardware get a temporary reprieve. (More)
Garmin's latest marine navigation update brings car-like routing to the helm, making it easier to plot courses on the water the way you'd navigate roads on land. (More)
Wearables
Shot Scope's Apple Watch app now delivers more than 100 tour-level strokes gained metrics directly to your wrist during a round. (More)
Final Bits
Chrome's on-device AI needs 20GB of free disk space
Tom Holland and Zendaya are having a historic box office year
Lord of the Rings 3D maps make perfect gifts for Tolkien fans
Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy adds a space elf pirate
Beast Of Reincarnation Will Get ‘A Series Of Continuous Updates’ Including Increased Text Size