Here are today’s 5 verified tech & science stories, covering Tech & Apps, AI Tools and Science & Space.
Table of Contents
Every item below links to its original source.
The TLDR
- Tech & Apps: Apple Explains the New iPad Mini’s OLED Screen and Speakers
- AI Tools: OpenAI-Backed Thrive Holdings Buys Home Security Company ADT
- Science & Space: Study Finds Hundreds of Car Security Weak Spots — None of Them Mechanical
Tech & Apps
Apple Explains the New iPad Mini’s OLED Screen and Speakers
After unveiling a redesigned iPad mini with an OLED display this week, Apple hardware engineering VP Dave Pakula detailed some of the design choices in interviews covered by 9to5Mac. The new mini skips the 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate found on Apple’s pricier tablets, but Pakula said OLED’s fast pixel response still cuts down on motion blur. The tablet also uses a new “Acoustic Display” system that turns the screen itself into part of the speaker setup while keeping its IP67 water and dust resistance.
Ubisoft Says No New Assassin’s Creed Remakes Are Coming Soon
Ubisoft says it doesn’t currently have any more Assassin’s Creed remakes in development, despite the success of Black Flag Resynced, according to Engadget. The studio said its teams are instead focused on new entries in the franchise with new settings and stories. Separately, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is getting a New Game+ mode on November 5, alongside the harder difficulty level Black Flag Resynced already received.
AI Tools
OpenAI-Backed Thrive Holdings Buys Home Security Company ADT
Thrive Holdings, a company tied to Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital that partners with OpenAI, is acquiring home security company ADT for $10 a share — about $7.6 billion in equity, or $15.3 billion including debt. TechCrunch reports OpenAI supplies Thrive’s portfolio companies with AI models and engineers, and the companies plan to build new AI-powered security products on top of ADT, which will keep its existing partnerships with Apple and Google. If you’re already juggling smart-home security gear, our guide to fixing late Ring doorbell notifications might come in handy too.
Science & Space
Study Finds Hundreds of Car Security Weak Spots — None of Them Mechanical
Researchers at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology published a study in October identifying 827 vulnerable software libraries across 20 open-source automotive projects, building on an analysis of 413 previously reported vehicle vulnerabilities. ScienceAlert reports the weak points are concentrated in non-mechanical systems — infotainment, telematics, connected apps, and cloud services — rather than anything involving the car’s physical parts.
Scientists Find a New Clue to How Animals Sense Magnetic Fields
A research team led by Yasuhiro Kobori at Japan’s Kobe University, publishing October 30 in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, found that a twisting motion in a single amino acid can influence how the protein cryptochrome responds to Earth’s magnetic field. Phys.org reports this chirality-related effect accounted for roughly 6-8% of the signal the team measured, and modeling suggested it could meaningfully strengthen the magnetic sensitivity thought to help migratory birds navigate.
Explore more: fixing late Ring doorbell notifications, how 3 AI trip planners performed.
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Photo: Samsung Belgium / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.