Here are today’s 7 verified tech & science stories, covering Tech & Apps, AI Tools, Science & Space and Fitness & Health Tech.
Table of Contents
Every item below links to its original source.
The TLDR
- Tech & Apps: Google unveils Pixel 11 lineup, Pixel Watch 5, and Pixel Tag
- AI Tools: Some Claude users push back on new AI watermarks
- Science & Space: Total solar eclipse crosses Greenland, Iceland, and Spain
- Fitness & Health Tech: Pixel Watch 5 hands-on claims the most accurate GPS of any smartwatch
Tech & Apps
Google unveils Pixel 11 lineup, Pixel Watch 5, and Pixel Tag
At its Made by Google event, Google introduced four new phones — the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold — alongside the Pixel Watch 5 and a first-ever Bluetooth item tracker called Pixel Tag. The base Pixel 11 starts at $899, while the foldable Pixel 11 Pro Fold starts around $1,900, per Engadget. The phones run on a new Tensor G6 chip with upgraded cameras, and The Verge notes they cost a bit more than last year’s models in exchange for those upgrades. As Ars Technica reports, Google leaned harder into AI features this year than into raw spec upgrades. Every new device is available for preorder now, arriving in stores on August 20.
Trump sued over paid early access to Truth Social posts
The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation sued President Trump this week over Truth Social’s paid “Truth API” service, which sells early, machine-readable access to his posts for up to $100,000 a month. According to Ars Technica, Trump Media has already signed more than ten customers to the service, mostly in the $60,000-$100,000 monthly range. The plaintiffs argue that selling priority access to a sitting president’s own posts, which can move financial markets, violates their First and Fifth Amendment rights.
Claude’s Chrome side panel becomes a full Cowork session
Anthropic upgraded Claude’s Chrome side panel so it now functions as a complete Cowork session rather than a simple chat window, according to 9to5Mac. Claude can now view and act on the page you’re browsing using your existing logins — clicking links, filling forms, and moving between pages — and conversations started in the browser now save to your Claude history so you can pick them up later on desktop, web, or mobile. The feature is live now for Max and Team subscribers, with Pro access rolling out in the coming weeks.
AI Tools
Some Claude users push back on new AI watermarks
Anthropic added invisible watermarks to Claude’s text output to help meet the EU AI Act’s transparency rules, but the move has drawn complaints from some users, according to TechCrunch. Critics on social media argue the system could flag people who use Claude for everyday tasks, like a student reorganizing a paragraph, as cheating at school or work. The watermarks are designed to be detectable by other software rather than visible to readers.
Science & Space
Total solar eclipse crosses Greenland, Iceland, and Spain
A total solar eclipse swept across the Arctic on August 12, with its path of totality crossing eastern Greenland, Iceland, and northern Spain, according to Space.com. It was the first total eclipse visible from Iceland since 1954, and Spanish cities including A Coruña, Zaragoza, and Bilbao fell within the path, though Madrid and Barcelona did not. Totality lasted under two minutes for most viewers along the path. If you caught the eclipse (or want to be ready for the next one), our Celestron vs. Sky-Watcher telescope guide can help you gear up.
SpaceX launches 24 more Starlink satellites from California
SpaceX launched 24 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, capping a two-launch day for the company, per Space.com. The Falcon 9 booster flying the mission, tail number B1103, was making its fifth flight and landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific about 8.5 minutes after liftoff.
Fitness & Health Tech
Pixel Watch 5 hands-on claims the most accurate GPS of any smartwatch
In an early hands-on, DC Rainmaker found the Pixel Watch 5’s standout upgrade is GPS accuracy, not its other new features. Google uses 3D building models to filter out satellite signals bounced off buildings, applies real-time weather correction, and fuses that with accelerometer and gyroscope data in the cloud after a workout ends. Google claims the result is twice as accurate route mapping in tough environments, outperforming the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Fenix 8 Pro, though the improvement only applies to the post-workout track, not the real-time pace and distance shown during exercise. If you’re weighing which platform to log your workouts in, see our Strava vs. Garmin Connect comparison.
Explore more: yesterday’s tech and science news roundup, Celestron vs. Sky-Watcher telescope guide, Strava vs. Garmin Connect comparison.
Make Your Digital Life Better
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Photo: Kazuhisa OTSUBO from Tokyo, Japan / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.