Weekly Tech Recap: Apple releases iOS 26 Beta update and more

As the tech world buzzes with announcements, we bring you the highlights from this week's significant developments in the industry. Apple has taken a major step forward by releasing the first public beta of iOS 26, offering a glimpse into its new Liquid Glass interface and other exciting features. After several rounds of developer beta updates, Apple finally opened the doors to the public beta this week. This timing is noteworthy, as public betas are traditionally released in July, following initial feedback from developers. The fourth developer beta for both iPad and iPhone was also released recently. These developer betas are primarily tailored for app developers and tech-savvy users, allowing them to prepare their applications for the official launch. Conversely, public betas are intended for a broader audience, enabling users to test early versions and report any bugs. In another exciting development, GitHub has launched GitHub Spark, an innovative tool that empowers users to create applications using natural language prompts. This feature, currently in the experimental phase under GitHub Next labs, allows users to select between using OpenAI's GPT model or Claude's Sonnet model for app creation. This new approach not only generates the necessary code but also runs the app and provides an interactive preview that users can refine further. Moreover, OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, has raised concerns about the privacy implications of sharing personal information with AI systems, especially as young users increasingly turn to AI chatbots for advice on personal matters. He emphasized the need for a legal framework to protect user privacy during a recent podcast discussion. On the horizon, OpenAI's anticipated GPT-5 model is rumored to debut in early August, promising enhanced reasoning capabilities. Altman hinted at its advanced features during a podcast, mentioning its potential to assist with complex tasks, although he cautioned that the model would take some time before reaching its full capabilities. Lastly, Starlink experienced a significant global outage, affecting internet access for tens of thousands of users across various countries, including the US and UK. This incident, lasting approximately 2.5 hours, marks one of the longest outages in the service's history, occurring just after the company announced its collaboration with T-Mobile for a new satellite rollout aimed at improving connectivity in remote areas.