Apple Chance Correct: Latest Updates and Analysis

Apple has a chance to correct one of its biggest mistakes — and it could happen imminently

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Apple’s Vision Pro headset is too expensive. OK, it’s not exactly an unusual sentiment, but something has just happened that could mean Apple is about to take action on this stickiest of sticking points. Indeed, if it comes to pass, Apple might go some way to putting right one of its biggest recent missteps.

Here’s the deal. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in recent times took to X to announce his belief that Apple would have some Vision Pro-related news to announce this Friday. Gurman didn’t say what that revelation would be exactly, but if Apple is reaching out to the press, it could suggest that something big is about to go down.

In my mind, there are a few possibilities of what Apple could show to the world:

A new Vision Pro headset with an M5 chip.

Support for Apple Intelligence in the headset.

A partnership with Sony to bring its PSVR2 controllers to the Vision Pro, something that has been widely reported on.

Announcing a new Vision Pro complete with M5 chip might, in some respects, be the most “Apple-like” move from the corporation — that is, continue to push for premium functions and ignore the price naysayers. But at the same time, it doesn’t really make sense. Apple has only rolled out the M4 chip to half of its Macs, so launching the M5 before that process is finished would seriously undercut its current-gen chip. A new M4 MacBook Air is due out soon — how would you feel buying one knowing that Apple already has a advanced chip on the go?

As well as that, the M5 chip might not even be ready yet. The M4 has only been with us for a handful of months, so I’d be surprised if Apple has the M5 fully finished and primed to go right now. Chances are it needs more time in the oven.

Adding Apple Intelligence to the Vision Pro would make sense, as it could give a new way to control and enhance the device. But it might require a advanced chip in order to handle Apple Intelligence’s demands alongside everything else the headset does. Perhaps that means we’ll be waiting for the M5 upgrade for this change. Alternatively, Friday’s announcement might entail Apple upgrading the headset’s memory to cope with the strain.

I also have my doubts about Apple talking up a more affordable alternative headset — that is, a cut-price model that sits alongside the regular Vision Pro. Although this device is widely rumored to be in development — and lord knows we need it — even the most ambitious proposes say it’s not due out for another year or two.

That leaves us with the price cut to the regular Vision Pro. While it’s probably the most begrudging move from Apple’s perspective, it’s also the most necessary one. As I’ve stated before, Apple can’t go on selling the Vision Pro at $3,499 a pop — people just aren’t buying it in large enough numbers to justify its undoubtedly astronomical research and development costs.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised if Apple’s announcement is some combination of the possibilities listed above. As significant as a price drop would be, I don’t think it will be the only thing Apple will talk about. That would end up giving the tech press nothing to discuss except the price, something Apple really won’t want to attract attention to.

At the same time, while the PSVR2 controller support would be meaningful and could give the headset a sizeable gaming boost, it might not groundbreaking enough to warrant its own solo press release.

Ultimately, I think a combination of the price drop and PSVR2 controller support — perhaps with an outside chance of an Apple Intelligence teaser — is the most likely outcome of Friday’s reveal. It may not sound like much, but it could be exactly what the Vision Pro needs.

After many months of silence, it’s good to see Apple is finally taking action on the Vision Pro. While I can’t claim to have a crystal ball, I think my suggestion above has a half-decent chance of being the topic of Apple’s conversation. If nothing else, the price drop is a move the firm can’t afford to pass up.

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Shut it all down? Microsoft research suggests AI usage is making us feel dumber – but you don't need to panic yet

Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University “the deterioration of cognitive faculties”.

The study involved 319 people who use AI tools at work at least once per week.

The survey-based study opens the door to deeper research into AI side effects.

Brain rot is usually associated with endless doom scrolling of low-quality online content, but a new Microsoft Research study points to that overusing AI might be causing “the deterioration of cognitive faculties.” Oh no.

Performed in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, the study – titled The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking: Self-Reported Reductions in Cognitive Effort and Confidence Effects From a Survey of Knowledge Workers – asked 319 participants who use “GenAI tools at work at least once per week” (such as Gemini, ChatGPT, CoPilot) to judge how AI usage at work was affecting their critical thinking skills.

It found that “while GenAI can improve worker efficiency, it can inhibit critical engagement with work and can potentially lead to long-term overreliance on the tool and diminished skill for independent problem-solving.” The study added that people's jobs are becoming less about solving problems and more about making sure the AI has correctly solved the problem – morphing our work from “task execution to task stewardship” – which led people to feel like their ability to think critically isn’t as sharp as it was before they started using AI.

Seeing the headlines and reading the study it can feel like it’s time to pull the big AI lever and shut it all down for good in order to save our brains from being irreparably damaged by a tool that may be hurting us more than it’s helping us. But while the study certainly highlights challenges we desperately need to tackle in the AI space – ultimately the relationship between humans and AI we should be cultivating – it’s not quite as dire as it seems.

That’s because the study focuses on how AI clients perceive AI usage is affecting their critical thinking. While the study uses a survey to quantify these feelings it comes down to how people feel and, more importantly, it doesn’t create a true quantitative comparison between frequent AI clients and people who never or rarely use the AI.

While people who use AI a lot may feel they’re less capable of critical thinking it could be that because they’re not as distracted by less difficult tasks they can more easily tackle challenging ones thanks to AI’s help – or it could be there’s been no change in their critical thinking skills. But to measure actual changes in critical thinking we’d need a study with quantitative tests that compare different groups' ability (groups decided based on their AI usage) to complete tasks – including a control who never uses AI for work.

Until we have that kind of study it’s impossible to judge if AI really is making us dumber. However, that doesn’t mean we should just dismiss this Microsoft research.

Firstly, using this study as inspiration for a more quantitative study like the one I’ve described would be a fantastic next step. Secondly, while the participants' feelings may or may not represent factual reality, they represent reality for the people in this study – and they shouldn’t be dismissed.

If people feel like they’re simply AI stewards rather than performing meaningful work that could lead to dissatisfaction in their job. Some psychologists believe dissatisfaction with how we spend our time scrolling is the root cause of the social media brain rot experience (via the BBC). A similar sense of meaninglessness could be causing AI consumers’ similar brain deterioration feelings at work.

With AI becoming more prevalent we’ll need to work out how best to fight back feelings of deterioration, but a good first step will always be some self-care. Be that finding a new job that stimulates us, taking up a hobby that we can devote our freed-up brain power towards, or some other strategy that works best for you.

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Google Family Link is the best free app for parents – and it just got a great school-time upgrade

Google has just upgraded its helpful Family Link service for parents.

It now lets you reduce distractions on your kids' phone during school hours.

Family Link has also been given a big redesign to make it easier to use.

Google's Family Link lets you remotely manage your children's devices and is one of the tech giant's most unsung tools. If you're a parent and haven't used the service yet, now is a very good time to give it a spin because it's just received three big upgrades.

The first and arguably biggest enhancement to Family Link is a feature called 'School time.' This currently helps to reduce distractions on your child's smartwatch during school hours – and from "next week," Google says it's rolling out support for this on Android phones and tablets.

This means you'll be able to silence notifications and schedule limited Android phone functionality during your child's school hours. This doesn't necessarily have to mean a complete phone or tablet blackout during those periods, though – you can set a 'break' in the schedules, for example, if you're happy for them to browse the web during lunch or recess.

You can also choose the specific apps that are silenced or restricted – for example, keeping school-specific ones available. And even when your child's phone or tablet's functionality is restricted, they'll still have access to crucial capabilities like being able to call emergency services.

The second new Family Link feature, which will only be available "in the coming months," is the ability to restrict who your kids call and text from their Android phones. Google says you'll be able to add approved contacts from Family Link to your child's phone, which means they'll only be able to interact with those approved contacts. The downside is that this will only work with Google Messages and dialer apps on Android phones and not with third-party apps.

The final change to Google Family Link is a fairly sizable redesign. A new Screen Time tab brings together all your management tools, and Google says it's also streamlined its Controls tab to make it easier to block particular websites or approve app downloads.

If you have more than one child, juggling multiple accounts should also be easier. You can now swipe between their profiles and manage all of their devices from a single page, with the more advanced tools tidied away on a separate screen.

If you're a parent on Android, you should try Family Link.

We're big fans of Google Family Link on TechRadar, and these upgrades definitely sound helpful – particularly the arrival of 'School time' on Android phones and tablets. The tool is mainly aimed at under-13s, but you can use it for teens, too (if you're prepared to deal with the inevitable friction).

Talking about his experiences with the app, TechRadar's Global Editor in Chief Marc McLaren previously expressed: "I wouldn’t say Google Family Link was a improved parent than me or my partner, but it was a close-run thing for a time. It works brilliantly, taking away some of the stress of parenting in the digital age."

"Being able to set limits for individual apps has been a massive help as my daughters have entered their early teenage years and have finally been allowed on TikTok and Snapchat; without it, I suspect they’d both spend roughly 20 hours a day scrolling through their feeds, rather than the two hours they’re given" he presented.

Family Link also has a handy Location feature that reveals you where your kids are on a map. The whole service naturally only works well if both parent and child are on Android (the 'parent-managed contacts' feature requires Android 14), so it isn't so great if your family is on a mix of Android and iOS. But overall, it's well worth exploring – and you never know, your kids might like it, too.

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