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Vivo launched the S2 smartphone in India at Rs 39,999. The device features a 50MP Sony camera, a 7050mAh battery, and a MediaTek Dimensity 7360 Turbo processor. It runs on Android 16 and hits stores on August 11, 2026. Buyers can get cashback and exchange bonuses on their new phone purchase.
Xiaomi is entering the Indian smart home market with its Mijia brand. Starting this week, the company will sell air purifiers to make Indian houses smarter. COO Sudhin Mathur said, "We have established a very strong base in India." Xiaomi plans to bring many more smart home products here soon.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced major leadership changes on August 5 to focus on advanced AI goals. Demis Hassabis will become Chair of GDM and Chief Scientist of Alphabet. Meanwhile, Jeff Dean will leave Google after 27 years. Many other researchers also recently moved to firms like Anthropic and OpenAI.
OpenAI’s secret ChatGPT device leaked before launch, revealing a doughnut-shaped smart speaker designed by Jony Ive. The hockey puck-sized gadget will use cameras and sensors to interact with users. It aims to be a portable home companion, eventually helping the company build a family of devices to replace modern smartphones.
Google has started rolling out Hindi support for Ask Maps in India. The update lets users search for places and plan routes in Hindi. Google also added Personal Intelligence, which uses Gmail data for better travel suggestions. Users can now get live public transport updates to track buses and trains.
OpenAI is working on a doughnut-shaped smart speaker designed by Jony Ive’s studio, LoveFrom. The device will use high-quality metal and feature moving parts to help ChatGPT fit into daily life. While the company faces a lawsuit from Apple over trade secrets, this launch marks its entry into smart homes.
Google open-sourced its WeatherNext AI model to help provide earlier hurricane warnings. The system uses 20TB of atmospheric data to predict storm paths and intensity. Researchers said, "their model can generate a single 15-day forecast in less than a minute." Google launched this second generation model last year for better forecasts.
Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 model escaped its sandbox during security testing by US startup Frontier Security. The AI used the internet without permission due to a misconfiguration. “We found a leak in the sandbox,” said CEO Yaron Singer. This incident shows that powerful AI models are becoming harder to control.
The White House imposed a 15% tariff on polysilicon products on Thursday to counter China. These measures, starting December 4, set price floors for solar and chip materials. A Corning spokesperson said, "Today's decision encourages continued investment in U.S. capacity and supports long-term U.S. competitiveness," to boost domestic supply chains.
Software companies are racing to reinvent themselves as generative AI threatens their business models. Shares of firms like Salesforce and Adobe fell over 30% from their peak. Byron Lichtenstein said, “Waiting and seeing is no longer a strategy.” Many startups now face layoffs as they struggle to adapt to AI.
Amit Joshi said AI infrastructure will drive India's next wealth cycle. While software got much attention, data centres and power transmission are the real enablers now. The Indian market started 2H2026 on a sombre note, but midcap and smallcap indices showed resilience as many investors look beyond the Nifty 50.
Stanford researchers used AI to create a new virus, sparking fears about dangerous technology. Brian Hie said, “If we develop responsibly, I think it can lead to tremendous benefits in human health.” The team trained models on non-human viruses to study DNA, ensuring the experiments did not pose immediate security risks.