Tech news digest for Monday, August 3, 2026

Alibaba Unveils Qwen3.8-Max to Compete with US AI Models

Alibaba has launched its latest AI model, Qwen3.8-Max, which boasts 2.4 trillion parameters and is designed for complex, long-horizon tasks. The model has demonstrated performance that matches or exceeds competitors like Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 and GPT-5.6 Sol in benchmark tests, marking a significant advancement in Alibaba's AI capabilities.

• Qwen3.8-Max achieved a net profit of 416,252 yuan in a simulated fiscal year, outperforming its predecessor by 2.5 times.
• The model can process multimodal inputs, including documents over 200 pages and videos longer than 100 hours.

Google Health Introduces Two-Way Sync with Apple Health

Google Health has launched a significant update to its app, enabling two-way syncing with Apple Health on the iPhone. This new feature allows users to share various health metrics, such as exercise records and sleep data, directly with Apple Health, eliminating the need for third-party tools that were previously required for Fitbit data integration. The update addresses a long-standing gap since 2014, when Fitbit first declined to support HealthKit.

• The Google Health app now supports two-way syncing as of version 5.05.

Interpol says AI has become the "core operational driver of cybercrime" across Africa

According to a recent Interpol report, AI has transitioned to the 'core operational driver of cybercrime' across Africa, now involved in 55% of reported cybercrimes. The financial impact has escalated dramatically, with losses surging from $192 million in 2024 to $484 million in 2025. Criminals are leveraging AI at every stage of cyberattacks, including phishing, extortion, and creating synthetic identities that can evade biometric systems. The report, based on data from 36 African countries, highlights a significant shift in criminal tactics, with over 600,000 cases of digital extortion utilizing deepfakes recorded.

• Interpol's operations in 2025 and 2026 resulted in 1,500 arrests and the seizure of $100 million.

Matte black Pixel 11 Pro shown off in detailed images [Gallery]

Ahead of the Made by Google 2026 event, detailed images of the Pixel 11 Pro and 11 Pro XL in matte black have surfaced, showcasing a significant design change. The matte black finish extends to the camera bar, a welcome shift for users who have criticized the glossy look of previous models. Notably, the new camera system boasts a '120x' zoom feature for moon shots, an upgrade from the Pixel 10 Pro's 100x. Additionally, the HiLight feature is presented in three distinct states, enhancing the device's photography capabilities. The Tensor G6 chip is also highlighted in the renders, indicating advancements in processing power.

• The Pixel 11 Pro includes a new '120x' moon shot capability, an upgrade from 100x.
• HiLight, previously known as Pixel Glow, is showcased in three states: disabled, pinwheel of colors, and blue.

Apple launches second legal challenge to UK iCloud backdoor order, per report

Apple has initiated a second legal challenge against a UK government order mandating access to encrypted user data, according to a report from the Financial Times. Filed in July 2026 at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, this complaint follows a previous dispute that began in early 2025 when the UK secretly ordered Apple to provide access to data protected by its Advanced Data Protection for iCloud users. Apple has responded by preventing new UK users from enabling this feature and maintains its stance against building any backdoor access to user data.

• The original order from early 2025 targeted worldwide data but was later narrowed to British users.

Amazon tops $3 trillion market cap as stock continues post-earnings surge

Amazon's stock surged to a new all-time high on Monday, elevating its market capitalization beyond the $3 trillion mark. This increase follows a robust earnings report for Q2, where the company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.97, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.82. Revenue also surpassed estimates, coming in at $200.61 billion compared to the anticipated $196.47 billion, largely fueled by strong growth in its cloud services driven by heightened demand for artificial intelligence solutions.

• Amazon's stock rose approximately 4% on Monday, marking its best day since May 5.

Tech stocks today: Investors eye SpaceX's first earnings report

Tech stocks experienced an uptick in early trading on Monday as Wall Street braces for SpaceX's first-ever quarterly earnings report, scheduled for after the bell on Tuesday. The company's stock has plummeted nearly 30% from its initial debut price of $150, prompting investors to seek potential catalysts for recovery. In addition, AMD will also announce its earnings on Tuesday, which will shed light on the current state of the AI chip market, following Intel's recent earnings beat and optimistic guidance. Meanwhile, Amazon's market capitalization has crossed the $3 trillion mark for the first time, and Microsoft continues to see stock gains after delivering strong earnings results last week.

• Nvidia is set to release its earnings report on August 26.

Unicorn, pelican, Middle-earth: OpenAI co-founder Karpathy is looking for the next AI vibe test

Andrej Karpathy demonstrated the capabilities of the AI model Claude Opus 5 by transforming a paragraph from 'Lord of the Rings' into a 3D browser scene, generating 5,500 lines of code in roughly two hours at a cost of about $10. The model autonomously placed and animated objects, though it encountered errors due to its reliance on screenshots for feedback. Karpathy, now at Anthropic, views this experiment as a 'vibe check' rather than a strict benchmark, indicating the potential for affordable, on-demand game worlds.

• The project utilized Claude Opus 5 and cost approximately $10.
• Karpathy believes the pelican test is nearing its limits, indicating a shift in AI benchmarks.

SpaceX's post-IPO plunge sets tense backdrop for first earnings report

SpaceX's first earnings report as a public company arrives amid significant stock volatility, with shares plummeting over 50% from their post-IPO high, resulting in a loss of more than $500 billion in market capitalization. Following its IPO on June 12, the stock has faced four consecutive weekly losses, closing at $108.37. The investment thesis for SpaceX heavily relies on CEO Elon Musk's ambitious plans, including building data centers in space and colonizing Mars, while the company's financial metrics remain troubling, with a price-to-sales ratio in the 70s and substantial quarterly losses.

• Analysts from Bernstein set a price target of $239 for SpaceX shares.
• SpaceX's Starship rocket is crucial for its future profitability and valuation.

Samsung bans smart TV apps that share users’ internet connections with strangers

Samsung is banning several popular smart TV apps that contain code enabling them to share users' internet connections with outsiders, raising significant security concerns. Norwegian cybersecurity firm Mnemonic revealed that these apps, including a Pac-Man game endorsed by Samsung, could turn smart TVs into exit nodes for residential proxy networks, exposing millions to potential hijacking. Samsung stated it will remove such apps and has already restricted new registrations incorporating proxy functionalities, aiming to enhance user security on its platform.

Microsoft Agent Framework Harness and Hosted Agents Reach General Availability

Microsoft has transitioned its Agent Framework from SDK to a supported production runtime, achieving general availability on April 2, 2026. The framework's 1.0 release was highlighted at Build 2026, introducing the Agent Harness and Foundry Hosted Agents, which enable platform teams to run and govern agents effectively. The harness operates as a single binary across various deployment environments and includes essential features like function invocation, context management, and built-in observability tools, streamlining agent development and execution.

• The framework supports .NET and Python and is available on GitHub.
• An early benchmark showed Agent Framework's runaway safety feature halts loops after 40 iterations.