Week in Assessment: X CEO Linda Yaccarino steps down

Welcome again to Week in Assessment! We’ve received tons of reports for you this week, together with a shakeup at X, Hugging Face’s new robotic, new telephones from Nothing and Samsung, and an entire lot extra. Have an important weekend!

Off to do one thing else: X CEO Linda Yaccarino stepped down this week after a tumultuous two-year tenure marked by advertiser backlash, Elon Musk’s controversies, and the platform’s AI troubles. The corporate’s advert enterprise improved beneath her management, however the highway forward will nonetheless be powerful.

See-through: Apple continues to tweak its new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26 beta 3, dialing again transparency in areas like Notifications and Apple Music after consumer complaints about readability. It’s the newest step to find the correct stability earlier than the OS launches this fall.

The cutest: Hugging Face has opened orders for its new open supply desktop robotic, Reachy Mini, aimed toward AI builders. Beginning at $299, the build-it-yourself bots are absolutely programmable in Python and built-in with the Hugging Face Hub.

That is TechCrunch’s Week in Assessment, the place we recap the week’s largest information. Need this delivered as a publication to your inbox each Saturday? Join right here.

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Complete lot of Nothing: Nothing’s $799 Cellphone (3) is its most formidable but, with a unusual new second display screen, AI options, and flagship specs aimed toward rivaling Samsung and Apple. However combined reactions to the design and pricing might preserve it in “various to” relatively than “alternative for” territory, not less than for now.

Samsung, too: Samsung additionally launched new foldable telephones this week, the brand new Z Fold7 and the Z Flip7. It additionally launched a less expensive foldable telephone, the Z Flip7 FE.

I would like this automobile: Rivian’s new quad-motor R1T and R1S EVs are right here, boasting 1,025 horsepower, getting you from 0 to 60 in beneath 2.5 seconds, and flashy new software program methods like “kick flip” and RAD Tuner for customized driving modes. With in-house motors and a deeper software program stack, Rivian’s betting this $115,000+ flagship can maintain the road till its extra inexpensive R2s arrive in 2026.

Cool, superior: Elon Musk says xAI’s new Grok 4 is a “maximally truth-seeking AI,” however testing exhibits the chatbot typically consults Musk’s personal X posts and public opinions when answering controversial questions. The mannequin’s alignment with its founder raises recent considerations about objectivity and about Grok’s readiness for prime time, together with being featured in Teslas, which Musk says is coming subsequent week. 

And one other one: Apple’s head of AI fashions, Ruoming Pang, has left for Meta, the place he’ll be part of Zuckerberg’s rising AI superintelligence unit. The transfer alerts ongoing bother in Apple’s AI efforts and provides extra on-device AI experience to Meta’s increasing bench.

Security first? Jack Dorsey spent final weekend constructing a Bluetooth-based messaging app known as Bitchat, which operates by Bluetooth mesh networks, letting customers chat with out Wi-Fi or cell service. The app is now in closed beta, however the claims that the app is safe are already going through scrutiny by safety researchers.

It’s time: After 14 years inside Intel, RealSense is spinning out as an impartial firm with $50 million in funding to scale its 3D stereoscopic imaging tech utilized in robotics, drones, and extra. CEO Nadav Orbach goals to spice up go-to-market efforts and enhance security options for human-robot interplay as AI-driven demand surges.

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Pulling again the curtain: Slate Auto, a stealthy Michigan-based EV startup backed by Jeff Bezos, shocked the trade by unveiling plans for an ultra-affordable, customizable electrical pickup truck. After three years within the shadows, the corporate goals to shake up the market with manufacturing focused for late 2026.