
Success of Elon Musk's Starship ‘more important than ever' in light of proposed budget cuts to Nasa
SpaceX's Starship rocket is poised to become one of the most critical assets in US space ambitions, experts have said. The comments come as the White House's proposed budget cuts cast doubt on Nasa projects such as the SLS rocket and Orion capsule, both technologies which would be used to take astronauts to the Moon. Space industry experts told The National that Starship could be the foundation of a new era in exploration, one that relies on powerful rockets, called heavy-lift vehicles, capable of carrying megatons of cargo and astronauts to the Moon and Mars. The Starship rocket, however, is still under development, with test flights being carried out since 2023 from Boca Chica, Texas. The next test flight is potentially scheduled for May 21. 'With the future of Nasa's SLS and Orion uncertain due to rising costs and limited reusability, Starship is increasingly emerging as the de facto backbone of US launch infrastructure,' said Lin Kayser, co-founder of Dubai company Leap 71, which develops artificial-intelligence models to generate rocket engines. 'SpaceX is already the primary launch provider for the US government and with Starship it becomes a near-monopoly at the high end of launch capability. That level of centralisation raises strategic concerns but it also highlights how far ahead SpaceX has pulled.' Nasa had developed the SLS rocket for its Moon programme Artemis but each launch would have reportedly cost $4 billion and the entire programme is behind schedule. Billionaire Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, has said Starship projects would be at a fraction of cost. SpaceX has also made rapid progress through an iterative testing approach, which has helped speed up development compared to traditional government programmes. The company, however, still faces technical challenges before commercial operations of the powerful rocket can begin. Starship's eighth test flight in March ended with the spacecraft destroyed, though the booster was recovered successfully. The test next week will be crucial in proving the vehicle's ability to operate reliably and safely. 'With Nasa's budget cuts looming and SLS and Orion on the chopping block, Starship has become increasingly important,' said Sahith Madara, an aerospace engineer and founder of Paris advisory firm Bumi & Space. 'It's ironic to see that what was once a 'back-up' is now carrying the entire weight of the US deep-space ambitions.' The shift comes as the White House proposes slashing Nasa's budget by 24 per cent, from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion, in 2026. The cut could affect major science missions, the International Space Station and planned Moon landings. It could also reshape how the US approaches space exploration, with the private sector playing a more dominant role. Mr Kayser said Starship is also important in enabling a range of new commercial applications in orbit. 'Starship is the enabler for an entire class of orbital infrastructure. Starlink 2.0 cannot launch without it. The upcoming generation of direct-to-device internet, including global smartphone connectivity and real-time voice calls from orbit, will hinge on this vehicle,' said Mr Kayser. He said beyond communications, companies are exploring the use of space for data centres and advanced manufacturing, thanks to Starship's scale and payload capacity. 'AI data centre infrastructure is now migrating to space to take advantage of unlimited solar energy and passive radiative cooling," he said. 'It's about who will dominate the next trillion-dollar layer of the global economy. Anyone who wants to compete in that race needs to be building right now.' Dave Barnhart, chief executive of California-based space infrastructure firm Arkisys, said the proposed cuts could push industry players to step up faster to fill the gaps. 'The ability for Nasa to continue its fundamental mission of science growth in space requires a variety of transport, platform and ground logistics,' he said. 'Starship is important to replace heavy lift loss of SLS, as are smaller launch vehicles to support higher cadence. "Near-term loss of Nasa key infrastructure elements, I believe, will incentivise and tap into fast response by industry to step up, support Nasa goals and accelerate their science goals.' While SpaceX leads the current heavy-lift race, it is not the only private company in the game. Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, has also developed its own heavy-lift rocket, called New Glenn. The vehicle was launched successfully for the first time in January. The Federal Aviation Administration recently approved up to 25 Starship launches a year, up from only five previously, giving SpaceX a clearer path to scaling up operations. Mr Musk is set to arrive in the UAE on Thursday, as part of a Gulf visit alongside US President Donald Trump.

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Tahawul Tech
16 minutes ago
- Tahawul Tech
watchOS 26 delivers more personalised ways to stay active, healthy, and connected
A new software design makes using Apple Watch even more delightful, Workout Buddy brings a first-of-its-kind workout experience with Apple Intelligence, and the Smart Stack and Messages are more intelligent. CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple previewed watchOS 26, offering a beautiful new look and even more intelligence for a more personalised experience, to support users in staying active, healthy, and connected. A new design with Liquid Glass makes features like the Smart Stack, Control Center, the Photos watch face, and in-app navigation and controls more expressive, while maintaining the instant familiarity of watchOS. Apple Intelligence enhances the fitness experience with Workout Buddy, which provides personalised, spoken motivation. The Workout app features a new layout, and offers music to listen to based on a user's tastes and the workout type. watchOS 26 makes everyday interactions even more convenient with Smart Stack hints and updates to Messages, and introduces a new one-handed wrist flick gesture to easily dismiss notifications. 'Apple Watch is an indispensable companion for millions of people around the world, and watchOS 26 uses intelligence to offer an even more personalised experience,' said David Clark, Apple's senior director of watchOS Engineering. 'From a gorgeous new design, to Workout Buddy with Apple Intelligence, personalised music suggestions in the Workout app, and more intelligence in the Smart Stack and Messages, we're excited about the many ways watchOS 26 will support each user in staying active, healthy, connected, and safe throughout their day.' A Beautiful New Design A gorgeous new software design with Liquid Glass brings a fresh look to watchOS 26. Across apps, this new design enables a vibrant and expressive experience that reflects and refracts content using real-time rendering, which brings even more focus to content and makes using Apple Watch even more delightful. Smart Stack widgets, Smart Stack hints, notifications, Control Center, and in-app controls and navigation will adopt the new design. The popular Photos watch face is enhanced with numerals made of Liquid Glass, allowing users to see even more of their photo. Apple Intelligence Comes to Fitness with Workout Buddy Workout Buddy is a first-of-its-kind fitness experience with Apple Intelligence that incorporates a user's workout data and their fitness history to generate personalised, motivational insights during their session, based on data like heart rate, pace, distance, Activity rings, personal fitness milestones, and more. For example, as a user starts a run, Workout Buddy will give a personalised pep talk that may remind them of their running mileage for the week so far, or share how they are doing against their Activity ring goals: 'Way to get out for your run this Wednesday morning. You're 18 minutes away from closing your Exercise ring. So far this week, you've run 6 miles. You're going to add to that today.' During the workout, Workout Buddy can mark key moments like their mile splits, or tell them if they hit a new milestone based on their fitness history: 'Mile four. You picked up the pace and ran that last one in 8 minutes and 28 seconds.' 'Hey, check this out. Your total running distance for the year just crossed the 200-mile mark! That's a lot of running!' When a user ends a workout, Workout Buddy will recap their workout stats and congratulate them on their achievements: 'Way to get your workout in! You went 4.3 miles in just over 38 minutes. Your average pace was 8 minutes and 58 seconds, and your average heart rate was 128. That was your longest run of the last 28 days. What will you do next?' To offer meaningful inspiration in real time, Workout Buddy analyses data privately and securely, with Apple Intelligence. A new text-to-speech model then translates insights into a dynamic generative voice built using voice data from Fitness+ trainers, so it has the right energy, style, and tone for a workout. Workout Buddy will be available on Apple Watch with Bluetooth headphones, and requires an Apple Intelligence-supported iPhone nearby. It will be available starting in English, across some of the most popular workout types: Outdoor and Indoor Run, Outdoor and Indoor Walk, Outdoor Cycle, HIIT, and Functional and Traditional Strength Training. Additional Updates to the Workout Experience The Workout app is one of the most popular apps on Apple Watch, and in watchOS 26, it debuts the biggest update to its layout and navigation since its introduction. Four new buttons in the corners of the app make it easier for users to access their favorite features to customise workouts, like Workout Views, Custom Workout, Pacer, Race Route, and more. To add inspiration, users can set up music and podcasts right in the Workout app to automatically play when they start a workout. For users' convenience, Apple Music can now select the best playlist for a user's workout based on the workout type and their personal tastes.1 Alternatively, users can see suggestions for playlists or podcasts based on what they've recently listened to during that particular workout type. The Smart Stack Becomes Even More Proactive The Smart Stack is designed to help users quickly access important information from any watch face. In watchOS 26, the Smart Stack improves its prediction algorithms by incorporating more contextual data, sensor data, and data from a user's routine to provide Smart Stack hints, a proactive prompt for actionable suggestions that are immediately useful. Made of Liquid Glass, Smart Stack hints will appear on the display as a gentle visual prompt. For example, a hint for Backtrack may appear when a user is in a remote location with no connectivity, or a hint for a Pilates workout may show up when a user arrives at a studio location at their usual time. Added Convenience in Messages Apple Watch now supports Live Translation in Messages with Apple Intelligence, allowing incoming texts to be automatically translated into a user's preferred language, right on their wrist.2 And when the user responds, their texts can be instantly translated for the person they're having a conversation with. Live Translation will be available on Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2, with an Apple Intelligence-supported iPhone. Additionally, for users whose device language is set to English, Apple Watch will intelligently suggest relevant actions in Messages using the context of a conversation, like starting a Check In when a friend asks a user to share when they arrive home. Customisable Backgrounds set on iPhone will also appear on Apple Watch to make conversations feel more personal and distinct, and users can respond to polls right on their wrist. Smart Replies get even more precise for users whose device language is set to English, with an improved on-device language model that can generate relevant responses based on the content of a conversation.3 Notifications Are Easier to Manage Notifications are even easier to manage with a simple wrist flick gesture on Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2. When a user raises their wrist to check a notification but isn't ready to respond, they can quickly turn their wrist over and back to dismiss the notification. The wrist flick gesture can be used to dismiss notifications and incoming calls, silence timers and alarms, and return to the watch face. It uses the accelerometer and the gyroscope — along with a machine learning model — to analyse a user's wrist movement. Wrist flick joins the double tap gesture to allow users to do even more on Apple Watch with only one hand, for times when the user's other hand is occupied, such as when walking the dog, cooking, or holding a cup of coffee. Apple Watch can also now automatically adjust the speaker volume based on the ambient noise in a user's surroundings for notifications, timers, alarms, incoming calls, and Siri, allowing them to stay connected without worrying about disturbing those around them. Additional updates in watchOS 26: The Notes app comes to Apple Watch, allowing users to access their notes right on their wrist. Users can also pin and unlock notes, complete checklist items, and create new notes with Siri, dictation, and the keyboard. Hold Assist and Call Screening come to the Phone app, when an iPhone is nearby. When a user is waiting for a live agent, Hold Assist recognises once a live agent is available and notifies the user to return to the call. 4 Call Screening helps users manage incoming phone calls from unknown numbers more efficiently by collecting a name and reason for the call before their phone rings, so they can make an informed decision on whether to pick up, decline the call, or ask for more information. 5 For users who are deaf or hard of hearing, Live Listen controls come to Apple Watch with a new set of features, including real-time Live Captions of what their iPhone hears on a paired Apple Watch while listening to the audio. 6 Apple Watch serves as a remote control to start or stop Live Listen sessions on a paired iPhone, or jump back into a session to capture something that may have been missed. The Photos face will now shuffle images based on Featured content from Photos, so users can see images of their most meaningful moments every time they raise their wrist or tap the display. Users can now explore and discover watch faces more easily with the redesigned watch face gallery on Apple Watch and in the Watch app on iPhone, with faces grouped into collections. New Tools for Developers Developers are able to take advantage of new APIs in watchOS 26 across design, the Smart Stack, and more. Developers can use new SwiftUI APIs to adopt the beautiful new design materials of watchOS 26. With the Control Widget API, developers can create custom controls to be added to the Control Center, Action Button, or Smart Stack widget, and the Smart Stack Relevance API allows third-party widgets to be added to the Smart Stack with new signals like Points of Interest, with user permission to incorporate location data. For example, the Smart Stack can intelligently show a widget for Slopes when users arrive at a ski resort with improved location APIs, and now Dark Noise can add a custom control to Control Center so users can easily turn on a sleep soundscape without picking up their iPhone. Availability All of these features are available for testing starting today through the Apple Developer Program at and a public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month at watchOS 26 will be available this fall as a free software update for Apple Watch Series 6 or later, Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), and all Apple Watch Ultra models, paired with iPhone 11 or later, running iOS 26. The Apple Intelligence features detailed require supported devices, which include all iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max that have Apple Intelligence enabled and Siri and device language set to the same supported language. Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all languages or regions, and availability may vary due to local laws and regulations. For more information about availability, visit


Tahawul Tech
an hour ago
- Tahawul Tech
visionOS 26 introduces powerful new spatial experiences for Apple Vision Pro
Widgets become spatial and anchor in a user's space, Personas are more expressive and realistic, and new APIs unleash exciting opportunities for developers, creators, and enterprises. CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA — Apple previewed visionOS 26, an expansive update packed with groundbreaking spatial experiences and new features for Apple Vision Pro. Everyday interactions become more immersive and personal, with widgets that integrate into a user's space, spatial scenes that use generative AI to add stunning lifelike depth to photos, striking enhancements that make Personas feel more natural and familiar, and shared spatial experiences for Vision Pro users in the same room. visionOS 26 also adds support for 180-degree, 360-degree, and wide field-of-view content from Insta360, GoPro, and Canon, while new enterprise APIs allow organizations to create spatial experiences unique to visionOS. And with support for PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers, players can enjoy a new class of games on Apple Vision Pro.1 'Apple Vision Pro has defined what's possible in this new era of spatial computing, and with visionOS 26, we're excited to push the boundaries even further,' said Mike Rockwell, Apple's vice president of the Vision Products Group. 'With brand-new ways for Vision Pro owners to connect, explore, work together, and enjoy content, we're incredibly excited for users to enjoy features like apps and widgets that they can arrange in their spaces, spatial scenes that offer a brand-new viewing experience for their photos, and dramatically enhanced Personas on Vision Pro.' Widgets Become Spatial Across the Apple ecosystem, widgets offer personalized and useful information at a glance, and with visionOS 26, widgets become spatial, integrating seamlessly into a user's space and reappearing every time they put on Apple Vision Pro. Widgets in visionOS 26 are customizable, with a variety of options for frame width, color, and depth. Beautiful new widgets — including Clock, Weather, Music, and Photos — all offer unique interactions and experiences. Users can decorate their spaces with favorite widgets, including stunning panoramas and spatial photos of their favorite memories, clocks with distinctive face designs, and quick access to their go-to playlists and songs on Apple Music. The Widgets app helps users find widgets, including those from compatible iOS and iPadOS apps, and developers will also be able to create their own widgets using WidgetKit. Enhanced Shared Spatial Experiences Users love how visionOS lets them connect with family, friends, and colleagues remotely, and with visionOS 26, they can share spatial experiences with other Apple Vision Pro users in the same room. They can come together to watch the latest blockbuster movie in 3D, play a spatial game, or collaborate with coworkers. Users can also add remote participants from across the world via FaceTime, enabling connection with people near and far. Dassault Systèmes, a leading provider of engineering and 3D design software, is leveraging this ability with their 3DLive app, bringing the ability to visualize 3D designs both in person and with remote colleagues. With visionOS 26, Personas are transformed to feel more natural and familiar. Taking advantage of industry-leading volumetric rendering and machine learning technology, the all-new Personas now have striking expressivity and sharpness, offering a full side profile view, and remarkably accurate hair, lashes, and complexion. Personas are still created on device in a matter of seconds, and new improvements to the setup process allow users to adjust and preview how their Persona looks spatially, and even pick glasses from over 1,000 variations. Introducing Spatial Scenes visionOS 26 makes spatial photos even more realistic, leveraging a new generative AI algorithm and computational depth to create spatial scenes with multiple perspectives, letting users feel like they can lean in and look around. Users can view spatial scenes in the Photos app, Spatial Gallery app, and Safari, while developers can use the Spatial Scene API to make their app experience even more immersive. Zillow is taking advantage of the API for their Zillow Immersive app, allowing users to see images of homes and apartments with the rich depth and dimension that spatial scenes offer. New Ways to Browse, Play, and Watch Users can select spatial browsing to transform articles on Safari, hide distractions, and reveal spatial scenes that come alive as they scroll. Web developers have the ability to embed 3D models directly into web pages, letting users shop and browse with depth and dimension, and see and manipulate 3D objects and models right in Safari. visionOS 26 supports native playback of 180-degree, 360-degree, and wide field-of-view content from Insta360, GoPro, and Canon. Users can enjoy their exciting 2D action footage the way it was meant to be seen. Developers can incorporate this new playback capability into their apps and websites. visionOS 26 also introduces support for the PlayStation VR2 Sense controller. Now, developers can deliver even more engaging gameplay experiences for Apple Vision Pro thanks to high-performance motion tracking in 6 degrees of freedom, finger touch detection, and vibration support. Enterprise APIs and Tools Companies around the world are harnessing spatial computing on Apple Vision Pro to supercharge their workflows for design, training, sales, education, and more. New capabilities like team device sharing let organizations easily set up and manage a shared pool of devices. Users can securely save their eye and hand data, vision prescription, and accessibility settings to their iPhone running iOS 26 and bring it to another Vision Pro, making sharing easier than ever. visionOS 26 adds support for Logitech Muse, a spatial accessory built for Apple Vision Pro that enables precise input and new ways to interact with collaboration apps like Spatial Analogue.1 Enterprise-focused APIs, like the new Protected Content API, ensure that only people who have been granted access can see confidential materials like medical records or business forecasts, while preventing copying, screenshots, and screen sharing. Additional visionOS 26 features include: More Apple Intelligence features — including updates to Image Playground — come to Apple Vision Pro. visionOS 26 also adds support for new languages: French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish, along with support for English in Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, and the UK. 2 Look to Scroll allows users to explore apps and websites using just their eyes. Users can customize the scroll speed, and developers can integrate Look to Scroll into their visionOS apps. In the redesigned Control Center , features like Guest User, Focus, Travel Mode, and more are conveniently displayed in one view, letting users effortlessly manage their music, adjust their Environment settings, and connect to Mac Virtual Display. Users can unlock their iPhone while wearing Apple Vision Pro , even in a fully immersive experience like an Environment. This feature can be enabled in Settings for Face ID-enabled iPhone models running iOS 26. 3 visionOS 26 supports relaying calls from iPhone , so a user can now answer phone calls directly from Apple Vision Pro, or start a call from People View by selecting a contact's phone number or clicking on a phone number in a web page. 4 Home View now supports folders , letting users rearrange and group apps together. Availability All of these features are available for testing starting today through the Apple Developer Program at For more information, visit Apple Intelligence requires Apple Vision Pro running visionOS 26 with Apple Intelligence enabled and Siri and device language set to the same supported language: English (Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, UK, U.S.), French (Canada, France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish (Mexico, Spain). Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all regions, all languages, or on all devices, and compatible hardware and software may be required.


Tahawul Tech
an hour ago
- Tahawul Tech
Apple opens its AI to developers
Apple announced recently a slew of artificial intelligence features including opening up Apple Intelligence's underlying technology in a modest update of its software and services as it lays the groundwork for future advances. The presentations at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference focused more on incremental developments, including live translations for phone calls, that improve everyday life rather than the sweeping ambitions for AI that Apple's rivals are marketing. A year after it failed to deliver promised AI-based upgrades to key products such as Siri, Apple kept its AI promises to consumers low-key, communicating that it could help with tasks like finding where to buy a jacket similar to one they have seen online. Behind the scenes, Apple hinted at a strategy of offering its own tools to developers alongside those from rivals, similar to a strategy by Microsoft last month. Apple software chief Craig Federighi said the company will offer both its own and OpenAI's code completion tools in its key Apple developer software and that the company is opening up the foundational AI model that it uses for some of its own features to third-party developers. 'We're opening up access for any app to tap directly into the on-device, large language model at the core of Apple,' Federighi said. In an early demonstration of this at work, the company added image generation from OpenAI's ChatGPT to its Image Playground app, saying that user data would not be shared with OpenAI without a user's permission. 'You could see Apple's priority is what they're doing on the back-end, instead of what they're doing at the front-end, which most people don't really care about yet,' said Ben Bajarin, chief executive of analyst firm Creative Strategies. Apple is facing an unprecedented set of technical and regulatory challenges as it kicked off its software developer conference. Shares of Apple, which were flat before the start of the event, closed 1.2% lower on Monday. 'In a moment in which the market questions Apple's ability to take any sort of lead in the AI space, the announced features felt incremental at best,' Thomas Monteiro, senior analyst at said. Compared with what other big AI companies are introducing, he added, 'It just seems that the clock is ticking faster every day for Apple.' That is a contrast to the ambitious vision laid out by Apple last year. 'They went from being visionary and talking about agents before a lot of other people did, to now realizing that, at the end of the day, what they need to do is deliver on what they presented a year ago,' said Bob O'Donnell, chief analyst at Technalysis Research. Apple executives said that developers will have access only to Apple's on-device version of Apple Intelligence, which does not tap into special data centres Apple built for its AI efforts. The on-device model is about 3 billion parameters, a measurement of the model's level of sophistication, meaning that it cannot handle the more complex tasks that cloud-based models can. Source: Reuters Image Credit: Apple