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Posted on Aug 28 Originally published at gtwebs.com

13 Must-Know Tech News Roundup Stories for Friday, August 28, 2026: GTA VI’s Extended Look Drops and NASA’s Roman Telescope

#anthropic #applepay

Tech news roundup coverage for Friday, August 28, 2026 leads with two major stories: Rockstar’s extended look at Grand Theft Auto VI is now streaming on YouTube after its Netflix debut, and NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to launch on August 30 after surviving a budget fight last year.

Table of Contents

Also in today’s roundup: Apple detailed new Apple Pay features and App Store pricing changes, Meta closed a privacy loophole in its smart glasses, and a federal judge ruled against the Pentagon’s ban on Anthropic’s AI tools, which also unveiled a new hardware standard for AI agents. On the AI side, Google’s AI Mode can now help book flights and hotels, and over 100 companies called for stronger defenses against AI-driven cyberattacks. Rounding out this tech news roundup are NASA astronaut Jonny Kim’s departure, Speedo’s new stroke-tracking swim goggles, and fresh science discoveries covering a 24-legged fossil insect and a near-infrared OLED breakthrough.

The TLDR

GTA VI Extended Look: Rockstar’s PS5 gameplay preview is now free to watch on YouTube after its Netflix premiere.
Speedo iQ Goggles: A $189 module tracks all four competitive swim strokes and is approved for competition.
Anthropic Pentagon Ban: A federal judge ruled the Pentagon’s ban on Anthropic’s AI tools was unlawful.
Apple Pay Features: iOS 27 brings a redesigned card picker, Amex Rewards, Tap to Share, and debit reloads.
App Store Pricing: Prices shift in Israel, Indonesia, Morocco, and the Republic of the Congo starting September 14.
Meta Smart Glasses: A new update stops recording if the camera light is covered mid-clip.
Anthropic Hardware Standard: A new interface lets AI agents operate robots and lab equipment directly.
AI Cybersecurity Pledge: 100+ companies, including OpenAI and Google, called for coordinated AI-threat defenses.
Google AI Mode Travel: AI Mode now tracks flight prices and can help book hotels in the U.S.
Roman Space Telescope: NASA’s next big observatory launches August 30 after surviving a budget threat.
Jonny Kim Leaves NASA: The astronaut and Navy SEAL-turned-doctor returns to active military duty.
24-Legged Fossil Insect: A 324-million-year-old fossil turned out to be a previously unknown species.
Near-Infrared OLEDs: New dye molecules push efficient organic light further into the infrared.

Tech & Apps

GTA VI’s Extended Look Hits YouTube After Netflix Debut

Rockstar posted its promised “extended look” at Grand Theft Auto VI, which first streamed exclusively on Netflix on August 27 before going up on Rockstar’s own YouTube channel the same evening. The roughly half-hour preview uses footage captured entirely from the PlayStation 5 version of the game. Anyone who missed the Netflix premiere can now watch the full video on YouTube, according to The Verge.

Speedo’s New iQ Module Tracks All Four Swim Strokes

Speedo is rolling out a removable smart module for its Vanquisher goggles that tracks performance across all four competitive strokes — freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. The module uses swim-specific sensors to read head movement, time breathing, and measure distance per stroke, syncing to a free companion app with no subscription required. It’s also approved by World Aquatics for competition use, and the Vanquisher goggles with the module included cost $189, according to The Verge.

Judge Strikes Down Pentagon’s Ban on Anthropic AI Tools

A federal judge ruled on August 28 that the Pentagon’s move to label Anthropic a “supply chain risk” was unlawful, blocking certain agencies from enforcing an order to stop using the company’s AI tools. The ban traced back to February 2026, after the Department of Defense reportedly pushed Anthropic to loosen Claude’s safety guardrails and the company’s CEO refused. Anthropic still faces a second pending case over the same designation, reports Engadget.

Apple Pay Adds Four New Checkout Features

Apple detailed four upcoming Apple Pay upgrades coming with iOS 27 this fall: a redesigned checkout screen that lets shoppers swipe between cards or view them in a grid, direct redemption of American Express Membership Rewards points at checkout, a “Tap to Share” feature for exchanging contact and shipping info in stores, and the ability to reload debit card balances inside Apple Wallet. Apple Pay is also expanding to more Walmart stores after starting in Arkansas, with nationwide availability expected by year’s end, according to 9to5Mac.

Apple Adjusts App Store Prices in Four Countries

Apple announced App Store price adjustments in Israel, Indonesia, Morocco, and the Republic of the Congo, taking effect September 14, 2026, to reflect new tax rules and currency shifts — including new VAT rates of 20% in Morocco and 18% in the Republic of the Congo. Prices update automatically in those regions unless a developer has set one of the four countries as their base storefront, per 9to5Mac. Auto-renewing subscriptions aren’t affected by the change.

Meta Closes Smart Glasses Recording Loophole

Meta rolled out a software update, live as of August 27, that stops Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses from recording if the camera’s LED indicator light is covered mid-session — closing a workaround people used to film without the visible privacy cue. It’s the second privacy fix in about two months, following an earlier update that disabled the camera if the light was physically damaged, reports Engadget.

Anthropic Unveils a Hardware Standard for AI Agents

Anthropic introduced the Model Hardware Standard, a new interface meant to let AI agents operate physical equipment — from robotic arms to lab instruments — without custom software built for each device. The standard is model-agnostic, so it isn’t limited to Claude, and Anthropic plans to eventually open-source it; for now it’s in a research preview with a small group of science, robotics, and manufacturing partners, according to Ars Technica.

AI Tools

100+ Companies Call for Stronger AI Cyberattack Defenses

More than 100 companies — including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Microsoft — signed an open letter calling for coordinated defenses against AI-enabled cyberattacks, warning that such attacks on infrastructure like hospitals and water systems will become more common as AI models grow more capable. The letter calls for new defensive tools and closer collaboration between companies and governments at every level, according to TechCrunch.

Google’s AI Mode Can Now Track Flights and Book Hotels

Google added trip-planning features to AI Mode, letting users describe their travel plans in conversation and get flight options pulled from more than 300 airlines and booking sites, along with price-tracking alerts sent by email; this flight feature is available in more than 180 countries. A new hotel flow lets people pick a hotel through AI Mode and finish checkout with partners like Booking.com, Expedia, and Marriott, currently rolling out in the U.S., according to TechCrunch. It’s part of a broader push to have AI tools handle real bookings and calls for you, similar to the options covered in our guide to AI phone answering services.

Science & Space

NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Set to Launch August 30

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to launch August 30, 2026 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center — a milestone that looked uncertain after a leaked White House budget proposal sought to cancel the mission last year. Roman’s field of view is at least 100 times larger than Hubble’s, and its main science goals are studying dark energy and searching for exoplanets, according to Space.com. If you like following mission countdowns, our Next Spaceflight vs. Space Launch Now comparison can help you track the launch live.

Astronaut Jonny Kim Leaves NASA for Active Navy Duty

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim left the agency on August 27 after nine years to return to active duty with the U.S. Navy. Kim, a former Navy SEAL and Harvard-trained physician, flew to the International Space Station for the first time in April 2025 aboard Soyuz MS-27 as a flight engineer for Expeditions 72 and 73, according to Space.com. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017 while still serving in the Navy.

324-Million-Year-Old Fossil Reveals a 24-Legged Insect

Scientists reclassified a 324-million-year-old fossil, originally misidentified as a juvenile crustacean in 1985, as an entirely new insect species called Chosha praecursor, with 24 paddle-like legs and gill-like body parts. Using cross-polarized light imaging, researchers published the discovery in Nature in August 2026, saying it helps fill a gap in understanding how early insects moved from water to land, according to ScienceAlert.

New Molecule Design Boosts Near-Infrared OLED Efficiency

A research team led by National Taiwan University designed new organic dye molecules, built around sulfur and selenium cores, that emit near-infrared light around 1,000 nanometers with a record efficiency of 3.56% for that wavelength range. The advance, published in Advanced Materials, could improve organic LEDs used in biomedical imaging and security applications, which have historically lost efficiency at these longer, harder-to-produce wavelengths, according to Phys.org.

Explore more: Next Spaceflight vs. Space Launch Now comparison, guide to AI phone answering services.

Tech News FAQs

Where can I watch the GTA VI extended look?

Rockstar’s full extended-look video is available on its official YouTube channel. It first premiered exclusively on Netflix on August 27, 2026, before going up on YouTube the same day.

When is NASA’s Roman Space Telescope launching?

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to launch August 30, 2026 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

How much does the Speedo iQ smart goggles module cost?

The Vanquisher goggles with the Speedo iQ module included cost $189. The system is approved by World Aquatics for use in competition and doesn’t require a subscription.

What is Anthropic’s Model Hardware Standard?

It’s a new interface that lets AI agents operate physical equipment, such as robotic arms and lab instruments, without custom software for each device. It’s model-agnostic and currently in a limited research preview.

Why did NASA astronaut Jonny Kim leave the agency?

Jonny Kim left NASA on August 27, 2026, after nine years to return to active duty with the U.S. Navy. He completed one spaceflight, launching to the ISS in April 2025.

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Photo: NASA / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Originally published at gtwebs.com.

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