Daily Tech & GNSS News Digest - February 17, 2026

Apple is ramping up development of three AI-powered wearable devices as the tech giant pivots toward hardware designed for the artificial intelligence era. Meanwhile, tensions between the Pentagon and Anthropic escalated over AI safeguards for military applications, with Defense Secretary Hegseth threatening to designate the AI company a “supply chain risk.” In trade news, the US and Taiwan finalized a sweeping $84 billion agreement cutting tariffs and securing massive Taiwanese investments in American semiconductor and energy infrastructure.

Tech News

Apple Accelerates AI Wearables Push with Smart Glasses, Pendant, and Camera AirPods

Apple is accelerating development of three new wearable devices designed for the AI era, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported. The devices—smart glasses code-named N50, an AI pendant, and camera-equipped AirPods—represent Apple’s most aggressive push into AI hardware since the introduction of Apple Intelligence last year.

The smart glasses, targeting a 2027 launch with production potentially beginning as early as December 2026, will compete directly with Meta’s Ray-Bans. The glasses will feature an advanced dual-camera system: a high-resolution camera for photos and videos, plus a second camera providing visual context to Siri. Hardware prototypes have already been distributed to Apple’s engineering team.

The AI pendant, internally described as the “eyes and ears” of the iPhone, represents a more ambitious bet on always-on AI. Unlike the failed Humane AI pin, Apple’s pendant is designed as an iPhone accessory rather than a standalone device, featuring an always-on camera and microphone for continuous Siri input. Camera-equipped AirPods are furthest along in development and could ship as early as this year with low-resolution cameras designed for environmental awareness rather than photo capture. Apple shares climbed as much as 2.7% to $262.74 on the news.

Pentagon Threatens to Cut Ties with Anthropic Over AI Safeguards

Tensions between the Defense Department and AI startup Anthropic reached a breaking point over the weekend, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatening to designate the company a “supply chain risk”—a penalty typically reserved for foreign adversaries. The dispute centers on Anthropic’s insistence that its Claude AI model not be used for mass surveillance of Americans or fully autonomous weaponry.

Anthropic signed a contract valued up to $200 million with the Pentagon last summer, and Claude was the first AI model brought into the military’s classified networks. Pentagon officials are now demanding that Anthropic and other AI labs—including OpenAI, Google, and xAI—agree to allow military use of their tools for “all lawful purposes,” a condition Anthropic views as unworkably broad.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell stated: “Our nation requires that our partners be willing to help our warfighters win in any fight.” An Anthropic spokesperson responded that the company is “committed to using frontier AI to support U.S. national security” while maintaining productive discussions with the Defense Department. The standoff highlights growing tensions between AI companies’ ethical guardrails and government demands for unrestricted access to frontier AI capabilities.

US and Taiwan Finalize Landmark $84 Billion Trade Agreement

The United States and Taiwan finalized the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade on February 12, reducing tariffs on Taiwanese goods from 20% to 15%—matching rates for South Korea and Japan. Taiwan will eliminate or reduce 99% of its tariff barriers on US goods, including immediately dropping tariffs of up to 26% on agricultural products like beef, dairy, and corn.

The agreement secures massive Taiwanese purchase commitments through 2029: $44.4 billion in liquefied natural gas and crude oil, $15.2 billion in civil aircraft and engines, and $25.2 billion in power grid equipment. Most significantly, Taiwanese firms committed to invest at least $250 billion in US semiconductor production, with Taiwan guaranteeing credit for these investments. This includes $100 billion already committed by TSMC for American chip fabrication facilities.

Taiwan becomes only the seventh US trading partner to reach a Reciprocal Trade Agreement with the current administration. The deal addresses longstanding US concerns about trade imbalances while securing critical supply chain investments in semiconductors and AI infrastructure.

EU Finds TikTok’s Addictive Design Breaches Digital Services Act

The European Commission issued preliminary findings that TikTok’s design violates the Digital Services Act, marking the first time EU regulators have taken legal action against a social media platform’s addictive features. The Commission found that infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and TikTok’s personalized algorithm shift users’ brains into “autopilot mode,” potentially reducing self-control and leading to compulsive behavior.

Regulators determined TikTok’s existing safeguards—including screen-time management tools and parental controls—are ineffective because they’re “easy to dismiss and introduce limited friction.” The Commission is demanding fundamental design changes including disabling infinite scroll, implementing effective screen time breaks during nighttime hours, and modifying the recommendation algorithm.

TikTok faces potential fines of up to 6% of ByteDance’s global turnover if found in breach. The company rejected the findings, calling them “categorically false and entirely meritless.” The case sets precedent for how European regulators approach addictive design patterns across all social media platforms.

Additional Headlines

Big Tech AI Spending Concerns Mount: Combined capital expenditures by Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Google are forecast to reach $650 billion in 2026, with Amazon facing potential negative free cash flow of $17-28 billion according to analyst estimates.
Microsoft FTC Investigation: The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Microsoft’s business practices across cloud, AI, and enterprise software licensing—scrutiny that could reshape the company’s dominant position in AI distribution.
IQM Urges European Quantum Action: Finland’s IQM Quantum Computers, with $600 million raised and Nvidia partnership in place, is pushing Europe to close the gap in the global quantum computing race as Germany’s Euro-Q-Exa 54-qubit system goes live.

GNSS News

SpaceX provided extensive details on Starlink’s existing and potential PNT capabilities in response to an FCC inquiry, revealing the satellite constellation can already deliver “nanosecond-level timing accuracy and meter-level positioning” using time-of-arrival measurements. The disclosure signals SpaceX’s ambitions to provide GPS-alternative positioning services leveraging its 10,000+ satellite constellation.

The company emphasized several technical advantages for PNT applications: thousands of LEO satellites providing global coverage with minimal signal travel time, phased-array terminals designed for signal integrity, end-to-end encryption reducing spoofing susceptibility, and operation within existing Ku- and Ka-band spectrum without requiring new allocations. SpaceX highlighted its L-band Direct-to-Cell signals as particularly promising for enhanced PNT services.

University of Texas researcher Todd Humphreys noted challenges remain: Starlink’s current Ku-band timing lacks the regularity needed for accurate pseudorange-based positioning. However, if SpaceX can provide multi-satellite D2C access to individual devices, the system could potentially rival GPS performance “provided that SpaceX gets the timing right.” The filing demonstrates growing commercial interest in LEO-based navigation as a resilient alternative to traditional GNSS.

Hexagon NovAtel Advances GNSS Reliability in Challenging Environments

Hexagon | NovAtel released new firmware for its OEM7 family of GNSS receivers on February 3, featuring significant improvements in positioning reliability and accuracy for challenging environments. The update introduces advanced tracking capabilities specifically designed to enhance performance in obstructed urban canyons, under tree canopy, and near reflective surfaces where multipath errors typically degrade positioning.

The firmware release follows Hexagon’s strategic acquisition of Septentrio, completed in March 2025, which expanded the company’s reach in high-precision navigation for autonomy applications. The combined entity now offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of GNSS receiver technology spanning automotive, agriculture, construction, and defense markets.

According to recent market research, the global multi-band GNSS receiver market is projected to grow from $2.92 billion in 2025 to $5.77 billion by 2030, driven largely by autonomous vehicle adoption and precision agriculture expansion. Hexagon’s investments in receiver reliability directly address the fundamental requirement for centimeter-level positioning in safety-critical autonomous systems.

Key Takeaways

AI Hardware Race Intensifies: Apple’s accelerated wearables development and Big Tech’s $650 billion infrastructure spending signal that AI competition is shifting from software to purpose-built hardware and physical infrastructure.
AI Ethics Meet National Security: The Anthropic-Pentagon standoff crystallizes the tension between AI companies’ safety commitments and government demands for unrestricted military applications—a conflict that will shape frontier AI deployment for years.
LEO PNT Emerges as GPS Alternative: SpaceX’s detailed Starlink PNT disclosure and continued GNSS reliability advances demonstrate growing commercial and strategic interest in resilient positioning that doesn’t depend solely on traditional satellite navigation.