Apple may launch iPhone 18 Pro in 2026 and postpone the basic model to 2027 due to component shortages

When considering matter and force, we establish a distinction between what constitutes objects, such as a soccer ball, and the invisible property that determines their movement. However, at subatomic scales, this separation is not as strict as it seems. A proton, for example, is composed of two up quarks and one down quark. Quarks are considered elementary particles, functioning as building blocks that cannot be decomposed into smaller units.

These particles are bound by the strong nuclear force, one of the four fundamental forces, along with gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak nuclear force. This force is transmitted by another elementary particle called the gluon, which acts as a binding agent between quarks, hence the name derived from 'glue.'

Chinese researchers claim to have proven the existence of a particle composed almost entirely of gluons, known as a 'glueball'. Physicists have been searching for this particle for over five decades.

The evidence for this particle was obtained at the Beijing Electron–Positron Collider II (BEPC II), a particle accelerator located in the Chinese capital. The paper detailing these findings is available as a preprint on the arXiv repository but is still awaiting peer review in a scientific journal.

Despite this, the discovery has generated great interest in the scientific community. During the International Conference on High Energy Physics (ICHEP), held in Natal (RN), Brazil, the researchers presented preliminary data on the particle designated as X(2370). This particle was generated through the collision of electrons with positrons at high energy, exhibiting characteristics consistent with those expected for a glueball.

It is important to note that the glueball differs from the Higgs boson, discovered in 2012. While the Higgs is classified as an elementary particle, incapable of being fragmented, the glueball can be broken down into multiple gluons, which in turn are elementary particles.

The BEPC II, located at the Institute of High Energy Physics in Beijing, is considered an ideal location for the search for glueballs because it generates large volumes of the J/Ψ particle. The products resulting from the decay of J/Ψ are rich in gluons, thus facilitating the investigation. According to Shan Jin, one of the scientists who led the study, it is estimated that X(2370) possesses approximately 90% gluons in its composition.

The new study involved the analysis of more than ten billion J/Ψ decays. The researchers observed that X(2370) associates similarly to particles containing various types of quarks. This behavior is expected, given that gluons interact uniformly with all species of quarks.

Characteristics of X(2370) had already been documented before. The particle was first identified in 2011 and has been the subject of subsequent studies to confirm if it corresponds to the glueball theorized by physicists. In 2024, the researchers demonstrated that its mass, angular momentum (spin), and other properties were aligned with theoretical glueball models.

Colin Morningstar, a particle physicist from Carnegie Mellon University, who did not participate in the research, commented in an interview with Science that the confirmation of these three expected properties for a glueball represents 'the greatest evidence that particles dominated by a glueball component can exist in nature.'

Although science requires verification in independent experiments, which may take years, the Beijing accelerator remains one of the few facilities dedicated to the search for glueballs.

Google has implemented an extensive restructuring of its artificial intelligence division, relocating parts of the Google DeepMind teams to the corporate structure and concentrating strategic decisions under the leadership of Koray Kavukcuoglu. This information was reported by Reuters on Wednesday, the 12th.

This change occurs amid intense competition, where Google seeks to regain lost ground against competitors such as Anthropic and OpenAI. Furthermore, the move reduces the historical autonomy of the lab, established after its acquisition in 2014, aligning Gemini's development more closely with the company's commercial objectives.

In parallel, Sergey Brin resumed his influence on model training efforts, advocating for greater acceleration to reach technological frontiers. However, Google faces challenges, including delays in the launch of the next major version of Gemini and restrictions on available computational capacity.

The transformation gained public visibility on August 5th, the date Google announced changes in the management of Google DeepMind. Demis Hassabis stepped down from the executive leadership of the lab and assumed the presidency, while his successor, Koray Kavukcuoglu, took on the central role in the unit's direction.

This new setup formalized a power transition that was already underway. Kavukcuoglu had held the position of Google's principal artificial intelligence architect since 2025, a role created specifically to expand Gemini's presence in the company's products. Sources close to the operation informed Reuters that his influence over the model's direction has grown significantly since then.

Kavukcuoglu's position also brought him closer to the divisions responsible for AI revenue generation. Even before moving from London to Mountain View, he was seen as the main link between DeepMind and Google Cloud, a sector considered vital to Google's AI business.

The new arrangement impacted other prominent names. Jeff Dean and Oriol Vinyals, who were part of the original Gemini technical team, left the company to join a new startup. The departure of these executives raised questions about the future of groups that had greater freedom to conduct research outside of direct model training.

During a general meeting held on August 6th, employees were notified that certain non-technical teams would be removed from the DeepMind structure, reporting directly to the corporate organization of Google. This measure reinforced among lab members the feeling that their independence was diminishing.

Management attempted to calm these concerns, assuring that the lab's daily activities would remain essentially unchanged. Hassabis would continue to focus on long-term issues related to the science and social impacts of artificial intelligence, while Kavukcuoglu would maintain control over Gemini.

However, this change comes amidst growing pressure for results. According to reports gathered by Reuters, internal tests forced Google to postpone the arrival of the next major version of Gemini by two months due to lower results compared to those achieved by competitors in areas such as programming.

Recent history contributed to this pressure. Gemini briefly led among competing models after an update released in November 2025, but subsequently lost ground against advances made by rival companies.

Sources involved in development attributed part of this difficulty to structural problems. Limitations in computational capacity availability and disagreements among project leaders hindered the concentration of resources in crucial areas, such as programming. Internal bureaucracy was also cited as a factor contributing to a slower release pace than that of more agile competitors.

In this scenario, Brin informally intervened with the teams responsible for model training. According to someone familiar with his involvement, the co-founder spent months pressuring employees for a faster approach to state-of-the-art systems.

Brin's influence also extended to resource allocation. Among the topics that received his attention was the concept of recursive self-improvement, linked to the possibility of AI systems improving their own capabilities without human intervention.

Although he no longer holds an executive position, Brin maintains influence due to his status as a co-founder. Reuters mentioned that he also adopted a posture of internal mobilization after the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, when OpenAI's progress generated a strong internal reaction at Google.

For his part, Hassabis had reduced his direct involvement in Gemini's management after assisting with the model's launch in 2023. Sources cited by Reuters indicated that development responsibilities were progressively transferred to his subordinates.

The concentration of authority in Kavukcuoglu may also influence the dynamic between DeepMind and Google Cloud. A report obtained by Reuters suggests that cloud computing executives expect the change to minimize conflicts related to the distribution of artificial intelligence chips, known as TPUs.

Thus, the new design positions model strategy, Gemini's integration into products, and commercial requirements within a structure closer to Google headquarters. A company spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that Kavukcuoglu will have the final say on important decisions involving DeepMind.