Today’s tech news live: the latest on Meta’s Twitter killer Threads and more

Meta’s Threads has gone live (kind of)

The Threads app isn’t due to go live until tomorrow (July 6), but we were given a sneak peek of the interface earlier today. That’s because the web version went live early, seemingly accidentally as it's no longer available. A small band of influencers and brands were merrily posting away – no problem, Meta, our early invite must have got lost in the post…

I had a quick tinker and it’s, well, a text-based Instagram. You can go into dark mode by clicking the Threads logo at the top. And your options are mainly writing posts, liking posts and replying. But it’s clear this will give Twitter a massive shove when it’s already very off balance – this week we’ve already seen Twitter spring ‘rate limits’ on users with no warning, and put a new version of the popular Tweetdeck behind a paywall. 

This week’s rumblings are the real billionaire cage fight, it seems…

Has Meta’s Threads got snagged on EU laws?

In less good news for Threads (or anyone living in the EU), it looks like the app won’t be launching outside of the US and UK to start with. According to the Irish Independent, a Meta spokesperson has said that the Twitter rival won’t be rolled out in the EU “at this point”. We’re just confirming this with Meta and will update here when we hear back.

This explains why the app hasn’t been appearing in the App Stores of EU countries. The reason is apparently Europe’s tougher privacy laws – while the EU regulator hasn’t blocked the app, Meta seemingly needs more time to prepare it for a full launch in Europe. 

Still, a Meta spokesperson told Bloomberg that it’s preparing to roll out Threads in 100 countries with “more coming soon”, so hopefully it won’t be too long before the EU can join the chat.

Juicy iPhone 15 rumors suggest a battery life boost

If one of your main reasons for an iPhone upgrade is battery life (which is the case for most people, according to a new TechRadar survey launching tomorrow) then you’ll be happy to hear that the latest iPhone rumors are predicting a big boost in stamina  – for the whole series.

As the owner of an increasingly tired iPhone 11 Pro, that sounds good to me. One of the main temptations of a Plus or Max has been their battery life, but according to a Foxconn employee (reported by iTHome) even the iPhone 15 will get an 18% larger battery, with the iPhone 15 Pro getting a 14% boost in capacity.

The question now is whether or not to wait for the iPhone 16, which will likely cram the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s periscope zoom into a smaller phone – a decision that’s likely to give photographers a serious dilemma…