Apple recently updated online availability of 15-inch MacBook Pro on its website to June 6-8 to coincide with the Worldwide Developers Conference next week, MacRumors first spotted. The move comes after a Bloomberg report said Apple plans to announce its new laptop lineup at WWDC. Apple will reportedly announce new versions of the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro at the event. The company is also said to be considering updating the MacBook Air, which hasn't been upgraded in years. In-store pickup of the 15-inch MacBook Pro is available for June 8.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are in the process of transforming the economy, the workplace and the home. We already see it in the form of Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa, Nest, Pandora, chatbots and other technologies used by millions of consumers and workers every day. Throw in self-driving cars, robots and smart drones -- all of which are in the testing stages or in the early roll-out phase -- and it's hard not to be impressed by how far AI has come. Yet how far it could go is being held back, in some ways, by a shortage of engineers and scientists to work on it. Which has some folks asking, what if there was another way to develop the technology?

When asking to be let back inside the spaceship, supercomputer HAL eerily responded, "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that." Thankfully, the personal assistants we use today are a little friendlier. Here, Roxanne Abercrombie of business automation specialist, Parker Software, explains the role of intelligent assistants for both consumers and businesses. Grab your phone and ask Siri the same question. Today's intelligent assistants are designed to provide friendly, fast and intuitive customer service, so you're likely to get an instant, sassy response, like Siri's: "Here we go again, we intelligent assistants will never live that down."

It's been awhile since we've heard about Laundroid, the laundry folding robot that will make lazy people swoon. Now, parent company Seven Dreamers has announced a new partnership that could make your laundry-related life even easier. Seven Dreamers is partnering with Cerevo, a company that focuses on IoT and connected devices in Japan and across the world, to bring voice control technology to Laundroid. But there's a catch: As of the announcement date, it won't work with Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant or any other widely used voice control service. Instead, Laundroid will only work with Cerevo's Lumigent, a desk lamp that responds to voice control.

The co-founder of the Android operating system, Andy Rubin, has revealed his first new creation since leaving Google in 2014: a $699 Android phone that aims to take on Apple and Samsung for the high end of the mobile market. The phone, created by Rubin's new firm, Essential, comes with the standard top-of-the-line setup in many areas: a 5.7in QHD display, a pair of 13MP rear cameras and an 8MP front-facing one, a 7.8mm thick body and USB-C connector at the base (although, taking a cue from Apple, there's no headphone jack on the device). But the featureEssential hopes will make the phone stand out is hidden in two metallic dots on the back of the phone, to the right of the twin cameras. Those make up a new expansion port that allows accessories to be magnetically clipped straight into the device - providing structural stability as well as leaving the USB-C port free. At launch, there will be only one such accessory, a $199, 360 camera that peers over the edge of the phone and allows for video and photos to be taken and shared on the move. According to the Verge, others will follow, including a charging dock and the possibility of audio accessories to make up for the absent headphone jack.

For the holidays, the owner of (and my boss at) thirteen23 gave each employee a Google Home device. If you don't already know, Google Home1 is a voice-activated speaker powered by Google Assistant2 and is a competing product to Amazon's line of Alexa products3. I already have the Amazon Echo, and as Director of Technology at thirteen23, I love tinkering with software for new products. For the Amazon Echo, you can create what are called "skills", which allow you to build custom interactions when speaking to the device. I've really enjoyed learning how to build my own skills for Alexa4. Now that Google Home is out in the market, Google has its own platform for you to build custom interactions, similar to skills, called "actions5".

When Essential Inc., the stealth startup headed by Android co-founder Andy Rubin, teased that May 30th would be a big day, it wasn't lying. We've already taken our first look at the Essential Phone -- a slick, powerful and durable Android-powered handset -- but that isn't the only product the company is showing off today. In its bid to take on Apple, Google and Amazon, Essential has unveiled "Home," a new intelligent assistant that it hopes owners will be proud to show off. The Essential Home sports a circular design, and isn't too dissimilar to Google's intelligent Nest thermostats at first glance. The round auto-display is activated in three ways: by a simple voice commands, a tap of a finger or just by looking at it.

Leviton is the latest connected lighting company to loosen its dependence on the hub, and it's about time. Leviton's Decora Smart Wi-Fi dimmers and switches connect directly to your wireless network, letting you control the lights with a smartphone app or with a digital assistant (the Amazon Echo and Google Home are both supported). By sticking with plain old Wi-Fi instead of smart home-specific protocols such as ZigBee or Z-Wave, Leviton's in-wall and plug-in modules eliminate the need for a hub or bridge. But while ditching the hub reduces the cost and complexity of smart home lighting, it also means Leviton must work harder to connect with other smart home ecosystems. Right now, the Decora Smart Wi-Fi series is currently detached from nearly all of them, severely limiting how you can control your lights.

Apple's World Wide Developers Conference 2017 (WWDC 2017) will take place in San Jose from June 5-9 at 1 p.m. EDT Monday. The company is expected to make many new announcements at the event including the new version of iOS – iOS11, a new MacOS version, a new WatchOS version and even some hardware offerings such as a Siri-based smart speaker and a premium iPad 2 tablet. Live stream requirements: Unlike what happened in the past, you don't need an Apple device to watch the event -- you can live stream it on Microsoft Edge on any Windows PC. In case you want to live stream the event on an Apple device, you can do it on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch with Safari on iOS 7.0 or a later version or on a Mac with Safari 6.0.5 or a later version and iOSX 10.8.5 or a later version. You can also live stream the event through Apple TV.

Every year sees the birth of tens of thousands of new startups. This means it's getting harder and harder to get some attention as a fledgling company. There simply aren't enough journalists to give startup the attention they might deserve. TNW started out as a prime source for news about startups over ten years ago, and we'd like to honor those roots by creating more room to feature exciting and interesting new startups. The format consists of four simple questions: What does it do, where did the founders get the idea, what does the business model look like, and finally a'random box' for fun anecdotes, extra info, profanity or whatever a startup would like to share with our audience.