Apple Intelligence, Guest Mode Coming to Vision Pro in April

A year after the commercial release of the Vision Pro mixed reality headset, Apple is making progress adding Apple Intelligence, with visionOS 2.4, available now in developer beta in English with consumer release scheduled for April. The AI boost adds Writing Tools, which allows text composition “from scratch using ChatGPT,” as well as Image Playground and the custom emoji app Genmoji. It also integrates Spatial Gallery, a new Vision Pro app for the iPhone that includes a discovery mechanism for curated 3D movies and a remote-viewable Guest Mode for mobile. Additional features and languages will be added throughout the year. Continue reading Apple Intelligence, Guest Mode Coming to Vision Pro in April

Perplexity Deep Research Productivity Tool Offers a Free Tier

“Deep research” is emerging as a model trend, with Perplexity’s Deep Research launching less than three weeks after OpenAI unveiled its own ChatGPT deep research agent, which followed Google’s similar Gemini feature. As its name implies, deep research is a productivity tool, designed to save time by having an AI agent scour materials, compiling data and analysis. Perplexity’s Deep Research “performs dozens of searches, reads hundreds of sources, and reasons through the material to autonomously deliver a comprehensive report,” across topics ranging “from finance and marketing to product research,” the company says. Continue reading Perplexity Deep Research Productivity Tool Offers a Free Tier

Gemini Recalls Previous Chats to Provide Helpful Responses

Google announced last week that its Gemini AI chatbot now offers the ability to provide responses based on earlier conversations. It can also summarize a previous chat and recall information the user has shared in other threads. “Whether you’re asking a question about something you’ve already discussed, or asking Gemini to summarize a previous conversation, Gemini now uses information from relevant chats to craft a response,” according to Google. The new feature is rolling out via Google’s $20-per-month One AI Premium Plan to start and will be available to Google Workspace Business and Enterprise customers in the coming weeks. Continue reading Gemini Recalls Previous Chats to Provide Helpful Responses

Oppo Find N5 Is World’s Thinnest ‘Book-Style’ Foldable Phone

Chinese phone manufacturer Oppo has developed what it is calling the world’s thinnest book-style foldable phone. Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, the Oppo Find N5 runs on Android and includes Google’s Gemini AI to power its Oppo AI intelligent features. The company has put a lot of effort into reducing the visibility of the display’s crease, said to be imperceptible at certain angles and nearly impossible to detect by touch. Beyond that, it has IPX6/IPX8/IPX9 water resistance ratings and 50W wireless charging. The Oppo Find N5 is scheduled for global release on February 20. Continue reading Oppo Find N5 Is World’s Thinnest ‘Book-Style’ Foldable Phone

Galaxy Unpacked: More AI for S25 and a Peek at AR Glasses

Samsung’s new Galaxy S25 line — the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25 — will more tightly integrate AI, including AI agents, becoming “true AI companions” at a level previously unknown to mobile devices. That leap is credited largely to a “first-of-its-kind” Snapdragon 8 Elite customization for the Galaxy chipset that “delivers greater on-device processing power for Galaxy AI and superior camera range and control with Galaxy’s next-gen ProVisual Engine,” according to Samsung. In addition, the top-of-the-line Galaxy S25 Ultra has been redesigned with a slightly larger 6.9-inch screen and rounded bevel. Continue reading Galaxy Unpacked: More AI for S25 and a Peek at AR Glasses

CES: Google TV Integrates Gemini AI for a Conversational Feel

Google TV is incorporating Gemini AI to make it easier to converse with a voice assistant as well as generating helpful onscreen information. These new Google TV devices will also feature an upgraded, Gemini-powered voice experience capable of handling more complex voice commands. “You and your family will be able to gather together and have a natural conversation with your TV,” Google announced at CES 2025, where it shared a preview of the new capabilities. The Gemini model also lets Google TV users create customized artwork, control smart home devices and get an overview of the day’s news. Continue reading CES: Google TV Integrates Gemini AI for a Conversational Feel

Google Releases Gemini 2.0 in Shift Toward Agentic Era of AI

Google has introduced Gemini 2.0, the latest version of its multimodal AI model, signaling a shift toward what the company is calling “the agentic era.” The upgraded model promises not only to outperform previous iterations on standard benchmarks but also introduces more proactive, or agentic, functions. The company announced that “Project Astra,” its experimental assistant, would receive updates that allow it to use Google Search, Lens, and Maps, and that “Project Mariner,” a Chrome extension, would enable Gemini 2.0 to navigate a user’s web browser to complete tasks autonomously. Continue reading Google Releases Gemini 2.0 in Shift Toward Agentic Era of AI

Android XR Powered by Gemini OS for Samsung’s 2025 Headset

Google has unveiled Android XR, an operating system for computers and smart glasses powered by Google’s Gemini AI large language model. Samsung confirmed that it will release an extended reality headset that runs on Android XR sometime in 2025. Samsung worked closely with Google and Gemini throughout 2023, leading up to the Galaxy S24 series of smartphones that debuted at CES 2024 last January. Google announced the release of the Android XR SDK Developer Preview kit so new apps can be built and existing ones ported over to the new platform to support Samsung’s new headset and other devices. Continue reading Android XR Powered by Gemini OS for Samsung’s 2025 Headset

YouTube Expands Access to Improved AI-Powered Dubbing

Hundreds of thousands more YouTube channels are gaining access to its AI-powered auto-dubbing feature, which generates audio translation tracks for YouTube videos, helping to make the platform’s content more accessible to viewers around the world. The expanded rollout targets informational channels in the Partner Program, such as tutorials on cooking, sewing, tourism and home improvement. Availability “will expand to other types of content soon,” according to video streamer, which began testing the feature with select creators last year. Based on technology developed by Aloud, YouTube’s auto-dubbing emerged from the Area 120 internal incubator program. Continue reading YouTube Expands Access to Improved AI-Powered Dubbing

The Browser Company is Building Dia, an AI-First Web Browser

“AI won’t exist as an app, or a button… it’ll be an entirely new environment built on top of a web browser.” That is the pitch from The Browser Company, the New York-based firm behind the Arc browser that is now developing an AI-first web interface called Dia, expected to debut early next year. Dia aims to leverage AI tools to simplify common Internet tasks. The repertoire is now a familiar one, with things like writing assists and inspirational prompts becoming AI givens in a competitive field where Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini are already established. The Browser Company is trying to distinguish Dia with a simple, user-friendly interface. Continue reading The Browser Company is Building Dia, an AI-First Web Browser

Google Offers Spotify Extension for Gemini Mobile Ecosystem

Google has added a Gemini extension that lets users link their Spotify accounts and leverage the AI for music search and discovery. Currently only for Android in English, the app accepts spoken and text prompts to select music by song, album, artist or playlist using “Play & Search.” Only Spotify Premium subscribers will be able to request and play specific tunes on demand. And while users will be able to use Gemini to activate existing playlists or pipe music themed to an activity or mood (like workouts or romantic meals), it cannot create a Spotify playlist or radio. Continue reading Google Offers Spotify Extension for Gemini Mobile Ecosystem

Google Offers New AI-Powered Vids App to Workspace Users

Google announced it is rolling out its Gemini AI-powered video presentation app that enables users to easily create video presentations. Vids is a productivity app featured in the company’s suite of Google Workspace products. The new app uses AI model Gemini to automatically insert royalty-free stock video footage, create storyboards and scripts, and generate music and voiceovers. It allows users to add documents, slides, visuals, audio and transitions to the presentation’s timeline. “Personalize your content with Vids recording studio to deliver employee training, share company-wide announcements, meeting updates, and more,” suggests Google. Continue reading Google Offers New AI-Powered Vids App to Workspace Users

AI Search Wars Heat Up as OpenAI and Google Add Features

The AI search wars are officially on, with Google giving Gemini access to its online answer engine just hours before OpenAI launched ChatGPT Search. Google is primarily targeting developers with its new feature, “Grounding with Google Search,” though the Alphabet company used the occasion to also tout its new search return template, AI Overviews. Launched last week, ChatGPT Search offers responses in real time using a conversational format. Initially, it is available only to ChatGPT Plus and Teams subscribers as well as those on the SearchGPT waitlist as part of ChatGPT’s existing interface. Continue reading AI Search Wars Heat Up as OpenAI and Google Add Features

Google Shopping Redesigned with Gemini Feed, Infinite Scroll

Just in time for the holiday season, Google Shopping is launching an AI-powered personalized feed that recommends items customers might like. The redesign is coming to desktop and mobile devices in the U.S. in the coming weeks. Suggested items are based on search and YouTube histories as well as AI inference. Shoppers will get “an AI-generated brief with top things to consider” in finding the right item, plus a curated feed of products. For now, the brief will be labeled “experimental,” and Google is encouraging feedback for the times AI doesn’t get it 100 percent right. Continue reading Google Shopping Redesigned with Gemini Feed, Infinite Scroll

Snapchat: My AI Goes Multimodal with Google Cloud, Gemini

Snap Inc. is leveraging its relationship with Google Cloud to use Gemini for powering generative AI experiences within Snapchat’s My AI chatbot. The multimodal capabilities of Gemini on Vertex AI will greatly increase the My AI chatbot’s ability to understand and operate across different types of information such as text, audio, image, video and code. Snapchatters can use My AI to take advantage of Google Lens-like features, including asking the chatbot “to translate a photo of a street sign while traveling abroad, or take a video of different snack offerings to ask which one is the healthiest option.” Continue reading Snapchat: My AI Goes Multimodal with Google Cloud, Gemini