Meta is rolling out personalization updates to its Meta AI personal assistant. At the end of last year, the company introduced a feature that lets Meta AI remember what you’ve shared with it in one-on-one chats on WhatsApp and Messenger so it could produce more relevant responses. That feature will now be available to Meta AI on Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp for iOS and Android in the U.S. and Canada. “Meta AI will only remember certain things you tell it in 1:1 conversations (not group chats), and you can delete its memories at any time,” explains the company. Continue reading Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Get Meta AI Memory Boost

Google is serious about making Android the operating system of choice for smart glasses and XR eyewear. In an IP play, the Alphabet company is purchasing aspects of HTC Vive for $250 million in cash. Since debuting in 2016, Vive has earned the respect of competitors and an enthusiastic consumer fan base. While it hasn’t grabbed headlines with the same velocity as major players such as the Meta Quest or Apple Vision Pro, HTC is still pushing its Vive line of virtual and mixed reality headsets, accessories and games, and may be destined for a second act. Google gains HTC’s XR expertise at a propitious time. Continue reading Google Makes $250M Deal to ‘Accelerate’ XR Using HTC Vive

Meta has begun testing ads on Threads in the U.S. and Japan with a select group of invited brands. The initial image ads will be slotted between pieces of content in the Threads home feed and will be visible to only a small percentage of users. Drawing from Meta’s existing ads systems framework, “the familiar visual feed format will enable advertisers to easily extend existing image ads to Threads with the check of a box,” according to Meta. Emulating Google, the company will provide users with controls to skip or hide ads. Threads advertisers will be afforded control using the Inventory Filter tool Meta has implemented for Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels. Continue reading Threads Testing Ads with Select Advertisers in U.S. and Japan

Just weeks after Nvidia announced the availability of its $249 “compact AI supercomputer,” the Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit for startups and hobbyists, CEO Jensen Huang revealed the company is planning to launch a personal AI supercomputer called Project Digits with a starting price of $3,000. The desktop-sized system features the GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, which enables it to handle AI models with up to 200 billion parameters. Nvidia claims there is enough processing power to run high-end AI models (performing up to one quadrillion AI calculations per second) while the compact system can run from a standard power outlet. Continue reading CES: Nvidia Will Launch a $3,000 Personal AI Supercomputer

Nvidia is hoping interest in artificial intelligence will translate to consumer sales of a relatively low-priced computer optimized for basic AI functionality. Last month, the company upgraded its Jetson line with a $249 “compact AI supercomputer,” the Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit. At half the price of the original, the model aims to attract students, developers, hobbyists, small- and medium-sized businesses, and anyone who is AI curious. “As the AI world is moving from task-specific models into foundation models, it provides an accessible platform to transform ideas into reality,” according to Nvidia. Continue reading Nvidia Targets Consumers with $249 Compact Supercomputer

TCL announced three different smart glasses at CES 2025, led by the flagship RayNeo X3 Pro. Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chipset, its lenses feature full-color micro LED screens. The specs also boast a dual-camera setup — one for picture-taking and augmented reality vision and the other to assist with things like room- and hand-tracking. The midrange RayNeo V3 doesn’t have integrated lens screens, but comes with a 12MP Sony IMX681 sensor, on-device speakers and a trio of microphones. Rounding out the bunch, the RayNeo Air 3 AR smart glasses need to connect to a compatible USB-C device to create a 201-inch virtual screen floating screen. Continue reading CES: TCL Introduces Three Models of RayNeo Smart Glasses

Social platforms Bluesky and X are rolling out new features timed to take advantage over confusion as to the fate of TikTok. Positioning their video feeds with dedicated tabs and optimization for vertical display are among the updates. Meanwhile, Instagram has debuted an editing feature that rivals CapCut, the popular program owned by TikTok parent ByteDance. Bluesky’s newly customizable video feeds let users swipe up or down and also allow curation using hashtags like #BookSky, a challenge to BookTok. A timeline of trending videos prominently placed under its search tab is another Bluesky addition. Continue reading Amidst TikTok Uncertainty, X and Bluesky Add New Features

Play For Dream Technology made a splash at CES 2025 with a new mixed reality headset inspired by the Apple Vision Pro, which the startup described as “the world’s first Android-based spatial computer.” Play For Dream MR has been applauded by some analysts for its user interface, eye tracking, media capture and overall performance. The company, which announced a new strategic partnership with Tobii, is targeting consumers and B2B applications with “customized solutions tailored to meet the diverse needs of various industries,” such as media, entertainment, gaming, medical, healthcare, education, research, automotive and aviation. Continue reading CES: Play For Dream Touts ‘World’s First’ Android MR Headset

The Canon Americas Lab exhibit at CES this year featured a demonstration of Canon USA’s Volumetric X Motion Capture system that creates videos viewable from any camera angle. The multi-camera system leverages 2D data, 3D volumetric data, and analytical tools for sports and entertainment applications. The basis of the system is the same as the Free Viewpoint video system — Canon’s CES 2023 headliner — which was used in an NBA pilot for Cleveland Cavaliers’ alternative game stream. We checked in with the project’s researchers for updates, including ESPN highlights on Meta’s Xtadium VR app, a new U.S. volumetric studio, and how AI was used in this technology. Continue reading CES: Canon Updates Its Volumetric X Motion Capture System

Nvidia Cosmos, a platform of generative world foundation models (WFMs) and related tools to advance the development of physical AI systems like autonomous vehicles and robots, was introduced at CES 2025. Cosmos WFMs are designed to provide developers a way to generate massive amounts of photo-real, physics-based synthetic data to train and evaluate their existing models. The goal is to reduce costs by streamlining real-world testing with a ready data pipeline. Developers can also build custom models by fine-tuning Cosmos WFMs. Cosmos integrates Nvidia Omniverse, a physics simulation tool used for entertainment world-building. Continue reading CES: Nvidia’s Cosmos Models Teach AI About Physical World

Lenovo’s “rollable” screen laptop packed a strong wow factor at CES 2025 in Las Vegas last week. In resting mode, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 looks like a conventional 14-inch laptop. But press a button (or wave a hand) and the flexible OLED screen extends upward to 16.7 inches, approximating portrait mode. That’s nearly 50 percent more useable display space, and Lenovo has equipped it for more than framing vertically scrollable video. It can be divided into two desktops — one for remote screensharing and one private. The extra space can also be used to display widgets. Continue reading CES: Lenovo ThinkBook’s Rolling Screen Opens to 16.7 Inches

Long billed as a manifestation of augmented reality (AR), the field of smart glasses has seen a wide range of products emerging on the market over the years. Notable products include the Ray-Ban Meta collection (a collaboration with Meta Platforms), Microsoft’s Hololens, and Vuzix’s entire product line. A survey at CES this year indicated the market of head-worn wearable computers is by no means a mature market. Our team found a few companies demonstrating their latest offerings. The principals of these companies believe their innovations differentiate from the current field with their own paths for solving specific use cases. Continue reading CES: Companies Present AR Use Cases for New Smart Glasses

During CES 2025 in Las Vegas this week, Meta Vice President and Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun had a compelling conversation with Wing Venture Capital Head of Research Rajeev Chand on the latest hot button topics in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence. Some of the conclusions were that AI agents will become ubiquitous — but not for 10 to 15 years, human intelligence means different things to different AI experts, and nuclear power remains the best and safest source for powering AI. And, for those looking for more of LeCun’s tweets, he said he no longer posts on X. Continue reading CES: AI Pioneer Yann LeCun on AI Agents, Human Intelligence

At CES on Monday, Comcast unveiled Universal Ads, an advertising platform aimed at being an “easy button” for small- and medium-sized businesses to buy ad time on traditional TV’s streaming businesses, with the goal of luring them away from social media and digital outlets. In addition to Comcast’s own NBCUniversal, additional partners include DirecTV, Fox Corporation, Paramount, Roku, TelevisaUnivision and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNBC Senior Media & Tech Correspondent Julia Boorstin moderated a panel with Comcast and some major partners who explained why they signed on to the new platform. Continue reading CES: Comcast Debuts Universal Ads, Inks Media Partnerships

Meta is changing its content moderation policies, eliminating third-party fact checking in lieu of a “community notes” model that will be phased in over the coming months, starting in the U.S. The changes were outlined by Joel Kaplan, the company’s new chief global affairs officer, who was promoted following the recent resignation of Nick Clegg, who managed Meta’s public image since 2018 and set up its oversight board. Kaplan says the policy shift “will allow more speech by lifting restrictions on some topics that are part of mainstream discourse and focusing our enforcement on illegal and high-severity violations.” Continue reading Meta Platforms Replaces Fact Checking with Community Notes