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’s Playables, a no-download app for light games, is testing a multiplayer feature for select titles. The Playables multiplayer lets users play games in real time with others on the platform. The test kicks off with two games available on both desktop and mobile, “Ludo Club” and “Magic Tiles 3.” YouTube launched Playables to all users in May with more than 75 titles and announced this week that it plans to introduce more features and content in the future. Gaming is a “sizable” viewing market for YouTube, according to Statista, which says its most-subscribed game channels each average about 47 million monthly subscribers. Continue reading YouTube Playables Experiments with Live Multiplayer Gaming

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

Nielsen is now offering a cross-media U.S. ad performance view that takes into account advertising on controversial social platform TikTok. As a result of the integration advertisers and agencies will, for the first time, be able to compare ad performance on TikTok across all screens, including digital, CTV, and linear. The analytics will be parsed via Nielsen ONE, a cross-media platform that debuted in alpha in May 2023 at which time it was scheduled for broad release in late 2024. Nielsen says the TikTok integration will provide “independent and verified reporting of demographic data” for campaign measurement via Nielsen ONE. Continue reading TikTok Pacts with Nielsen to Measure Cross-Media Advertising

Last week, a federal appeals court upheld a law that would force the sale of popular social platform TikTok in order for it to remain operational in the United States. Beijing-based parent company ByteDance is vowing to fight on with a petition for a hearing by the U.S. Supreme Court. The law, passed in April, invokes existing federal code that prohibits access to sensitive material by adversarial foreign nations of which China (along with Russia, Iran and North Korea) is one. Barring further court action, ByteDance will have to sell TikTok by January 19 or face bans at app stores. Continue reading TikTok Aims to Resist Divestment, Remain Operational in U.S.

YouTube’s Global Culture & Trends Report for 2024 is out, providing a snapshot of the year’s trending topics, top songs and leading creators from across the globe. The Paris Olympic Games appeared on 10 of 12 countries’ trending topics lists, “emphatically illustrating that non-digital-native franchises can thrive in a digital culture,” YouTube says. “Deadpool & Wolverine” is another such example. Also hot in 2024, “digital franchises” — independent creator content driven to success by online communities. Examples include Roblox’s viral “Dress to Impress” fashion game and the animated series “The Amazing Digital Circus.” Continue reading YouTube Releases Global Trends, Personalized Music Recaps

YouTube has come up with a new way for creators to earn. During vertical live streams, viewers can now gift hosts with “Jewels,” a form of digital currency available for purchase. The gifts appear onscreen as animations during vertical live streams, but are a cash equivalent for creators. The initial denomination, “Rubies,” equal one cent per stone, or about $1 per 100 Rubies. The new feature is rolling out to eligible creators in the U.S. who are currently enrolled in the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) and have accepted the Virtual Items Module in YouTube Studio. Continue reading YouTube Introduces Jewels, a New Way for Creators to Earn

YouTube has added a new feature to its Dream Track toolset, which lets select U.S. creators use AI to generate songs using the vocals of artists including John Legend, Demi Lovato, Charli XCX, Charlie Puth and others. Now users can remix Dream Track songs using natural language to describe the changes they would like, stylistic and otherwise. Selecting the “restyle a track” option will steer users to creating a 30-second generative snippet for use in YouTube Shorts. The remixed snippets will credit the original song with “clear attribution” through the Short itself and the Shorts audio pivot page. It will also clearly indicate that the track was restyled with AI, according to Google. Continue reading YouTube Dream Track Toolset Introduces an AI Remix Feature

Panjaya is a AI startup that aims to disrupt the world of video dubbing with a way to generate “hyperrealistic” recreations of a person’s voice speaking a new language. The system also automatically modifies the imagery to match lip and other physical movements to match the new speech patterns. Called BodyTalk, the technique is the launch point for Panjaya as it emerges from the stealth in which it conducted its R&D the past three years, backed by $9.5 million from venture funds and angel backers. The startup describes BodyTalk as “AI dubbing that looks and feels as natural as the original.” Continue reading BodyTalk Dubs into 29 Languages with Facial Moves to Match

Following the phasing out of legacy pricing for YouTube Premium subscribers that began in January in the U.S., the Google-owned streaming service is now doing the same in Europe and elsewhere. Long-time subscribers with pricing plans dating back to discontinued services Google Play Music and YouTube Red will begin paying the equivalent of the current $13.99 per month price starting in January 2025. The price increase encompasses both YouTube Premium, which is ad-free and includes YouTube Music, as well as YouTube’s standalone plans. Concurrently, the streaming giant is also rolling out a controls redesign for iOS and Android. Continue reading YouTube Raises Its Premium Subscription Rates Internationally

Alphabet’s revenue increased by 15 percent during the latest quarter, topping $88.3 billion. Powered by advertising and cloud services, profits surged 34 percent to $26.3 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $22.9 billion. The company experienced continued growth in the online marketplace with popular consumer services such as Google Search and YouTube while also expanding in B2B with cloud offerings. All this as the government explores dismantling its business while competitors such as TikTok and Amazon come after its market share. Advertising growth slowed in Q3, yet still notched a healthy year-over-year increase of 10.4 percent. Continue reading Alphabet Profits Climb 34 Percent, Powered by Cloud and Ads

Consumers continue to let their affinity for FAST and AVOD television services be known. In the latest example, Samsung TV Plus has already attracted 88 million monthly active users worldwide. With growth springing largely from viewers in the 18-49 demographic, the service has become the most-used U.S. app on Samsung TVs. The metrics put it on par with other top competitors in the free ad-supported TV space: Roku, Tubi and Pluto TV. As it becomes a global content force, Samsung TV Plus continues to expand its global presence with recent launches in Singapore and the Philippines, with Thailand soon to come. Continue reading FAST: Samsung TV Plus Touts 88 Million Monthly Active Users

Actors Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield are guests this week on digital-first series “Celebrity Substitute,” debuting with host Julian Shapiro-Barnum. The 25-year-old comedian is best known for his work on the viral online series “Recess Therapy,” in which he interviews young children playing in New York City for Instagram and YouTube videos. The new series, designed for mobile platforms, features celebs serving as substitute teachers in 5- to 8-minute episodes released on YouTube, with clips also shared via TikTok and Instagram. Amazon serves as a sponsored partner of the series as part of the tech giant’s push into branded entertainment. Continue reading Branded Content Series Challenges Celebs to Teach Classes

YouTube has added new features to its apps for mobile, Web and TV, including expanded controls for playback speeds, badges, a miniplayer redesign, and the ability to create collaborative playlists. The company is also debuting an authenticity tool. By affixing a “captured with a camera” label, creators can indicate their work is shot with an actual camera, with unaltered visual and audio. Among the general platform improvements that YouTube implements annually, users can now share playlists via link or QR code, and create custom thumbnails for those lists, either by uploading an image or generating one with AI. Continue reading YouTube Expands Features and Adds an Authentication Tool

Reddit is expanding its keyword targeting advertising program, introducing it in more places and adding AI-powered recommendations to help ads appear in the most relevant environments across the platform. Keyword targeting is now available for feed ads in addition to conversations, which were previously the only placement available. Reddit is also launching an AI feature called dynamic audience expansion that works with keyword targeting to place ads before a wider range of viewers based on the objectives of the campaign. Since going public on the NYSE in March, Reddit has been under pressure to increase ad revenue. Continue reading Reddit Drives Precision in Conversation Keyword Ads Using AI