All posts tagged: Google

Samsung’s One UI 8 beta arrives on Galaxy S25 phones

Samsung’s One UI 8 beta arrives on Galaxy S25 phones

Published by Webster

[ad_1] Samsung has launched its beta test of One UI 8, the company’s customized take on Android 16. The beta is available now on the Galaxy S25, Plus, and Ultra — though strangely not the new S25 Edge — for users in the US, UK, Germany, and South Korea. Unsurprisingly, Samsung is emphasizing the OS update’s AI features, which purportedly include improved multimodal capabilities and more personalization. Despite that, the company’s announcement and update changelog are light on specific details of AI upgrades beyond speed improvements that make AI Select immediate to use, eliminating the previous start-up delay. One UI 8 has also been “optimized for the unique form factors across the Galaxy product portfolio,” echoing Google’s emphasis on Android 16 improving performance and user experience on tablets and foldables. One such change is a new split-screen option to move one app partially off the screen to the edge while you focus on another, which sounds similar to the multitasking tools on the OnePlus Open. Other changes include updates to the layout of Samsung’s Reminder …

OnePlus’ new ‘small’ phone isn’t coming to the US, but its AI tools are

OnePlus’ new ‘small’ phone isn’t coming to the US, but its AI tools are

Published by Webster

[ad_1] While the latest phone in the OnePlus 13 lineup is exclusive to India, the AI features that it comes with will be making their way to US users. The most notable is Plus Mind, which allows users to easily save information to a dedicated “Mind Space” instead of manually logging important dates or appointments. Schedules, reservations, event information, and other data can be extracted from images or text and then automatically added to a user’s calendar, and then it can be quickly retrieved later using OnePlus’ AI search feature. OnePlus says a new Plus Mind feature will be rolling out “later this year,” which will automatically categorize saved information to help improve organization. Plus Mind will initially be available on the compact OnePlus 13S that’s launching in India on June 5th, a variant of the 13T that was recently released in China. Both phones, which are unavailable in the US and Europe, have the new customizable Plus Key button, which replaces OnePlus’ signature Alert Slider. Like the Alert Slider, Plus Key can be used …

Google’s Sergey Brin Made Surprise Appearance at Google I/O 2025, Reveals Reason Behind His Return

Google’s Sergey Brin Made Surprise Appearance at Google I/O 2025, Reveals Reason Behind His Return

Published by Webster

[ad_1] Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin made a surprise appearance at the Google I/O 2025 recently. On day one of the developer conference, a fireside chat with DeepMind’s CEO, Demis Hassabis, was scheduled. However, when the session started, he was joined by Brin. Throughout the session, both spoke about artificial intelligence (AI), the new Gemini tools, capabilities of the company’s new models, and the roadmap to artificial general intelligence (AGI). The Google Co-Founder also revealed the reason behind his coming back from retirement. Sergey Brin and Demis Hassabis on AGI The fireside chat between Brin, Hassabis, and Big Technology’s founder, Alex Kantrowitz (moderator), was live-streamed on YouTube on May 21. One of the biggest talking points of the conversation was AGI and how Google looks at the technology. Hassabis explained that for him, AGI is a theoretical construct about what the human brain, as an architecture, can do. The point is, humans, with the same brain architecture, can do a wide range of tasks. These include creativity, rational thinking, scientific exploration, and most importantly, true innovation. …

Google and TSMC Strike Long-Term Deal to Manufacture Tensor Chips for Pixel Phones: Report

Google and TSMC Strike Long-Term Deal to Manufacture Tensor Chips for Pixel Phones: Report

Published by Webster

[ad_1] Google is expected to unveil its Pixel 10 series later this year with its next-generation SoC — Tensor G5. The new chipset is said to be being developed in partnership with TSMC. As we wait for the arrival of new generation Pixel phones with the new custom-built chip, a report coming out of China suggests that Google will continue its partnership with TSMC for a couple of years. It is said to use the TSMC chipset until at least through the Pixel 14 series in 2029. Google’s Partnership With TSMC to Continue for the Next 3–5 Years As per a report by Digitimes, Google is strengthening its partnership with Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. The report indicates that Google executives visited TSMC in Taiwan to discuss long-term collaboration, suggesting a multi-year partnership that could extend to future Pixel models, including the Pixel 14 series, which is believed to arrive in 2029.  “The cooperation between the two parties will last for many years, at least until the stage of the new Pixel 14, which is about three to …

Google Expands Veo 3 Video Generation Model to 71 Countries, Details Availability

Google Expands Veo 3 Video Generation Model to 71 Countries, Details Availability

Published by Webster

[ad_1] Google expanded access to its Veo 3 video generation model over the weekend. On Saturday, the Mountain View-based tech giant announced that the artificial intelligence (AI) model is being rolled out to 71 new countries (in addition to the early testers) across the Gemini app and the web version. Currently, the AI video generator is only available to the paid subscribers of Gemini. Notably, Veo 3 was released at Google I/O 2025 last week and comes with multiple new upgrades and native audio generation capability. Veo 3 Is Now Available in 71 Countries In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Josh Woodward, Vice President at Google Labs and Gemini, announced the expansion of the Veo 3 AI model to 71 new countries. Notably, the first rollout skips the European Union nations, the UK, as well as India. Answering a commentator’s query on when users can expect Veo 3 to arrive in India, Woodward said, “Working to enable India as fast as we can!” Some of the countries that are getting access to …

Trying out Gemini in Chrome leaves me wanting more

Trying out Gemini in Chrome leaves me wanting more

Published by Webster

[ad_1] I spent my morning with Gemini in Chrome, the new integration that puts the AI-powered assistant right in your browser. Instead of going to the chatbot’s web app, you can click the new Gemini button in Chrome’s top-right corner to start a conversation — but the key difference is that the browser’s built-in assistant can “see” what’s on your screen while you navigate the web. To me, Gemini’s integration in Chrome seems like just the start of Google’s mission to make its AI more “agentic,” as I found myself wanting it to do more than it actually could. For now, you can only try out the early access version of Gemini in Chrome if you’re an AI Pro or AI Ultra subscriber, and use either the Beta, Dev, or Canary version of Chrome. I started out by using Gemini to summarize some of the articles on The Verge, as well as even find some gaming-related news on the homepage, where it pointed out the new Game Boy games Nintendo added to its Switch Online …

Android Auto will get Spotify Jam and support for video apps and web browsers

Android Auto will get Spotify Jam and support for video apps and web browsers

Published by Webster

[ad_1] Android Auto is getting more than just Google’s Gemini assistant after the Google I/O developer conference. The company has also announced or otherwise shown off a slew of changes coming to the infotainment operating system, including an updated Spotify app, a light mode, and the introduction of web browsers and video apps. Let’s start with Spotify. Google revealed in a video last week that the Spotify app for Android Auto is getting an overhaul through new media app templates the company is making available to developers. One feature the music service is adding to Android Auto is Spotify Jam, a feature that lets users share control of an audio source from their individual devices. In cars with Android Auto, that means anyone with Spotify will jump in by tapping a new “Jam” icon on the car’s touchscreen, then scanning a QR code to start adding upcoming songs to the playlist. Being a Spotify feature, it’s much more inclusive than Apple Music’s similar SharePlay feature, which requires everyone to have an Apple device to participate. …

Google’s Veo 3 AI video generator is a slop monger’s dream

Google’s Veo 3 AI video generator is a slop monger’s dream

Published by Webster

[ad_1] Even at first glance, there’s something off about the body on the street. The white sheet it’s under is a little too clean, and the officers’ movements are totally devoid of purpose. “We need to clear the street,” one of them says with a firm hand gesture, though her lips don’t move. It’s AI, alright. But here’s the kicker: my prompt didn’t include any dialogue. Veo 3, Google’s new AI video generation model, added that line all on its own. Over the past 24 hours I’ve created a dozen clips depicting news reports, disasters, and goofy cartoon cats with convincing audio — some of which the model invented all on its own. It’s more than a little creepy and way more sophisticated than I had imagined. And while I don’t think it’s going to propel us to a misinformation doomsday just yet, Veo 3 strikes me as an absolute AI slop machine. Google introduced Veo 3 at I/O this week, highlighting its most important new capability: generating sound to go with your AI video. …

I/O versus io: Google and OpenAI can’t stop messing with each other

I/O versus io: Google and OpenAI can’t stop messing with each other

Published by Webster

[ad_1] The leaders of OpenAI and Google have been living rent-free in each other’s heads since ChatGPT caught the world by storm. Heading into this week’s I/O, Googlers were on edge about whether Sam Altman would try to upstage their show like last year, when OpenAI held an event the day before to showcase ChatGPT’s advanced voice mode. This time, OpenAI dropped its bombshell the day after. OpenAI buying the “io” hardware division of Jony Ive’s design studio, LoveFrom, is a delightfully petty bit of SEO sabotage, though I’m told the name stands for “input output” and was decided a while ago. Even still, the news of Ive and Altman teaming up quickly shifted the conversation away from what was a strong showing from Google at this year’s I/O. The dueling announcements say a lot about what are arguably the world’s two foremost AI companies: Google’s models may be technically superior and more widely deployed, but OpenAI is kicking everyone’s ass at capturing mindshare and buzz. Speaking of buzz, it’s worth looking past the headlines …

Google I/O revealed more updates for Wallet, Wear OS, Google Play, and more

Google I/O revealed more updates for Wallet, Wear OS, Google Play, and more

Published by Webster

[ad_1] The Google I/O keynote may have been all about AI, but there were a handful of other meaningful updates that didn’t make it to the main stage. In addition to updates coming to Google Wallet, the company’s developer sessions also revealed handy features that will roll out to smartwatches, the Google Play Store, and Google TV. Here are some of the updates Google didn’t highlight during the keynote. Live Updates are coming to your smartwatch Google is preparing to bring Live Updates — a feature that lets users track the status of certain activities in delivery, rideshare, and navigation apps — to your smartwatch. We already knew about Google’s plans to bring it to smartphones with Android 16, but in a developer session spotted by Android Authority, Google’s Aaron Labiaga confirmed that it will also work on wearables “later in 2026.” Apple already has a similar feature, called Live Activities, that displays at-a-glance status information on watchOS devices. Google Wallet can take out your boarding pass when you get to the airport Nearby Passes …