In India, Bollywood stars are asking judges to protect their voice and persona in the era of AI. From a report: One famous couple’s biggest target is Google’s YouTube. Abhishek Bachchan and his wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, known for her iconic Cannes Film Festival red carpet appearances, have asked a judge to remove and prohibit creation of AI videos infringing their intellectual property rights. But in a more far-reaching request, they also want Google ordered to have safeguards to ensure such YouTube videos uploaded anyway do not train other AI platforms, legal papers reviewed by Reuters show.
A handful of Bollywood celebrities have begun asserting their “personality rights” in Indian courts over the last few years, as the country has no explicit protection for those like in many U.S. states. But the Bachchans’ lawsuits are the most high-profile to date about the interplay of personality rights and the risk that misleading or deepfake YouTube videos could train other AI models. The actors argue that YouTube’s content and third-party training policy is concerning as it lets users consent to sharing of a video they created to train rival AI models, risking further proliferation of misleading content online, according to near-identical filings from Abhishek and Aishwarya dated September 6, which are not public.
Back in the day, The Jetsons set up expectations of one day owning flying cars for quick and easy travel, and robot maids to make housework a thing of the past. Fast forward to 2025 and we still don’t have flying cars or robot maids, but we do have robot vacuums, including models that tap into AI to intelligently sweep your living space. Ahead
Bumps, scrapes, and scratches are an inevitability of bike ownership. Rather than mourn them, inspired by the Japanese practice of kintsugi, Velo Orange suggests they should be celebrated as a mark of a bike’s past through its newly distributed product, Goldfinger.
Goldfinger is a metallic paint-like compound originally manufactured for the art world by UK-based company Daler-Rowney. It’s designed to fill scrapes and scratches with a gold or silver finish, highlighting rather than concealing them.
The process is similar to kintsugi – or ‘golden joinery’ – the Japanese craft of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum. It’s celebrated as a craft that highlights wear, rather than hiding it.
Velo Orange co-owner Igor Shteynbuk explains the idea came through a friend of the brand, Shane Sellers – a ceramics professor and fellow dedicated bike nerd.
Sellers is also an ambassador for the Philly Bike Expo and previously collaborated with Velo Orange on the amazing Yakimono Neutrino project.
Sellers uses Goldfinger in his restoration work, applying it to everything from lamps and picture frames to bike frames.
Shteynbuk says Goldfinger’s consistency is like “toothpaste mixed with grout”. Once applied, it cures and sets quickly, and in his experience, it stands up to the rigours of daily cycling: “I’ve had it on my bike for the whole season, through rain and everything, and I haven’t noticed any washing off.”
The product can be applied by hand. Velo Orange
Even if it does fade eventually, reapplying takes “30 seconds” and keeps the finish looking fresh.
Shteynbuk says the Goldfinger reframes wear and tear on a bike: “Every scratch tells a story… embrace that history instead of hiding it.”
I’m all for this. While bikes, including paint and broken frames, are far more repairable than many realise, refinishing a whole bike is a specialist process.
The Fedora
Council began a process to create a policy on AI-assisted
contributions in 2024, starting with a survey to ask the community
its opinions about AI and using AI technologies in Fedora. On
September 25, Jason Brooks published
a draft policy for discussion; so far, in keeping with the spirit of
compromise, it has something to make everyone unhappy. For some it is
too AI-friendly, while others have complained that it holds Fedora
back from experimenting with AI tooling.
The mass adoption of ChatGPT is yet to have a big disruptive impact on US jobs, contradicting claims by chief executives and tech bosses that AI is already upending labour markets. Financial Times: Research from economists at the Yale University Budget Lab and the Brookings Institution think-tank indicates that, since OpenAI launched its popular chatbot in November 2022, generative AI has not had a more dramatic effect on employment than earlier technological breakthroughs.
The research, based on an analysis of official data on the labour market and figures from the tech industry on usage and exposure to AI, also finds little evidence that the tools are putting people out of work. The study follows widespread concern that generative AI will spark job losses — and even the disappearance of certain types of work — amid a US labour market that has recently weakened.
Like anybody, I have a few controversial gaming opinions and tastes. One of the most controversial is that Fallout 76 —the multiplayer take on Bethesda’s rethink of a beloved ’90s open-world computer roleplaying game—has been my favorite online multiplayer game since its launch.
As much as I like the game, though, I’ve been surprised that it has actually grown over the past seven years. I’m not saying it’s seen a full, No Man’s Sky-like redemption story, though. It’s still not for everyone, and in some ways, it has fallen behind the times since 2018.
Nevertheless, the success of the streaming TV show based on the game franchise has attracted new players and given the developers a chance to seize the moment and attempt to complete a partial redemption story. To help make that happen, the game’s developers will soon release an expansion fully capitalizing on that TV series for the first time, and I got to spend a few hours playing that update to see if it’s any fun.
It’s not every day I get to try out an entirely new type of tech product. Telescope company Unistellar recently gave me the chance to do just that with Envision, the first smart binoculars that can identify mountains and stars. The only things like it on the market are Swarovski’s smart binoculars, but those are triple the price and strictly for birds and wildlife.
At an event near Marseilles, I tried an Envision prototype with the design and most of the functionality of the final product (like several other Unistellar products, the company marketed it on Kickstarter and raised $2.7 million). Some features were a bit rough and it took practice to use the binoculars smoothly. But it’s an interesting amalgam of analog and digital tech that’s bound to be a hit with astronomers and travelers.
The Envision initially came out of a conversation between Unistellar engineers wondering why there were no binoculars with an AR-like digital overlay. They soon found out: It was a huge engineering challenge. Combining all the data into an overlay and getting it to line up with the optical view was particularly vexing. Reducing latency was another problem, so that the digital display wouldn’t lag behind the optical view.
The company eventually came up with a solution it borrowed from AR tech. Envision combines premium lenses with an augmented reality projection system that beams contextual info into the optical path via a bright, high-contrast microdisplay. That overlay only appears in one eye, but your brain transforms it into a complete image.
The Envision binoculars take data from inertial sensors and a compass using custom software to “guarantee precise positioning and low-drift orientation” of the digital display. It then pulls in topographic and cartographic info from a large database and merges it onto an AR overlay based on your location and viewing direction. This information comes from your phone’s internet connection, but the binoculars can be used offline as well if you load specific regions in advance.
Steve Dent for Engadget
I tested a hand-built prototype that lacked the quality control that will happen in full manufacturing. However, the materials, optics and electronics were nearly complete. For daytime testing, I went to the Citadelle de Forcalcquier that offers a panoramic view of mountain ranges in the region. While it was a bit overcast and rainy, distant peaks up to 30 miles away were still visible.
Though a bit heavier than regular binoculars, the Envision was comfortable to hold and use over a period of an hour thanks to the rubberized coating and high-quality plastics. To use the Envision, you set them up as you would any pair of binoculars. They have a diopter adjustment for your specific vision and you can retract the eyecups for use with glasses. There’s a width adjustment to match your eyes and a focusing wheel to sharpen the view.
With all of that set, there’s a rocker control on the left side that enables the AR overlay, which consists of monochrome red graphics like an old-school arcade game. The previous/next buttons let you switch between targets, which you can then select by hitting the “validate” button.
The last button, “target lock,” does two things. Clicking it once does exactly that, locking onto the target. Then, if you pass the binoculars to someone else, they’ll be guided by arrows to the same object. And to correct any drift that inevitably occurs, you press and hold the target lock button and move the binoculars until both the overlay and optical view align. Lastly, release the button and everything is re-synced.
As regular binoculars, they gave me a clear view of distant objects. I switched on the AR and waited a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. When looking at a mountainous horizon, the Envisions overlaid a red outline matching the topography, with the names of peaks and ranges displayed at the bottom center of the screen, along with their elevations and distance from the viewer. It was a half-inch or so off the real-world view, so I used the target lock control to align them perfectly.
The latency wasn’t bad, but if I moved the binoculars too quickly it took a second or so for the overlay to catch up. After scanning across the horizon a few times, the overlay would drift out of sync again, so I needed to use the target lock to realign the views once more. Both the latency and misalignment should improve with the final production version, Unistellar told me.
For now, the Envision can only identify mountain peaks, valleys and ranges. In the production version and via future updates, however, it will identify things like water springs, shelters, hiking paths, rivers and lakes. A companion app will provide the updates, and the software also lets the user select points of interest, access the geographical database and receive guided tours. Sadly, none of those features were available in the prototype I used.
The next test was star spotting using Envision’s Night mode. Fortunately, I didn’t need to go far (the hotel pool) as the clouds covering the sky for most of the day serendipitously broke apart to give us a crystal-clear starscape.
For a stargazing experience, the Envisions were transformational. With the binocular optics set up as before, switching on the AR view instantly displays the names of individual stars, linked together in their constellations by lines. For example, it pointed out Lynx, a constellation that’s faint with the naked eye, along with its fourth brightest star Alsciaukat (31 Lyncis). The final version of the binoculars will also display nebulae, galaxies, planets, moons, comets, asteroids and even human-made points of interest like the International Space Station (ISS) and Apollo landing sites.
This could make the Envision an outstanding educational tool. You can lock onto a star, then give the binoculars to someone else and they can quickly locate the same body by following the arrows. They’ll also see whatever constellation it’s part of. It would only take a few nights of stargazing for someone to learn a lot about the night sky.
At the same time, it’s a great way for aspiring astronomers to survey interesting targets to study with a more powerful telescope. I did just that, using the Envision to home in on a star cluster. With the name clearly displayed, I punched it into Unistellar’s Odyssey Pro smart telescope and quickly saw it with a larger, clearer view. Conversely, you’ll be able to enter a star name into Unistellar’s app and be guided to it by Envision, in the final production version.
The Envision does have some issues. If you’re someone who already has trouble seeing through binoculars, these may not be for you. The AR display can be hard to read at times, and adjusting the brightness (especially for night viewing) can be a challenge. One missing feature is a built-in camera like the one on Swarovski’s binoculars. That was a bit disappointing, as you can’t easily share your experience on social media. The only way to do so is to snap images with your smartphone through the eyepiece. That effectively requires you to lock the binoculars onto a tripod which, well, defeats the purpose of binoculars.
With that being said, I think Unistellar’s first crack at smart binoculars was a success, even in their unfinished form. They add an informational element to a true optical view and finally bring binoculars, which have been around for hundreds of years, into the informational age.
Steve Dent for Engadget
Like any early product (I’m thinking of Pebble’s smartwatch), it’s bound to improve significantly in future versions. Yes, there are smartphone apps that can identify stars and geographical features. But there’s something about looking through a lens and seeing a true image that can’t be beat. And with Envision, you’ll finally know exactly what you’re seeing.
Unistellar is opening pre-orders for its Envision smart binoculars starting today at $999, a fairly steep discount from the final $1,499 retail price, with deliveries set for October 2026. That’s a long way off, but if you’re willing to wait, Unistellar has a perfect track record with its smart telescope deliveries. Retail availability is even farther away, set for 2027.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/unistellars-smart-binoculars-can-tell-you-which-mountain-youre-looking-at-140007104.html?src=rss
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Practicing a new language can be fun, but premium language apps can be expensive. Babbel makes it easier with practical, bite-sized lessons designed for real-life use, focusing on conversations you’d actually have—ordering food, chatting with the locals, asking for directions (read PCMag’s in-depth review of Babbel to learn more)—and right now, its lifetime subscription is on sale for a huge discount: A lifetime subscription to Babbel is on sale for $159 with promo code LEARN. The sale ends October 2. It’s a one-time payment—no recurring fees, no monthly charges—for lifetime access to all 14 languages (including French, German, Italian, and Spanish), making it cheaper than Babbel’s regular one-year plan at $300.
Babbel’s lessons take just 10 to 15 minutes, so you can squeeze your practice into a commute or coffee break. And, unlike other language-learning apps that rely on repetitive vocabulary drills or random gamified exercises, Babbel follows a structured, linguist-designed curriculum that progressively increases in difficulty, so you don’t plateau after the basics (earning itself a place in PCMag’s “The Best Language Learning Apps for 2025” roundup). Plus, it’s not just passive learning—you get writing, speaking, and listening exercises with speech recognition technology to fine-tune your pronunciation, creating a far more immersive experience.
Of course, dedication is still key, and no app will make you fluent, but if you’re willing to put in the effort, this Babbel lifetime subscription gives you the tools to succeed without the burden of ongoing costs.
Micron is taking its Crucial LPCAMM2 memory modules to new heights in terms of speed. Designed for thin, high performance laptops, LPCAMM2 (Low-Power Compression-Attached Memory Module 2) is a relatively new form factor in the realm of system RAM, and Micron’s Crucial-branded modules are now available in speeds up to 8,533 MT/s.
Uber was found not responsible by a California jury for an sexual assault that a woman said occurred during a 2016 ride, The New York Times reported. It’s the first of what could be thousands of similar lawsuits in the US from women who claim they were “kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed, or otherwise attacked” by Uber drivers, according to the original claim. The cases were consolidated, meaning they can be presented before the same judge with similar procedural processes, while still being tried individually.
The woman in the first case, identified as Jessica C., said she was an 18-year-old college student when she ordered a ride to San Jose’s airport. Shortly after she got in, the driver deviated from his route and climbed on top of her, groped and kissed her and tried to remove her pants, according to her testimony. The victim told the driver “No, no, no” and tried to push him off. She feared for her life and later dropped out of school, while suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the assault.
Under California law, Uber would be responsible for the harm suffered by the woman if it failed to use adequate safety measures and that negligence was a “substantial factor” in causing the harm. Conversely, for Uber to not be responsible, the jury would need to find that Uber didn’t know and could not have expected that its driver would take advantage of the situation that it created.
The jury ruled that while Uber was negligent, that negligence was not a substantial factor in causing harm to Jessica C. However, the plaintiff’s attorney said that the court allowed evidence into the trial that let Uber blame Jessica C. for the harm she faced, adding that the decision discourages victims of sexual assault to come forward. “[It’s a] sad day for victims of sexual abuse across the country,” said John Taylor of Taylor & Ring.
Jessica C.’s lawyers accused Uber of covering up the scale of its sexual assault problem, revealing during discovery that 558,000+ trips had resulted in reports of sexual assault or misconduct from 2017 to 2024, far more than what was publicly reported. They also said that the company failed to put systems in place like mandatory video recording that could have protected passengers.
Uber said that the driver in Jessica C.’s case had passed background checks and didn’t trigger any alarms over past complaints. The company said that despite deploying numerous safety measures, it couldn’t guarantee that driver transgressions would never occur, and that it wasn’t responsible for driver misconduct in any case. Uber’s safety head, Gus Fuldner, testified during the trial that passengers used the service at their own risk.
Uber told the NYT that its work “to improve safety on our platform is never done. Uber has worked for years to raise the bar on safety, and we’ll continue to do so in the years ahead.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/uber-found-not-guilty-in-first-of-many-sexual-assault-lawsuits-133046712.html?src=rss
NVIDIA has rapid-fire released a pair of GeForce GPU drivers in quick succession, including a regularly scheduled ‘Game Ready’ driver (version 581.42) that is optimized for Battlefield 6, and an out-of-band hotfix driver (version 581.47) to stomp out an odd bug that is crashing games in some specific instances. Which one should install? Let’s
Google’s products and services have been flooded with AI features over the past couple of years, but smart home has been largely spared until now. The company’s plans to replace Assistant are moving forward with a big Google Home reset. We’ve been told over and over that generative AI will do incredible things when given enough data, and here’s the test.
There’s a new Home app with Gemini intelligence throughout the experience, updated subscriptions, and even some new hardware. The revamped Home app will allegedly gain deeper insights into what happens in your home, unlocking advanced video features and conversational commands. It demos well, but will it make smart home tech less or more frustrating?
A new Home
You may have already seen some elements of the revamped Home experience percolating to the surface, but that process begins in earnest today. The new app apparently boosts speed and reliability considerably, with camera feeds loading 70 percent faster and with 80 percent fewer app crashes. The app will also bring new Gemini features, some of which are free. Google’s new Home subscription retains the same price as the old Nest subs, but naturally, there’s a lot more AI.
Google is finally ready to explain how Gemini will replace Google Assistant in your smart home. The company’s original voice assistant will be replaced with the aptly named Gemini for Home starting this month, ushering in what might be an easier-to-use and more conversational smart home era in the process.
Like Google teased at CES 2025, the biggest change Gemini for Home will introduce for Google Assistant devotees is an end to rigid commands. While you’ll still need to use a “Hey Google” wake word, the days of having to be precise are over. Google claims Gemini grasps context enough to not only remember what your last request was, but also understand that if you’re saying “Hey Google, I’m about to watch a movie, turn off the lights,” you specifically mean the lights in your living room. You’ll also be able to string multiple requests together into the same sentence, and create automations without having to whip out the Google Home app, just by describing them. And when you want to ditch wake words entirely, you can start a Gemini Live chat and have a smooth back and forth with Gemini about whatever you choose.
AI-based improvements will also extend to any cameras you have in your smart home. Google says Gemini can create more useful notifications if a camera detects motion or films a notable event from around your home, thanks to its semantic understanding of visuals. You can also pull a specific piece of footage with natural language requests and even receive answers based on things your smart home recorded via a new feature called “Ask Home.” Like Ask Photos in Google Photos, Ask Home understands the context and meaning of footage you’ve captured to provide answers to questions like “Did I leave the car door open.” And for a larger overview of what’s going on at home, the “Home Brief” can identify important events you’ve filmed and “summarizes hours of footage into a quick, digestible summary you can read to catch up on what happened while you were away,” Google says.
Google
Google says Gemini for Home will be available on all of its smart home devices released in the last decade, including new Gemini for Home-compatible doorbells and cameras created by Walmart. Unfortunately, if you’re interested in features like Gemini Live, AI-powered notifications, Ask Home and Home Brief, you’ll have to pay for a $10-per-month Google Home Premium subscription to use it. The subscription also unlocks an additional 30 days of cloud storage for any videos your smart home captures and comes included with Google’s AI Pro and Ultra subscriptions at no additional cost.
To try out Gemini for Home as soon as possible, you can sign up for early access in the Google Home app. Google says the update will roll out throughout the month of October, and come to smart speakers and smart displays “toward the end of the month.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/gemini-for-home-is-the-official-replacement-for-google-assistant-on-smart-devices-130041482.html?src=rss
As part of Google’s smart home announcements today, the company has unveiled a new look for its Google Home app that will begin rolling out globally today. The heart of the redesign is about Gemini for Home, which will replace the Google Assistant role in smart devices and promises a more conversational way to interact with and direct the company’s AI. The Google Home app is also now where customers will control their Nest devices.
There’s now a Home tab with a consolidated view of the system, an Activity tab that collects the notifications from all connected devices and an Automations tab for managing the hands-off side of the smart home hardware. The app also now has a persistent AI-powered “Ask Home” option in the header that Google describes as a “natural language command center for your entire home.” The company promises that it will be able to execute naturally written commands, such as searching for specific moments in a camera clip or creating more open-ended automations. However, some of those features will require a Google Home Premium subscription to access.
In addition to the new Gemini features, the Google Home app has been rebuilt for increased reliability and performance. The software loads “significantly faster,” reportedly more than 70 percent faster on some Android devices. Camera views in the app should load 30 percent faster and playback failures should be down 40 percent in the new version. Google is also boasting a reduction of almost 80 percent in app crashes and said it is additionally working to improve battery draw.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/google-has-overhauled-its-smart-home-app-to-feature-gemini-130041497.html?src=rss
A day after Amazon updated its security cameras, Google followed suit with its competing suite. A trio of new Nest security cams is available starting today. The latest Nest Doorbell and Nest Cams have higher-resolution (2K HDR) video and a wider field of view. That not only makes for better images, but it also opens the door to new (paid) AI features.
Google’s new additions include the Nest Cam Indoor (3rd gen), Nest Cam Outdoor (2nd gen) and Nest Doorbell (3rd gen). The company says the devices were designed to “provide the rich, detailed data our multimodal AI uses to understand.” The results, according to the company, are “better alerts” and the ability to “find important moments, faster.”
Google says DxOMARK rated all three as first in their class for image quality. The Nest Cams each have 2,560 x 1,400 resolution with a 152-degree diagonal field of view (FOV). The Nest Doorbell uses a 2,048 x 2,048 sensor with a 166-degree FOV. All three support up to 6x digital zoom.
Alerts can digitally zoom in on subjects.
Google
The company says the combination boosts the cameras’ ability to capture video in low-light conditions. Specifically, Google claims they offer 120 percent more light sensitivity than their predecessors. “This means the cameras can now stay in full-color mode much longer at dawn and dusk than before,” the company wrote.
The sharp resolution also allows you to digitally zoom in on a specific area in the Home app, cropping out the rest. Google says the feature could be handy for hot spots like a garden bed or walkway. Similarly, your alerts will include animated previews that zoom in on the subject. This could make it easier to tell at a glance who or what triggered the notification.
Ask Home (left) and Home Brief
Google
The upgraded Gemini AI chops include a new chatbot feature called Ask Home. It lets you do things like ask what ate your plants. (In Google’s example, the chatbot explains that it was rabbits, producing photo evidence.) It also lets you perform smart home tasks or create automations using natural language. There’s another new AI feature called Home Brief that gives you an AI-generated summary of the day’s activities. Both of the new AI features require a Google Home Premium subscription.
All three cameras are available beginning today at the Google Store and with retail partners. The Nest Cam Indoor costs $100. The Nest Cam Outdoor will set you back $150. And the Nest Doorbell costs $180.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/googles-new-nest-doorbell-and-nest-cams-have-2k-video-and-new-ai-chops-130006878.html?src=rss
After a few years of mostly humming alongin the background, Amazon’s game streaming service is receiving an update. Amazon Luna will still act as a game streaming service with a rotating library of free games for Prime users, but now, Amazon also plans to offer “GameNight,” a collection of social party games that you can play with your friends with just a smartphone.
Luna’s GameNight collection includes over 25 multiplayer games, some that are reinterpretations of classic games like Angry Birds, Exploding Kittens or Ticket to Ride, and others that are entirely original and developed by Amazon, like Courtroom Chaos: Starring Snoop Dogg. If you’ve played any of Jackbox’s various multiplayer games, GameNight seems to use a similar setup. You load up the game in Luna, whoever’s playing scans an onscreen QR code with their phone and then they can join the game using their device as a controller.
Amazon hopes these smartphone-controlled games will lower the barrier to entry for anyone intimidated by a controller, or who hasn’t already taken advantage of Luna as part of their Prime subscription. For everyone else, though, the company says the service is getting a collection of new high-profile games in the near future, including Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and Dave the Diver. As before, if you’re willing to pay for one of Amazon’s add-on subscriptions you can add even more games to your library, too. Unlike GameNight games, though, all of these titles will require a controller to play, whether it’s Amazon’s Luna Controller or a Bluetooth controller connected to the Luna app.
While not a radical reinterpretation of Luna, Amazon is at least trying to differentiate the service from something like Xbox Cloud Gaming or Google’s failed Stadia service. It’s not clear if game streaming is as important to Amazon as it is to Microsoft, but if the company is willing to pay, offering more games and more ways to play them seems like a good move.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/amazon-luna-will-offer-controller-free-party-games-in-an-attempt-to-woo-prime-subscribers-130004416.html?src=rss
Google announced a wave of hardware updates today, including giving some love to the Google Home Speaker. We saw a teaser for the revamped smart speaker last month, so the announcement isn’t a surprise, but it does provide some specifics about what’s coming to the company’s smart home efforts.
This new Google Home Speaker puts the Gemini AI assistant front and center, as is the case with so much Google hardware these days. The light ring will also flash different colors to show when the AI model is listening, processing or responding. If you have a Google Home Premium subscription, you’ll also be able to use the Home to access Gemini Live. The blog post promises “more natural conversations” with this model, which it says has custom processing to support the demands of running an AI assistant.
Google is also bringing 360-degree audio to the Home Speaker. The upcoming iteration will be able to connect a pair of Home Speakers to the Google TV Streamer, allowing for a surround-sound home theater setup. The Home will still be able to connect to other Google Nest speakers as well. And for the privacy-minded, there’s a physical button to toggle the microphone off.
The new speaker won’t be available until spring 2026 and will retail for $99. It has four color options: porcelain, hazel, jade and berry. The Google Home Speaker will be available in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
The announcement follows hot on the heels of Amazon’s fall hardware event, which also had some big updates for smart speakers centered on its own Alexa+ AI assistant, including a brand new form factor called the Echo Dot Max.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/the-google-home-speaker-is-getting-a-gemini-driven-refresh-130004673.html?src=rss
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: Lufthansa announced plans to cut 4,000 roles on Monday as it aims to increase profitability and lean on AI to drive efficiency. The airline group said it will eliminate a total of 4,000 FTE, or full-time equivalent, roles worldwide by 2030. The company is targeting primarily admin roles, the majority of which will be affected at its home base in Germany, as part of a broader restructuring strategy.
“The Lufthansa Group is reviewing which activities will no longer be necessary in the future, for example due to duplication of work. In particular, the profound changes brought about by digitalization and the increased use of artificial intelligence will lead to greater efficiency in many areas and processes,” the company said in a release issued during its Capital Markets Day in Munich. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said earlier this year that artificial intelligence had partially helped to shrink the company’s headcount by 40% down from 5,000 employees to almost 3,000.
Peloton announced a whole new fleet of equipment devices and the addition of AI fitness coaching, all in an effort to usher in “a new era of connective wellness.” The upgraded Bikes and Treads will probably be the biggest news of the day, but I was interested in another development: the brand’s new partnerships and acquisition, which are also aligned with that “connective wellness” goal.
The company deepened its partnership with Hyrox, partnered with two new companies, and acquired Breathwrk, all while also adding more depth to existing elements of “human connection” on its robust platform.
Peloton acquired Breathwrk
Yesterday, I attended the press event announcing all the big Peloton news. For the most part, everything made sense. New devices, better software, and updated classes to go along with them seemed like logical steps for a leading at-home fitness company to take over a decade into its existence. But then a presenter mentioned that Peloton had “acquired Breathwrk.” This, it turns out, is exactly what it sounds like: It’s an app that guides the user through breathing exercises—like calming breaths, breathing for sleep, and breathing for energy—designed to “unleash your peak mental and physical potential.”
Earlier this year, Peloton execs hinted at price increases for memberships and mentioned a plan to roll out more “fitness and wellness experiences.” To that end, I’ve noticed a lot more “wellness,” generally, in the app’s offerings. Beyond the cardio and strength classes Peloton is known for, I’ve found meditation, “reflection rides,” and nutritional content. It’s been obvious for a while that the company’s aspirations are greater than dominating the exercise space; they want to go deeper on mental health, nutrition, and everything else that goes into being well-rounded and healthy.
Per Peloton, All Access and App+ members can now access Breathwrk’s app by using their Peloton login credentials. Further integrations between the two will be “coming soon.”
Peloton’s new partnerships
Peloton also announced partnerships with the Hospital for Special Surgery and Respin Health. HSS is a leader in orthopedics and rheumatology. Together, the two will “produce programming focused on musculoskeletal injury prevention and recovery.” That’s all expected to start rolling out in the next few weeks. It’s another bit of news that makes sense. In announcing the addition of an AI coach to personalize every member’s workout plan, Peloton’s reps pointed out that the software will use users’ goals and existing workout data to outline what they should do for the next week—including when they should take rests. While ramping up wellness initiatives, Peloton hasn’t overlooked the role rest plays in overall health. I’m interested to see what the HHS programming looks like in practice.
Respin is a platfor, launched by Halle Berry for those going through everything from perimenopause to postmenopause. The two brands will co-create an eight-week program of Peloton classes to specifically target symptom relief and various improvements for members going through those life changes. Again, these are coming in the next few weeks.
Finally, Peloton is doubling down on its partnership with Hyrox. That isn’t a new partnership, but it’s one that has apparently been fruitful enough to warrant the allocation of more resources. If you don’t know, Hyrox is a relatively new sport that involves running plus competing in things like sled pulls and pushes, among other exercises. You have to row, do burpees, and do a farmer’s carry, too, all in the name of demonstrating how versatile you are as an athlete. Peloton has had a special Hyrox training program in place for a few months now, but plans to expand its offerings with new branded classes that support training for the various parts of the race.
Improvements to “human connections”
Peloton is also expanding what users can do with its existing offerings aimed at “human connections.” Primarily, this involves the addition of Club Peloton and Official Peloton Teams.
Club Peloton is a recognition program that awards users a rank based on how consistently they work out and whether they try new types of exercises. If you check your Peloton app right now, you might find you’ve already been assigned a rank, like bronze, silver, gold, or legendary. The idea is that your rank will eventually earn you rewards, like discounts on products or early access to classes. You’ll also get a profile badge which will be visible to others when you’re on a class leaderboard.
Official Peloton Teams is an expansion of Peloton’s popular Teams feature, which I already love. With Teams, you join forces with friends and compete with or against them to hit certain goals, like a particular amount of workouts per week. You can also join Teams based on attributes like life stage (like being a new mom) or region (like the city where you live). Official Peloton Teams are the newest part of all that and are helmed by the company’s famous instructors. You can join ones like Move for Life, Cross Training, Hyrox training, and Menopause Health.
In a lot of ways, Meta’s hasn’t changed much with its second-gen Ray-Ban glasses. The latest model has the same design and largely the same specs as the originals, with two important upgrades: longer battery life and improved video quality.
At the same time, the Ray-Ban Meta glasses have a lot of features that didn’t exist when I first reviewed them two years ago, largely thanks to AI. And with the release of its second-generation frames, there’s still a lot to look forward to, like new camera features and AI-powered audio. The good news is that Meta isn’t limiting these updates to its newest frames, so if you have an older pair you’ll still see the new features. But, if you’ve been on the fence about getting a pair, there’s never been a better time to jump in.
Same look, (slightly) better specs
Meta and EssilorLuxottica haven’t strayed too far from the playbook they’ve used for the last two years. The second-generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses come in a handful of frame styles with a number of color and lens variations that start at $379. I tried out a pair of Wayfarer frames in the new “shiny cosmic blue” color with clear transition lenses.
I personally prefer the look for the slightly narrower Headliner frames, but the second-gen glasses still look very much like traditional Wayfarer glasses. I’ve never been a fan of transition lenses for my own prescription eyewear, but I’m starting to come around on them for smart glasses. As Meta has improved its cameras and made its AI assistant more useful, I’ve found more reasons to wear the glasses indoors.
The second-generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses come with clear frames, with polarized and transition lenses available as an upgrade.
Karissa Bell for Engadget
Also, if you’re going to be paying $300 or more for a pair, you might as well be able to use them wherever you are. It also helps that the transition lenses on the second-gen Ray-Ban Meta glasses get a bit darker than my first-gen Wayfarers with transition lenses. Upgrading from the standard clear lenses will cost you, though. Frames with polarized lenses start at $409, transitions start at $459 and prescription lenses can run significantly more.
As with the recent Oakley Meta HSTN glasses, the second-gen Ray-Bans come with a longer battery life and better camera. Meta says the battery can last up to eight hours on a single charge with “typical use.” I was able to squeeze a little more than five and a half hours of continuous music playback. That’s a noticeable step up from the battery on my original pair which, after two years, is starting to show its age. The glasses also now support higher-resolution 3K video recording, but the 12MP wide-angle lens shoots the same 3,024 x 4,032 pixel portrait photos as earlier models.
The second-gen glasses have the same design as the first-gen, with a capture button on the right side of the frames. The charging case provides an additional 48 hours of battery life.
Karissa Bell for Engadget
For videos, there’s a noticeable quality boost, but I still think it’s probably not necessary for most people if you’re primarily sharing your clips on social media. It does make the glasses more appealing for creators, though, and judging by the number of them in attendance at Connect, I suspect Meta sees them as a significant part of its user base. I’m looking forward to Meta adding the ability to record Hyperlapse and slow-motion videos, though, as I think these may be more interesting than the standard POV footage for everyday activities.
Meta AI + what’s coming
Two years ago, I was fairly skeptical of Meta’s AI assistant. But since then, Meta has steadily added new capabilities. Of those, the glasses’ translation abilities have been my favorite. On a recent trip to Argentina, I used live translation to follow along with a walking tour of the famous Recoleta cemetery. It wasn’t perfect — the feature is meant more for back-and-forth conversations rather than extended monologues — but it allowed me to participate in a tour I would have otherwise had to skip. (A word of warning: using the live translation for an extended period of time is a major battery killer.)
Meta AI can also provide context and translations in other scenarios, too. I spent some time in Germany while testing the latest second-gen Ray-Ban glasses and found myself repeatedly asking Meta to translate signs and notices. For example, here’s how Meta AI summarized this collection of signs.
Meta AI was able to translate these signs (left) when I asked it “what do these signs say?”
Karissa Bell for Engadget
As I wrote in my review of the Oakley Meta HSTN glasses, I still haven’t found much use for Live AI, which lets you interact with the assistant in real-time and ask questions about your surroundings. It still feels like more of a novelty, but it makes for a fun demo to show off to friends who have never tried “AI glasses.” There are also some very interesting accessibility use cases that take advantage of the glasses’ cameras and AI capabilities. Features like “detailed responses” and support for “Be My Eyes” show how smart glasses can be particularly impactful for people who are blind or deal with low vision.
One AI-powered feature I haven’t tried out yet is Conversation Focus, which can adjust the volume of the person you’re speaking to while dampening the background noise. Meta teased the feature at Connect, but hasn’t said exactly when it will be available. But if it works as intended, I could see it being useful in a lot of scenarios.
I’m also particularly intrigued by Meta’s Connect announcement that it will finally allow third-party developers to create their own integrations for its smart glasses. There are already a handful of partners, like Twitch and Disney, which are finding ways to take advantage of the glasses’ camera and AI features. Up to now, Meta AI’s multimodal tools have shown some promise, but I haven’t really been able to find many ways to use the capabilities in my day-to-day life.
Allowing app makers onto the platform could change that. Disney has previewed a smart glasses integration for inside of its parks that would allow visitors to get real-time info about the rides, attractions and other amenities as they walk around. Golf app 18Birdies has shown off an app to deliver stats and other info while you’re on the course.
Should you buy these? And what about privacy?
When the Ray-Ban Meta glasses came out two years ago, this was a pretty straightforward question to answer. If the idea of smart glasses with a good camera and open-ear speakers appealed to you, then buying a pair was a no-brainer.
Now, it’s a bit more complicated. Meta is still updating its first-gen Ray-Ban glasses with significant new features, like Conversation Focus, new camera modes and third-party app integrations. So if you already have a pair, you won’t be missing out on a ton if you don’t upgrade. (And with a starting price of $299, the first-gen glasses are still solid if you want a more budget-friendly option.)
There are also other options to consider. The upcoming Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses come with more substantial hardware upgrades and other unique features that will appeal to athletes and anyone who spends a lot of time outdoors. And on the higher end, there are the $799 Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses that blend AR elements with its existing features in an intriguing way.
Meta has already previewed several new features, like new camera modes and Conversation Focus.
Karissa Bell for Engadget
I also have many of the same concerns about privacy as I did when I reviewed Meta’s first Ray-Ban branded glasses back in 2021. I’m well aware Meta already collects an extraordinary amount of data about us through its apps, but glasses just feel like they provide much more personal, and potentially invasive, access to our lives.
Meta has also made some notable changes to the privacy policy for its glasses in recent months. It no longer allows users in the United States to opt out of storing voice recordings in its cloud, though it’s still possible to manually delete recordings in the Meta AI app.
The company says it won’t use the contents of the photos and videos you capture to train its AI models or serve ads. However, images of your surroundings processed for the glasses’ multimodal features like Live AI can be used for training purposes (these images aren’t saved to your device’s camera roll). Meta’s privacy policy also states that it uses audio captured via voice commands for training. And it should go without saying, but anyone using Meta’s glasses should be very careful about sharing their interactions with its AI app, as a bunch of users have already seemingly inadvertently shared a ton of highly-personal interactions with the world.
If any of that makes you uncomfortable, I’m not here to convince you otherwise! We’re still grappling with the long-term privacy implications of generative AI, much less generative AI on camera-enabled wearables. At the same time, as someone who has been wearing Meta’s smart glasses on and off for more than four years, I can say that Meta has been able to turn something that once felt gimmicky into a genuinely useful accessory.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/ray-ban-meta-2nd-gen-review-smart-glasses-are-finally-getting-useful-124720393.html?src=rss
