OpenAI has struck a deal to use Google’s cloud computing infrastructure for AI despite the two companies’ fierce competition in the space, reports Reuters. The agreement, finalized in May after months of negotiations, marks a shift in OpenAI’s strategy to diversify its computing resources beyond Microsoft Azure, which had been its exclusive cloud provider until January.

Microsoft’s long-standing partnership with OpenAI dates back to 2019, with significant expansions of investment from the computer giant in 2021 and 2023. In October, The Information reported that the ChatGPT maker had begun to seek data center deals elsewhere, citing the need for more AI data center servers faster than Microsoft could supply them.

Under the new deal, Google Cloud will provide additional computing capacity to help OpenAI train and run its AI models. For OpenAI, the partnership addresses growing demands for computing power as the company’s annual revenue reached $10 billion as of June, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters.

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It’s hard to look at Apple’s new “Liquid Glass” aesthetic and not think about Windows Vista, Microsoft‘s much-maligned OS which also touted transparencies and glass-like effects as a bold new vision for computing. You can see the similarities between Apple‘s UI and Vista’s “Windows Aero” design language everywhere, from the glassified app icons in iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26 which look a lot like VIsta’s glossy icons, to the transparent backgrounds used in drop down menus, which hearken back to VIsta’s transparent window borders. The key difference is that Apple is just doing it all better. (Sorry, not sorry, Windows fans.)

While Microsoft started off with an intriguing idea, it failed to execute the Windows Aero UI well in Vista. Mostly, that’s because Vista itself was a huge mess — it was far slower than Windows XP, it was notoriously buggy and it handled drivers poorly. And if you actually wanted to partake in the glory of Aero transparency bars, you needed a computer with a powerful GPU. That was far more rare in 2007 than it is today, when even integrated graphics can run basic 3D and fancy UI elements well. With its homegrown chips, Apple also provides decent graphics capabilities in its devices that support iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and other new software releases with Liquid Glass.

It also helps that Liquid Glass isn’t really a huge change for Apple, unlike the jump from Windows XP to Vista. Apple has been creeping towards a flashier UI and more widespread use of transparencies ever since iOS 7 was released in 2013, which dropped the archaic skeuomorphic design trend in favor of a flatter and more stylish aesthetic. So sure, your icons and menus may have a bit more shine to them in iOS 26, but they mostly work the way you remember. (You could also argue Apple itself kickstarted the move towards transparencies in desktop operating systems with the original Mac OS X in 2001, which gave its iconic dock a glossy background.)

Apple

I can argue for the overall wisdom of Apple’s Liquid Glass, at least compared to Windows Vista, and personally I also think it gives iOS a much-needed dose of personality. But I can’t really convince you otherwise if you think it looks ugly, as many of my Engadget colleagues do. Senior News Editor Avery Ellis calls it “busy and obnoxious,” and Editor-in-Chief Aaron Souppouris noted that “it truly feels like Aero, rooted in the mid ’00s…. I don’t need light refracting around my pause button.” Fair complaints! And as usual, you can also reduce transparency effects and motion elements in Apple’s Accessibility Settings, if these elements truly bother you.

But after spending a bit of time with the first iOS 26 developer beta, I’m more intrigued by Liquid Glass than anything else. It makes app icons look like tiny jewels that I just want to touch, and I dig the transparency effects throughout the OS — they almost seem like a preview for a future where we’re using holographic Apple devices. (That’s also something I felt while using visionOS on the Vision Pro, which served as the launchpad for Liquid Glass.) I also genuinely love iOS 26’s revamped Safari, which lets you browse completely in full screen. As you scroll down, the location bar at the bottom of your screen shrinks and gets out of the way. But if you scroll up or tap into the location bar, it pops back up to give you the sharing and navigation options you’re used to.

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

It could also be that I’m a sucker for novelty. Back in my Windows XP days, I used to use apps like WindowBlinds to customize the OS and add transparent effects. And there are signs that Apple may be going a bit too far with transparencies, like with the iOS 26’s Control Center (above). It looks fine if you’re swiping it down while inside an app, but if you’re on the home screen, it’s just one of many levels of glass-like windows. I could see that being a bit overbearing for some users.

It’s also worth noting that interface redesigns are often rejected at first glance, especially since you’re seeing them abstracted through screenshots and videos. Even Apple’s slick marketing magic doesn’t replicate the experience of using Liquid Design. In my experience, iOS 26 really isn’t that different from everything that came before. Once you get over the initial shock of a new interface, you may see it with new eyes.

Apple

There’s also still plenty of time until Apple’s new operating systems arrive this fall though, and the company is often quick to tweak major design changes if beta users complain about them. I could see Apple toning down the Control Center’s transparent background, or even better, giving users more control over the amount of Liquid Glass elements on your screen. Personally, I don’t mind it when companies stretch their interface ideals a bit too far – there’s always room to move back. That’s far better than being too conservative and never really pushing your aesthetic vision forward.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apples-liquid-glass-is-windows-vista-done-well-181954910.html?src=rss

BrianFagioli writes: Ubuntu 25.10, known as Questing Quokka, is taking a big turn under the hood. Canonical has dropped support for the GNOME desktop running on Xorg. Starting with this release, the default Ubuntu session now uses Wayland only. Yes, folks, there’s no longer an option to log into GNOME on Xorg.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google is rolling out the finished, stable version of Android 16 today, while also releasing a new Pixel Drop for June 2025. These drops bring exclusive features to Pixel phones and tablets, on top of the general Android codebase that’s available to every Android phone manufacturer, including Samsung, Nothing, Sony, and Motorola.

This time around there are several new features to talk about. These should show up automatically on all currently supported Pixel phones and tablets in the coming days—so right back to the Pixel 6—but you can also check manually via System > Software updates in Settings on your device.

1. Pixel VIPs

Your Pixel VIPs are the most important contacts on your device, and now they get their own special widget as a spin-off from the Contacts app. This widget lets you see recent messages and calls from these people across messaging apps, including WhatsApp, as well as more details about them (including their birthdays and notable anniversaries).

You can now make some of your contacts VIPs.
Credit: Google

These special VIPs get extra permission to bypass the Do Not Disturb mode on your Pixel, which should make sure you don’t miss anything important when notifications are muted. If you’re currently sharing your location with these Very Important contacts, these details appear in the widget too, but all this information is kept locally on your device.

2. Custom stickers in Gboard

Stickers made with generative AI are coming to the default Pixel keyboard, Gboard, with the latest Pixel Drop. With the help of Pixel Studio, you can create stickers of anything you like: An excited jelly avocado, a sad starfish wearing sunglasses, and sparkly blue sneakers are the examples Google gives. And yes, it does sound a lot like Genmoji on the iPhone.

Get creative with your stickers in Gboard.
Credit: Google

As you might have gathered from the mention of Pixel Studio, this will only work if you have a phone from the Pixel 9 series, as your device needs a certain amount of AI power to produce graphics without contacting the cloud. If you’ve got a compatible device, the new feature will be available via a button above any text input box when Gboard is enabled.

3. Expressive Captions

If you use Live Captions on your Android device, you’ll know it can be a useful way of getting live subtitles on screen for video and audio content, even if they weren’t included in the original file or stream. Expressive Captions adds more feeling to this feature, so you’ll see labels like “whispering” or “yawning” alongside the actual words themselves.

Expressive Captions in action.
Credit: Google

If words are stretched out—like “gooooooooal!”—that should show up too. This feature isn’t completely new, because it was announced last month for Android 15 devices: As far as I can make out from Google’s announcement, it seems the Pixel Drop may be introducing more of these expressions, or possibly making them more widely available.

4. New accessibility features

The new Pixel Drop includes several smaller new features worth mentioning, including improved support for hearing aids with LE audio features: You can now access presets and volume controls from inside a dedicated panel on your phone, as long as it’s a Pixel 9 or newer handset running Android 16 (rolling out at the same time as this update).

Then there are improvements to the Magnifier app (exclusive to Pixel phones), which now incorporates live search. You can type what you’re looking for (like something on a menu), then move your phone camera around, with matches highlighted in real time and accompanied by a little vibration. You no longer need to take a photo first and then search.

5. Battery health indicator

If you own a Google Pixel 8a or newer, this latest Pixel Drop brings with it a new battery health indicator screen, which we were first made aware of in April. It shows details of the battery’s remaining capacity, based on charging and usage patterns, and the feature should help you get more use out of your battery (and show you when it needs replacing).

6. Improve your photography skills

There’s a neat little feature arriving in the default Camera app for Pixel phones and tablets: If you tap the new question mark icon that appears in the corner of the Camera screen, you get a visual guide to what each camera mode does, plus some instructions on how to use it. The idea is to “help you get the most out of your Pixel Camera,” Google says.

We’re still waiting for the latest AI features in Google Photos.
Credit: Google

7. AI edits in Google Photos

In its June 2025 Pixel Drop announcement, Google has again mentioned the enhanced AI editing tools coming to Google Photos that it also announced last month—for Android and iOS devices. This upgrade is still coming soon, and apparently won’t be a Pixel exclusive, but it’s worth flagging that Google has again mentioned it in its latest blog post.

8. Expanded feature availability

Finally, a couple of notes on availability: The Pixel satellite SOS feature that lets you get help when you’re beyond wifi and cellular range is expanding to Australia, while the Pixel-exclusive Recorder app is adding French and German to the list of languages it can work with when it comes to transcribing and summarizing audio conversations.

After months of beta testing and following an extensive preview ahead of Google I/O 2025, Android 16 is now complete and is rolling out to devices. As usual, Pixel phones and tablets are going to be first in line for the software update, with handsets from other manufacturers following later (Samsung’s One UI 8 upgrade, based on Android 16, is already in testing).

As per Google’s documentation, every Pixel phone and tablet since the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro are eligible for Android 16. Those phones were introduced in 2021, so if you’ve got either of those handsets or something newer, you’re good to go.

Perhaps the biggest update in Android 16 is the revamped Material 3 Expressive design language, which Google has already previewed. It’s designed to encourage more engagement and to create more emotional pull, as well as being more intuitive and easier to use. However, this Android 16 release only “lays the foundation” for the revamp: Google says the redesign will roll out gradually across the course of the year.

The Android 16 redesign isn’t included in this first stable release.
Credit: Google

Notifications are getting some improvements. Android 16 introduces Live Updates, which are similar to the Live Activities already available on iOS. Essentially, it gives real time updates more prominence on the home screen and the lock screen, so you won’t have to keep opening an app for sports scores or to see where your Uber is.

Samsung has already implemented something like this with the Now Bar in One UI 7, and it should improve the experience for apps like Google Maps and food delivery apps. The feature will launch with “compatible ride-share and food delivery apps,” Google says, with more integrations to follow.

Live Updates give more prominence to important notifications.
Credit: Google

Another notification tweak: Similar alerts will be grouped together automatically, to avoid “information overload.” One of the examples Google shows is a security camera: Rather than every notification appearing separately every time motion is detected, you’ll get them all together in one grouped package.

Android 16 is also bringing with it improved support for hearing aids, with the option to switch to your phone’s mic for audio input when you’re on a call—which should mean better results in noisy environments. Also, native control for hearing devices will be appearing in Android 16, providing access to settings such as volume levels.

There’s a big security upgrade as well, which we’ve already seen in the Android 16 beta. It builds on the existing Advanced Protection mode, which is described as “Google’s strongest security for mobile devices yet” in official communications: Previously available for Google accounts on the web, it’s now specific to mobile devices, too, with Android 16, which means you can manage these protections from your phone or tablet.

Advanced Protection is now available on phones and tablets.
Credit: Google

There are multiple different elements to Advanced Protection, including preventing USB connections while your phone is locked, stopping automatic connections for unsecured wifi networks, and real time warning for scam calls. All of this can be configured through the Advanced Protection menu in Settings.

Android 16 is also bringing with it an improved desktop mode, along the lines of Samsung DeX. Google says it’s actually worked with Samsung to improve window support on Android tablets, so you now have more control over how your apps are positioned in devices with larger screens.

Android 16 works better on bigger screens.
Credit: Google

It sounds like the bigger updates for this feature are still to come: Custom keyboard shortcuts, an improved taskbar, and support for external displays (for the full DeX experience) are all arriving “later this year,” so you’ll have to wait a little longer to use this new desktop mode to its fullest.

As usual, there are numerous new features behind the scenes for developers too: They cover easier access to camera settings like night mode and color temperature, better support for adaptive layouts that work on any screen size, and even improved consistency for progress bars. Look out for improvements to your Android apps, and wider support for the new Material 3 Expressive redesign, as time goes on.

Android 16 also includes a wealth of more minor tweaks and improvements that you might not notice for a while (or might never see at all). If you have a Pixel phone or tablet, you should get the update automatically in the coming days, but you can also check for it manually: From Settings, choose System and Software updates.

After months of speculation and beta testing, Google is rolling out Android 16 starting today. The new software will arrive first on Pixel phones, but you can expect to see updates on other phones in the coming weeks—or more likely months.

For those with Pixel devices, the OTA should begin appearing soon. If you just can’t wait, Google will have system images and update files on its developer pages. You probably don’t need to get up in arms about potential delays, though. Like other recent Android updates, there aren’t many changes bundled into this version. Many of the most interesting changes are coming later this year.

Android 16 has landed

Despite the light feature set at launch, there are a few things of note. Right at the top of the list is a cleaner notification shade. Google launched bundled notifications in Android 7.0 Nougat, which has helped to clean up phones ever since. With Android 16, Google is stepping up notification bundling by forcing it on apps. Now, multiple notifications from a single app will be merged together into a single expandable item. Neat.

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This refurbished Lenovo 300E Chromebook is on sale for just $79.99 right now on StackSocial. It’s a practical pickup if you need a machine for casual use, a backup device around the house, or something safe for kids to hammer on. It’s listed with a Grade “B” rating, meaning there might be some light scuffs or dents, but nothing that’ll get in the way of day-to-day use.

The specs are modest: a quad-core Intel N3450 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. It’s not built for heavy multitasking or serious workloads, but it can run Chrome OS smoothly enough for web browsing, streaming, and schoolwork. The 11.6-inch touchscreen is handy for more interactive tasks and folds back into a tablet mode if you want something a little more flexible. Chrome OS also means you get access to Google Play apps, and the system will keep getting updates until 2028. Storage is tight, so you’ll want to lean on cloud storage or an external drive if you have a lot of files, but for everyday apps and online use, it’s enough to get by.

That said, the screen maxes out at 1366×768 resolution, which isn’t going to win any beauty contests, and at just over three pounds, it’s a little chunky for an 11-inch device. But it has wifi and Bluetooth, a decent webcam, and a battery that can handle a day of light tasks. If you need something inexpensive and durable for kids, travel, or just light web work, this Chromebook does the job without much fuss. At this price, you’re not expecting perfection—you’re looking for a tool you won’t panic over if it gets scratched, dropped, or left in a coffee shop, and that’s exactly what this delivers.

Snap’s next generation of standalone augmented reality glasses will arrive next year and will be smaller, lighter and more powerful than the developer-focused device the Snapchat maker introduced last year. CEO Evan Spiegel announced the upcoming glasses, which will be called “Specs,” during a keynote at Augmented World Expo (AWE).

“Specs are coming next year, in a much smaller form factor, at a fraction of the weight, with a ton more capability,” Spiegel said. He said the glasses will be “ready for public release,” but didn’t provide details on how much they may cost. The current fifth-generation glasses are available only to approved developers willing to commit to a year-long $99/month subscription.

Still, a smaller pair of AR glasses from Snap should be welcome news to Snapchat fans curious about the company’s standalone AR device, but who may have been put off by its bulky, oversized design. Spiegel shared few details about the glasses, but in a blog post Snap suggested that AI will play an important role. “It’s clear that today’s devices and user interfaces are woefully inadequate to realize the full potential of AI,” the company wrote. “Chatbots will soon give way to immersive experiences that bring AI into the world through augmented reality, empowering us to express ourselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together.”

The existing version of Spectacles already has some AI-powered experiences, thanks to a partnership with OpenAI. And Snap today also announced new integrations with OpenAI and Google that allow developers to build multimodal lenses for Spectacles that can use the built-in cameras to react to the wearer’s surroundings. Developers have already created experiences for recipe generation, translation and currency conversion, Snap said.

Spiegel did confirm that the AR lenses that developers are building now will work with the next-generation of frames. So whenever they do launch, there should be an established catalog of AR experiences for the glasses. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/snap-says-new-lightweight-ar-glasses-will-come-in-2026-171020059.html?src=rss

Google has released Android 16 to the masses, as it’s now available for compatible handsets. The company says new devices will come preloaded with the OS in “the coming months.”

The update includes several notable features. The biggest one might be live updates in notifications. This means that stuff like ride-shares and food deliveries will get a progress bar directly in the notification, so folks won’t have to constantly open and close the app to wonder why a burrito seems to be stuck four blocks away.

Google

Also, notifications from the same app will now be automatically grouped together to reduce clutter and pings. There’s now support for LE audio hearing aids, with a native control option. Users can also switch to the phone’s microphone when using one of these hearing devices for clearer audio in noisy places.

Google has tied all of its security features together, so users can now be protected from “online attacks, harmful apps, unsafe websites, scam calls and more in just a tap.” This includes new scam detection features that were previewed back in May.

Google

Shutterbugs are getting a fairly robust suite of new features, including automatic night mode scene detection, hybrid auto exposure and more precise color temperature adjustments. UltraHDR images have been improved, with support for HEIC encoding, and Android 16 offers integration with the high-end Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec.

Google

The company is finally bringing desktop windowing to Android, but it’s not ready just yet. That feature will be available to general users later in the year, but Android 16 QPR 3 Beta 2 is currently previewing the feature.

There’s also a neat Android ecosystem update with some nifty features. This includes upgraded RCS group chats, with custom icons and the ability to mute threads. Google Photos now offers an AI-enhanced image editor that will recommend suggested edits. Emoji Kitchen is receiving new sticker combinations and Wear OS devices can now pay for transit fares without having to open a dedicated app.

Google

Finally, Google has offered details on the Pixel Drop for June. New features include a Pixel VIPs widget that displays information on preferred contacts and more expressive captions on videos.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/android-16-is-out-complete-with-live-notification-updates-and-new-camera-features-170006072.html?src=rss