This week at WWDC 2024, that prize went to Apple Intelligence.
It’s something that I’ve been requesting from Apple for several years, fueled by my own health struggles and the fact that I’ve somehow managed to contract COVID four times so far.
The ability to pause your activity rings is a minor feature update for most, but for those of us who obsess about such things to an unhealthy degree, it’s the best Apple Watch update in years.
There are several options for pausing: You can do it for one day, by day of the week or for entire months at a time.
Once entered, this will be the goal for that day of the week until it’s changed again.
Google is finally making its Gemini Nano AI model available to Pixel 8 and 8a users after teasing it in March.
The June Pixel drop will allow users to access the model as a developer option.
Apart from that, the feature drop includes Display Port connectivity support for Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a, reverse phone number lookup for unknown numbers, fall and crash detection for Pixel Watch 2, and doorbell notifications on the Pixel tablet.
The update brings manual lens picking in the camera to the Pixel 6 Pro, 7 Pro, and Pixel Fold.
Pixel WatchThe newest Pixel drop brings car crash detection to the Pixel Watch 2.
Apple updated its App Store rules Friday to allow emulators for retro console games globally with an option for downloading titles.
Apple’s update will probably encourage some of those developers to bring their emulators to the App Store.
With Apple having to tweak App Store rules because of regulations, these kinds of games would provide another revenue stream for the company.
Plus, it updated App Store rules at that time to support in-app purchases for mini-games and AI chatbots.
“Apps may offer certain software that is not embedded in the binary, specifically HTML5 mini apps and mini-games, streaming games, chatbots, and plug-ins.
Five months ago, Rooms, a 3D design platform made by ex-Google employees, launched its beta version on the App Store.
Rooms is an interior decorating app that falls under the cozy game category.
Players can build and code intricate 3D rooms and mini-games using a library of over 7,500 digital items.
The majority of the updates are on the iOS app, but Rooms is adding the new categories and speed improvements to its web version.
However, in the future, Rooms may offer a premium subscription offering but the company is waiting until the app gets more traction.
Google is rolling out the April update to ChromeOS users with features like the ability to customize keyboard shortcuts and mouse button actions.
The update also brings improved offline text-to-speech voice support.
The ChromeOS M123 update is rolling out to users over the next few days.
The main new feature is a way to assign custom keyboard shortcuts to actions.
The company said that the keyboard customization shortcut will be enabled by default with the next ChromeOS update M124.
First up, Google is rolling out an update to its Search Generative Experience (SGE) that will allow users to build travel itineraries and trip ideas using AI, the company announced on Wednesday.
For now, the itineraries are just that: no options to buy and services or experiences on the spot.
But it points to how the company is experimenting with how and where it can apply its AI engine.
A lot of players in the travel industry may be eyeing up the role that generative AI will play in travel services in the coming years — some excitedly, some warily.
Google also announced that it’s making it easier to discover lists of recommendations in Google Maps in select cities in the U.S. and Canada.
Apple is looking to team up with Google for a mega-deal to leverage the Gemini AI model for features on iPhone, Bloomberg reported.
There is surmounting pressure on Apple to catch up with competitors in the AI field such as OpenAI, Microsoft, Anthropic, and even Google.
Later, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that Gemini’s responses were “completely unacceptable”.
Earlier this year, the company partnered with Samsung to introduce Gemini-powered AI features on the Galaxy S24 series of devices.
We have reached out to Apple and Google for a comment, and we will update the story if we hear back from them.
TechCrunch has learned that the search giant has started to restrict queries made Gemini when they relate to elections, in any market globally where elections are taking place.
The search giant confirmed to TechCrunch that it started rolling out the restrictions on Gemini to limit surfacing answers about election-related queries globally.
TechCrunch found the AI tool did show answers when passing on queries with typos.
The AI tool, responding to a query about whether Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a fascist, responded that Modi had been accused of implementing policies that some had characterized as fascist.
It is unclear whether Google will unblock Gemini for answering election-related queries after the elections end later this year.
If anything, it was the VisionOS 1.1 update that showed me that I still have the capacity to grow.
I can tell you agree from the fact that you’re carrying on a normal FaceTime call without stopping every few seconds to tell me how weird my Apple Vision Pro Persona looks.
The headset made me re-enroll my face to get this new persona – and frankly, it’s for the best.
I’m not saying my new face definitely won’t frighten children, but I don’t think they’re going to lose much sleep over it.
I should mention that even in its 1.1 iteration, the Persona feature is still technically in beta – albeit a beta open to anyone with a Vision Pro.
Spotify said today that it has submitted a new version App Store that shows pricing and feature information about the audio company’s different plans in the EU.
The update, which is pending approval from Apple, also includes a link for users to buy subscription plans from Spotify’s website.
Earlier this week, the European Commission fined Apple a massive €1.84 billion ($ 2 billion) for the company’s anti-competitive practices in the music streaming market.
Buoyed by this decision, Spotify has submitted this new version with information about subscriptions, offers, and a link to buy those, as per The Verge.
In response, Apple said it plans to appeal EC’s decision and said that Spotify has been “the biggest beneficiary” of the App Store.
