Semiconductor giant Qualcomm is seeking to expand its AI tech portfolio with an agreement to purchase custom silicon firm Alphawave IP Group (“Alphawave Semi”) in a deal valued at roughly $2.4 billion. UK-based Alphawave makes chips used in artificial intelligence and data centers. The deal follows months of talks between the San Diego-based Qualcomm and Alphawave, which was identified as an acquisition target in April. “AI inferencing growth is driving demand for Qualcomm’s high-performance energy-efficient compute solutions and this acquisition provides key assets for our expansion into data centers,” Qualcomm explained in disclosing the deal. Continue reading Qualcomm Strikes Deal to Acquire Alphawave for $2.4 Billion

Qualcomm has made no secret of its belief that smart glasses are going to be a significant future product, and during the Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California this week, the chipmaker shared its vision for the sector, demonstrating eyewear using its new Snapdragon processor. According to the company, the AR1+ Gen 1 is 26 percent smaller than earlier chips and runs artificial intelligence tools independent of Internet or smartphone connectivity. Qualcomm’s goal is to help smart glasses become “fully independent devices” that can do processing and complete agentic tasks with or without connectivity. Continue reading Qualcomm Chip Could Be a ‘Breakthrough’ for Smart Glasses

Snap Inc. announced it will launch a “lightweight, immersible” consumer line of AR smart glasses called “Specs” in 2006 (breaking from its “Spectacles” branding). Announcing the sixth-generation of its glasses at the Augmented World Expo conference this week, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said the eyewear offers “an ultra-powerful wearable computer integrated into a lightweight pair of glasses with see-thru lenses.” Spiegel explained the glasses will be untethered, which suggests they may be powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1+ Gen 1 chip, also announced at AWE. Coming a decade after Snap’s first attempt at consumer AR glasses, Specs leverage a $3 billion investment in 11 years of R&D. Continue reading Snap to Launch Specs Consumer Smart Glasses Line in 2026

During WWDC at Apple Park in California this week, the company unveiled visionOS 26 updates for its mixed reality Vision Pro headset that will up the ante for both consumer and enterprise users, with new spatial widgets and more realistic avatar Personas among the noteworthy updates. The customizable widgets will appear to blend into a headset wearer’s physical environment, “integrating seamlessly into a user’s space” and reappearing exactly where the user left them each time the Apple Vision Pro is activated. A great deal of effort has gone into improved iPhone integration, including the ability to initiate calls directly from the headset. Continue reading Apple visionOS 2026 Features Spatial Widgets, Better Avatars

YouTube has loosened its rules regarding content moderation, instructing its moderators to prioritize “freedom of expression” over perceived risks of harm in assessing what to take down for the popular video platform. Although the move hasn’t been widely publicized, it was gleaned through leaks of moderator training material that made its way to the media. YouTube becomes the latest in a string of social platforms that have relaxed content moderation standards. Unlike Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, YouTube and its parent Google have refrained from public comment on the move. Continue reading YouTube Latest Social Platform to Loosen Content Moderation

Fans have waited for years and now the new $450 Nintendo Switch 2 has finally been released, setting a new sales record in its initial rollout. Much more powerful than the original, it has a larger 7.9-inch screen that processes at 1080p with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR compatibility and can go up to 4K when docked. Reimagined Joy-Con 2 controllers (the proprietary controllers on the Switch) connect to the system magnetically and can be used as a mouse in compatible games. A new software feature called GameChat — an online tool that allows users to chat with friends while gaming, described as “Discord-like” — is also part of the package. Continue reading The $450 Nintendo Switch 2 Offers Significant Improvements

Determined to rebound from the Llama 4 Behemoth delay, Meta Platforms is swinging for the fences in its artificial intelligence efforts, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally supervising creation of a new AI lab focused on superintelligence. Meta has reportedly reached a deal to pay up to $15 billion for a stake in a startup called Scale AI that would bring its 28-year-old co-founder and CEO Alexandr Wang in-house to lead the effort. Other leading Scale AI staff would also come aboard, and Meta is said to be recruiting researchers from OpenAI and Google by dangling “seven- to nine-figure compensation packages,” reports indicate. Continue reading Meta Said to Be Planning Major Push into AI Superintelligence

Two years after debuting a self-branded TV line, and one year following the rollout of its premium Pro series, Roku is unveiling a new line the spans from budget to higher-end models. The 2025 lineup — featuring Roku Select, Roku Plus and Roku Pro Series — are available with prices starting at just $130 for the entry-level Select series, while a 75-inch Pro Series mini-LED will run about $1,700. The lineup promises “seamless setup,” a built-in remote finder, updated Smart Picture Max — “Roku’s most advanced video ever,” and “performance upgrades and intelligent features” that automate “the best picture and sound.” Roku is also offering two new streaming sticks and testing a refreshed home screen. Continue reading Roku Offering Its Latest Smart TV Line and New User Interface

Less than a week after the official launch of Nintendo’s Switch 2, Microsoft and Asus have unveiled some details about their rumored handheld Xbox gaming device powered by Windows 11. The ROG Xbox Ally and high-performance ROG Xbox Ally X are due to hit the market in time for this year’s holiday season, promising easy cloud access to “all of the games available on Windows,” including popular “games from Xbox, Game Pass, Battle.net, and other leading PC storefronts,” all from a single streaming device. The twist is that the new hardware bypasses the typical Windows boot requirements in lieu of streamlined access through an “aggregated gaming library.” Continue reading Microsoft, Asus Tease ROG Xbox Ally Mobile Gaming Devices

At WWDC 2025, Apple unveiled new features for Apple Intelligence including upgrades to Genmoji and Image Playground arriving with iOS 26 and other updated operating systems. Apple integrated ChatGPT into its Image Playground, allowing for the creation of generative AI images within the feature. In Messages, Image Playground will be able to generate new backgrounds for group chats. Apple is also adding live translation to its Phone app, as well as Messages and FaceTime. On audio-only calls, Apple Intelligence will generate a real-time voiced translation, while FaceTime will display live captions. Apple Intelligence updates span the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro. Continue reading WWDC: Apple Intelligence Gets Updates, iOS 26 Is Unpacked

Warner Bros. Discovery is planning to split into two publicly-traded companies by next year, one company focused on film, streaming and content production and the other concentrating on traditional television, including cable TV properties CNN, Discovery and TNT Sports. The Streaming & Studios company will contain Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, and HBO Max, as well as the film and television libraries. Global Networks will include CNN, TNT Sports in the U.S. as well as top free-to-air European channels, Bleacher Report and the Discovery+ streaming network. Continue reading WBD Will Split into Two Publicly Traded Companies Next Year

Snapchat is offering experimental augmented reality and generative AI tools through its new Lens Studio iOS app and web tool. According to the company, “you can generate your own AI effects, add your dancing Bitmoji to the fun, and express yourself with Lenses that reflect your mood or an inside joke.” The app responds to text prompts, producing filters that can be published to Snapchat. Snap previously offered generative AI capabilities only to professional creators as part of its Lens Studio. The company has also launched an app that lets users read and reply to messages using their Apple Watch. For professional developers, Snap’s Lens Studio has added tools to build Bitmoji games. Continue reading GenAI Powers Snapchat Tools for Creating AR Lenses, Bitmoji

Chatbot platform Character.AI is rolling out its video generator, AvatarFX, in general release after a month in closed beta. It’s also adding a sharing feature called Scenes and Streams that will serve content to Character.AI’s community feed, coming soon to mobile. Users can now tap AvatarFX to create up to five videos per day, starting by uploading a photo, choosing a voice and writing dialogue for the character. Character.AI started as 1:1 text chat in the summer of 2023. Now the company is “expanding into a multi-modal world” with “more ways for creators to build immersive narratives and dynamic experiences.” Continue reading Character.AI Goes Wide with AvatarFX, Adds Mobile Features

China’s Manus AI has unveiled a text-to-video generator it says can transform “prompts into complete stories — structured, sequenced, and ready to watch. With a single prompt, Manus plans each scene, crafts the visuals, and animates your vision,” the company announced last week. Manus generated buzz in March for its agentic approach to AI, and now it is putting that autonomous technology to work on generative AI, promising story generation within minutes. Last month, the firm that developed Manus, Butterfly Effect, reportedly secured $75 million in funding led by U.S.-based Benchmark for a nearly $500 million valuation. Continue reading Manus AI Takes an Agentic Approach with Its Video Generator

Two weeks after its global rebranding of GroupM to WPP Media, the bespoke London-based marketing behemoth is launching Open Intelligence, an “AI identity solution” that WPP says will better target viewers with privacy-conscious solutions that more effectively message on behalf of its clients. Built around what WPP calls “the industry’s first Large Marketing Model,” Open Intelligence is “trained on the world’s largest and most diverse set of audience, behavioral, and event data,” culled from WPP’s decentralized partnership network. “Our model learns continuously from trillions of signals across more than 350 partners in over 75 markets,” the company claims. Continue reading WPP Media Launches Industry’s First Large Marketing Model