Apple has reportedly developed a ChatGPT-like iPhone app for internal use in testing its AI overhaul of Siri. Apple’s AI unit is using the app to assess new features for its famous conversational assistant, putting it through its paces for tasks like sifting through personal data, including documents, audio and emails, and performing actions including photo and video editing, according to reports. Called Veritas, Latin for “truth,” the developmental software is garnering attention as a pivotal tool in Siri’s highly anticipated AI makeover, expected to make its public debut next year. Continue reading Apple Creates an AI Chatbot to Help Train the Next-Gen Siri

Google has launched its Gemini-powered AI search tool Search Live in the United States. The mobile integration for iOS and Android can look at the world through your phone’s camera and respond to questions conversationally, in real time, while also offering helpful Web links for a deeper dive. “Just open the Google app and tap the new Live icon under the search bar,” Google explains. Camera sharing will be activated by default and the app also accepts video input. If you’re already pointing your camera with Google Lens, you can select the Live option at the bottom of the screen. Continue reading Google Launches Conversational ‘Search Live’ for U.S. Mobile

Google is rolling out “Gemini in Chrome” to U.S. Mac and Windows desktop users. Business users will get it in the weeks to come, as will Android and iOS mobile devices. The immediate change integrates “Google AI into Chrome across multiple levels so it can better anticipate your needs, help you understand more complex information, and make you more productive when you browse the web.” There are a number of safety features that leverage AI to combat scams and handle things like automatic password resets. And Gemini in Chrome will soon be able to recall websites previously visited without requiring you to scroll through your browsing history. An agentic browsing assistant is also in the works. Continue reading Google Adds Gemini AI Assistant to Chrome Browser in U.S.

Apple is touting a major security upgrade for its recently unveiled iPhone 17 devices, which come with always-on protection called Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) aimed at making it more difficult to get spyware onto the four new models. The result of five years of research and development, MIE leverages both Apple silicon and iOS software. The company is calling the results “the most significant upgrade to memory safety in the history of consumer operating systems.” The upgrade targets “mercenary spyware,” the origins of which are “vastly more complex than regular cybercriminal activity and consumer malware.” Continue reading Apple Introduces Major Security Upgrade to Its iPhone 17 Line

Amazon Music has a new AI-powered personalization feature called Weekly Vibe that is designed to keep playlists fresh and prevent listeners from tiring of the same songs. The feature is available to iOS and Android users in the U.S. across all subscription tiers. Every Monday, Weekly Vibe will update playlists to reflect recent listening choices, taking into account musical interests and moods. It will also suggest new music based on demonstrated patterns and preferences. Weekly Vibe builds on the Maestro AI playlist generator Amazon Music launched in beta last year. Continue reading Amazon Music Adds Weekly Vibe AI Playlists Across All Tiers

Amazon has introduced Lens Live, an AI-powered update to the Amazon Lens shopping tool. The app, which works in concert with Amazon’s Rufus shopping assistant, uses smartphone cameras much like Google Lens does with visual search. Pinterest Lens is another such app. But the purpose-built Rufus ties it even more closely to the shopping experience with instant scanning, real-time product matches and insights from Rufus. Lens Live is already available to tens of millions of U.S. users on iOS in the Amazon Shopping app with plans to roll out to all U.S. customers in the coming months. Continue reading Amazon’s Lens Live Brings Real-Time AI Shopping to Mobile

Google has added new AI features to Google Photos and YouTube Shorts. Having previously introduced generative backgrounds, YouTube Shorts now has a photo-to-video feature, as well as a variety of menu-driven effects accessible via the Shorts camera that aim to advance social media or arts project creativity — things like turning line drawings into watercolors, putting a selfie “underwater” or adding a digital twin. And Google Photos, available on just about every Android phone, now also has the ability to turn stills to video. For now, both rely on the Veo 2 video model rather than Veo 3, launched in May. Continue reading Google Photos, YouTube Shorts Offer New AI Creation Tools

Startup Decart AI is showcasing MirageLSD, a “world transformation model” that can change the look of a camera feed, recorded video or game in real time. Built on the company’s Live-Stream Diffusion (LSD) model, Mirage debuted last week as a demo on the company website with iOS and Android apps scheduled for release this week. Mirage makes it possible to manipulate video continuously, in real time with zero latency. The technology has created buzz as a potential disruptor in the live-streaming space, and it looks like it could be an impactful special effects tool as well. Continue reading Decart AI’s Mirage Transforms Live-Stream Video in Real Time

Amazon has agreed to purchase AI wearables firm Bee, it was announced via a LinkedIn post by the San Francisco-based startup. Bee’s principal product is a $50 wrist device called the Pioneer that records all audio within range unless manually muted. Combined with a $19 per month subscription the device records and transcribes “daily memories” to create to-do lists and reminders based on what it hears. It can also answer questions. Bee’s website says the product is backordered due to “high demand” with shipments resuming in September. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Continue reading Amazon Buying Startup Bee, Maker of the Pioneer AI Bracelet

An increasing number of teens are experimenting with AI companions like chatbots for advice and sometimes even for friendship, according to a new study from Common Sense Media. The survey found that 72 percent of U.S. teens have interacted with a personal, as opposed to a productivity, chatbot at least once. The inquiry characterized either personal AI, or chatbots with recreational settings, as “companions.” Exploring the use of artificial intelligence by children ages 13 to 17 revealed that of the nearly three-quarters who had tried an AI companion, more than half — 52 percent — identified as regular users. Continue reading Study Finds Teens Are Increasingly Turning to AI Companions

Orlando, Florida-based digital distribution company FreeCast is launching Test Drive Live, a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel that is also shoppable. The idea is to offer telecoms and ISPs the ability to offer “monetizable video” without requiring substantive infrastructure and hardware investments, FreeCast explains. Test Drive Live will be offered via FreeCast’s own streaming platform and through Roku. The company says that through FreeCast, Test Drive Live will be immediately available on Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, Apple TV, Xbox, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac “and most streaming devices.” Continue reading Test Drive Live: FreeCast Rolls Out Shoppable FAST Channel

Google has added photo-to-video capability to its Gemini AI app. Powered by Veo 3, Google’s latest generative video model, launched in May, Gemini AI can now turn images into 8-second videos complete with AI-generated sound including speech, environmental sounds and background noises. Available now via the Web to anyone with a $20 per month Google AI Pro subscription or those on the $125 per quarter Google AI Ultra plan, the new feature is also being released to mobile users this month for both iOS and Android devices. The videos are finished as 720p resolution MP4 files in 16:9 landscape format. Continue reading Google Offers Gemini AI Subscribers Photo-to-Video Function

Google Labs is testing Doppl, an experimental app that uses AI to let you virtually try on clothes. Available on iOS and Android in the U.S., Doppl requires the user to upload a full body photo to which images of outfits can then be applied. It will work with various types of outfit photos, from pictures taken with a smartphone to screen grabs from shopping sites or social media. Doppl can also create AI-generated videos from a static image to give an idea of what the outfit would look like from different angles when worn. While Google hopes Doppl “helps you explore your style in new and exciting ways,” it cautions that the app “is in its early days and it might not always get things right.” Continue reading Google Doppl Lets You Try on Outfits Using Generative Video

ElevenLabs is bringing its powerful AI voice tools to mobile. Previously, the company’s apps and voice libraries were only available via the Web. Now iOS and Android users can tap ElevenLabs tech on the go with a “faster, intuitive, more powerful experience built natively for mobile” rather than awkwardly through a mobile browser. Combining mobility with creativity, the app lets users create realistic voiceovers for social media or narrate video using ElevenLabs’ text-to-speech models — including Eleven v3, now in alpha, which lets users fine-tune vocalizations using tags. The company has also introduced a new voice assistant, 11ai. Continue reading ElevenLabs Text-to-Voice AI Tools Now Available for Mobile

Google has launched Search Live with voice-input, a two-way conversational query function for exploring online resources. Presently available via the Google app for Android and iOS to U.S. users enrolled in Google Labs’ AI Mode experiment, Search Live is designed to handle complex, multi-part questions. Google suggests the new feature is “perfect for when you’re on the go or multitasking, like if you’re packing for a trip.” The discursive voice feature follows Google’s general rollout of AI Mode, recently launched to compete against products such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT Search and Perplexity AI. Continue reading Google Search Live Features Conversational Voice Capability