Apple Reports a Strong Quarter Propelled by iPhone 17 Sales

Apple had its first $100 billion quarter thanks to the new iPhone 17 series and a strong performance by services, up 15 percent from 2024. Revenue for fiscal Q4, ended September 27, totaled $102.5 billion, up 8 percent year-over-year. Profit surged 86 percent to $27.5 billion (due mainly to a 2024 tax hit). Q4 results capped a record fiscal year with revenue of $416 billion. Sales of the iPhone 17s brought in $49 billion for the three months. The company sold 100 million more units than last year during the same period despite “supply constraints” on some 2025 models. Design changes drove iPhone sales up 6 percent from Q4 of last year. Continue reading Apple Reports a Strong Quarter Propelled by iPhone 17 Sales

Amazon: ‘Help Me Decide’ Uses AI to Help Shoppers Choose

Amazon wants to save customers time shopping by helping them reach an informed decision more quickly using AI. The new “Help Me Decide” feature aims to pair people with the right product “with the tap of a button” that produces “one clear recommendation.” This includes an explanation of why the product is right for you “based on your specific needs and preferences,” ascertained via analysis of your browsing history. If you’ve been perusing similar products but haven’t yet purchased, the “Help Me Decide” button will appear at the top of the product detail page. It can also be accessed by tapping “Keep shopping for” on the homepage if you want to pick up where you left off in a previous browsing session. Continue reading Amazon: ‘Help Me Decide’ Uses AI to Help Shoppers Choose

Netflix Shutters Mobile Game Studio as Part of Strategy Shift

Netflix has shuttered its Boss Fight Entertainment, the game studio best known for developing the mobile “Squid Game:  Unleashed” multiplayer action game based on the streamer’s hit series franchise. The title went to number one on the charts in 26 countries, according to Boss Fight co-founder and CEO David Rippy, who posted a farewell on LinkedIn. The unit also developed “Netflix Stories,” described as “an interactive visual novel platform” based on Netflix shows “Virgin River,” “Emily in Paris” and “Selling Sunset.” Netflix reportedly plans to continue offering the Boss Fight titles even as it de-emphasizes mobile games. Continue reading Netflix Shutters Mobile Game Studio as Part of Strategy Shift

Meta AI Wants to Parse Your Camera Roll to Suggest Styling

For those who may be too busy to look through their smartphone’s camera rolls, Meta Platforms has debuted a new Facebook feature that will parse collections for you, then recommend “fun” edits and collages to make the content more shareable. The feature could also offer ideas such as recaps and birthday themes. Available to users in the U.S. and Canada, to leverage this new AI-powered feature, one must opt-in, and it can be turned off at any time. Once a suggestion is reviewed, the user can then determine whether they want to share it and with whom. Then it’s just a one-click share through Facebook or Messenger. Continue reading Meta AI Wants to Parse Your Camera Roll to Suggest Styling

Netflix Will Offer Party Games via Its TV Service for First Time

As part of an initiative to broaden its reach beyond TV shows and film, Netflix is adding party games to its programming lineup with a push beyond mobile. The streaming giant is offering diversions like “Pictionary” and “Boggle” to enhance fun for family and friends through the holiday season. “We’re creating a completely new way to play games — one that’s as easy as streaming a show on a Friday night,” Netflix explains, adding that all you’ll need to experience the gaming action is “Netflix and your phone.” Other games include “LEGO Party!,” “Tetris Time Warp,” “and a fresh take on the social deduction genre ‘Party Crashers: Fool Your Friends.’” Continue reading Netflix Will Offer Party Games via Its TV Service for First Time

Adobe’s Pro Quality Premiere Video Editor Is Free for iPhones

Adobe is bringing a free “pro quality” version of Premiere to iPhone, so YouTubers, filmmakers, music video editors, commercial producers and other creators can edit video on the fly. While tools like ByteDance’s CapCut and Meta’s Edits have become popular for mobile, Adobe’s move marks a major productivity step for those aspiring to more than social video, particularly through integration with the entire Adobe tools ecosystem. The Adobe Premiere mobile app features what Adobe promises are “studio-quality audio enhancements, perfectly timed AI sound effects, precision editing on a multi-track timeline, AI content generation and more.” Continue reading Adobe’s Pro Quality Premiere Video Editor Is Free for iPhones

Amazon Teams with NBA, FanDuel to Offer AI Stats, Features

Amazon is bringing new levels of immersion and interactivity to the NBA on Prime, with features including opt-in personalized bet tracking with FanDuel, customizable Multiview, and AI-powered Key Moments and Rapid Recap. Tipping off on its 11-year agreement with the NBA on October 24, viewers will experience “personalization, engagement and broadcast quality with a comprehensive suite of interactive features and AI-powered enhancements,” according to Amazon. The NBA is also teaming with AWS and harnessing AI to bring live stats and in-depth analytics to fans during games. AWS becomes the official cloud partner of the NBA, WNBA, and others via the multiyear partnership. Continue reading Amazon Teams with NBA, FanDuel to Offer AI Stats, Features

Apple Creates an AI Chatbot to Help Train the Next-Gen Siri

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 Launches Conversational ‘Search Live’ for U.S. Mobile

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

Apple Introduces Major Security Upgrade to Its iPhone 17 Line

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

Apple Unveils New iPhone 17 Line, Watches and AirPods Pro

During its latest live-streamed event yesterday, Apple debuted new product models, including the iPhone 17 Air, the company’s first ultra-slim smartphone. Made of titanium, it’s priced at $1,000. The entry level of the group, the iPhone 17, costs the same as the iPhone 16, at $800, with an improved display and double the storage (256GB). Fully loaded, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is the company’s most expensive phone ever at $2,000 with 2TB of storage and a 6.9-inch OLED screen. All four models come with a 48MP rear camera, while the new A19 Pro chipset powers the 17 Pro, Pro Max and Air. Apple also unveiled a new collection of smartwatches and the AirPods Pro 3. Continue reading Apple Unveils New iPhone 17 Line, Watches and AirPods Pro

Samsung Unveils Galaxy S25 FE Smartphone and S11 Tablets

Following the reveal of its new foldable phones, Samsung hosted a second Galaxy Unpacked summer event to unveil its Galaxy S25 FE smartphone and Galaxy Tab S11 and Tab S11 Ultra tablets. Equipped with Samsung’s latest One UI 8 user interface, the Galaxy S25 FE features multimodal Galaxy AI capabilities including Generative Edit and Instant Slow-mo and a 12MP front-facing camera powered by the ProVisual Engine for enhanced selfies. The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is billed as “the thinnest Galaxy Tab to date.” Both new tablets also boast multimodal AI capabilities with Galaxy AI. Continue reading Samsung Unveils Galaxy S25 FE Smartphone and S11 Tablets

Amazon’s Lens Live Brings Real-Time AI Shopping to Mobile

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’s Pixel 10 Smartphone Line Packs AI-Driven Features

The new Pixel 10 series of smartphones were formally debuted this week at the Made by Google event. The four new models — the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 XL and Pixel 10 Pro Fold — all run on the new Tensor G5 chipset, which is 34 percent faster than the G4 used with the Pixel 9s and integrates the first image processor designed by Google. Gemini Nano powers on-device AI features including Magic Cue, a contextual suggestion system underpinning native apps. The Pixel 10s are the first to have magnetic Qi2 fast wireless charging. Sales begin August 28. The company also unveiled the Pixel Watch 4 and Pixel Buds 2a, both shipping October 9. Continue reading Google’s Pixel 10 Smartphone Line Packs AI-Driven Features

Google Says New Gemma 3 Is Ideal for Mobile, Edge Devices

Google has introduced a new ultra-light model called Gemma 3 270M ideal for smartphones and other on-device use cases. The open-source model is power-efficient and small enough to run locally in the absence of an Internet connection, as Google demonstrated in internal tests using a Pixel 9 Pro SoC. With just 270 million parameters, Gemma 3 270M is a fraction of the size of flagship LLMs, which typically have billions of parameters. While Google’s new model was not made for complex conversational use, it is “designed from the ground up for task-specific fine-tuning with strong instruction-following.” Continue reading Google Says New Gemma 3 Is Ideal for Mobile, Edge Devices