Googles Gemini is already winning the next-gen assistant warsGoogles Gemini is already winning the next-gen assistant wars / AI has made virtual assistants a big deal again. So far, it looks like ChatGPT, Siri, Alexa, and the rest are all chasing after Gemini.By David Pierce, editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired. Jan 22, 2025, 10:04 PM UTCShare this story Illustration: The VergeOne of the most important changes in Samsungs new phones is a simple one: when you long-press the side button on your phone, instead of activating Samsungs own Bixby assistant by default, youll get Google Gemini.This is probably a good thing. Bixby was never a very good virtual assistant Samsung originally built it primarily as a way to more simply navigate device settings, not to get information from the internet. It has gotten better since and can now do standard assistant things like performing visual searches and setting timers, but it never managed to catch up to the likes of Alexa, Google Assistant, and now, even Siri. So, if youre a Samsung user, this is good news! Your assistant is probably better now. (And if, for some unknown reason, you really do truly love Bixby, dont worry: theres still an app.)The switch to Gemini is an even bigger deal for Google. Google was caught off guard a couple of years ago when ChatGPT launched but has caught up in a big way. According to recent reporting from The Wall Street Journal, CEO Sundar Pichai now believes Gemini has surpassed ChatGPT, and he wants Google to have 500 million users by the end of this year. It might just get there one Samsung phone at a time.Gemini is now a front-and-center feature on the worlds most popular Android phones, and millions upon millions of people will likely start to use it more or use it at all now that its so accessible. For Google, which is essentially betting that Gemini is the future of every single one of its products, that brings a hugely important new set of users and interactions. All that data makes Gemini better, which makes it more useful, which makes it more popular. Which makes it better again.Right now, Google appears to be well ahead of its competitors in one important way: Gemini is the most capable virtual assistant on the market right now, and its not particularly close. Its not that Gemini is specifically great; its just that it has more access to more information and more users than anyone else. This race is still in its early stages, and no AI product is very good yet but Google knows better than anyone that if you can be everywhere, you can get good really fast. That worked so well with search that it got Google into antitrust trouble. This time, at least so far, it seems like Googles going to have an even easier time taking over the market.Its not that Gemini is specifically great; its just that it has more access to more information and more users than anyone elseFor years, there were three meaningful players in the virtual assistant space. Amazons Alexa, Googles Assistant, and Apples Siri all offered similar features and were similarly accessible through speakers and phones and wearables. But now? The much-hyped, AI-first Remarkable Alexa is, by all accounts, massively delayed and massively underpowered. The latest versions of Siri shipped with a wackier animation and seemingly no new smarts or capabilities.There are other ascendant AI assistants, of course. ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Copilot all have strong underlying models, and some share the same multimodal capabilities as Gemini. There are lots of good reasons to pick them or even something like Perplexity over Gemini. But theyre missing the most important thing: distribution. Theyre apps you have to download, log in to, and open every time. Gemini is a button you can press and thats a big difference. Theres a reason OpenAI is reportedly working on everything from a web browser to a Jony Ive-designed ChatGPT gadget: the built-in options usually win.The built-in options are also the ones that tend to have the best integration across the platform, which might be the whole ball game. Gemini can already change settings on your phone and, with new upgrades, can even do things across apps grabbing information from your email and dumping it into a text message draft, just to name one example. Because of the way iOS and Android are architected, no other assistant has this kind of access and again, theres no indication that Siris ever going to be as good as it needs to be. If the future of assistants is this kind of agentic, using-your-apps-for-you behavior, Googles inherent advantage might be insurmountable.Google is practically spoiled for places to put GeminiMeanwhile, Google is practically spoiled for places to put Gemini. The company recently announced that all paying Workspace customers will get Gemini access. You can access Gemini with one click from your Gmail inbox or summon it with one keystroke in Docs. And the underlying tech is even more pervasive. You can use Gemini to find stuff on YouTube and in Drive, and practically every time you search, a Gemini-powered AI Overview appears at the top of your results. Today, all seven of our products and platforms with more than two billion monthly users use Gemini models, Pichai said on Googles earnings call last fall. (Fun fact: the word gemini appears 29 times in that earnings call transcript, only three fewer than search.)When it comes to how people actually encounter and interact with these models, though, the phone is still the AI device of choice. And thats where Google has maybe its largest advantage. Geminis deep integration is improving Android, Pichai said on that earnings call. For example, Gemini Live lets you have free-flowing conversations with Gemini; people love it. For now, smartphones are the most compelling AI devices, and Google can integrate its systems unlike any other. Apple, scrambling to play catch-up with the iPhone, had to launch an awkward handoff with ChatGPT just so Siri could answer more questions.All of these assistants, including Gemini, still have lots of limitations. They lie; they misunderstand; they lack the necessary integrations to do even some of the basic things Alexa and Assistant have been able to do for years. The Gemini models still occasionally do ridiculous, deal-breaking things like tell people to eat rocks and generate diverse founding fathers. But if you believe the AI era is coming, or is maybe even here, then there is nothing more important right now than getting your AI platform in front of users. People are developing new habits, learning new systems, developing new relationships with their virtual assistants. The more entrenched we become, the less likely we will be to dump our AI friend for another one.ChatGPT had the first-mover advantage and captured the worlds imagination by showing just how compelling an AI chatbot could be. But Google has the distribution. It can put its sparkly icon in front of practically the entire population of the internet every single day, across a huge range of products, and get the kind of data and feedback it needs to eventually do this well. Even as it fights in court over how powerful its default status made it in search, Google is executing the same playbook with AI. And its working again.Most PopularMost Popular

Best Buy just brought back a Black Friday deal and made it even better. Right now you can pick up a pretty massive 75" Samsung DU6950 Crystal 4K Smart TV for only $529.99 after a savings of $220 and get a second 43" Samsung DU6900 Crystal 4K Smart TV for free. The second TV will be automatically added to your shopping cart. This is also $20 cheaper than the deal we saw during Best Buy's 4-Day Sale over the weekend, and the bonus TV wasn't even included at the time. Here's your chance to upgrade your main TV and get a second TV for your bedroom or gaming den at a super price.Buy a 75" Samsung TV for $530 and Get a Free 43" TVBonus 43" Samsung 4K Smart TV With Purchase75" Samsung DU6950 Crystal 4K Smart TV If you want to stick with the Samsung brand and you want a big TV at an affordable price, there isn't any other TV that offers up a 75" screen size at a better price. This is a no frills TV with a native 4K resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, and Samsung's Tizen smart interface. This is an entry level TVs that sits below other TV models equipped with QLEDs, Mini LEDs, or OLEDs, but costs hundreds less and still offers up great image quality in most situations.The DU6900 is a "Crystal 4K TV", which according to Samsung, means that it boasts a wider spectrum of colours via Dynamic Crystal Color technology that adds more contrast to the images. It also supports HDR, a feature that enriches the luminance, contrast and colours so you can actually see the details in the picture even in the darkest dark and the brightest bright scenes. Note that these improvements in picture quality are mostly software based, as opposed to more expensive hardware-based panel technologies.The free 43" TV that you get is from the same DU6900 series but with a smaller screen size. TVs under 45" are still commonly found at lower resolutions of 1080p or 720p, but this model sports a true 4K resolution. It also has built-in speakers and integrated smart interface, so it's ready to go out of the box with all of the bare essentials.Why Should You Trust IGN's Deals Team?IGN's deals team has a combined 30+ years of experience finding the best discounts in gaming, tech, and just about every other category. We don't try to trick our readers into buying things they don't need at prices that aren't worth buying something at. Our ultimate goal is to surface the best possible deals from brands we trust and our editorial team has personal experience with. You can check out our deals standards here for more information on our process, or keep up with the latest deals we find on IGN's Deals account on Twitter.Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

I love my AirPods Pro 2, but I cant say the same about every intelligent feature Apple has added over the years. If you want to roll with your AirPods Pro as straightforward as possible, these are the features to disable.Fun fact: you can read this in reverse to make sure youre using every smart AirPods Pro 2 feature.How I use my AirPods Pro 2Personally, I prefer to run my AirPods Pro like its 2019. Apple has steadily made AirPods Pro smarter over the years, but not all of the new features are for me, even if theyre impressive.I like my AirPods to pause when I take them out, toggle between noise cancellation and transparency mode, and respond to voice commands when I say Siri. Thats about it.Theres one accessibility feature I typically turn on. By default, AirPods Pro wont offer noise cancellation when youre using a single AirPod. I like to enable this capability.While using your AirPods, go to Settings > [Your AirPods] > Accessibility > toggle on Noise Cancellation with One AirPod. This is useful when I prefer noise cancellation, but Im only using one AirPod like if Im laying in bed. An AirPod in the pillow-facing ear can be uncomfortable sometimes.Smart features you can disableSome or all of these may be what youre looking for proceed at your own risk.Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Headphone Safety > toggle off Reduce Loud AudioGoing down the list in Settings > [Your AirPods] from top to bottom starting with opting out of Adaptive mode.PRESS AND HOLD AIRPODS: Left > Noise Control > check Transparency and Noise Cancellation; uncheck AdaptivePRESS AND HOLD AIRPODS: Right > Noise Control > check Transparency and Noise Cancellation; uncheck AdaptiveThen there are two audio features Im happier not using:AUDIO: toggle off Personalized AudioAUDIO: toggle off Conversation AwarenessI also dont use Personalized Spatial Audio (or Spatial Audio for that matter).Then there are some of the newer features:Head Gestures > OffEnable Charging Case Sounds > toggle offNow that its been well established that Im in cranky old man who prefers things the old way territory, I disable Optimized Battery Charging. I do leave Find My Network enabled, though.Lastly, theres the recently changed default to having Off Listening Mode disabled. I actually leave this disabled despite the old way being the opposite way. Thats because this is a feature I used to disable manually. Im either using noise cancellation or transparency mode. I think Off Listening Mode is only useful if youre trying to maximize battery, but AirPods Pro battery life isnt something I struggle with myself.Whats your preferred way to run AirPods Pro 2? Share your preferences in the comments!Best AirPods Pro accessoriesAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Theres a new app called People coming soon to the iPhone that looks promising. Like Cardhop and other Contacts app alternatives, People wants to modernize your address book with important context.This is the pitch from indie developer Andrew Theis:Ive been working on a product geared towards those who meet a ton of people professionally or otherwise, but have a hard time remembering everyone. If youre like me, maybe you have resorted to jotting names down in Notesnot exactly the best solution.So I created something to help with that, fused with a way to better organize your contacts & everyone in your life.The app has a nice product page that tells you more about it here. You can register for the public beta before it lands next week.The apps super power appears to be prompting you to provide the kind of context that will help you later. This YouTube Short conveys everything you need to know about the app:Shop Apple on Amazon to support my work Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Looking for the most recent Strands answer?Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Conncetions: Sports Edition puzzles.If you're lactose intolerant, today'sStrandspuzzle might not be your favorite. That's a hint, of course. If you need more hints and answers, read on.Also, I go into depth about therules for Strands in this story.If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Editions and Mini Crossword answers, you can visitCNET's NYT puzzle hints page.Read more:NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So FarHint for today's Strands puzzleToday's Strands theme is:Udderly deliciousIf that doesn't help you, here's a clue: Mooooooo!Clue words to unlock in-game hintsYour goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle's theme. If you're stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:SEED, BURY, HEED, HEEDS, PURE, PURGE, RODE, THEE, MUSE, SUED, DIRT, CUDS, GELT, PROUD, PROD, STYEAnswers for today's Strands puzzleThese are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you've got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:MILK, BUTTER, CHEESE, GELATO, YOGURT, CUSTARDToday's Strands spangramToday's Strands spangram isDAIRY PRODUCTS.To find it, start with the D that's five letters to the right on the bottom row and wind up. The completed NYT Strands puzzle for Jan. 23, 2025. NYT/Screenshot by CNET

You're all fired Trump admin fires security board investigating Chinese hack of large ISPs Dismantled Cyber Safety Review Board was investigating Salt Typhoon telecom hack. Jon Brodkin Jan 22, 2025 3:08 pm | 98 The helicopter with outgoing US President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden departs from the East Front of the United States Capitol after the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Credit: Getty Images The helicopter with outgoing US President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden departs from the East Front of the United States Capitol after the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Credit: Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe Department of Homeland Security has terminated all members of advisory committees, including one that has been investigating a major Chinese hack of large US telecom firms."The Cyber Safety Review Boarda Department of Homeland Security investigatory body stood up under a Biden-era cybersecurity executive order to probe major cybersecurity incidentshas been cleared of non-government members as part of a DHS-wide push to cut costs under the Trump administration, according to three people familiar with the matter," NextGov/FCW reported yesterday.A memo sent Monday by DHS Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman said that in order to "eliminate[e] the misuse of resources and ensur[e] that DHS activities prioritize our national security, I am directing the termination of all current memberships on advisory committees within DHS, effective immediately. Future committee activities will be focused solely on advancing our critical mission to protect the homeland and support DHS's strategic priorities."The memo said advisory board members terminated this week "are welcome to reapply." The Cyber Safety Review Board's list of members included security experts from the private sector and lead cybersecurity officials from multiple government agencies.The review board previously investigated a 2023 hack of Microsoft Exchange Online, producing a report that called out "a cascade of security failures at Microsoft." More recently, it has been investigating how the Chinese hacking group called Salt Typhoon infiltrated major telecom providers such as Verizon and AT&T.DHS said advisory boards push agendasSalt Typhoon attackers stole call records for many telecom customers and reportedly accessed calls and messages for Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other government officials. US Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) was quoted by Reuters as saying that "disbanding the Cyber Safety Review Board while it's in the middle of investigating the most damaging breach of America's phone system in recent memory is a massive gift to the Chinese spies who targeted Trump, JD Vance and other top political figures."We contacted the Department of Homeland Security today, asking whether the Cyber Safety Review Board will be reconstituted and whether its work on Salt Typhoon will continue. The agency's public relations team didn't answer those questions but sent us a statement it attributed to an unnamed DHS senior official."Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security will no longer tolerate any advisory committee[s] which push agendas that attempt to undermine its national security mission, the President's agenda or Constitutional rights of Americans," the DHS statement said.The Cyber Safety Review Board operates under the DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which has been criticized by Republican lawmakers for allegedly trying to "surveil and censor Americans' speech on social media."Democrat: Board will be stacked with Trump loyalistsA Democratic lawmaker said that Trump appears ready to stack the Cyber Safety Review Board with "loyalists." House Committee on Homeland Security Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) made the criticism in his opening statement at a hearing today."Before I close, I would also like to express my concern regarding the dismissal of the non-government members of advisory committees inside the Department, including the Cyber Safety Review Board and the CISA Advisory Committee," Thompson's statement reads. "The CSRB is in the process of investigating the Salt Typhoon hack of nine major telecommunications companies, and it is a national security imperative that the investigation be completed expeditiously. I am troubled that the President's attempt to stack the CSRB with loyalists may cause its important work on the Salt Typhoon campaign to be delayed."Thompson said Republicans have been trying to shut down CISA over "false allegations and conspiracy theories." The conservative Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 alleged that "CISA has devolved into an unconstitutional censoring and election engineering apparatus of the political Left."The DHS memo dismissing board members was published yesterday by freelance cybersecurity reporter Eric Geller, who quoted an anonymous source as saying the Cyber Safety Review Board's review of Salt Typhoon is "dead." Geller wrote that other advisory boards affected by the mass dismissal include the Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board, the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council, the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, and the Secret Service's Cyber Investigations Advisory Board."The CSRB was 'less than halfway' done with its Salt Typhoon investigation, according to a now-former member," Geller wrote. The former member was also quoted as saying, "There are still professional staff for the CSRB and I hope they will continue some of the work in the interim."House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) told Nextgov/FCW that "President Trump's new DHS leadership should have the opportunity to decide the future of the Board. This could include appointing new members, reviewing its structure, or deciding if the Board is the best way to examine cyber intrusions."Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 98 Comments

A special collab.Last week, Marvelous announced Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma would be launching on the Nintendo Switch this May.Now, in another update during a livestream event, it's been revealed there will be some special collaborative DLC with the action-farming sim Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Following "a disagreement about the IP rights of Celeste".The Celeste developer Extremely OK Games has made the "difficult decision" to cancel the "2D explor-action" game Earthblade.This new project was originally revealed in 2021 and now in a blog update it's been revealed the new game was cancelled "late last month". This follows conflict within the team "centered around a disagreement about the IP rights of Celeste".Read the full article on nintendolife.com

In BriefPosted:8:00 PM PST January 22, 2025Image Credits:Angel Garcia / Bloomberg / Getty ImagesGoogle buys part of HTCs XR business for $250 millionGoogle has agreed to acquire a part of HTCs extended reality (XR) business for $250 million, expanding its push into virtual and augmented reality hardware following the recent launch of its Android XR platform.The deal involves transferring some of the HTC VIVE engineering staff to Google and granting non-exclusive intellectual property rights, according to the Taiwanese firm. HTC will retain rights to use and develop the technology.The transaction marks the second major deal between the companies after Googles $1.1 billion purchase of HTCs smartphone unit in 2017.Google said the acquisition will accelerate Android XR platform development across headsets and glasses. The move comes as tech giants race to establish dominance in XR technology, with Apple and Meta maintaining their lead in the virtual reality market.Google and HTC will explore additional collaboration opportunities, they said.Topics

Ati Motors on Wednesday announced a $20 million raise. The funding arrives as the Indian-based autonomous mobile robots (AMR) startup looks toward global expansion. The firm hopes to tap into increased demand for domestic manufacturing in the U.S., India, and Southeast Asian nations, as countries look to lessen their dependence on China.In 2023, the Indian IT ministry proposed a nationwide policy titled National Strategy for Robotics to position the South Asian nation as a global robotics leader by 2030. The country ranks as the seventh largest robotics market, with a 59% YoY growth in annual industrial robotics installations, with 8,500 units in 2023, per the International Federation of Robotics. However, it still lags significantly behind China, Japan, and the U.S.Our competitor is always the status quo, not really another robot, Saurabh Chandra, founder and CEO of Ati Motors, said in an interview. Typically, we are displacing manual operation or somebody driving a vehicle or often somebody pushing it by hands.The 7-year-old startup, which has a manufacturing and R&D facility in Bengaluru, has developed seven distinct robots, two of which are currently in testing and will be available starting this quarter. The robots can move trolleys, bins, and pallets in a factory or warehouse.Image Credits:Ati MotorsAti Motors robots come with 3D lidar sensors and have spatial awareness. This enables these robots to work even in a tough environment where harsh weather, including rain, can impact manufacturing. The robots can also move on various flooring conditions and even handle gradients, cracks, or oil spills in their path, Chandra told TechCrunch.We do the full stack ourselves, he said. That has been our USP that we are able to do complete multi-disciplinary engineering.Ati Motors has designed the software and hardware for its robots in-house, including their sensor-fusion algorithms. Like many others in the space, the company relies on Nvidias Jetson platform for edge computing. It also offers dedicated fleet management software that can work with other companies mobile robots to provide customers interoperability.The future is such that millions of robots are going to go into factories. No one company is going to make all the millions of robots alone. And should we want to play with other people from day one? Yes, Chandra said.Founded in February 2017, Ati Motors started its journey with a tugging robot. However, based on customer feedback and demand, it expanded into pallet movers and lifters.The startup offers a robots-as-a-service (RaaS) model to let companies lease its AMRs. Customers can also buy the systems outright.Ati Motors says it has deployed hundreds of its Sherpa robots across 40 manufacturers as its customers, including Airbus, Ceat Tyres, Forvia, Hyundai, Samsung, and TVS Motor. Of its total customer base, 80% are in the automobile sector and the U.S. dominates its revenues. Therefore, the startup plans to expand its North American presence in Detroit.The all-equity Series B funding was co-led by Walden Catalyst Ventures and NGP Capital. It also featured existing investors, including True Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, Athera Venture Partners, and Blume Ventures.