Once upon a time, Google made smart home announcements and debuted products at a regular clip. The arms race between Google and Amazon for dominance in the voice-controlled smart home was exciting to watch. As such, the Google I/O developers’ conference was akin to my professional Super Bowl, as the search giant’s home-related announcements gained increasing prominence over the years before taking center stage at the keynote shortly before the pandemic.After watching this year's I/O keynote, I'm convinced that the smart home has become an afterthought for the tech giant. Its smart home unit, Google Nest, didn’t get a mention. While the company’s current focus on AI could end up helping the category, I’m starting to worry about the state of the Google smart home. Why I WorryIn 2016, Google used the keynote at I/O to officially enter the smart home category. It announced the original Google Home smart speaker during the show. At the time, the smart home was still a nascent category, but a certain gadget called the Amazon Echo was rapidly growing in popularity. Even then, Google didn’t outright acknowledge the competition or the smart home, as it painted the air-freshener-looking Google Home speaker as more of an entertainment device with voice control capabilities on the side. Fast forward to 2019. I was sitting in Shoreline Amphitheater as Google announced the Nest Hub Max. It wasn’t a simple entertainment device anymore. The tech giant had brought the acquired Nest team under its smart home wing and the newly dubbed Google Nest brand made a clear push for smart home dominance by again following Amazon into the emerging category of smart displays, but adding its own tricks with a camera that could follow you during video calls (a relatively unique feature at the time), facial recognition, and gesture controls. Excitement before Google I/O in 2019(Credit: Andrew Gebhart)I was excited. I had the chance to quarterback the coverage for our smart home team as Google rattled off announcement after announcement. Writing about that show was frantic, exhausting, and fun. Fast forward again to the present day. I watched the Google I/O keynote from my living room, hoping to be surprised by a smart home update, but not holding my breath. On the main stage, the smart home was indeed a ghost.Google has a stacked graveyard of abandoned products and services. Google Glass, Google Reader, countless Google messaging apps, and even the gaming service Google Stadia, which debuted in 2019, have all gone the way of the dodo. Even outside of Google I/O, the company’s announcements related to the smart home have slowed to a crawl. While Amazon continues to iterate and refine its smart home products on a semi-regular cadence, Google’s last smart speaker launched five years ago in 2020, and half a decade counts as an eternity in any field of tech. The company’s latest smart display is more recent, but not by much. It launched in 2021. Even on the software side, while updates have happened, they’ve slowed down. Again, Google is making a hard push on AI. In theory, an AI assistant like Google Gemini could be quite helpful for the smart home, but Google hasn’t added any such capabilities to the chatbot or any of its many present or future AI initiatives as of yet. Recommended by Our EditorsAll Hope Is Not LostWhile Gemini doesn’t have any functionality related to the smart home yet, a beta version of it started rolling out to Google’s smart home devices last fall. For the time being, the functionality is mostly meant to make the Google Assistant more conversational. In the near term, Google spelled out a plan to have it help you find very specific clips captured by your Nest Cam (not just pet activity, but clips of your dog digging in your garden, for instance). It could help you create routines as well, such as turning off your lights and locking your doors at bedtime. Alongside that announcement, Google launched the first new version of the Nest Learning Thermostat in nine years and a new Google TV Streamer. All hope is not lost for a new Google smart speaker or smart display, but we might have to keep waiting for a while. Google doesn’t appear to be giving up on smart home hardware, just slowing the cadence way down. The latest Nest Learning Thermostat(Credit: Google)Now, the company could be slowing the cadence to a trickle before shutting the unit down entirely, but Google has also taken active steps to facilitate wider smart home interoperability with Matter. Google was one of the initial collaborators for the Matter initiative, which aims to make all your connected devices work together seamlessly, regardless of brand and your voice assistant of choice. The Matter rollout itself has moved slowly, but Google is seemingly integrating updates to its devices as they’ve become available. On the practical side, yes, it's been a while since Google updated its smart speakers, but the Nest Audio, the Nest Hub, the Nest Hub Max, and the Nest Mini are all still available. Another reason for optimism comes from Google’s graveyard itself. I mentioned Google Glass, and unlike Google’s smart home devices, Google’s first foray into AR-enabled glasses has been long discontinued. However, Google is now working on the Android XR platform and at I/O this year teased a pair of glasses that they are working on in collaboration with Samsung in addition to the Project Moohan headset. The glasses in question even got a live demo on stage, complete with celebrity cameos. Even if Google Glass itself is dead, its legacy lives on, and its descendants are having their time in the spotlight now. (Credit: Google)Yes, Google does let some projects and initiatives fully die. I can’t imagine the company resurrecting Stadia in any form. That said, at other times, Google plays the long game, and it could be doing that right now with the smart home. Can Gemini Help the Smart Home? AI is already integrated into plenty of smart home devices. It helps robot vacuums automatically increase the suction power when they recognize a dirty spot, and it helps video doorbells notify you that a package has arrived, for instance. In theory, Gemini and AI in general could make controlling and setting up devices simpler than ever. Plans to integrate Gemini into Google Home to help you find specific clips from your security cameras and make it easier to craft routines for device automation are a step in the right direction. Moreover, I can imagine a world where you just have to look at a connected light switch or lamp with your Android XR-equipped glasses and give a command to turn it off without needing to specify which device you’d like to control. Doing so would require investment from device manufacturers and likely integration with larger smart home platforms like Matter. In other words, it might be a while before any big AI-related leap for the Google-powered smart home becomes tangible. In the meantime, I hope Google’s smart home ecosystem doesn’t falter due to neglect.

SAP News Sapphire 2025: SAP mints business AI flywheel with Palantir on board SAP CEO Christian Klein put economic and geopolitical uncertainty at the centre of the opening keynote at the supplier’s global Sapphire event in Orlando By Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor Published: 21 May 2025 17:32 Christian Klein, SAP’s chief executive officer, put economic and geopolitical uncertainty at the heart of the opening keynote at the supplier’s global Sapphire event in Orlando. The European version of the event will be held in Madrid next week and is likely to repeat the same themes. Like other enterprise software suppliers, such as Oracle and Salesforce, SAP is invoking a trinity of capabilities for the artificial intelligence (AI) age, in its case applications, data and AI. Klein said SAP has the “broadest suite of applications in the [IT] industry”, the “semantically richest business data”, and AI that already makes SAP itself 30% more productive. Klein said the concept of a “flywheel”, making this troika go round, is driving SAP’s thinking and its offer to customers. British readers attuned to the increasing involvement of the controversial supplier Palantir in the NHS will have taken note of SAP’s announcement of a partnership with the firm, which the main Sapphire 2025 press release said would “facilitate joint customers’ cloud migration journey and modernisation programmes”. “Seamless connectivity between Palantir and SAP Business Data Cloud will enable customers to build a harmonised data foundation across their enterprise landscape. Together, the companies will responsibly deliver essential outcomes and support customers, including the US government, to quickly adapt to changes and disruptions,” it said. In the keynote, Klein hailed the Palantir partnership as building out the Business Data Cloud (BDC) platform that SAP announced in February 2025. “BDC is the crystal ball we need for these times of uncertainty. “Palantir is the maker of powerful data analysis software, and with SAP Business Cloud, our shared customers now benefit from real-time data integration and joint AI use cases.” Palantir chief executive Alex Karp said, in a video during the keynote: “We use Ontology [a Palantir product] to manage large language models and Foundry to reconcile data. The combination of those products and SAP’s will, we believe, be extremely valuable for our collective clients and partners.” Foundry is Palantir’s data integration platform and Ontology is an element of it for building digital twins. Klein said, in the press statement: “With the expansion of Joule, our partnerships with leading AI pioneers, and advancements in SAP Business Data Cloud, we’re delivering on the promise of Business AI as we drive digital transformations that help customers thrive in an increasingly unpredictable world.” Joule is SAP’s generative AI assistant technology, which it says can “accompany business users throughout their day, in and out of the SAP application universe, to find data, surface real-time insights and streamline workflows. Joule’s new ubiquity includes an action bar powered by WalkMe that studies user behaviour across applications, turning the assistant into an always-available, proactive AI that can anticipate users’ needs before they arise – always adhering to SAP’s strict ethical AI guidelines”. The supplier also announced a collaboration with Perplexity, described as “an AI-powered answer engine company”. This is said to enhance Joule’s ability to draw on structured and unstructured data to solve complex business problems. Alongside SAP’s knowledge graph technology, SAP said Joule could now instantly answer questions with “structured, visual answers – such as charts and graphs – grounded in real-time business data within SAP workflows. For example, a user could ask the tool how recent external events might impact their business and get a forecast based on both current events and the company’s own business data”. WHO IS THIS QUOTE FROM? It is from the release. SAP also announced more Joule Agents spanning customer experience, supply chain management, spend management, finance and human capital management. The supplier also introduced an “operating system for AI development”. Called AI Foundation, it is said to give developers a single entry point for building, extending and running custom AI systems. The supplier will, no doubt, endeavour to say what these and other announcements will mean for SAP customers in Europe next week in Madrid, from 26-28 May. Read more about Sapphire SAP will focus on Joule, agentic AI and Business Data Cloud at Sapphire; experts say it should also show how it can help customers deal with real-world issues. SAP Sapphire 2024: AI in all its forms – but not only AI. 2023: SAP Business AI and sustainability dominate Sapphire. In The Current Issue: UK critical systems at risk from ‘digital divide’ created by AI threats UK at risk of Russian cyber and physical attacks as Ukraine seeks peace deal Standard Chartered grounds AI ambitions in data governance Download Current Issue Microsoft entices developers to build more Windows AI apps – Cliff Saran's Enterprise blog Red Hat launches llm-d community & project – Open Source Insider View All Blogs

Google announced a host of AI-powered updates to its Search products yesterday, with a major focus on “richer and more vivid” designs. “We’ve been working really hard to up the level of craftsmanship within Google search,” said Rhiannon Bell, Google’s VP of Search UX. At its annual I/O developer conference in California, CEO Sundar Pichai unveiled what he called “a total re-imaging of Search” which with 8.5 billion daily enquiries, brings “AI to more people than any other product in the world.” The new tools announced yesterday include: AI mode and Deep Search, which allow deeper queries, follow-up questions, and let users create “an expert-level fully-cited report” in minutes. Search Live which lets users talk back-and-forth with Search in real time through your camera. AI agents to help with tasks like booking tickets. A data visualisation tool which uses AI Mode to “analyse complex datasets and create graphics that bring them to life.” These will allow users to create custom-built charts and graphs and will roll-out first for sports and finance queries – to compare two stock prices over time, or two teams’ win ratios, for example. The new AI tools are available from today in the US, but Google couldn’t yet confirm when they will be available in the UK. Bell, a British design leader who has been based in San Francisco for the past two decades, said it was a big moment for the brand. “This technology is allowing us to do things that we could have only dreamed of before,” she says. “Bringing the Search product and the AI capabilities together is a phenomenal product and design opportunity.” https://d3faj0w6aqatyx.cloudfront.net/uploads/2025/05/Deep-Search-AI-Mode.mp4 But she explained, there are also a raft of design challenges her team must consider when implementing AI into Google’s product suite. “This technology is incredibly powerful and we are bringing that power into people’s lives,” Bell explained. “I think we have a responsibility to make sure that it is really accessible. “We’re moving so fast, and this technology can do so many things, I do worry sometimes that we’ll over-complicate things. And so we have protocols around making sure we’re keeping certain aspects of what Google’s really good at – at in terms of its core simplicity – as sacred as possible.” Bell said there was “a constant dialogue” between the design leaders to ensure they are “staying true” to the Google Search product. https://d3faj0w6aqatyx.cloudfront.net/uploads/2025/05/Complex-Analysis-Data-Visualization-AI-Mode.mp4 Alongside this simplicity, Bell also explained the team was focused on creating more crafted UX across the new tools. “I really wanted to make sure that we were bringing the vividness, the variety, and the visual richness of the open web to the foreground,” she said. This will show up in the way images are displayed and organised, Bell said, as well as new shopping experiences and specific design elements like the eclipse – a new waveform that appears when users are speaking with the AI tools. https://d3faj0w6aqatyx.cloudfront.net/uploads/2025/05/Search-Live-AI-Mode.mp4 The wave goes up when people speak to their device, and down when the AI model is responding, and Bell says it’s designed to create “synergy” across different touchpoints in a visually pleasing way. More broadly, Bell says she understands designers’ anxiety around AI and what it might mean for the profession. But she is optimistic around the opportunities for skilled designers to translate AI into usable, and exciting, interfaces. “I feel like UX is actually having a bit of a moment,” she says. “Our role in shepherding this technology to people everywhere is so important. It’s not going to happen without us. “AI is changing our discipline, but I think it’ making us more capable. And I think the nuances of user experience design, and that dialogue with users, are very hard to replicate.” Other announcements at I/O included Google Flow, a new AI filmmaking tool, and a new version of its image-generation tool Imagen. The new model is said to be “significantly better at spelling and typography.” Google also unveiled its new Google Glasses, which use Android extended reality (XR). The tech giant will partner with eyewear brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker to design glasses that people “want to wear all day.” The move echoes Meta’s collaboration with Ray-Ban on its XR glasses. https://d3faj0w6aqatyx.cloudfront.net/uploads/2025/05/Agentic-Capabilities-AI-Mode.mp4

Author Simply in my game i want to make offline time tracker for quests. Because the game is a clicker and it heavily relies on time tracking and so on. So i need someone to implement me a time that tracks time even while the player is away and when they are back the time tracking works as it should. Note this is a quest like game so i will also need to be able to calculate time like how many seconds, minutes has passed. A time that tracks time for quests to see if the player has finished or not.  3mpk1ng said:i need someone to implement…@3mpk1ng , recruiting (team-building) is not permitted in the discussion boards, so your post has been moved to Hobby Project Classifieds. Before posting again, please review our community guidelines. Welcome to gamedev.net, and good luck with your endeavours. Advertisement I just noticed the “paying ofc!” in the subject line. This thread is moved to Your Announcements, where paid recruiting is permitted. 

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Google's NotebookLM gets Video Overviews and duration control for Audio Overviews Aditya Tiwari Neowin @TheLazyAvenger · May 21, 2025 04:24 EDT At I/O 2025, Google announced a new AI-powered feature for NotebookLM, its research and note-taking tool. The feature is called Video Overviews, and as the name suggests, it adds visual elements to the AI-generated summaries. In other words, NotebookLM's Video Overviews feature can generate video summaries and educational videos from the files and images you upload. Google used the feature to create highlight videos of the I/O 2025 consumer keynote and Developer keynote, which are about 9 minutes long. These videos feature AI-generated summaries similar to Audio Overviews, where natural-sounding digital voices explain major announcements from the events. However, they are topped off with graphics, images, and other visual elements. Google also demoed Video Overviews by generating a minute-long recap of a field trip at a national park in California. It has created a new notebook focused on Google I/O 2025, which includes YouTube videos of keynote speeches and product demonstrations, blog links, and press releases. You can use the notebook to visualize I/O announcements in a mind map, get a text briefing, and listen to an AI-generated summary. Google said that Video Overviews will soon be available to users in English. In a separate update, you can now change the length of Audio Overviews in NotebookLM. "With short (~5+ min), long (~20+ min), and default (~10+ min) settings, try fully customizing the depth and length the AI hosts discuss your sources!" Google said. It has been two years since NotebookLM was first announced to the public, starting its journey as Project Tailwind. The AI tool lets you research and analyze content from various sources such as uploaded files, YouTube videos, audio files, URLs, and more. NotebookLM primarily uses information from the provided sources, potentially reducing the risk of hallucination and inaccuracies. However, you should still proceed with caution. The tool was initially available on the web and has recently arrived on Android and iOS. Google also added the ability to search the web in NotebookLM and expanded its Audio Overviews feature to more than 50 languages. On a lighter note, people have tried to have fun with NotebookLM and tried to send its AI podcast hosts into an existential crisis. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Marvel Rivals Season 2 is going strong with the ongoing Hellfire Gala Moments event, and the mid-season update is closer than ever. NetEase has set up the perfect stage, just in time for the arrival of the next hero, Ultron, and the new map Arrako, coming soon to Rivals. While there’s still heated debate about the Chrono Shield Cards and their use, devs have assured that they are not pay-to-win. Furthermore, new heroes have also been leaked to arrive in future updates that will bring new content. But right before Ultron arrives, NetEase has released another patch, which will release on May 22, and is bringing some crucial changes and fixes to the overall Rivals experience. Marvel Rivals Version 20250522 Full Patch Notes Two much-awaited skins are releasing with the new update. Image by VideoGamer. New In Store Scarlet Witch – Immortal Sovereign Bundle Adam Warlock – Immortal Avatar Bundle Store Launch Time: 2025/5/23, at 02:00:00 (UTC). Hellfire Gala: Moments The event has been extended by one week! The new end time is 2025/5/30 at 09:00:00 (UTC). New Features We’ve streamlined the store layout: the first two pages are now dedicated to New Arrivals and Recommended. A “Use Default Costume Voices” option has been added under Settings – Audio. Players can now have up to 5 sprays at once on the battlefield. Fixes – All Platforms System & Features Fixed an issue where, after signing up for a tournament, selecting Details would redirect to the wrong page. Fixed an issue where One Above All players could sometimes be reset to Eternity rank upon login. Fixed a bug causing the mouse icon to disappear after switching heroes in settings with raw mouse input enabled. Fixed an issue where the coach’s spectator view could sometimes freeze after pausing and resuming in custom tournament rooms.  Maps and Modes Addressed structural issues in the Klyntar and Spider-Islands maps. Heroes Doctor Strange’s Astral Shenanigans: Fixed a peculiar problem where souls from the Sorcerer Supreme’s Ultimate Ability could sometimes meddle with Human Torch’s Primary Attack. Now, Johnny Storm can flame on without any mystical interference. Mantis’ Sedate Slipup: Fix a rare error where, when Mantis worked her Spore Slumber, some heroes wouldn’t wake up after taking a hit. Now, after a quick snooze (and a smack), everyone’s back in the action, just like Star-Lord after his morning coffee. Emma Frost’s Diamond Dilemma: Sometimes, when Emma switched to her diamond form, textures from her own perspective would glitch out. She’s now flawless, both inside and out! Mister Fantastic’s Portal Puzzler: When Reed tried to stretch his way after a target through a Doctor Strange portal with Flexible Elongation, he’d sometimes veer off in the wrong direction and would go through at all! Now, Mister Fantastic can twist, turn, and traverse the multiverse with the precision of a true Illuminati member. Fixes – Console Fixed overlapping UI icons between Chrono Shields/Chrono Shield Cards and Controller icons in the console mode selection screen. The Marvel Rivals universe is ever-evolving, and we have plenty more surprises and updates on the horizon. Stay tuned to our official announcements for more! Marvel Rivals Platform(s): macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X Genre(s): Fighting, Shooter Subscribe to our newsletters! By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime. Share

Beyond classification (Nintendo) The Wednesday letters page debates whether Borderlands 4 is worth £80 or not, as one reader looks forward to Nintendo Switch 2 OLED Model. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk Multi-generational I have a question about the Nintendo Switch 2. It’s not very serious and I don’t think it’s possible to have a definitive answer, but is the Switch 2 the start of the tenth generation of consoles or is it still part of the ninth generation?I was curious to see if Wikipedia had a stance on it, and it seems pretty unambiguous in counting it as ninth generation. I find this unsatisfying, as it’s clear that the Switch 2 is a big change for Nintendo, in terms of pricing and things like online accounts. Also, the tenth generation sounds like it’s going to start in a couple of years and I’m not sure it’s fair to pretend the Switch 2 isn’t part of it. For me it’s not a question of power but of who you’re competing with, and I’d already bet the Switch 2 is going to easily outsell the PlayStation 6 and next gen Xbox.Penfold GC: We’d say the huge gap between the release of the original and the Switch 2 means they cannot be considered the same generation. So, the real question is what generation is the Switch 1? Our initial reaction is to say eighth, but we’d also agree with the idea that the Switch broke the concept of generations and is simultaneously eighth and ninth and neither. So, if you wanted to consider Switch the start of the tenth we wouldn’t argue against it, but for us it fits better as ninth. A rich man’s world I’d say I was shocked by the arrogance of Randy Pitchford’s comments, about $80 games, but It’s Randy Pitchford so I’m not. I’m not sure I’d even argue a game like Borderlands 4 isn’t worth it: a co-op focused multiplayer game that’s got lots of replayability.It’s not like Doom: The Dark Ages where I imagine you’re only going to play it once but something that can potentially last for years (admittedly probably via DLC and other expensive extras). So in theory I can see the argument, but do all these millionaire owners and businessmen have to be so smug about it? Although it may not be a lot of money to them it is to the rest of us. If the price rises mean I have to be much more select about what I spend my money on then I think Borderlands 4 just went down the priority list a few notches.St1nger Take your pick It’s not a very Nintendo thing to do, because they sure do like to encourage double and triple-dipping, but I would’ve been happy if they’d releases the Switch 2 OLED Model and Switch 2 Lite straight away and just made them options. Everyone knows they’re coming, so it would be a lot fairer on people that don’t want to be caught out.I do wish you had not worked out the time from the original Switch to its OLED version though and said that means we might not get the Switch 2 edition until 2030. Not because I’m that desperate for it but because that just goes to show how long the Switch has been going and how long it’s been. I truly do believe it’s the best console ever and the length of time it’s stayed relevant just goes to show that.Gadfly Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk The funniest of us I will be very happy if Naughty Dog is working on another IP. They’ve been bogged down with The Last Of Us for too long now and I’d like to see them break out and do something new. Ideally, I’d like to see them do something a bit lighter in tone but I don’t see that happening with Neil Druckmann in charge.He even tried to make Uncharted more miserable, and took all the supernatural out of it, so I don’t know what kind of fantasy game he’d make. Probably something that would make Game Of Thrones seem light-hearted. Maybe it’s just me but given all the news from the real world at the moment I’m looking for something more hopeful and optimistic from my entertainment right now. Although given how long games take nowadays, who knows what will be going on by the time Naughty Dog’s latest is actually out.Pinky Grand Theft Horsey For me there’s no argument about Red Dead Redemption 2 being Rockstar’s best game… and one of the best games of all time. Yes, it’s too long, and that means the plot is not as focused as it should be, but that’s the only criticism I’m willing to take seriously.In terms of graphics, I’ve still never seen anything better and that goes for the open world too, which is just amazing. The amount of freedom and total non-linearity is amazing and yet the game is still able to have scripted scenes, like Arthur’s illness and the shipwreck that come out of nowhere, but which feel completely natural. An amazing game that may even end up being better than GTA 6. It’s certainly the one to beat as far as I’m concerned, as I’d put it several leagues above GTA 5.Keith Lowering expectations I am curious to know what the next mainline Pokémon game Is going to look like on Switch 2, but I really don’t know how optimistic I can be. The problem is that Pokémon has always been open world, right from the Game Boy games, so while Game Freak clearly aren’t very good at making modern 3D worlds, they kind of have to because there’s no way to take things back a notch and still be authentic to what the series is.If I was Nintendo, I would’ve sent Monolith Soft over to do all their tech for them, but that doesn’t seem to be how things work. Instead, I worry that all the talk of bugs with Violet and Scarlet will overshadow the improvements Game Freak tries to make. It would be great if their next game was bug free but if they put all their energy into that there’s going to be no time to actually improve the gameplay and try to innovate. Which has been the whole problem for at least the last decade. I just don’t know what to suggest. Based on the scale of the concept, and the popularity of the franchise, Pokémon should have the biggest budget and biggest number of staff working on it. It sells much more than Zelda and yet it looks so cheap and empty compared to it. But I don’t think Game Freak is capable of the kind of radical change necessary, to step up in the way it needs to. So I really don’t know what to expect at all from the next game, except probably disappointment.Tasker Uneven distribution Well, thanks to you guys I actually managed to bag myself a Nintendo Switch 2 with Mario Kart and the camera from Very. I was able to put it on But Now Pay 12 months later with interest free credit and I also got 10% off the total value too (due to Very owing me a discount code).However, I was very surprised though how long Very, Argos, etc. actually had the Switch 2 in stock for. It must of been three or four days before they all sold out?HAJ GC: We’re happy to help but it was strange, especially as some bigger retailers didn’t seem to get any new stock at all. Anniversary bump After your Star Wars feature, I thought you’d be interested in knowing there’s been a massive spike in interest in playing Battlefront 2 lately. The number of people playing on Steam has shot up and it’s just outside the top 20 selling games on PlayStation 5.That’s great because I think, after all the updates, it’s a really good game, but the problem is nobody seems to have any idea why. I think it’s a combination of Andor and the re-release of Revenge of the Sith and its 20th anniversary. There’s a lot of good prequel era stuff in the game (far more than the sequels, oddly) and I think younger (or not so young now, I guess) fans appreciate that. I would be really happy if this convinced EA to make a third game, especially if it was based on the tech from the new Battlefield. I don’t know how likely that it is, but I think Battlefront is an important part of making non-Jedi elements of Star Wars work. For me it’s just a really good shooter, with some interesting weapons, vehicles, and great graphics. It is interesting to see how other media can affect games though, even if I’m sure this one was completely unanticipated by anyone.Terry Gold PS: I agree that Andor would be a much better for setting for the new XCOM clone game. The prequel setting makes no sense to me, especially given how perfect Andor would’ve been.Inbox also-rans I wonder what it would mean if Cyberpunk 2077 was a big hit on Switch 2? I’m sure Cyberpunk 2 wouldn’t work on it so would CD Projekt consider some kind of exclusive spin-off?BowieSo are we expecting the normal not-E3 Nintendo Direct next month? It’ll be pretty soon after launch so I’m not sure if there’s going to be any other announcements for a while.Toska GC: It’s very likely there’ll be a Direct in mid to late June, just like usual. Whether it’d have any new announcements is another question entirely. 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When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. These are the new AI features coming to Google Search Aditya Tiwari Neowin @TheLazyAvenger · May 20, 2025 17:32 EDT Google is back with a truckload of announcements at the Google I/O 2025 developer conference. This year's I/O is primarily focused on AI, as Google hosted a separate event to talk about several Android updates. New AI features are coming to Google Search. Moving on from past blunders, the search giant calls AI Overviews "one of the most successful launches in Search in the past decade." For starters, AI Mode is now rolling out to everyone living in the US, and no Labs sign-up is required. The feature is now powered by a custom version of Gemini 2.5, similar to the updated AI Overviews. Google is beefing up AI Mode with Deep Search, which uses the same query fan-out technique but raises it several notches. The feature can perform hundreds of searches to refer to multiple sources and generate a fully cited report within minutes, the company said. Project Astra's live capabilities are also coming to Google Search to improve its multimodal experience. Similar to Gemini Live, a feature called Search Live will let you have back-and-forth conversations with Google Search about what you see using your phone's camera. AI Mode will soon be updated to offer personalized suggestions based on past searches. You will get the option to connect other Google apps like Gmail. For instance, AI Mode will be able to suggest events near your stay, based on your hotel and flight bookings. Agentic capabilities in AI Mode will help with time-consuming tasks like booking event tickets, restaurant reservations, and local appointments, where you need to browse multiple sites to check prices and other details. Google said it will partner with companies like Ticketmaster, Resy, StubHub, and Vagaro to improve the agentic AI experience in Google Search. Apart from that, AI Mode will be updated to analyze complex datasets and create custom charts and interactive graphs for your sports and finance queries. A new shopping experience in AI mode will help with various stages, such as finding new products and trying clothes on yourself virtually. Google said these new features will be available to Labs users for AI Mode in the coming weeks and months. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

Microsoft famously brought its Copilot AI to the Edge browser in Windows. Now Google is doing the same with Chrome. In a list of announcements that spanned dozens of pages, Google allocated just a single line to the announcement: “Gemini is coming to Chrome, so you can ask questions while browsing the web.” Google later clarified what Gemini on Chrome can do: “This first version allows you to easily ask Gemini to clarify complex information on any webpage you’re reading or summarize information,” the company said in a blog post. “In the future, Gemini will be able to work across multiple tabs and navigate websites on your behalf.” Other examples of what Gemini can do involves coming up with personal quizzes based on material in the Web page, or altering what the page suggests, like a recipe. In the future, Google plans to allow Gemini in Chrome to work on multiple tabs, navigate within Web sites, and automate tasks. Google said that you’ll be able to either talk or type commands to Gemini. To access it, you can use the Alt+G shortcut in Windows. Gemini is to Chrome what Copilot is to Edge Within Edge, Microsoft uses Copilot to summarize documents and web pages, as well as answer questions about the content within them. Gemini will do the same, but well after Microsoft integrated Copilot — a possible reason for downplaying the announcement. Google is also using “Gemini” as a catch-all for various AI functions, much in the same way that Microsoft uses Copilot as an AI brand. Google, like Microsoft, is pushing agentic AI, where various bits of autonomous AI work independently to pursue tasks. Google calls this “Project Mariner,” and will appear in mobile and on the desktop. It may appear as “Agent Mode,” so a task like searching for an apartment in Austin could be broken down into tasks like searching rental agencies , and so on. It will be coming soon, to “subscribers,” Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said in a keynote address at its Google I/O developer conference on Tuesday. Those will include Google’s AI Pro as well as the new $250/mo Google Ultra subscription. You’ll see Gemini appear in Chrome as early as this week, Google executives said — on May 21, a representative clarified. However, you’ll need to be a Gemini subscriber to take advantage of its features, a requirement that Microsoft does not apply with Copilot for Edge. Otherwise, Google will let those who participate in the Google Chrome Beta, Dev, and Canary programs test it out. Updated at 12:09 PM PT with additional detail

Much like Microsoft’s Build keynote, Google’s kickoff of its annual developer event was a sort of AI-palooza. Unless you’re done with AI, in which case it was probably a snoozefest, and I suggest you skip over to the next post. I’m not sure it’s a good long-term plan, though. From flashy moonshots to real, actionable, useful features that customers will be able to take advantage of almost immediately, there was a little bit of everything. Including things that Apple users will also greatly benefit from. Long-time watchers of Google I/O know that the event marks Google’s annual ritual of cramming as many projects as possible within the boundaries of what an average human bladder can withstand in one sitting. (To be fair, it’s gotten way better over the last few years.) This time around, over the course of about two hours, 139 mentions of AI and 30 mentions of agents (or “agentic”), Google offered a glimpse of how things could have looked if Apple hadn’t missed multiple boats on this technology. Of course, many of Google’s offerings wouldn’t make sense if they came from Cupertino. As interesting as Google Beam might be, it probably wouldn’t work as a FaceTime Ultra device. But then again, some of these announcements, had they been made by Apple, would have been pretty fantastic: 1) Gemini in Chrome This was probably the lowest-hanging fruit of all of Google’s offerings, considering all the other AI products it already had available. But it’s possibly one that will be the most impactful over time. By embedding Gemini directly into the browser, Google is turning it into an easily-accessible smart assistant that understands both the page’s content and the user’s context (Calendar, etc.). Voice support is a welcome plus, especially for users who rely on accessibility features. I know it sounds cliché, but this will probably unlock an interesting new way of browsing the web. At least until the DOJ tells Google to spin off Chrome. 2) Project Astra update Last year we introduced Project Astra, our research prototype of a universal AI assistant. Since then we’ve improved memory, added computer control and enhanced voice output, and are working to bring these new capabilities to Gemini Live and other products. Honestly, the comparison between this video and the entirety of the decades-long Siri blunder speaks for itself. Last year, Siri seemed hopelessly behind. Given recent reports, it seems even further behind the competition, since the competition actually moved forward over the previous twelve months. It is very fair to mention that Project Astra is still considered an experiment. It will probably be a while before it becomes an official, widely accessible feature. But still, I mean… just… yeah. 3) Stitch As with Microsoft’s dev-centric announcements I commented on here, Google I/O also had its share of tools and quality-of-life improvements for developers. One of them was Stitch, a Gemini 2.5 Pro-powered platform that supposedly builds complex UIs, complete with frontend code (which will obviously need human tweaking), from image inputs and user prompts. This is significant because consistently creating beautiful yet practical user interfaces has never been a strong suit of LLMs. If Google actually delivers on this promise, this could yet again advance Apple’s long-stated goal of using Swift, Xcode, and its entire development platform: reducing the entry barriers so more people can express themselves through code. How about you? Did anything catch your eye at Google I/O? Let us know in the comments. Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed.  FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.You’re 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. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel