Technology - Kalakshar US

The Google Home Speaker is getting a Gemini-driven refresh

Google announced a wave of hardware updates today, including giving some love to the Google Home Speaker. We saw a teaser for the revamped smart speaker last month, so the announcement isn’t a surprise, but it does provide some specifics about what’s coming to the company’s smart home efforts.

This new Google Home Speaker puts the Gemini AI assistant front and center, as is the case with so much Google hardware these days. The light ring will also flash different colors to show when the AI model is listening, processing or responding. If you have a Google Home Premium subscription, you’ll also be able to use the Home to access Gemini Live. The blog post promises “more natural conversations” with this model, which it says has custom processing to support the demands of running an AI assistant.

Google is also bringing 360-degree audio to the Home Speaker. The upcoming iteration will be able to connect a pair of Home Speakers to the Google TV Streamer, allowing for a surround-sound home theater setup. The Home will still be able to connect to other Google Nest speakers as well. And for the privacy-minded, there’s a physical button to toggle the microphone off.

The new speaker won’t be available until spring 2026 and will retail for $99. It has four color options: porcelain, hazel, jade and berry. The Google Home Speaker will be available in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

The announcement follows hot on the heels of Amazon’s fall hardware event, which also had some big updates for smart speakers centered on its own Alexa+ AI assistant, including a brand new form factor called the Echo Dot Max.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/the-google-home-speaker-is-getting-a-gemini-driven-refresh-130004673.html?src=rss

Google’s new Nest Doorbell and Nest Cams have 2K video and new AI chops

A day after Amazon updated its security cameras, Google followed suit with its competing suite. A trio of new Nest security cams is available starting today. The latest Nest Doorbell and Nest Cams have higher-resolution (2K HDR) video and a wider field of view. That not only makes for better images, but it also opens the door to new (paid) AI features.

Google’s new additions include the Nest Cam Indoor (3rd gen), Nest Cam Outdoor (2nd gen) and Nest Doorbell (3rd gen). The company says the devices were designed to “provide the rich, detailed data our multimodal AI uses to understand.” The results, according to the company, are “better alerts” and the ability to “find important moments, faster.”

Google says DxOMARK rated all three as first in their class for image quality. The Nest Cams each have 2,560 x 1,400 resolution with a 152-degree diagonal field of view (FOV). The Nest Doorbell uses a 2,048 x 2,048 sensor with a 166-degree FOV. All three support up to 6x digital zoom.

Alerts can digitally zoom in on subjects.

Google

The company says the combination boosts the cameras’ ability to capture video in low-light conditions. Specifically, Google claims they offer 120 percent more light sensitivity than their predecessors. “This means the cameras can now stay in full-color mode much longer at dawn and dusk than before,” the company wrote.

The sharp resolution also allows you to digitally zoom in on a specific area in the Home app, cropping out the rest. Google says the feature could be handy for hot spots like a garden bed or walkway. Similarly, your alerts will include animated previews that zoom in on the subject. This could make it easier to tell at a glance who or what triggered the notification.

Ask Home (left) and Home Brief

Google

The upgraded Gemini AI chops include a new chatbot feature called Ask Home. It lets you do things like ask what ate your plants. (In Google’s example, the chatbot explains that it was rabbits, producing photo evidence.) It also lets you perform smart home tasks or create automations using natural language. There’s another new AI feature called Home Brief that gives you an AI-generated summary of the day’s activities. Both of the new AI features require a Google Home Premium subscription.

All three cameras are available beginning today at the Google Store and with retail partners. The Nest Cam Indoor costs $100. The Nest Cam Outdoor will set you back $150. And the Nest Doorbell costs $180.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/googles-new-nest-doorbell-and-nest-cams-have-2k-video-and-new-ai-chops-130006878.html?src=rss

Google has overhauled its smart home app to feature Gemini

As part of Google’s smart home announcements today, the company has unveiled a new look for its Google Home app that will begin rolling out globally today. The heart of the redesign is about Gemini for Home, which will replace the Google Assistant role in smart devices and promises a more conversational way to interact with and direct the company’s AI. The Google Home app is also now where customers will control their Nest devices.

There’s now a Home tab with a consolidated view of the system, an Activity tab that collects the notifications from all connected devices and an Automations tab for managing the hands-off side of the smart home hardware. The app also now has a persistent AI-powered “Ask Home” option in the header that Google describes as a “natural language command center for your entire home.” The company promises that it will be able to execute naturally written commands, such as searching for specific moments in a camera clip or creating more open-ended automations. However, some of those features will require a Google Home Premium subscription to access.

In addition to the new Gemini features, the Google Home app has been rebuilt for increased reliability and performance. The software loads “significantly faster,” reportedly more than 70 percent faster on some Android devices. Camera views in the app should load 30 percent faster and playback failures should be down 40 percent in the new version. Google is also boasting a reduction of almost 80 percent in app crashes and said it is additionally working to improve battery draw.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/google-has-overhauled-its-smart-home-app-to-feature-gemini-130041497.html?src=rss

Gemini for Home is the official replacement for Google Assistant on smart devices

Google is finally ready to explain how Gemini will replace Google Assistant in your smart home. The company’s original voice assistant will be replaced with the aptly named Gemini for Home starting this month, ushering in what might be an easier-to-use and more conversational smart home era in the process.

Like Google teased at CES 2025, the biggest change Gemini for Home will introduce for Google Assistant devotees is an end to rigid commands. While you’ll still need to use a “Hey Google” wake word, the days of having to be precise are over. Google claims Gemini grasps context enough to not only remember what your last request was, but also understand that if you’re saying “Hey Google, I’m about to watch a movie, turn off the lights,” you specifically mean the lights in your living room. You’ll also be able to string multiple requests together into the same sentence, and create automations without having to whip out the Google Home app, just by describing them. And when you want to ditch wake words entirely, you can start a Gemini Live chat and have a smooth back and forth with Gemini about whatever you choose.

AI-based improvements will also extend to any cameras you have in your smart home. Google says Gemini can create more useful notifications if a camera detects motion or films a notable event from around your home, thanks to its semantic understanding of visuals. You can also pull a specific piece of footage with natural language requests and even receive answers based on things your smart home recorded via a new feature called “Ask Home.” Like Ask Photos in Google Photos, Ask Home understands the context and meaning of footage you’ve captured to provide answers to questions like “Did I leave the car door open.” And for a larger overview of what’s going on at home, the “Home Brief” can identify important events you’ve filmed and “summarizes hours of footage into a quick, digestible summary you can read to catch up on what happened while you were away,” Google says.

Google

Google says Gemini for Home will be available on all of its smart home devices released in the last decade, including new Gemini for Home-compatible doorbells and cameras created by Walmart. Unfortunately, if you’re interested in features like Gemini Live, AI-powered notifications, Ask Home and Home Brief, you’ll have to pay for a $10-per-month Google Home Premium subscription to use it. The subscription also unlocks an additional 30 days of cloud storage for any videos your smart home captures and comes included with Google’s AI Pro and Ultra subscriptions at no additional cost.

To try out Gemini for Home as soon as possible, you can sign up for early access in the Google Home app. Google says the update will roll out throughout the month of October, and come to smart speakers and smart displays “toward the end of the month.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/gemini-for-home-is-the-official-replacement-for-google-assistant-on-smart-devices-130041482.html?src=rss

Uber found not guilty in first of many sexual assault lawsuits

Uber was found not responsible by a California jury for an sexual assault that a woman said occurred during a 2016 ride, The New York Times reported. It’s the first of what could be thousands of similar lawsuits in the US from women who claim they were “kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed, or otherwise attacked” by Uber drivers, according to the original claim. The cases were consolidated, meaning they can be presented before the same judge with similar procedural processes, while still being tried individually.

The woman in the first case, identified as Jessica C., said she was an 18-year-old college student when she ordered a ride to San Jose’s airport. Shortly after she got in, the driver deviated from his route and climbed on top of her, groped and kissed her and tried to remove her pants, according to her testimony. The victim told the driver “No, no, no” and tried to push him off. She feared for her life and later dropped out of school, while suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the assault.

Under California law, Uber would be responsible for the harm suffered by the woman if it failed to use adequate safety measures and that negligence was a “substantial factor” in causing the harm. Conversely, for Uber to not be responsible, the jury would need to find that Uber didn’t know and could not have expected that its driver would take advantage of the situation that it created.

The jury ruled that while Uber was negligent, that negligence was not a substantial factor in causing harm to Jessica C. However, the plaintiff’s attorney said that the court allowed evidence into the trial that let Uber blame Jessica C. for the harm she faced, adding that the decision discourages victims of sexual assault to come forward. “[It’s a] sad day for victims of sexual abuse across the country,” said John Taylor of Taylor & Ring.

Jessica C.’s lawyers accused Uber of covering up the scale of its sexual assault problem, revealing during discovery that 558,000+ trips had resulted in reports of sexual assault or misconduct from 2017 to 2024, far more than what was publicly reported. They also said that the company failed to put systems in place like mandatory video recording that could have protected passengers.

Uber said that the driver in Jessica C.’s case had passed background checks and didn’t trigger any alarms over past complaints. The company said that despite deploying numerous safety measures, it couldn’t guarantee that driver transgressions would never occur, and that it wasn’t responsible for driver misconduct in any case. Uber’s safety head, Gus Fuldner, testified during the trial that passengers used the service at their own risk.

Uber told the NYT that its work “to improve safety on our platform is never done. Uber has worked for years to raise the bar on safety, and we’ll continue to do so in the years ahead.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/uber-found-not-guilty-in-first-of-many-sexual-assault-lawsuits-133046712.html?src=rss

Oura Ring 4 gets new ceramic options and a charging case

Oura’s fourth-generation smart ring has been on the market for around a year, but the company is still looking to broaden its appeal. Today, Oura is launching a version of the Ring 4 clad in Zirconia Ceramic, offering a combination of durability and eye-catching color. The Ring 4 Ceramic comes in four colors: Cloud (white), Midnight (dark blue), Petal (pink) or Tide (pale green), all of which are priced at $499.

The company is talking up the various benefits of these new rings, explaining how durable the new ceramic coating is. For a start, since the color is embedded into the material, it’ll be very difficult to spot any scratches and bumps. Not to mention that ceramic is sturdy enough that you’ll probably not be able to damage it unless you go out of your way to do so. In fact, Oura says the bigger issue is dye from other objects wicking onto the surface — which will be easily wiped away.

Oura

As well as the fashionable new colors, Oura is also announcing its first ever charging case for the Ring 4. The company said it’s responding to feedback from users who’d rather not tote their standard charger around when they’re traveling. The clamshell unit is only a little bit bigger than an existing charger, and contains a battery big enough to support “up to 5 full charges.” A set of LEDs on the side will tell you how many charges you have available when you’re not charging a ring, but switches to tell you the ring charge level when it’s in place. The Oura Ring 4 charging case will, naturally, come as a paid-for accessory, setting you back $99.

Oura is also listening to its well-heeled users who want to wear different rings to suit their outfits. Multi-Ring Support will enable users to pick up and put down their multiple Ring 4s without a lot of fuss, ensuring their health data is as up to date as their style choices.

Oura

A lot of health tech companies are broadening out their work to include some more serious biology. Oura is joining the fray, offering Health Panels, a $99 blood test that will screen more than 50 markers for potential signs of trouble. Schedule a draw at a convenient Quest Diagnostics clinic and you’ll get results for factors including your metabolic health, blood sugar, liver and kidney function. Naturally, the results will be available in your Oura app, which will offer personalized recommendations thanks to its AI-based Oura Advisor.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/oura-ring-4-gets-new-ceramic-options-and-a-charging-case-120000060.html?src=rss

Arm loses licensing dispute with Qualcomm

Qualcomm has announced that a US District Court granted it “complete victory” in the lawsuit brought by Arm back in 2022. The court dismissed the remaining claim in Arm’s lawsuit, and it also upheld the result of a December 2024 trial, in which a jury ruled that Qualcomm and its subsidiary Nuvia did not violate their licensing agreement with Arm.

If you’ll recall, Arm sued Qualcomm after the latter purchased Nuvia, which is also one of the companies licensing its technologies. It argued that since Qualcomm didn’t obtain the necessary permits to transfer Nuvia’s licenses, Nuvia breached their contract. In 2024, Arm canceled the architecture license allowing Qualcomm to use its intellectual property and standards for chip design.

This recent court victory allows Qualcomm to continue selling chips with designs developed by Nuvia, which power multiple devices, including Microsoft Surface laptops. “Our right to innovate prevailed in this case and we hope Arm will return to fair and competitive practices in dealing with the Arm ecosystem,” said Ann Chaplin, Qualcomm’s general counsel.

Arm, however, isn’t giving up. It “remains confident in its position in its ongoing dispute with Qualcomm,” it said in a statement, and will file an appeal to overturn the court’s decision. Meanwhile, Qualcomm said it’s looking forward to the trial for its own lawsuit against Arm, accusing the Softbank-owned company of breach of contract and a “pattern of conduct seeking to hinder innovation and better position [its] own products over its long-standing partners’.” It’s expecting a trial for that lawsuit to take place in March 2026.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/arm-loses-licensing-dispute-with-qualcomm-120000134.html?src=rss

The best advent calendars for 2025: Our favorites from Lego, Funko Pop, Pokémon and more

Advent calendars aren’t just about chocolate anymore. Recent years have shown that the countdown to Christmas Day can be packed with fun surprises. Whether you’re into building Lego sets, adding more minifigures to your collection or curiously intrigued by scientific experiments, advent calendars can fill that desire (and they make for great gifts, too). Each door hides a new surprise that brings a bit of joy, nostalgia or nerdy fun to the holiday season.

Best advent calendars for 2025

Check out the rest of our gift ideas here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-advent-calendars-for-2025-our-favorites-from-lego-funko-pop-pokemon-and-more-120042696.html?src=rss

YouTube TV keeps NBC with a last-minute extension but loses Univision

YouTube TV has announced that it has reached a “short-term extension” agreement with NBCUniversal so that it can continue offering its programs while they negotiate a new long-term deal. The service warned customers last week that its partnership with NBCUniversal was going to expire on September 30 and that they haven’t signed a new deal yet. It said at the time that NBC was asking the service “to pay more than what they charge consumers for the same content on Peacock, which would mean less flexibility and higher prices for [its own] subscribers.”

While YouTube TV was able to prevent the removal of NBC programs at the last minute, it wasn’t able to reach a similar deal with Univision, the largest Spanish-language broadcaster in the US. It sent out an email to customers, telling them that it has failed to reach an agreement with TelevisaUnivision that reflects the value of its content. “Unfortunately their current demands aren’t supported by their performance on YouTube TV over the last four years,” it said in the email. The broadcaster has “over 160 million subscribers and billions of views across YouTube,” a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement. However, it apparently “only represents a tiny fraction of overall consumption” on its TV subscription service.

In early September, TelevisaUnivision warned customers that Google was planning to remove its programs from YouTube TV’s standard package and to charge viewers an extra $15 to be able to access its network. The broadcaster called it the “Hispanic tax” and questioned Google’s ethics at “a time of economic uncertainty for many.” The broadcaster called YouTube TV’s actions “tone-deaf and egregious on the eve of a potential government shutdown” in a new statement regarding its network’s removal from the service. “To add insult to injury, YouTube TV chose to take this step during Hispanic Heritage Month — an act that is deeply insensitive and offensive,” it added.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/youtube-tv-keeps-nbc-with-a-last-minute-extension-but-loses-univision-121508916.html?src=rss

Prime Day Lego deals: Get up to 38 percent off Star Wars and Super Mario sets

October Prime Day is nearly here, and new early deals are popping up every day. Amazon uses October Prime Day to kickstart the holiday shopping season — even if you haven’t even thought about the holidays yet, you should give the latest Prime Day Lego deals a look. A number of Lego sets from the Super Mario and Star Wars collections are already on sale for up to 38 percent off.

When shopping for Lego sets on Amazon, we highly recommend checking a price tracker like Keepa or CamelCamelCamel before buying. It’s not difficult to find Lego sets “on sale” at Amazon, but often those discounted prices have been around for a long time. We’ve clocked “deals” in which the sale price has been available for months already, going back as far as late spring and early summer 2025. Here, we’re mostly highlighting discounts on new Lego sets, recent price drops and record-low (and close to them) prices on popular Lego sets from franchises like Star Wars, Super Mario and others.

Best October Lego Prime Day deals

Lego City Advent Calendar 2025 60475 for $25 (29 percent off)

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar 2025 75418 for $38 (16 percent off)

Lego Minecraft Advent Calendar 2025 21280 for $38 (16 percent off)

Lego Harry Potter Advent Calendar 2025 76456 for $38 (16 percent off)

Lego Star Wars: The Mandalorian Paz Vizsla and Moff Gideon Battle set 75386 for $25 (38 percent off)

Lego Star Wars Brick-Built Star Wars Logo set 75407 for $55 (8 percent off)

Lego Star Wars R2-D2 set 75379 for $80 (20 percent off)

Lego Super Mario: Mario Kart Donkey Kong & DK Jumbo set 72033 for $28 (19 percent off)

Lego Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi Building set 71438 for $104 (20 percent off)

Lego Classic Medium Creative Brick Box 10696 for $18 (49 percent off)

Lego Botanicals Bouquet of Roses 10328 for $48 (20 percent off)

Lego City F1 Garage & Mercedes-AMG & Alpine Cars set 60444 for $68 (15 percent off)

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/prime-day-lego-deals-get-up-to-38-percent-off-star-wars-and-super-mario-sets-121513961.html?src=rss