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You no longer have to hop between apps just to perform some common tasks in Chrome on your iPhone. Google is updating Chrome for iOS with the option to see Maps addresses, create Calendar events and translate specific text without switching to the relevant app. You can find the location of a restaurant, remind yourself to visit that restaurant and decipher the menu all from one place.

A future upgrade will also make Google Lens considerably more useful. You’ll have the option of searching with your camera, whether to take new pictures or draw from your camera roll. As on Android, this might be helpful if you spot a flower or must-have jacket and want to identify it on the spot. The functionality will be available in the “coming months.”

You’ll still need to use Google’s dedicated apps for more advanced functions, such as driving directions in Maps or managing the rest of your itinerary. However, the additions should make Chrome more of a do-it-all app that saves time (and battery life) versus running multiple apps at once. That, in turn, may make Chrome more alluring than Safari as your iPhone’s default browser.

The expansion comes soon after Google introduced Chrome Actions, or text-based shortcuts for popular browser tasks like clearing your browsing data and checking settings. Google has even been experimenting with using its own web engine in Chrome for iOS if and when Apple loosens its app policies. Simply put, the company is making Chrome more of a power user’s tool.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/chrome-on-ios-can-now-show-maps-and-create-calendar-items-without-switching-apps-160028132.html?src=rss 

We’ve already had a ton of gaming news this month but we’re far from done. Annapurna Interactive is hosting its own showcase on June 29th, for one thing. Before that, though, there’s the small matter of a Nintendo Direct. The second full-fledged Direct of 2023 will stream on June 21st at 10AM ET on Nintendo’s YouTube channel.

The showcase will run for around 40 minutes and it will primarily focus on Switch titles that will arrive this year. With Nintendo not planning to release a Switch successor until at least next spring, it makes sense to start padding out the release slate for the rest of 2023. Currently, the only first-party games on the horizon are Everybody 1-2-Switch! (which will arrive on June 30th) and Pikmin 4. We’ll learn more about Pikmin 4, which has a release date of July 21st, during tomorrow’s Direct. 

Nintendo has yet to reveal exact release dates for the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet expansion, other than to say it will arrive in two parts this fall and winter. It’s been a long, long time since we’ve had any official word about Metroid Prime 4, while a Detective Pikachu title for the Switch has been in the works for several years. We may or may not learn more about those during the Direct. 

Elsewhere, Pyoro, a leaker with a decent track record, says the showcase will include looks at a new 2D Mario game and a “remake of a SNES classic.” Then, of course, there’s always the hope that Hollow Knight: Silksong will make an appearance. In any case, we won’t have to wait much longer to find out exactly what Nintendo has in store.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-next-nintendo-direct-will-take-place-on-june-21st-145140349.html?src=rss 

The wheels of government have finally begun to turn on the issue of generative AI regulation. US Representatives Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Ken Buck (R-CO) introduced legislation on Monday that would establish a 20-person commission to study ways to “mitigate the risks and possible harms” of AI while “protecting” America’s position as a global technology power. 

The bill would require the Executive branch to appoint experts from throughout government, academia and industry to conduct the study over the course of two years, producing three reports during that period. The president would appoint eight members of the committee, while Congress, in an effort “to ensure bipartisanship,” would split the remaining 12 positions evenly between the two parties (thereby ensuring the entire process devolves into a partisan circus).

“[Generative AI] can be disruptive to society, from the arts to medicine to architecture to so many different fields, and it could also potentially harm us and that’s why I think we need to take a somewhat different approach,” Lieu told the Washington Post. He views the commission as a way to give lawmakers — the same folks routinely befuddled by TikTok — a bit of “breathing room” in understanding how the cutting-edge technology functions.

Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) plans to introduce the bill’s upper house counterpart, Lieu’s team told WaPo, though no timeline for that happening was provided. Lieu also noted that Congress as a whole would do well to avoid trying to pass major legislation on the subject until the commission has had its time. “I just think we need some experts to inform us and just have a little bit of time pass before we put something massive into law,” Lieu said.

Of course, that would then push the passage any sort of meaningful Congressional regulation on generative AI out to 2027, at the very earliest, rather than right now, when we actually need it. Given how rapidly both the technology and the use cases for it have evolved in just the last six months, this study will have its work cut out just keeping pace with the changes, much less convincing the octogenarians running our nation of the potential dangers AI poses to our democracy.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lawmakers-seek-blue-ribbon-commission-to-study-impacts-of-ai-tools-152550502.html?src=rss 

Here is your first peek at Cadillac’s Escalade IQ. The brand has started to tease the upcoming EV, which it will formally unveil on August 9th. As you might expect, the first glimpse doesn’t reveal much about the Escalade IQ. It appears to have LEDs in the grille, including a stylized, digital version of the Cadillac badge.

This will be Cadillac’s first full-size, completely electric SUV. It follows the mid-sized Lyriq and the Celestiq sedan. The brand is introducing the Escalade IQ as part of its transition to an entirely electric lineup by the end of this decade. The EV is widely expected to use GM’s Ultium battery technology.

Parent company GM will build the Escalade IQ at its Factory Zero plant in Michigan. GM says $2.2 billion was spent on renovating the facility for an EV-focused future. It’s not clear exactly when the first Escalade IQ is expected to roll off the factory floor, but Cadillac has said the vehicle will arrive later this year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cadillac-teases-the-electric-escalade-iq-ahead-of-an-august-9th-reveal-140045265.html?src=rss 

Rivian is joining GM and Ford in gaining access to Tesla’s Supercharger network. The automaker will offer R1T and R1S owners an adapter to connect their EVs to Supercharger stations as soon as spring of next year. Rivian will also adopt North American Charging Standard (NACS) charge ports as standard in R1 vehicles starting in 2025, as well as in the upcoming R2 platform.

The move means that Rivian owners will soon be able to top up their vehicle’s battery at more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the US and Canada. Rivian plans to keep expanding its Adventure Network of DC fast chargers too.

“The adoption of the North American Charging Standard will enable our existing and future customers to leverage Tesla’s expansive Supercharger network while we continue to build out our Rivian Adventure Network,” Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to find new ways to accelerate EV adoption.”

Last year, Tesla said it would open source the NACS, which has taken strides toward becoming a true standard for EV charging in North America. Ford, GM and now Rivian are all embracing it as part of an apparent move away from the Combined Charging System (CCS). In November, Tesla pressed its case for the NACS, noting that the breadth of the Supercharger network meant that standard had far wider availability than CCS. The automakers’ shift toward NACS could pressure the likes of Electrify America and Chargepoint to adopt it in their infrastructure too.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rivian-owners-will-be-able-to-use-tesla-superchargers-starting-in-2024-141546633.html?src=rss