Kalakshar US

The hardest choice to make for building your next MacBook might be selecting a color. According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple has tested colors including light yellow, light green, blue and pink for its next entry-level MacBook that’s aimed at students and enterprise users.

Beyond the more vibrant colors, Gurman said that Apple has also trialed its classic silver and dark gray colorways for its cheaper laptop. Gurman added that not all of these six colors will make it to the final product, but Apple has recently shown it’s not afraid to dip into flashier options. Apple refreshed the iMac in 2024 with a total of seven colors and swapped out the space gray option for sky blue for the latest MacBook Air.

Color choices aside, the latest rumors point to the upcoming MacBook having a price tag that’s anywhere between $699 and $799. To achieve that lower price point, Apple is expected to port over its chips designed for iPhones, like the A18 Pro that we first saw with the iPhone 16 Pro Max. We’re also anticipating Apple will compromise on specs, ports, or even the display, but Gurman reported that the company won’t be skimping when it comes to the shell. According to Gurman, Apple will employ a new manufacturing process to craft aluminum shells for the affordable MacBook, instead of opting for a cheaper material like plastic to cut costs. We may not have to wait long to see the official colors of the budget MacBook, as Gurman reported that it will be announced during an event in March.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/apple-may-be-adding-a-splash-of-color-to-its-upcoming-budget-friendly-macbook-192740002.html?src=rss 

We’re still waiting for Apple CarPlay compatibility for Tesla EVs, but it’s been pushed back thanks to a slight hitch with iOS 26, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. In the latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Tesla’s plans to adopt CarPlay have been delayed due to app compatibility issues as well as low adoption rates for iOS 26.

It’s been a long wait for Tesla drivers who want CarPlay compatibility, especially since initial rumors indicated a late 2025 rollout and Bloomberg reported that Tesla was testing CarPlay in its vehicles in November. However, Gurman’s latest newsletter revealed that there were some compatibility issues between Apple Maps and Tesla’s in-house navigation software, which also supports the self-driving features.

To address this, Apple released an iOS 26 update that would better synchronize the two navigation apps, especially when a driver would use Tesla’s autonomous driving options. Still, Tesla is reportedly concerned enough about the low adoption rates of iOS 26 to delay delivering CarPlay to its vehicles. Gurman also noted that iOS 26 adoption rates were lower than usual, but are already going up, citing Apple’s latest numbers that 74 percent of all iPhones released in the last four years are running iOS 26. 

There’s still no official date for when CarPlay arrives in Teslas, but including the beloved in-car feature could be a way to boost sales for the company. According to the January registration estimates in the US, Tesla saw sales slip for the fourth month in a row.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/tesla-carplay-is-coming-but-its-reportedly-being-held-back-by-low-ios-26-adoption-numbers-173812736.html?src=rss 

Airbnb plans to double down on artificial intelligence to improve its user experience for both guests and hosts. During a fourth-quarter earnings call, Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky, said the company is building an “AI-native experience” aimed at helping guests book trips, assisting hosts with their listings, and running the company more efficiently. According to Chesky, there’s an AI search tool to help guests book trips that’s live for a small percentage of users right now.

In a shareholder letter posted on Airbnb’s website, the company said it’s conducting early testing with an AI-powered search that is “focused on giving guests a more natural way to describe what they’re looking for, and ask questions about the listing and location.” The letter added that the AI search tool will become “a more comprehensive and intuitive search experience that extends through the trip,” but the company didn’t offer a definitive date on when it would be available to the public.

While it may feel like Airbnb is late to incorporating AI into its ecosystem, it introduced an AI chatbot that handles customer service requests last year. While the AI agent is only available to users in North America currently, Airbnb said that it already handles a third of customer requests without the need for human intervention, as reported by TechCrunch. Chesky also said during the earnings call that the AI chatbot would tackle “significantly more” customer tickets a year from now and that it would roll out to the rest of the world.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/airbnb-is-testing-out-ai-search-with-a-small-percentage-of-users-203054011.html?src=rss 

Disney is going after another generative AI tool, accusing ByteDance and its recently released Seedance 2.0 of using its copyrighted material without permission. As first reported on by Axios, the Walt Disney Company sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, claiming the Chinese company developed its Seedance tool “with a pirated library of Disney’s copyrighted characters from Star Wars, Marvel, and other Disney franchises, as if Disney’s coveted intellectual property were free public domain clip art.”

The letter, which was obtained by Axios, included examples of Seedance videos featuring copyrighted Disney characters, including Spider-Man, Darth Vader, Peter Griffin and more. Even though ByteDance just released Seedance 2.0 on Thursday, it’s already earned praise, but also indignation from Hollywood studios, when it comes to its AI-generating capabilities.

With the strong early momentum, Seedance has already found itself in hot water with one of the largest media companies in the world. However, it’s not the first time that Disney has threatened legal action against an AI company, since Character.AI received a cease-and-desist letter for the same offense in September. A few months later, Disney even accused Google of copyright infringement when training its AI models. On the other hand, Disney partnered with OpenAI in a three-year licensing agreement that allows the AI giant to generate images and videos using that highly sought-after intellectual property.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/disney-accuses-bytedance-of-virtual-smash-and-grab-when-using-copyrighted-works-to-train-its-ai-191116136.html?src=rss