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Google is once again crossing the great divide between rival tech giants, at least with artificial intelligence. The company has launched a dedicated iPad app for its Gemini AI assistant. In addition to natively running on Apple hardware, Gemini’s iPad app can take advantage of the tablet’s split view, so that the AI assistant is open on the screen at the same time as another program for easier use. The app is available today from the App Store in all countries where Gemini is currently available.

Gemini has been a huge focus for Google’s recent announcements as it works to put its service in front of more and more potential users. iPhones got their first native Gemini app last November. The company recently introduced a program for children to explore the AI assistant and it opened the Deep Research capability to all Gemini users. With Google I/O 2025 right around the corner, it’s a safe bet that we’ll be hearing about more features and integrations for the AI assistant later this month.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-launches-a-gemini-app-for-ipad-194047388.html?src=rss 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned the National Weather Service of possible attacks from an armed conspiracy group targeting Doppler radar stations, according to a report from CNN. The group, Veterans on Patrol, is going after government radars because it believes they’re being used as “weather weapons.”

CNN learned of the possible attacks through NOAA emails warning NWS staff that Veterans on Patrol was planning to conduct “penetration drills on NEXRAD sites to identify weaknesses,” with the ultimate goal of destroying NEXRAD. Despite its cooler-than-average name, the NWS uses NEXRAD or “Next Generation Weather Radar” for a fairly mundane purpose: detecting precipitation in the atmosphere. NEXRAD plays a vital role in locating thunderstorms and tornados, making it easier to evacuate vulnerable communities before disaster strikes. 

It’s not clear what Veterans on Patrol sees as threatening about radar — the group was previously focused on white nationalism and Pizzagate-style government conspiracies — but concern over the effects of being exposed to radio waves is a common bugbear for conspiracy-types. For example, groups set fire to cell towers early in the COVID-19 pandemic because of a belief that 5G somehow spread the virus. Viewing radar as a weapon could originate from some similar misconceptions.

NWS staff have been advised to use the buddy system when working at remote radar sites and report anything suspicious to the authorities. Even without the threat of physical violence, though, the NWS and NOAA at large have already been devastated in 2025. Hundreds of weather forecasters were fired because of the cuts made by the Trump administration, just one of many attempts to dismantle government services.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/noaa-warns-staff-a-militia-group-thinks-its-radars-are-weather-weapons-202236953.html?src=rss 

AI services like Perplexity or OpenAI’s SearchGPT could be search engine options in a future version of Safari, Bloomberg reports. The tentative plans were shared by Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, while on the stand for Google’s ongoing search antitrust case. Cue was called to testify because of the deal Google and Apple have to keep Google Search as the default search engine on the iPhone.

Cue claims Apple has discussed a possible Safari-integration with Perplexity, but didn’t share any definitive plans during his testimony. It’s clear that he believes AI assistants will inevitably supplant traditional search engines, though. “Prior to AI, my feeling around this was, none of the others were valid choices,” Cue said. “I think today there is much greater potential because there are new entrants attacking the problem in a different way.”

Whatever AI search Apple ultimately adds likely won’t be the default at first, according to Cue, but “there’s enough money now, enough large players, that I don’t see how it doesn’t happen.” There’s some evidence to back up the idea that things are changing, too. According to The Verge, Cue shared that the number of Google searches in Safari fell for the first time last month, something “that has never happened in 22 years.” It’s entirely possible those missing searches went to ChatGPT or Gemini.

Google pays Apple $18 billion or more a year to keep Google Search as the default, possibly on top of other financial incentives. Cue’s threading a very fine needle acknowledging the popularity of AI without suggesting that Google’s deals have gotten in the way of other search options growing. Clearly, both companies would like their mutually beneficial relationship to stay the same.

Of course, Apple’s also had its own public issues with AI in the last few months. After presenting big plans for how Apple Intelligence would work in 2024, Apple had to delay its updated Siri, the centerpiece of its pitch, until later this year. The company ultimately made the decision to work with third-party AI models because its systems weren’t up to snuff. That change could be how conversations about adding AI search engines to Safari came about in the first place.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/apple-is-considering-adding-ai-search-engines-to-safari-180502229.html?src=rss 

A four-pack of Samsung SmartTag 2 Bluetooth trackers is available for just $52 at Woot. That’s a record low price and a discount of 38 percent. This pack includes two white and two black trackers. There’s a limit of two packs per customer.

This particular model made our list of the best Bluetooth trackers, and this is particularly true for those already tied into the Samsung ecosystem. We love the design. It’s an oblong fob with a big hole for attaching directly to keys and the like. This is something that Apple AirTags don’t offer out of the box, as you need a case for the purposes of attaching.

These Samsung trackers are also louder when pinged than the AirTag or the Tile Pro. This makes it a bit easier to find something when the time comes. You can also change the tag’s ringtone or double squeeze it to ring the handset, both things that aren’t possible with AirTags.

Setup is simple and we came away impressed with how easy it was to locate lost items out in the wild. The companion app, SmartThings Find, offers an intuitive Google Maps-based interface. We found that alerts triggered reliably when we got around three to eight blocks away from the lost item.

These may be the best trackers for Samsung users, but they are also exclusively tied to the company’s ecosystem. Don’t buy these if you use an iPhone. The finding network isn’t as vast as Google’s Find My Device or Apple’s Find My, but it gets the job done.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/a-four-pack-of-samsung-smarttag-2-bluetooth-trackers-is-down-to-52-at-woot-164134673.html?src=rss 

It’s earnings season, and automakers are warning investors about the impact tariffs will have on vehicle pricing. As first reported by Reuters, the cost of Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, Ford’s electric SUV, could rise by as much as $2,000 on some models.

Ford manufactures the Mach-E as well as other non-electric models in Mexico, which are now tariffed when sold in the United States. Aside from the Mach-E, Ford estimates that it will take a $1.5 billion hit from current tariff policy.

The Trump administration has long insisted that tariffs are not paid for by the American consumer, and while the company made clear it was absorbing some of the increased cost, it could not absorb all of it.A Ford spokesperson told Reuters that the price increase is partly due to typical mid-year repricing “combined with some tariffs we are facing. We have not passed on the full cost of tariffs to our customers.”

Despite the administration’s partial acquiescence to automakers last week in softening the blow on auto tariffs, EV makers Rivian and Lucid have said higher costs are coming. Rivian’s CEO shared that he expects vehicle pricing to rise by “a couple of thousand dollars,” while Lucid’s interim CEO said the company was expecting an 8 to 15 percent increase in overall costs due to tariffs.

While EVs have not specifically been the target of these tariffs, this administration has been unusually hostile towards them, and has worked to reverse government-funded EV initiatives, like subsidized expansions to charging infrastructure. Making matters worse, Speaker of the House Brian Johnson all but confirmed to Bloomberg recently that Congress is likely to end the EV tax credit saying, “I think there is a better chance we kill it than save it, but we’ll see how it comes out.”

It’s been posited by industry analysts that Tesla may have the least to lose (and could perhaps even gain) from the current administration’s anti-EV stance, with Elon Musk even saying as such. This is in part due to the outsized effect tariffs will have on competing EV manufacturers like Ford, while Tesla’s substantial domestic production keeps the company mostly insulated.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/ford-will-raise-mustang-mach-e-prices-in-part-due-to-tariffs-164323546.html?src=rss