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Today β€” 22 February 2025Tech News

Apple preparing Google Gemini integration with Apple Intelligence

22 February 2025 at 22:01

Currently, Apple Intelligence offers the ability to direct Siri requests to ChatGPT, providing more contextual answers than what Siri would be able to offer. Back at WWDC24, Apple software exec Craig Federighi suggested in an interview that they’d like to offer integration with other AI models, including Google Gemini. That integration may arrive in the not too distant future, according to a new leak.

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DOGE Email Throws Federal Agencies Into Chaos and Confusion

22 February 2025 at 19:31
Across the US government, workers failed to get clear guidance on whether or how to respond to an email asking what they did this week, despite Elon Musk’s claim that their jobs are at risk.

Apple pulls new iOS 18.4 and watchOS 11.4 betas from multiple devices

22 February 2025 at 15:38

Today, Apple has unsigned watchOS 11.4 beta 1 for all Apple Watch Series 6 models, meaning it is no longer possible for those users to test out the new beta. This news comes from Aaron Perris on X. They’ve also unsigned iOS and iPadOS 18.4 beta 1 for some iPhones and iPads.

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The iOS 18.4 beta brings Matter robot vacuum support

By: Wes Davis
22 February 2025 at 14:55
The Switchbot S10 on its dock.
The Switchbot S10 is one robot vacuum with Matter support.

Apple released the first developer beta of iOS 18.4 yesterday, which users have since discovered contains support for robot vacuums in the Apple Home appΒ throughΒ Matter.

As spotted by 9to5Mac, Smart Home Centre confirmed the functionality using a Switchbot S10, which offers its own beta support for Matter. (Switchbot first added Matter robot vacuum support last year, but it required a hub and was kind of a hack.) Apple Home screenshots shared in the story show the robot vacuum’s Home widget (complete with a little robot vacuum glyph) along with a control screen featuring a start / stop button, options for choosing between β€œVacuum” and β€œVacuum and Mop,” selections for operating modes like β€œQuiet” or β€œDeep Clean.” There’s also a β€œSend to Dock” option, although Smart Home Centre notes that this only paused the S10.

Robot vacuums in the new iOS beta can also be added to automations and scenes. You can see how all of it works in the outlet’s video below.

Apple was expected to add Matter support for robot vacuum cleaners last year, but that didn’t materialize. Few robot vacuum companies offer Matter support at the moment, and some of those are still waiting on a firmware update to enable it. Robot vacuum makers have confirmed to us that these models will support Matter:

Some of the other changes users have spotted in the first developer beta for iOS 18.4 include the addition of an ambient music Control Center option, a new β€œsketch” style option in Image Playground, Apple Intelligence-powered Priority Notifications, and the ability to set a default translation app. More changes could be coming, as this is only the first beta for a release that had been expected to begin Siri’s big upgrade, a shift that may still be more than a month away.

Did xAI lie about Grok 3’s benchmarks?

22 February 2025 at 14:55

Debates over AI benchmarks β€” and how they’re reported by AI labs β€” are spilling out into public view. This week, an OpenAI employee accused Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, of publishing misleading benchmark results for its latest AI model, Grok 3. One of the co-founders of xAI, Igor Babushkin, insisted that the company was […]

Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

An XR game trilogy based on Neon Genesis Evangelion is in the works

South Korean game development studio Pixelity says it’s working on a series of XR games based on Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the first one will be released next year. In an emailed announcement, the studio said it’s planning a trilogy β€œbased on the world and events of all 26 episodes” of the beloved anime.

We don’t have much in the way of details just yet, but Pixelity says, β€œPlayers will experience the narrative through the eyes of an original character, exploring the world of Neon Genesis Evangelion, taking on quests, and engaging in thrilling battles β€” all while following the timeline and key events of the anime.” The trilogy will offer β€œinteractive and cooperative gameplay with familiar characters.” The developer hasn’t revealed what platforms the games will be available on.

Pixelity has previously made games for the Meta Quest family of headsets, as well as Pico and other platforms. It also recently launched a couple of titles for Apple Vision Pro, Shooting Break and Rolling Buddy.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/an-xr-game-trilogy-based-on-neon-genesis-evangelion-is-in-the-works-222629986.html?src=rss

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Cover art for the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion

US AI Safety Institute could face big cuts

22 February 2025 at 13:22

The National Institute of Standards and Technology could fire as many as 500 staffers, according to multiple reports β€” cuts that further threaten a fledgling AI safety organization. Axios reported this week that the US AI Safety Institute (AISI) and Chips for America, both part of NIST, would be β€œgutted” by layoffs targeting probationary employees […]

Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The secretive X-37B space plane snapped this picture of Earth from orbit

It’s not every day that we get to see a glimpse of what a mysterious space plane is up to in orbit. This week, the US Space Force shared a picture it says was snapped last year by the X-37B, showing Earth in the distance and a bit of the craft itself. X-37B launched on its seventh mission at the end of 2023, though not much is known about what that mission entails. Its previous flight, which wrapped up in 2022, set a new endurance record for the space plane, logging 908 days in orbit.

There isn't too much information to glean from the photo, but it does offer a rare look at X-37B in space. β€œAn X-37B onboard camera, used to ensure the health and safety of the vehicle, captures an image of Earth while conducting experiments in HEO in 2024,” the Space Force wrote on X.

A portion of the X-37B space plane is shown at the top of the image, and Earth can be seen below it in the background against a black sky
US Space Force

One thing we have been told about the current mission is that it marks the first time the Boeing-made X-37B has tried out a maneuver known as aerobraking, or a more fuel-efficient method of changing orbit through β€œa series of passes using the drag of Earth's atmosphere.” The Space Force said back in October that the vehicle had begun the process, and the latest update indicates it was successful. β€œThe X-37B executed a series of first-of-kind maneuvers, called aerobraking, to safely change its orbit using minimal fuel,” the Space Force noted. It's unknown how much longer the mission is expected to go on.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/the-secretive-x-37b-space-plane-snapped-this-picture-of-earth-from-orbit-204803146.html?src=rss

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Β© United States Space Force

A view of Earth captured by the X-37B space plane from orbit
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