The mysterious device that OpenAI is cooking up with former Apple designer Jony Ive will be pocket-size, contextually aware, screen-free, and isn’t eyewear. Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed details about the project in an internal staff call reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, after announcing the $6.5 billion acquisition of Ive’s AI hardware startup, io.

Altman suggested that the acquisition could increase OpenAI’s value by $1 trillion, and envisioned a “family of devices” being born from the partnership. Information about the first device, which Altman is aiming to release by late 2026, has been kept tightly under wraps since its development was confirmed last year over concerns that competitors will set about trying to copy the product before it’s launched to the public. 

Altman dropped some hints during the call that shape our expectations, however, including that it will be unobtrusive, fully aware of a user’s life and surroundings, and will serve as a “third core device” a person would put on a desk after a MacBook Pro and an iPhone. OpenAI is already predicting that the device will be popular, with Altman saying that it will ship “faster than any company has ever shipped 100 million of something new before.”

The leaked call also gave some insight into what the device likely won’t be — Altman said that it isn’t a pair of glasses, and that Ive wasn’t keen to make something you’d need to wear on the body, having recently slammed the Humane AI Pin. Altman has also denied rumors that OpenAI is developing a phone. The Journal previously reported that Ive and Altman wanted to wean users away from screens, with Ive saying in a recent interview that his next product is driven by owning the “unintended consequences” associated with the iPhone.

Altman told OpenAI employees on the call that they have “the chance to do the biggest thing we’ve ever done as a company here.” The Journal reports that Ive referred to the project as “a new design movement,” and harkened back to his Apple career that saw him work closely with Steve Jobs before his passing in 2011. Now teamed up with Altman, Ive said, “the way that we clicked, and the way that we’ve been able to work together, has been profound for me.”

Fujifilm has a new pint-size addition to its X-series cameras coming in late June: the X Half. It’s an 18-megapixel “half-frame” camera with a portrait-oriented sensor and viewfinder and a fixed 32mm-equivalent f/2.8 lens.

Despite being digital, the X Half is all about the vintage film aesthetic. The $849.99 camera is so dedicated to an analog-like lifestyle that it’s got an entire secondary screen just for picking one of its 13 film simulations, and it doesn’t shoot RAW photos at all — just JPGs, for a more what-you-see-is-what-you-get experience.

Fujifilm’s definition of a half-frame is a bit different from the traditional one. Usually, a half-frame film camera like the Pentax 17 captures images measuring 18mm x 24mm (around half the size of full-frame / 35mm format). But the X Half uses a 1-inch-type sensor measuring 8.8mm x 13.3mm, which is about half the dimensions of the APS-C sensors in other Fujifilm cameras like the X100VI and X-T5. So I guess it counts on a technicality.

But like the Pentax 17 and other actual half-frame cameras, the X Half is all about taking casual, fun snapshots and bringing it with you everywhere. It weighs just 8.5 ounces / 240 grams and is small enough to fit in most small bags or even some oversized pockets. The X Half is close in size to a traditional disposable camera, but unlike a one-time-use film camera it has a proper glass autofocusing lens with aspherical corrections, and it even shoots some basic 1080 x 1440 video. (Though, in my briefing on the camera, Justin Stailey of Fujifilm North America described the lens as having “some character.” Which is often a colorful way of saying the lens isn’t the sharpest.)

Once you take some shots via the X Half’s traditional optical viewfinder (that’s right, there’s no EVF or hybrid finder here) or its portrait-orientation 2.4-inch touchscreen, you can connect to a dedicated smartphone app (launching slightly after the camera) for extra functions. You can create your own two-up diptychs like a traditional half-frame camera, though here you can pick out the two side-by-side pictures, or you can opt for two videos or one picture and one video.

Fujifilm has baked other analog-inspired features into the X Half app, like a Film Camera Mode that collects your next 36, 54, or 72 images and arranges them into a contact sheet. But the film nerdiness goes deeper than that, as the digital film strip will be branded with the film simulation you used. There’s even a faux film advance lever for making diptychs, and in Film Camera Mode it forces you to use it between taking each shot.

You can lean further into the film kitsch by adding filters, like a light leak effect, expired film look, or a ’90s-era time and date stamp to the corner. Of course, since the camera does not shoot RAW, your chosen filter and film simulation are fully baked into the JPG file. You can’t undo any of them or change it later in post-processing like you’d normally be able to with a RAW.

Fujifilm is certainly taking a unique approach with the X Half, trying to capture the interest of younger photo enthusiasts who in recent years have been drawn to the imperfections and vibes of vintage film and aging point-and-shoot digital cameras. I don’t know how many of them will be jumping at the opportunity to scratch that creative itch with an $850 camera compared to alternatives costing a fraction of that — like a $70 Camp Snap for digital or any 35mm disposable film camera for $10 to $20 — but even if it’s half the fun I had with the Pentax 17 it should prove a good time.

Dyson has announced what it’s claiming is the “world’s slimmest vacuum cleaner.” At first glance, its new PencilVac looks like a broom rather than a vacuum because the battery, motor, and electronics are all integrated into a thin handle that’s just 38mm in diameter — the same thickness as Dyson’s Supersonic r hair dryer. It weighs in at just under four pounds and is powered by the company’s smallest and fastest vacuum motor yet.

The PencilVac is designed to be a replacement for the slim Dyson Omni-glide, which launched in 2021 with a cleaning head that used two spinning brushes so it could suck up dust and dirt in multiple directions. The new PencilVac is not only slimmer and lighter than the Omni-glide, it uses four spinning brush bars that Dyson calls Fluffycones.

As the name implies, the Fluffycones each feature a conical design that causes long hairs to slide down to the narrow end of each brush and fall off so they can be sucked up instead of getting tangled up around the brushes. The Fluffycones slightly protrude at the sides for better edge cleaning, and are paired with green LED lights (instead of the lasers that Dyson’s other vacuums use) that illuminate dust and debris so you can see when floors have been properly cleaned.

Other innovations Dyson is introducing with the PencilVac include a motor that’s just 28mm in diameter but spins at 140,000RPM to generate 55AW of suction, and a new two-stage dust filtration system that prevents clogging and performance loss as the vac fills up. Given its size, the PencilVac has a smaller dust bin than Dyson’s other cleaners, but uses a new design that compresses dust as it’s removed from the airflow to help maximize how much dirt the bin can hold.

The PencilVac magnetically connects to a floor dock for charging and storage, and features a small LCD screen that shows the cleaning mode and an estimate of how long before the battery dies. It’s also Dyson’s first vacuum to connect to the MyDyson mobile app, which offers access to additional settings, alerts for when the filter needs to be cleaned, and step-by-step maintenance instructions.

The vacuum’s slim design does come with some trade-offs when compared to the company’s larger models. Its cleaning head is designed for use on hard floors, not carpeting, and while it can be swapped with alternate attachments like a furniture and crevice tool, it doesn’t convert to a shorter handheld vac. Runtime is also limited to just 30 minutes of cleaning at its lowest power setting, but its battery is swappable and Dyson will sell additional ones to extend how long you can clean.

Dyson hasn’t revealed pricing details yet, and while the PencilVac will launch in Japan later this year, it won’t be available in the US until 2026.

Microsoft employees have discovered that any emails they send with the terms "Palestine" or "Gaza" are getting temporarily blocked from being sent to recipients inside and outside the company. The No Azure for Apartheid (NOAA) protest group reports that "dozens of Microsoft workers" have been unable to send emails with the words "Palestine," "Gaza," and "Genocide" in email subject lines or in the body of a message.

"Words like 'Israel' or 'P4lestine' do not trigger such a block," says NOAA organizer Hossam Nasr. "NOAA believes this is an attempt by Microsoft to silence worker free speech and is a censorship enacted by Microsoft leadership to discriminate against Palestinian workers and their allies."

Microsoft confirmed to The Verge that it has implemented some form of email changes to reduce "politically focused emails" inside the company.

"Emailing large numbers of employees about any topic not related to work is not appropriate. We have an established forum for employees who have opted in to political issues," says Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw in a statement to The Verge. "Over the past couple of days, a number of politically focused emails have been sent to tens of tho …

Read the full story at The Verge.

A lawsuit against Google and companion chatbot service Character AI — which is accused of contributing to the death of a teenager — can move forward, ruled a Florida judge. In a decision filed today, Judge Anne Conway said that an attempted First Amendment defense wasn’t enough to get the lawsuit thrown out. Conway determined that, despite some similarities to videogames and other expressive mediums, she is “not prepared to hold that Character AI’s output is speech.”

The ruling is a relatively early indicator of the kinds of treatment that AI language models could receive in court. It stems from a suit filed by the family of Sewell Setzer III, a 14-year-old who died by suicide after allegedly becoming obsessed with a chatbot that encouraged his suicidal ideation. Character AI and Google (which is closely tied to the chatbot company) argued that the service is akin to talking with a video game non-player character or joining a social network, something that would grant it the expansive legal protections that the First Amendment offers and likely dramatically lower a liability lawsuit’s chances of success. Conway, however, was skeptical.

While the companies “rest their conclusion primarily on analogy” with those examples, they “do not meaningfully advance their analogies,” the judge said. The court’s decision “does not turn on whether Character AI is similar to other mediums that have received First Amendment protections; rather, the decision turns on how Character AI is similar to the other mediums” — in other words whether Character AI is similar to things like video games because it, too, communicates ideas that would count as speech. Those similarities will be debated as the case proceeds.

While Google doesn’t own Character AI, it will remain a defendant in the suit thanks to its links with the company and product; the company’s founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, who are separately included in the suit, worked on the platform as Google employees before leaving to launch it and were later rehired there. Character AI is also facing a separate lawsuit alleging it harmed another young user’s mental health, and a handful of state lawmakers have pushed regulation for “companion chatbots” that simulate relationships with users — including one bill, the LEAD Act, that would prohibit them for children’s use in California. If passed, the rules are likely to be fought in court at least partially based on companion chatbots’ First Amendment status.

This case’s outcome will depend largely on whether Character AI is legally a “product” that is harmfully defective. The ruling notes that “courts generally do not categorize ideas, images, information, words, expressions, or concepts as products,” including many conventional video games — it cites, for instance, a ruling that found Mortal Kombat’s producers couldn’t be held liable for “addicting” players and inspiring them to kill. (The Character AI suit also accuses the platform of addictive design.) Systems like Character AI, however, aren’t authored as directly as most videogame character dialogue; instead, they produce automated text that’s determined heavily by reacting to and mirroring user inputs.

“These are genuinely tough issues and new ones that courts are going to have to deal with.”

Conway also noted that the plaintiffs took Character AI to task for failing to confirm users’ ages and not letting users meaningfully “exclude indecent content,” among other allegedly defective features that go beyond direct interactions with the chatbots themselves.

Beyond discussing the platform’s First Amendment protections, the judge allowed Setzer’s family to proceed with claims of deceptive trade practices, including that the company “misled users to believe Character AI Characters were real persons, some of which were licensed mental health professionals” and that Setzer was “aggrieved by [Character AI’s] anthropomorphic design decisions.” (Character AI bots will often describe themselves as real people in text, despite a warning to the contrary in its interface, and therapy bots are common on the platform.) 

She also allowed a claim that Character AI negligently violated a rule meant to prevent adults from communicating sexually with minors online, saying the complaint “highlights several interactions of a sexual nature between Sewell and Character AI Characters.” Character AI has said it’s implemented additional safeguards since Setzer’s death, including a more heavily guardrailed model for teens.

Becca Branum, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology’s Free Expression Project, called the judge’s First Amendment analysis “pretty thin” — though, since it’s a very preliminary decision, there’s lots of room for future debate. “If we’re thinking about the whole realm of things that could be output by AI, those types of chatbot outputs are themselves quite expressive, [and] also reflect the editorial discretion and protected expression of the model designer,” Branum told The Verge. But “in everyone’s defense, this stuff is really novel,” she added. “These are genuinely tough issues and new ones that courts are going to have to deal with.”

Signal is taking proactive steps to ensure Microsoft’s Recall feature can’t screen capture your secured chats, by rolling out a new version of the Signal for Windows 11 client that enables screen security by default. This is the same DRM that blocks users from easily screenshotting a Netflix show on their computer or phone, and using it here could cause problems for people who use accessibility features like screen readers.

While Signal says it’s made the feature easy to disable, under Signal Settings > Privacy > Screen Security, it never should’ve come to this. Developer Joshua Lund writes that operating system vendors like Microsoft “need to ensure that the developers of apps like Signal always have the necessary tools and options at their disposal to reject granting OS-level AI systems access to any sensitive information within their apps.”

Despite delaying Recall twice before finally launching it last month, the “photographic memory” feature doesn’t yet have an API for app developers to opt their users’ sensitive content out of its AI-powered archives. It could be useful for finding emails or chats (including ones in Signal) using whatever you can remember, like a description of a picture you’ve received or a broad conversation topic, but it could also be a massive security and privacy problem.

Lund notes that Microsoft already filters out private or incognito browser window activity by default, and users who have a Copilot Plus PC with Recall can filter out certain apps under the settings, but only if they know how to do that. For now, Lund says that “Signal is using the tools that are available to us even though we recognize that there are many legitimate use cases where someone might need to take a screenshot.”

The trade association backing some of the biggest news publishers in the US slammed Google’s newly expanded AI Mode, which trades traditional search results for an AI chatbot-like interface. In a statement on Wednesday, the News/Media Alliance said the new feature is “depriving” publishers of both traffic and revenue.

During Google I/O on Tuesday, the company announced that it’s expanding AI Mode to all users in the US, which appears in a new tab directly within Search. When users enter a query, AI Mode serves up an AI-generated response alongside a list of relevant links. 

“Links were the last redeeming quality of search that gave publishers traffic and revenue,” Danielle Coffey, the CEO and president of News/Media Alliance, said in the statement. “Now Google just takes content by force and uses it with no return, the definition of theft. The DOJ remedies must address this to prevent continued domination of the internet by one company.”

This week, an internal document disclosed as part of Google’s antitrust trial over its search dominance showed that the company decided against asking publishers for permission to have their work included in its AI search features, as reported by Bloomberg. Instead, publishers must opt out of search results completely if they don’t want their work included in AI features. 

Google Search head Liz Reid said during her testimony that allowing publishers to opt out of individual features would add “enormous complexity,” according to Bloomberg. “By saying a publisher could be like, ‘I want to be in this feature but not that feature,’ it doesn’t work,” Reid said. “Because then we would essentially have to say, every single feature on the page needs a different model.”

Microsoft has announced that a new “Retro Classics” collection is now available to Game Pass subscribers. Reminiscent of the Nintendo Switch Online classic games library, the collection includes Pitfall, Grand Prix, and more than 50 other Activision titles from the 1980s and 1990s. It’s not as many titles as the 1,300 retro games that Antstream, Microsoft’s partner in the offering, has available on its streaming service, but it won’t cost Game Pass subscribers any extra.

Retro Classics, which Microsoft writes is part of its “commitment to game preservation and backwards compatibility,” is available on Xbox consoles, PC, or via Xbox cloud gaming on compatible devices like some LG and Samsung smart TVs and the Meta Quest headset. Other games included in the collection include Cosmic Ark, MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat, and Atlantis.

Based on screenshots, it looks like the collection will include titles from the original PlayStation, the SNES, MS-DOS, and more. Players will be able to collect achievements and participate in events like tournaments and community challenges as well.

Microsoft says this is only the start; the collection will expand to include more than 100 games from Activision and Blizzard eventually. Like Nintendo’s retro collection, you’re out of luck if you don’t have Microsoft’s gaming subscription, as the titles in the collection aren’t available for sale separately.

Antstream Arcade separately announced a temporary deal for Game Pass subscribers. Until June 4th, members can sign up for a year of access to Antstream’s library, which includes more than 1,300 games, for $9.99 via the Microsoft Store.

Here is the full collection of launch titles for the Retro Classics collection, which Activision’s Dustin Blackwell sent to The Verge:

• Activision prototype #1
• Atlantis
• Atlantis II
• Barnstorming
• Baseball
• Beamrider
• Bloody Human Freeway
• Boxing
• Bridge
• Caesar II
• Checkers
• Chopper Command
• Commando
• Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood
• Cosmic Ark
• Crackpots
• Decathlon
• Demon Attack
• Dolphin
• Dragster
• Enduro
• Fathom
• Fire Fighter
• Fishing Derby
• Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist
• Freeway
• Frostbite
• Grand Prix
• H.E.R.O.
• Kaboom!
• Laser Blast
• MechWarrior
• MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat
• Megamania
• Pitfall II: Lost Caverns
• Pitfall!
• Police Quest 1
• Pressure Cooker
• Quest for Glory 1
• Riddles of the Sphinx
• River Raid
• River Raid II
• Robot Tank
• Sky Jinks
• Space Quest 2
• Space Quest 6
• Space Treat Deluxe
• Spider Fighter
• Star Voyager
• Tennis
• The Adventures of Willy Beamish
• The Adventures of Willy Beamish
• The Dagger of Amon Ra
• Thwocker
• Title Match Pro Wrestling
• Torin’s Passage
• Trick Shot
• Vault Assault
• Venetian Blinds
• Zork I
• Zork Zero

Update, May 21st: Added list of Retro Classics launch titles.

Artist and musician Brian Eno — who also composed the iconic Windows 95 operating system startup chime — called on Microsoft today to “suspend all services that support any operations that contribute to violations of international law,” saying the company plays a role in “surveillance, violence, and destruction in Palestine.” It’s the latest high-profile instance of the tech giant being pressed on its contracts with the Israeli government.

“I gladly took on the [Windows 95] project as a creative challenge and enjoyed the interaction with my contacts at the company,” Eno wrote on Instagram. “I never would have believed that the same company could one day be implicated in the machinery of oppression and war.”

The musician — who was a member of the influential rock band Roxy Music and has also had a long, storied solo career — specifically called out Microsoft’s contracts with Israel’s Ministry of Defense. Microsoft acknowledged last week that it has contracts with the Israeli government for cloud and AI services, but claimed that an internal review conducted found “no evidence” that its tools were used to “target or harm people” in Gaza.

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Microsoft has been taken to task in recent weeks over its business dealings with the Israeli government specifically. The outcry over Microsoft’s contracts relates to Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza following the October 7th, 2023, Hamas attack. Human rights groups, including commissions at the United Nations, have accused Israel of war crimes and genocidal acts in its military operation that has killed thousands; as of this month, the Gaza Health Ministry reported more than 52,000 deaths, though some researchers say that number could be as high as 109,000 people.

Some of Microsoft’s fiercest critics are its own employees opposed to the company’s ties to Israel.

Earlier this week during Microsoft’s developer conference, multiple onstage events were disrupted, including CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote speech on Monday. During the event, Microsoft employee Joe Lopez interrupted Nadella, yelling, “How about you show Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?” The following day, a protester described only as a “Palestinian tech worker” disrupted another executive’s presentation. On Wednesday, protesters disrupted a third session — and in the commotion, Microsoft inadvertently revealed internal messages regarding Walmart’s use of AI.

In April, Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad disrupted a 50th-anniversary event, calling Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman “a war profiteer.” Another employee disrupted a second Microsoft event the same day. The acts of protest were organized by the No Azure for Apartheid group, which calls for Microsoft to terminate contracts with the Israeli government and endorse a permanent ceasefire, among other demands. Aboussad was fired from the company; the second protester, Vaniya Agrawal, was dismissed early after putting in her resignation.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Eno, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who’s backed pro-Palestine efforts, said on Instagram he would use his original earnings from the Windows 95 startup chime to help “the victims of the attacks on Gaza.”

The 2026 Chevy Silverado EV is going off road — way off road — with the addition of the Trail Boss trim to the electric pickup’s lineup. The electric version of the automaker’s popular off-road trim, Trail Boss offers more capability and — insanely — even more range for the already class-leading Silverado EV.

The upgraded electric truck has 2-inches of extra lift for more clearance while grinding gravel and climbing boulders, including 35-inch all-terrain tires and 18-inch wheels. Despite the added height, the Trail Boss will get a staggering GM-estimated range of 478 miles if you opt for the max range battery.

And in terms of maneuverability, Sidewinder mode enables all four tires to turn in the same direction for diagonal driving. It sounds similar to the Silverado’s sister truck, GMC’s Hummer EV with its Crab Walk and King Crab diagonal driving features.

But Sidewinder is also available to the RST trim, so what else is cool about Trail Boss? How about a trim-exclusive Terrain mode, which offers additional control while traversing uneven trails at low speeds. Compared to other drive modes, Terrain unlocks sharper 4-wheel steer, giving drivers better ability to control torque and traction at low speeds.

Speaking of power, the Trail Boss version of the Silverado EV will put out 725 horsepower and 775 lb-ft of torque when combined with the max range battery. That battery also offers a max towing capacity of 12,500 lbs along with a 2,100 payload capacity. Of course, you should expect some range loss while towing heavy loads.

Chevy is also dialing up the tech, offering enhanced Super Cruise with hands-free highway driving on both the Trail Boss and LT trims of the truck. The driver assist feature is also available while towing.

The automaker is also lowering the base price for the Silverado EV to $54,895, including destination charges, which is down from the previous base price of $57,095. The interior features a 17.7 inch center touchscreen alongside an 11-inch instrument gauge, which now comes standard on the Work Truck for the first time.

But the Trail Boss will run a lot higher, with the extended range version starting at $72,095 and the max range blasting off at $88,695. What, you thought all that extra range would be cheap?

Google announced a new SynthID Detector tool at Google I/O that lets you check if content has been made with the assistance of Google’s AI tools.

In a blog post, Google DeepMind’s Pushmeet Kohli describes SynthID Detector as “a verification portal” that can “quickly and efficiently identify AI-generated content made with Google AI.” It’s also able to “highlight which parts of the content are more likely to have been watermarked with SynthID.”

SynthID watermarks are applied to AI-generated images, text, audio, and videos, including content generated by Google’s Gemini, Imagen, Lyria, and Veo models, Kohli says.

Here’s how the tool works, according to Kohli:

When you upload an image, audio track, video or piece of text created using Google’s AI tools, the portal will scan the media for a SynthID watermark. If a watermark is detected, the portal will highlight specific portions of the content most likely to be watermarked.

For audio, the portal pinpoints specific segments where a SynthID watermark is detected, and for images, it indicates areas where a watermark is most likely.

Google is starting to roll out the tool to “early testers,” Kohli says in the post. 

“Following the initial testing phase, the portal will gradually be rolled out to users who sign up to the waitlist to gain access to the SynthID Detector,” Kohli tells The Verge. “We will take learnings from this cohort of professionals and work to implement content transparency more broadly.”

I’m on the waitlist, but I haven’t tested the tool myself, so I can’t vouch for how well it might work. And will people actually use it when it’s widely available? I hope so, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Toyota is redesigning and “electrifying” its Rav4 lineup for 2026 with models that aren’t quite EVs, but could masquerade as one. The mega popular SUV will come standard with hybrid powertrains, including a plug-in version with a feature you’d expect in only pure EVs: fast charging.

That’s right, the 2026 Rav4 PHEV can now plug into CCS-compatible DC fast chargers, which means owners can quickly fill up its battery during long road trips — effectively playing imposter amongst all the EVs charging up at rest stops as it secretly conserves its gas tank. Rest stops often lack standard AC level 2 plugs that many plug-in hybrids rely on — the kind you’d have installed at home so you can wake up to a full charge every morning.

The new Rav4’s on-board AC charger can also charge faster now at 11 kW, an upgrade from the previous 6.6kW. It also features a 6th-generation plug-in powertrain with AWD and up to 320 horsepower output. On a single charge, it can travel up to 50 miles without kicking on the engine — up from 42 miles on the 2025 version, and higher than the Prius’ 44 miles. Toyota doesn’t say how large the battery is but covers it under warranty for 10 years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Meanwhile the regular Rav4 hybrid runs on a 5th-gen system with a max output of 236 horsepower for the AWD version. The interiors now also come standard with larger 12.3-inch digital cluster panels and 10.5-inch infotainment touchscreens. And the Limited, XSE, and the all-new GR-Sport models come with a bigger 12.9-inch center touchscreen.

The hybridization of the Rav4 comes after Toyota decided to switch its Camry sedan to an all-hybrid lineup last year. Toyota has doubled down on building more hybrid options instead of full EVs, although it has recently improved its only full electric that is now known as the bZ. Toyota says it will reveal pricing for the new Rav4 when it goes on sale later this year.

While announcing a reportedly $6.5 billion team-up on AI hardware between his startup, io, and OpenAI, Jony Ive spoke to Bloomberg and commented on last year’s attempts at making AI hardware happen, the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin:

There have been public failures as well, such as the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1 personal assistant device. “Those were very poor products,” said Ive, 58. “There has been an absence of new ways of thinking expressed in products.”

In a statement emailed to The Verge, Rabbit founder Jesse Lyu called Ive his “hero,” saying, “It’s an honor to get mentioned by Jony Ive and Sam Altman about rabbit and rabbit r1. However, we don’t like to be put side by side with Humane, a company that stopped trying, got acquired, and shut down.” You can read his comments in their entirety below.

Our initial reviews certainly backed up Ive’s impression, as David Pierce said the Pin “doesn’t work,” and called the R1 “a worse and less functional version of your smartphone.”

Humane, which, like io, was led by former Apple employees, has already disappeared into the mist of an acquihire by HP and shut down all AI Pins in February. 

The Rabbit R1 is still going, even if its “large action model” hype and momentum appear to have dissipated. Earlier this month, the company added a memory log that can help its AI assistant have context for interactions. It’s also offering a free a free trial of Intern, its “upgraded AI-native operating system that coordinates multiple agents to get things done,” even if you don’t own an R1, as it continues to work on rabbitOS 2.0.

Jesse Lyu, founder and CEO of Rabbit:

First of all, Jony Ive is my hero. His work has inspired me since my teenage years, so much so that I decided to follow his path and create a startup to build dedicated experiences with both hardware and software.

rabbit is one of the first companies exploring the new AI era and thinking deeply about the new definition of human-machine interaction, just like the original Macintosh or iPhone.

It’s an honor to get mentioned by Jony Ive and Sam Altman about rabbit and rabbit r1. However, we don’t like to be put side by side with Humane, a company that stopped trying, got acquired, and shut down.

On the flipside, for a small team like rabbit, we don’t have tremendous resources, $6.4 billion, like Jony and Sam have. We acknowledge that when r1 first rolled out, the experience was rough and we needed to fix the early product issues. The fact is that today we’re still working hard and keep improving the experience. We’ll see what rabbit can offer by 2026.

It’s a great honor that Jony and Sam, both of whom I have a tremendous amount of respect for, decided to join rabbit in this new adventure to create their own product. We welcome all competition, whether it’s from big companies or startups. I believe healthy competition will benefit the end customer. I’m personally very excited to see the next magic that Jony will create, and rabbit will learn a lot from his work.

As a startup with limited resources like rabbit, it will always be a David vs Goliath situation. However, it’s always exciting when Goliath is the legendary Jony Ive.

Update, May 21st: Added response from Rabbit’s CEO.

In its antitrust case against Meta, the US Federal Trade Commission is asking a judge to consider an alternate reality. In that world, the company never bought Instagram and WhatsApp. The two apps remained competitive with Facebook, developing features that competed for users' attention. And that competition created a thriving ecosystem of social media apps where people can connect with their friends and family.

Meta has spent the past several days - during which it's begun lodging its case-in-chief in a Washington, DC, courthouse - building a counternarrative. In its telling of this alternate present, Instagram and WhatsApp are shadows of what they are in our world. They lacked the resources, expertise, and vision to become robust and valuable online platforms, let alone formidable competitors. And consumers are the ones who ultimately suffered.

One of Meta's key witnesses for this defense is WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton, who was called on Tuesday to help make its case that WhatsApp users, just like Instagram ones, benefited from Meta's acquisition. Acton was the second app founder to testify in the case, after Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom delivered mostly blistering te …

Read the full story at The Verge.

OpenAI is buying io, a hardware company founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive and several other former engineers from his time there, including Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tang Tan.

Ive won’t be joining OpenAI, and his design firm, LoveFrom, will continue to be independent, but they will “take over design for all of OpenAI, including its software,” in a deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion, Bloomberg reports.

About 55 hardware engineers, software developers, and manufacturing experts will join OpenAI as part of the acquisition. That includes Cannon, Hankey, and Tan. The first devices following the acquisition are set to launch in 2026.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Ive called AI hardware misfires like the Humane Pin and Rabbit R1 “very poor products,” and said that “there has been an absence of new ways of thinking expressed in products.”

The first product isn’t intended to be an iPhone killer, though: “In the same way that the smartphone didn’t make the laptop go away, I don’t think our first thing is going to make the smartphone go away,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Bloomberg. “It is a totally new kind of thing.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that Altman and LoveFrom have been working together for two years and have considered options like headphones and devices with cameras.

The first product the team has been working on “has just completely captured our imagination,” Ive said in a video.

“Jony recently gave me one of the prototypes of the device for the first time to take home, and I’ve been able to live with it, and I think it is the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen,” Altman said.

“I am absolutely certain that we are literally on the brink of a new generation of technology that can make us our better selves,” Ive said.

“We gathered together the best hardware and software engineers, the best technologists, physicists, scientists, researchers and experts in product development and manufacturing,” Ive and Altman said in a joint post. “Many of us have worked closely for decades. The io team, focused on developing products that inspire, empower and enable, will now merge with OpenAI to work more intimately with the research, engineering and product teams in San Francisco.”

“AI is an incredible technology, but great tools require work at the intersection of technology, design, and understanding people and the world,” Altman said in a statement. “No one can do this like Jony and his team; the amount of care they put into every aspect of the process is extraordinary.”

“I have a growing sense that everything I have learned over the last 30 years has led me to this moment,” Ive said. “While I am both anxious and excited about the responsibility of the substantial work ahead, I am so grateful for the opportunity to be part of such an important collaboration. The values and vision of Sam and the teams at OpenAI and io are a rare inspiration.”

“A number of us looked at each other and said, ‘This is probably the most incredible technology of our career,’” Hankey said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Update, May 21st: Added information from The Wall Street Journal.

Memorial Day weekend isn’t just for barbecues and beach trips — it’s also a chance to score some of the best tech deals you’ll find all season. And despite the fact the holiday isn’t until Monday, May 26th, multiple retailers are already offering steep discounts on some of our favorite gadgets, from big-ticket items to everyday essentials.

Below, we’ve rounded up a few highlights, from LG’s C4 OLED and the Sonos Move 2 to the Garmin Forerunner 265, all of which are down to their best price to date. We’ve also included practical (and affordable) finds like video doorbells and Bluetooth trackers, so you can keep your valuables safe while you’re off on summer adventures. Whether you’re shopping for yourself or hunting for a last-minute graduation gift, there’s a little something for everyone, so let’s dive in.

Speaker deals

• The second-gen Sonos Roam is available for an all-time low of $134 ($45 off) from Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Sonos. Unlike its predecessor, the portable speaker is ready to use right out of the box and features a dedicated button for Bluetooth pairing. It isn’t as powerful as the Move 2 — and it doesn’t offer line-in support — but it still sounds great and integrates well with the rest of the Sonos ecosystem, which makes it relatively easy to switch music between the company’s speakers.
• Anker’s tiny Soundcore Select 4 Go is matching its all-time low of $19.99 at Amazon, down from $49.99. Along with IPX67 waterproofing, the Bluetooth speaker offers up to 20 hours of battery life and can be paired with a second Select 4 Go for stereo sound.

• The Beats Pill is on sale for around $99.95 ($50 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, which is $2 shy of its best price to date. The portable speaker offers noticeably improved sound over the previous model, along with support for lossless audio via USB-C. It also offers twice as much battery life, adds IP67 water and dust resistance, and includes native Find My support on both Android and iOS. Read our review.
• You can buy the JBL Clip 5 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for around $49.95 ($30 off), which nearly matches its best price to date. The Bluetooth speaker offers a built-in carabiner so you can easily attach it to, say, a backpack, along with IP67 water resistance. The Clip 5 also offers Auracast support, so you can pair it with compatible JBL speakers for a stereo sound.

Earbud and headphone deals

• If Sony’s new $449 WH-1000XM6 headphones are out of your budget, Sony’s WH-1000XM5 are on sale starting at $298 (about $100 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is one of their better prices to date. While they don’t fold down for easy storage, they still deliver top-tier noise cancellation, sound quality, and comfort. The new model does offer some improvements, but the upgrades aren’t significant, making the XM5 a good option at this price. Read our review.
• Right now, you can pick up Bose’s QuietComfort Headphones from Amazon, Best Buy, and Bose for $229 ($120 off), which is one of their best prices to date. They’re foldable and exceptionally comfortable — much like their predecessor, the Bose QC 45 — and they retain lengthy battery life. However, the newer headphones sport adjustable noise cancellation and custom modes, though they lack support for higher-quality Bluetooth codecs and the immersive audio mode found on the QC Ultra Headphones.
• The Beats Studio Pro are available at Amazon in white starting at $169.99 ($170 off) or for $30 more at Best Buy and Target. The comfortable headphones offer improved noise cancellation and sound over their predecessor, with support for lossless playback over USB-C. They also work well with both iOS and Android devices, providing native support for each platform’s fast pairing and FindMy features. Read our review.

TV and streaming device deals

• The latest Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for $39.99 ($20 off), which is $7 shy of its best price to date. The 4K streaming device is faster than the previous model, with double the storage and support for Wi-Fi 6E. When not in use, it can also act as an Echo Show display of sorts, so you can use it to see reminders, check the weather, and view other useful widgets. You can also have it display famous artwork or your own custom AI-generated images.
• You can also buy the latest Amazon Fire TV Cube at Amazon, Best Buy, and The Home Depot for $99.99 ($40 off), which is just $10 shy of its all-time low. The third-gen Cube functions as both a traditional Echo speaker and a Fire TV streaming device with support for Wi-Fi 6E, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and HDR. The 4K device also integrates well with Amazon Alexa for extensive hands-free voice control.
• You can buy the standalone Amazon Fire TV Remote for $27.99 ($7 off) at Amazon, which is $3 shy of its all-time low. The remote offers a pair of programmable buttons and backlighting, along with a useful remote finder feature that lets you quickly find it using your voice or by pressing a button in the app.

Smart home deals

• The Blink Mini 2 has returned to its all-time low of $19.99 ($10 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. If you want to use the 1080p wired camera outside, you can also grab it with the weather-resistant power adapter for $29.98 ($20 off) at Amazon. The camera offers improved image and audio over the prior model, along with a wider 143-degree field of view and USB-C. It also retains useful features like two-way audio and motion alerts in an easy-to-mount design.
• Mill is selling its Mill Food Recycler for $874, down from $999. That’s not quite on par with its all-time low of $799, but it’s still a small way to save on the high-tech trash can, which can transform kitchen scraps into a compost-like material for your garden overnight. It helps keep your kitchen from smelling bad, cuts down on food waste, and reduces the trash you generate. Read our review.
• The Meross Outdoor Smart Plug is on sale for $20.99 ($10 off) at Amazon, which is just a few cents shy of its lowest price to date. The IP44-rated waterproof plug features a pair of independently controlled AC outlets and support for Apple Home, Alexa, Google Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings, allowing you to schedule and control your outdoor gadgets with just your voice.

• You can currently buy Coway’s Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty from Amazon and Coway for $169.99, down from $229.99, which is one of the better prices we’ve seen in recent months. The small HEPA air purifier features a four-stage filtration system that’s ideal for smaller rooms, and it automatically powers down after 30 minutes once it detects the air is clean.
• The weatherproof Blink Outdoor 4 is 50 percent off at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, where you can pick it up for $49.99 for a limited time. The 1080p security camera includes upgrades like person detection, improved image quality, and a wider field of view than prior models, all while retaining support for motion detection, night vision, and two-way audio. It can also last up to two years on a pair of AA batteries.
• Amazon is selling a single Eero Pro 7, which can cover up to 2,000 square feet, for $549.99 ($150 off); you can also grab a pair for $799.99 ($150 off) or three units for $949.99 ($150 off). The dual-band mesh router supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard, offering speeds up to 3.9Gbps. Each unit also includes two 5Gbps ethernet ports and can function as a smart home hub with Matter support, a Zigbee radio, and a Thread border router.

• The Shark AI Ultra is on sale at Amazon for $349.99 ($249.99), which is about $55 shy of its all-time low. The robot vacuum navigates your home using lidar and uses Matrix Clean navigation to clean in a grid pattern for a more thorough and precise clean. It also comes with a self-cleaning brush roll, which is useful for cleaning up pet hair, along with a bagless, self-emptying base that can hold up to 60 days’ worth of debris.
• The second-gen Ring Indoor Cam is available at Amazon and Best Buy for $34.99 ($25 off), which is $5 shy of its best price to date. The wired camera features a physical privacy cover that lets you block the camera and microphone, while its redesigned mount lets you easily adjust the camera’s angle. It also retains a number of features from its predecessor, including 1080p resolution, color night vision, and two-way audio.

Smartwatch and wearable deals

• Garmin’s 41mm Venu 3S is on sale at an all-time low of $349.99 ($100 off) at Amazon and REI. The Venu 3S is our favorite Garmin smartwatch, one that combines contactless payments and other smart features with a broad swath of health tools, including period tracking, abnormal heart rate alerts, and fall detection. It features a microphone and speaker for taking calls, too, though you’ll need your phone to take advantage of said feature since the 3S lacks built-in cellular connectivity. Read our review.
• The 49mm Apple Watch Ultra 2 is on sale for $739 ($60 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is one of the better prices we’ve seen this year. The rugged wearable offers the brightest display of any Apple wearable, along with the longest battery life. It also packs Apple’s S9 SiP and second-gen ultra wideband chips, allowing you to take advantage of Apple’s handy double tap feature. Read our review.

• Best Buy is selling the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 in the 40mm / Wi-Fi configuration starting at $219.99 ($80 off) with an extra Samsung band. The latest Samsung wearable is faster than its predecessor and can track your location even more accurately courtesy of its new dual-frequency GPS. It also sports a host of new features, like FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection and irregular heart rate notifications. Read our review.

Outdoor and travel deals

• The LifeStraw Peak Series Straw — which can filter bacteria, parasites, and microplastics from water — is on sale at Amazon and REI starting at $17.58 ($7 off), one of its best prices to date. You can use the handy outdoor gadget to drink directly from streams or rivers, yet the convenient design also allows you to attach it to bottles or connect it to gravity hose systems. The Peak Series model also features a more durable design and faster flow rate than earlier models, which is a boon for anyone in the backcountry.
• You can buy the Epicka Universal Travel Adapter starting at $19.54 at Amazon. The all-in-one adapter sports a single USB-C port and four USB-A ports, so you can power up a wide range of gadgets in more than 200 countries, including the UK, Japan, Australia, Italy, and more.
• Best Buy is selling the Starlink Mini for $499.99 ($200 off). The DC-powered Mini comes with a built-in Wi-Fi 5 router that’s integrated directly into the portable satellite dish. It delivers speeds over 100Mbps and takes just minutes to set up, offering quick and easy internet access while on the go (with a qualifying internet plan starting at $50 a month). Read our review.

• You can buy the AeroPress Original for around $31.95 ($8 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Target right now. The 3-in-1 coffee maker is one of our favorite coffee gadgets, as it easily brews 10 ounces of regular coffee or multiple espresso-style shots in about a minute. It’s also easy to clean and comes with accessories like a scoop, stirrer, and paper macro filters, so brewing up a cup of coffee on the go is even easier.
• The Thermacell E90 Mosquito Repeller is available for $42.49 (about $7 off) at Amazon. The rechargeable device repels bugs within a 20-foot radius for up to nine hours at a time using its built-in battery. It also comes with a nine-hour cartridge, though 40-hour refills are also available.

Other miscellaneous deals

• Amazon’s latest Fire Max 11 tablet is on sale for $174.99 ($50 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. The slate is the most powerful and capable in Amazon’s current lineup of budget-friendly Fire tablets. It sports a bright 11-inch display and support for optional accessories like a keyboard and stylus, though it’s still better suited for entertainment than real work. Read our review.
• You can buy an Anker 341 USB-C Hub for $25 ($14 off) at Amazon, which is just $2 shy of its best price to date (Anker is also matching the price when you use promo code WS7DV2R8BLKO). The 7-in-1 hub packs a variety of ports into a compact, travel-friendly design, including two USB-A 3.0 ports, a USB-C data port, a USB-C power port with up to 100W passthrough charging, and both SD and microSD card slots.
• Belkin’s older MagSafe 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Stand is down to $73.99 ($17 off) at Amazon, which is one of the lowest prices we’ve seen. It delivers up to 15W of power to MagSafe-compatible iPhones, with a pad that can also charge a pair of AirPods or a second Qi-enabled device, all while propping up your phone at a convenient viewing angle.

• You can pick up PowerA’s Enhanced Wireless Controller starting at $35.62 ($25 off) at Amazon, which is $3 shy of its best price to date. A number of designs are on sale, too, ranging from an Animal Crossing-inspired option to Mario-themed ones. Overall, the colorful gamepad is a good budget model for the Nintendo Switch, complete with support for Bluetooth, remappable buttons, and motion controls.
• Anker’s 610 Magnetic Phone Grip is on sale for $12.79 (about $3 off) at Amazon. The sturdy donut-shaped ring attaches securely to MagSafe-compatible iPhones while also doubling as a kickstand.

• If the mere prospect of summer already has you sweating, Jisulife’s adorable handheld fan is on sale at Amazon in an assortment of colors starting at $14.39 (about $4 off), matching its all-time low. Jisulife’s bag-friendly option is a pretty no-frills affair, though it does pack a built-in stand and can charge via USB-C; it also doubles as a 4,800mAh battery pack, as if its base functionality and the adorable bear ears weren’t enough.
• The Slice Auto-Retractable Box Cutter is on sale for $14.60 (about $5 off) at Amazon, which is its best price so far this year. The ceramic blade automatically retracts, making it a safe tool for opening packages around the house or office.

The Trump administration’s attempts to gut 12 energy efficiency standards could cost Americans billions of dollars in higher electricity bills. 

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that it plans to rollback dozens of policies in what it called its “largest deregulatory effort in history.” While the DOE claims that getting rid of “burdensome and costly” rules would save $11 billion, that doesn’t take into account the costs Americans would bear if they have to use more energy-hungry appliances. 

Adding up those costs, the deregulation spree would ultimately lead to about $43 billion in higher electricity bills for households and businesses, according to an analysis by the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) that was first shared with The Verge. 

“The department is looking at the savings these rollbacks would provide while completely ignoring the costs.”

“The department is looking at the savings these rollbacks would provide while completely ignoring the costs. It turns out that the costs would be nearly five times greater than the savings,” says Joanna Mauer, deputy director of ASAP.

ASAP compiled data on 12 of the efficiency standards DOE targeted, for which the department had previously published its own estimates for costs and savings it expected the rules to generate for consumers.

A common criticism of energy efficient appliances is that they often cost more to purchase than a less efficient alternative. Upon finalizing the efficiency standard for portable air conditioners in 2020, for example, the DOE expected the cost of buying more efficient technologies to add up to $1 billion for consumers who purchase those products during the 30 years following the rule going into effect. Taking those costs into account adds up to the roughly $11 billion in savings the DOE says it’s achieving by getting rid of those 12 standards. 

But that’s an incomplete picture, ASAP argues. When the DOE finalizes a standard, it typically also calculates the cumulative savings consumers would benefit from with a more efficient appliance. Those savings primarily come from lower energy bills (although the metric also considers other potential costs like repairs). The portable air conditioner standard, for instance, was expected to save consumers $4.1 billion over the lifetime of products purchased during the same 30 year time period. 

That leads to a net savings of $3.1 billion for consumers as a result of the efficiency standard for portable air conditioners. The net savings the DOE has previously estimated for the 12 rules on the chopping block now add up to $43.2 billion — which is what ASAP says is the more important number to consider. Those standards apply to an array of common products including microwave ovens, conventional cooking tops and ovens, air purifiers, dehumidifiers, external power supplies, battery chargers for phones and other devices, and more.

The DOE didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s press inquiry. “We are bringing back common sense — slashing regulations meant to appease Green New Deal fantasies, restrict consumer choice and increase costs for the American people,” Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in the agency’s announcement last week.

Its proposals are likely to face legal challenges because energy efficiency standards are subject to an anti-backsliding provision within the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing the Secretary of Energy to stop enforcing a slate of efficiency rules the administration plans to rescind or revise. News also broke this month that the Environmental Protection Agency plans to shutter the Energy Star program that can save a typical household $450 a year on energy bills.

Google didn’t want to give publishers the choice to keep their content out of AI Search results because it’s “evolving into a space for monetisation.” That’s according to a newly disclosed internal document, spotted by Bloomberg, which reveals that Google had discussed offering publishers more granular control over how website data would be used in AI Search features instead of the illusion of choice they eventually received.

The document, written by Google Search executive Chetna Bindra, was released during the US antitrust trial into Google’s online search monopoly. The access to its search engine data gives Google a huge advantage in AI development over rivals like Perplexity and OpenAI. But Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode can be detrimental to the websites they source from by reducing clickthroughs, incentivizing publishers to keep their content out of AI summaries and related features if given the choice.

One of the suggestions in the documents that Google considered a “hard red line” would enable publishers to prevent Google’s AI models from referencing their data in real time, but not opt out of being used to train features like AI Overviews generally. Another option, labeled as “likely unstable,” suggested that no additional controls should be added, and that publishers can opt out of being indexed on Search entirely “if not satisfied.”

A court hearing on May 2nd revealed that publishers are facing that ultimatum. While Google introduced a way for publishers to opt out of AI training in 2023, Google DeepMind vice president of product Eli Collins said it doesn’t apply to search-specific AI products like AI Overviews. The only way for publishers to avoid AI Overviews sucking up their content is to opt out of being crawled by Googlebot — which stops their website being indexed for Search altogether.

When AI Overviews rolled out last year, Google decided to “silently update” the information about publisher controls with “no public announcement,” according to the document. Guidance on how to word the update also suggests that Google intentionally made it harder for publishers to know what they were actually opting out of to avoid getting “into the details of distinction” between training for Gemini, AI Overviews, and other AI models.

“Do what we say, say what we do, but carefully,” Bindra said in the document.

Google says that this document was an early list of options it was considering as AI search was evolving, and doesn’t reflect the decisions it ultimately made. “Publishers have always controlled how their content is made available to Google as AI models have been built into Search for many years, helping surface relevant sites and driving traffic to them,” Google spokesperson Peter Schottenfels said in a statement to The Verge. “New search features like AI Overviews have led to more searches, which creates new opportunities for sites to be discovered.”

The wording that Google currently uses is more upfront, saying that publishers who flag their content not to be used for AI Overviews and AI Mode will also keep it out of “all forms of search results.”

Luminar, a company that develops lidar systems for autonomous vehicles, started laying off workers just one day after its founder and CEO, Austin Russell, abruptly resigned. In a regulatory filing spotted by TechCrunch, the company said it began carrying out restructuring efforts on May 15th, which include a “reduction in its workforce.”

Last year, Luminar announced plans to cut 20 percent of its employees as it began outsourcing more of its production. Luminar later revealed in September that it had laid off around 30 percent of workers since the beginning of 2024, affecting 212 employees, according to TechCrunch.

After launching in 2017, Luminar was pushed to the forefront of the autonomous vehicle industry as a top maker of lidar systems, a key technology that cars use to sense the shapes and distances of objects around them. Luminar has sold sensors to Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Audi, Toyota Research Institute, Caterpillar, and even Tesla, which has dismissed LIDAR sensors in favor of traditional cameras.

Luminar has encountered financial difficulties in recent months and was nearly delisted from the NASDAQ.

The company doesn’t say how many employees are affected by this most recent round of layoffs, but it expects to spend around $4 million to $5 million on its restructuring plans. Luminar appointed Paul Ricci as CEO after Russell stepped down last week, but Russell will remain on Luminar’s board.

Google’s latest Android 16 beta adds a bunch of new wallpaper and lock screen options for Pixel phones, including live-updating weather animations and a feature that automatically frames subjects of photos within a variety of bubbly shapes.

When you select an image to use as a wallpaper in the beta, you can tap the sparkly collection of starbursts that has become the de facto symbol for AI features to access the new effects. One of them, “Shape,” washes your screen in a solid color, with a punchout frame in the middle centered on the subject of your photo, be it a person, animal, or object. You can choose from five different shape options: a slanted oval, rounded rectangle, an arched opening, a flowery shape, and a hexagon. It’s a little like the iOS “Depth Effect” feature that partially obscures the clock on your lock screen with a person’s head.

Right now, your phone picks what part of the image should be the subject, with no option to resize or reposition it. In a picture of two cats that my colleague Dominic Preston tried, the phone automatically centered the frame on one of the cats, with no option to use the other instead.

A new “Weather” option interacts with the subject of your photo, like by pelting them with raindrops or wrapping them in fog. The default choice, “Local,” changes the effect depending on nearby weather conditions, but you can pick fog, rain, snow, or sun if you’d rather use one persistent effect. These options join the previous “Cinematic” wallpaper mode that automatically creates a parallax effect, moving your subject around the background of the image when you tilt your phone. That feature is now activated with a toggle labeled “Add 3D motion to this photo” and produced slightly different results when I tried it out with the same image.

Google is also testing updates to the lock screen, including offering more control over what notifications appear there. For instance, the beta now has a toggle for “Show seen notifications” that, when turned off, will hide notifications you’ve already seen.

Finally, 9to5Google spotted that a blog post from Google’s I/O conference offers a look at its “Live Updates” feature, which, like iOS’s Live Activities, presents live-updating lock screen elements showing you when, say, your Uber driver is arriving. In the GIF above, you can see what aspects like its progress bar and time estimates will look like.