Gemini Live gets improved video resolution on Android, removing swipe

Google is rolling out a handful of tweaks to Gemini Live on Android, including improved video resolution when using the Project Astra-powered capability.
more…Google is rolling out a handful of tweaks to Gemini Live on Android, including improved video resolution when using the Project Astra-powered capability.
more…Apple TV+ has already premiered what’s arguably the best comedy of the year so far: The Studio. But now Seth Rogen has another TV+ debut coming soon—the return of hit comedy Platonic—and it looks better than ever.
more…A report yesterday suggested that the two iPhone 17 Pro models could get an anti-reflective display, after Apple’s suppliers managed to overcome production difficulties.
I do love anti-reflective displays, and still have very fond memories of my all-time favorite Apple one from way back in 2004, but an iPhone one would have only moderate appeal to me …
more…AMD’s latest Zen 5-based Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9000 WX-Series of CPUs go on sale later this month, and the top option will be priced at $11,699. The 9000 WX-Series chips are designed for workstations, with the $11,699 Threadripper Pro 9995WX shipping on July 23rd with 96 cores and 192 threads.
Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Supermicro will all start selling high-end workstations with the latest Threadripper 9000 series of chips on July 23rd, and DIY builders will be able to purchase the processors through AMD’s channel partners.
AMD will also offer the 64-core Threadripper Pro 9985WX for $7,999, the 32-core Threadripper Pro 9975WX for $4,099, the 24-core Threadripper Pro 9965WX for $2,899, and the Threadripper Pro 9955WX for $1,649. All five processors are designed to be faster in professional rendering tools like Chaos V-Ray, or tools like Adobe After Effects.
The Pro 9000 WX-Series processors are also designed for local AI deployments, including fine-tuning models, inference, and AI application development. “When running a context-based prompting inference test using DeepSeek R1 32B, we are seeing a 49 percent better performance of Threadripper Pro 9000 over Intel,” claims AMD.
AMD hasn’t yet revealed pricing for its non-Pro Threadripper 9980X and 9970X processors, but expect those prices to be a lot less for DIY builders.
Elgato has released four new color options for its Stream Deck and other streaming accessories as part of a new Dreamscape collection designed to better match the aesthetic of a studio or gaming room. The devices and accessories have previously typically only been available in white or black, but are now available in forest green, pink petal, wild lavender, and glacier ice (a very light blue).
The Dreamscape collection is now available for the same price as the standard version of these products. The collection includes the $149.99 Stream Deck, the $169.99 Wave XLR microphone interface, the $99.99 Wave DX mic, the $149.99 Wave:3 mic, and the $99.99 Wave Mic Arm LP.
If you already have the Stream Deck or the Wave XLR and are feeling envious about the new color options, Elgato also sells a $14.99 faceplate for the Stream Deck in all four new shades, and a $19.99 one for the Wave XLR so you can update your existing gear.
Elgato is also selling its new Dreamscape collection in discounted bundles. The discounts range from two percent off if you buy two of them to 20 percent off if you bundle all five (not including the faceplates). You also don’t have to stick to just one color option when building a bundle. You can mix and match the new shades if you want to give your streaming setup a punch of color but aren’t worried about maintaining a uniform theme.
To complete the look, the company offers Dreamscape icons and button labels for the Stream Deck, available for download through the Elgato Marketplace, that complement the four new color options.
Valve's Steam Deck has dominated the handheld gaming PC space since its 2022 debut. But even as more powerful Windows handhelds arrived to keep up with more demanding games, none have beaten the Steam Deck's combination of ease-of-use, ergonomics, power, and battery life at an affordable price.
That still hasn't changed. The Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS is not the Steam Deck killer that some headlines would have you believe.
This was supposed to be a moment for handhelds. When the Legion Go S was revealed as the first authorized third-party handheld to run SteamOS, with a $499 starting price, it looked like a true Steam Deck competitor …
Earlier this week, Elon Musk posted an image of Tesla’s robotaxi service area in Austin, Texas, that was in the shape of a penis. Hilarious, I know, but more importantly: it appeared that Tesla’s map was slightly larger than Waymo’s service area, which covers just 37 square miles in Austin.
Today, Waymo announced its own expansion — minus the puerile humor. It’s just a bigger map with more customers for the Alphabet-owned company’s budding robotaxi business. And more pressure on Tesla to drop the dick jokes and get serious about autonomous driving.
Waymo’s new map covers 90 square miles in Austin, which is an increase from the current 37-square-mile service area. New neighborhoods include Crestview, Windsor Park, Sunset Valley, Franklin Park, and more, as well as popular destinations like The Domain and McKinney Falls State Park. Waymo provided a map, with the old service area in dark blue and the new one in light blue.
In its announcement, Waymo stressed that it’s “the only fully autonomous, 24/7 experience for anyone in Austin,” a clear reference to Tesla’s limitations. Waymo’s vehicles are unsupervised and available at any time, while Tesla’s vehicles include a safety monitor in the passenger seat, only operate between 6AM and midnight, and are invite-only.
Still, this is one of the first times that Waymo is experiencing competition in one of its robotaxi cities, and the company clearly relishes the fight. Waymo also stressed “no waitlists or caveats” as part of its service, which is available exclusively on the Uber app.
Service area is a key metric in operating a robotaxi service. Companies tend to target denser areas with more customers and more desirable locations, while also keeping in mind that expanding too rapidly could compromise safety.
This is one of the first times that Waymo is experiencing competition in one of its robotaxi cities
Tesla’s robotaxis have already racked up a list of mistakes, and the presence of the safety monitor is a clear sign that the company isn’t confident enough in its technology to deploy its vehicles without supervision. Meanwhile, Austin residents have filed numerous complaints with the city about Waymo’s slow-moving, overly cautious vehicles. One customer got stuck inside a Waymo on a busy street. Still, there have been no serious safety incidents involving either company in Austin yet.
Embarrassing incidents are a certainty as more robotaxis hit the road and their service areas expand. But when it comes to scale, Waymo is the clear winner right now. The company has more than 1,500 vehicles in five major cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, and Atlanta. Tesla has said that it wants to expand to Arizona and California, though it has yet to apply for several required permits in the latter.
Waymo announced another major milestone earlier this week: 100 million miles of fully autonomous driving. Tesla said earlier this year that its customers have driven more than 3.5 billion miles while using the company’s Full Self-Driving feature — which requires human supervision at all times.
Wacom has announced the MovinkPad 11, an all-in-one Android-powered tablet for digital illustrators who want to draw on the go. Unlike other display drawing tablets in Wacom’s lineup, the $449 MovinkPad doesn’t need to be connected to a laptop or PC, placing it in direct competition with the Apple Pencil and iPad combo that’s proved incredibly popular with digital artists.
Unlike Apple’s iPad lineup, however, the 11.45-inch MovinkPad prioritizes digital drawing capabilities over typical activities you would use a tablet for. The MovinkPad features a 2200 x 1440p resolution display with touchscreen support and anti-glare etched glass to reduce reflections and fingerprints. While the Movink drawing tablet that Wacom launched last year features an OLED display, the MovinkPad uses an IPS screen. The display has a color performance of 16.7 million colors and a 99 percent sRGB color gamut coverage ratio.
At 10.5 x 7.2 x 0.3 inches, it’s slightly larger than the 11-inch iPad Air and weighs 1.3 pounds (588 grams) compared to Apple’s one-pound (460 grams) offering. The rest of the MovinkPad features would be fairly forgettable on a regular tablet: it runs on Android 14, features a 5 megapixel front camera, a 4.7 megapixel rear camera, dual microphones, stereo speakers, and support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2 It also includes a USB-C port for charging and 7700mAh lithium-ion battery, but Wacom doesn’t mention what battery life you can expect from a single charge.
Under the hood, the MovinkPad 11 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G99 processor, the same mid-ranged chip used in the Lenovo Tab Plus that launched last year. The MovinkPad only comes with 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage, which can’t be expanded. That limitation isn’t ideal for a tablet that users will want to save a lot of image files without relying on cloud storage.
The MovinkPad supports the same 8,192 pressure levels and 60-degree pen tilt angles as Wacom’s main drawing display tablet lineup. It comes with the customizable Wacom Pro Pen 3, which includes a nib holder and customizable side switches, and supports a range of third-party digital pens from brands such as Dr. Grip, Lamy, and Staedtler.
That Android 14 support means that the MovinkPad can support a range of popular digital illustration apps that are available on the Google Play store, including Clip Studio Paint, Ibis Paint, and Krita, and comes with the Wacom Canvas sketching app pre-installed. iPads still have an edge here because Procreate — often ranked as the top creative app on Apple’s App Store — is an iOS exclusive for now, though Procreate developer James Cuda has mused on plans to bring it to other platforms eventually.
The MovinkPad 11 is a far cry from Wacom’s previous attempts to launch an all-in-one drawing tablet: the MobileStudio Pro series came with built-in PC hardware, which made it too heavy to lug around easily and cost up to $3,500, which also made it too expensive for hobbyist illustrators to consider.
At $449, the MovinkPad undercuts Wacom’s MobileStudio Pro line, but the cheapest A16 chip iPad ($349) is still a more affordable choice, even with the additional requirement to purchase a first-gen Apple Pencil ($99). Still, the Wacom Pro Pen 3 support and other illustration-focused goodies may give Wacom the opportunity to poach customers who were looking at Apple’s more expensive iPad models.