A new report published by the child safety groups Heat Initiative and ParentsTogether Action details the alarming presence of inappropriate apps that are rated as suitable for children as young as four years old on Apple’s App Store. The groups worked with a researcher to review as many apps as possible in the span of 24 hours, and say they ultimately identified over 200 apps that contained “concerning content or features” given the ages they were rated for — including stranger chat and AI girlfriend apps, gaming apps with sexual or violent prompts and imagery, and AI-powered appearance rating apps. Engadget has reached out to Apple for comment and will update this story upon hearing back.
The research focused on apps with assigned age ratings of 4+, 9+ and 12+ in categories considered to be “risky”: chat (including AI and stranger chat apps), beauty, diet and weight loss, unfiltered internet access (apps for accessing schools’ banned sites) and gaming. Among the findings, the report says at least 24 sexual games and 9 stranger chat apps were marked as appropriate for kids in these age groups. The research also identified 40 apps for unfiltered internet access and 75 apps relating to beauty, body image and weight loss carrying these age ratings, along with 28 shooter and crime games. Collectively, the roughly 200 offending apps spotted during the 24-hour investigation have been downloaded over 550 million times, according to Heat Initiative.
About 800 apps were reviewed in all, and the research found that some categories were more likely than others to carry apps with inappropriately low age ratings. For stranger chat apps and games, “fewer were rated as appropriate for children,” the report says. In most cases, they were 17+. But in the categories of weight loss and unfiltered internet access, “nearly all apps reviewed were approved for kids 4+.” The report calls on Apple to do better when it comes to child safety measures on the App Store, urging the company to use third-party reviewers to verify apps’ age ratings before they become available to download, and to make its age rating process transparent to consumers. You can read the full report, Rotten Ratings: 24 Hours in Apple’s App Store, here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/inappropriate-apps-rated-as-safe-for-young-children-are-prevalent-in-the-app-store-report-warns-213727965.html?src=rss
App Store icon displayed on a phone screen is seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on April 8, 2024. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Almost a year ago, I was prompted to look for another budgeting app. Intuit, parent company of Mint, the budgeting app I had been using for a long time, shut down the service in March 2024. The company encouraged Mint users to migrate to its other financial app, Credit Karma, but I found it to be a poor Mint replacement after trying it out. That sent me searching elsewhere to find an app to track all of my financial accounts, monitor my credit score, track spending and set goals like building a rainy-day fund and paying down my mortgage faster.
If you’re looking for a new budgeting app to get your finances straight, allow Engadget to help. I tried out Mint's top competitors in the hopes that I'd be able to find a new budgeting app that could handle all of my financial needs, and to see which are actually worth the money.
How we tested budgeting apps
Before I dove in and started testing out budgeting apps, I had to do some research. To find a list of apps to try out, I consulted trusty ol’ Google (and even trustier Reddit); read reviews of popular apps on the App Store; and also asked friends and colleagues what budget tracking apps (or other budgeting methods) they might be using for money management. Some of the apps I found were free and these, of course, show loads of ads (excuse me, “offers”) to stay in business. But most of the available apps require paid subscriptions, with prices typically topping out around $100 a year, or $15 a month. (Spoiler: My top pick is cheaper than that.)
All of the services I chose to test needed to do several things: import all of your account data into one place; offer budgeting tools; and track your spending, net worth and credit score. Except where noted, all of these apps are available for iOS, Android and on the web.
Once I had my shortlist of six apps, I got to work setting them up. For the sake of thoroughly testing these apps, I made a point of adding every account to every budgeting app, no matter how small or immaterial the balance. What ensued was a veritable Groundhog Day of two-factor authentication. Just hours of entering passwords and one-time passcodes, for the same banks half a dozen times over. Hopefully, you only have to do this once.
Best budgeting apps of 2025
Budgeting app FAQs
What is Plaid and how does it work?
Each of the apps I tested uses the same underlying network, called Plaid, to pull in financial data, so it’s worth explaining what it is and how it works. Plaid was founded as a fintech startup in 2013 and is today the industry standard in connecting banks with third-party apps. Plaid works with over 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada and Europe. Additionally, more than 8,000 third-party apps and services rely on Plaid, the company claims.
To be clear, you don’t need a dedicated Plaid app to use it; the technology is baked into a wide array of apps, including all of the budgeting apps listed in this guide. Once you find the “add an account” option in whichever one you’re using, you’ll see a menu of commonly used banks. There’s also a search field you can use to look yours up directly. Once you find yours, you’ll be prompted to enter your login credentials. If you have two-factor authentication set up, you’ll need to enter a one-time passcode as well.
As the middleman, Plaid is a passthrough for information that may include your account balances, transaction history, account type and routing or account number. Plaid uses encryption, and says it has a policy of not selling or renting customer data to other companies. However, I would not be doing my job if I didn’t note that in 2022 Plaid was forced to pay $58 million to consumers in a class action suit for collecting “more financial data than was needed.” As part of the settlement, Plaid was compelled to change some of its business practices.
In a statement provided to Engadget, a Plaid spokesperson said the company continues to deny the allegations underpinning the lawsuit and that “the crux of the non-financial terms in the settlement are focused on us accelerating workstreams already underway related to giving people more transparency into Plaid’s role in connecting their accounts, and ensuring that our workstreams around data minimization remain on track.”
Why did Mint shut down?
When parent company Intuit announced in December 2023 that it would shut down Mint, it did not provide a reason why it made the decision to do so. It did say that Mint's millions of users would be funneled over to its other finance app, Credit Karma. "Credit Karma is thrilled to invite all Minters to continue their financial journey on Credit Karma, where they will have access to Credit Karma’s suite of features, products, tools and services, including some of Mint’s most popular features," Mint wrote on its product blog. In our testing, we found that Credit Karma isn't an exact replacement for Mint — so if you're still looking for a Mint alternative, you have some decent options.
What about Rocket Money?
Rocket Money is another free financial app that tracks spending and supports things like balance alerts and account linking. If you pay for the premium tier, the service can also help you cancel unwanted subscriptions. We did not test it for this guide, but we'll consider it in future updates.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-budgeting-apps-120036303.html?src=rss
Accounting firms are struggling to adopt high-tech solutions. That’s according to a survey earlier this year from Rightsworks, which found that, while 88% of firms believe tech has had a positive impact on their efficiency, 60% are suffering from disconnected systems, inconsistent processes, and a lack of standardized workflows. Startups like Aiwyn are trying to […]
Navigating the rental process can be a time-consuming and often confusing experience for both landlords and tenants. Whether managing multiple properties or leasing a single unit, having a well-structured lease agreement is crucial for smooth transactions and clear expectations. Customizable […]
You might be tempted to get a Chromebook as your next laptop and we wouldn’t blame you. Chrome OS has come a long way: Chromebooks today have a good combination of build quality, battery life and power while also supporting years of software updates that will take you years into the future. If you primarily browse the web, or don’t need a ton of extra software on a regular basis, a Chromebook can be a powerful daily driver.
While Google did make things simpler last fall by introducing the Chromebook Plus initiative (more on that below), there are still multiple things to keep in mind when shopping for a new Chromebook. The market is saturated with machines at different price points and power levels; I’ve been testing and reviewing Chromebooks for years and know what you should be looking for, and what you can expect out of these laptops.
What is Chrome OS, and why would I use it over Windows?
This is probably the number one question about Chromebooks. There are plenty of inexpensive Windows laptops on the market, so why bother with Chrome's operating system? Glad you asked. For me, the simple and clean nature of Chrome OS is a big selling point. Chrome OS is based on Google’s Chrome browser, which means most of the programs you can run are web based. There’s no bloatware or unwanted apps to uninstall like you often get on Windows laptops, it boots up in seconds, and you can completely reset to factory settings almost as quickly.
Of course, simplicity will also be a major drawback for some users. Not being able to install native software can be a dealbreaker if you’re a video editor or software developer. But there are also plenty of people who do the majority of their work in a web browser.
Google and its software partners are getting better every year at supporting more advanced features. For example, Google added video editing tools to the Google Photos app on Chromebooks – it won’t replace Adobe Premiere, but it should be handy for a lot of people. Similarly, Google and Adobe announced Photoshop on the web last year, something that brings much of the power of Adobe’s desktop apps to Chromebooks.
Chromebooks can also run Android apps, which greatly expands the amount of software available. The quality varies widely, but it means you can do more with a Chromebook beyond just web-based apps. For example, you can install the Netflix app and save videos for offline watching. Other Android apps like Microsoft Office and Adobe Lightroom are surprisingly capable as well. Between Android apps and a general improvement in web apps, Chromebooks are more than just portals to a browser.
What do Chromebooks do well?
Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
Put simply, web browsing and really anything web based. Online shopping, streaming music and video and using various social media sites are among the most common daily tasks people do on Chromebooks. As you might expect, they also work well with Google services like Photos, Docs, Gmail, Drive, Keep and so on. Yes, any computer that can run Chrome can do that too, but the lightweight nature of Google Chrome OS makes it a responsive and stable platform.
As I mentioned before, Chrome OS can run Android apps, so if you’re an Android user you’ll find some nice ties between the platforms. You can get most of the same apps that are on your phone on a Chromebook and keep info in sync between them. You can also use some Android phones as a security key for your Chromebook or instantly tether your laptop to use mobile data.
Google continues to tout security as a major differentiator for Chromebooks, and it’s definitely a factor worth considering. Auto-updates are the first lines of defense: Chrome OS updates download quickly in the background and a fast reboot is all it takes to install the latest version. Google says that each webpage and app on a Chromebook runs in its own sandbox as well, so any security threats are contained to that individual app. Finally, Chrome OS has a self-check called Verified Boot that runs every time a device starts up. Beyond all this, the simple fact that you generally can’t install traditional apps on a Chromebook means there are fewer ways for bad actors to access the system.
If you’re interested in Google’s Gemini AI tools, a Chromebook is a good option as well. Every Chromebook in our top picks comes with a full year of the Google One AI Premium plan — this combines the usual Google One perks like 2TB of storage and 10 percent back in purchases from the Google Store with a bunch of AI tools. You’ll get access to Gemini in Gmail, Docs and other apps, Gemini Advanced (which runs on the 1.5 Pro model) and more. Given that this plan is $20/month, it’s a pretty solid perk. Chromebook Plus models also include tools like the AI-powered “help me write,” the Google Photos Magic Editor and generative AI backgrounds you can create by filling in a few prompts.
As for when to avoid Chromebooks, the answer is simple: If you rely heavily on a specific native application for Windows or a Mac, chances are you won’t find the exact same option on a ChromeOS device. That’s most true in fields like photo and video editing, but it can also be the case in law or finance. Plenty of businesses run on Google’s G suite software, but more still have specific requirements that a Chromebook might not match. If you’re an iPhone user, you’ll also miss out on the way the iPhone easily integrates with an iPad or Mac. For me, the big downside is not being able to access iMessage on a Chromebook.
Finally, gaming Chromebooks are not ubiquitous, although they’re becoming a slightly more reasonable option with the rise of cloud gaming. In late 2022, Google and some hardware partners announced a push to make Chromebooks with cloud gaming in mind. From a hardware perspective, that means laptops with bigger screens that have higher refresh rates as well as optimizing those laptops to work with services like NVIDIA GeForce Now, Xbox Game Pass and Amazon Luna. You’ll obviously need an internet connection to use these services, but the good news is that playing modern games on a Chromebook isn’t impossible. You can also install Android games from the Google Play Store, but that’s not what most people are thinking of when they want to game on a laptop.
What are the most important specs for a Chromebook?
Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
Chrome OS is lightweight and runs well on fairly modest hardware, so the most important thing to look for might not be processor power or storage space. But Google made it easier to get consistent specs and performance late last year when it introduced the Chromebook Plus initiative. Any device with a Chromebook Plus designation meets some minimum requirements, which happen to be very similar to what I’d recommend most people get if they’re looking for a laptop they can use every day.
Chromebook Plus models have at least a 12th-gen Intel Core i3 processor, or an AMD Ryzen 3 7000 series processor, both of which should be more than enough for most people. These laptops also have a minimum of 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which should do the trick unless you’re really pushing your Chromebook. All Chromebook Plus models have to have a 1080p webcam, which is nice in these days of constant video calling, and they also all have to have at least a 1080p IPS screen.
Of course, you can get higher specs or better screens if you desire, but I’ve found that basically everything included in the Chromebook Plus target specs makes for a very good experience.
Google has an Auto Update policy for Chromebooks as well, and while that’s not exactly a spec, it’s worth checking before you buy. Last year, Google announced that Chromebooks would get software updates and support for an impressive 10 years after their release date. This support page lists the Auto Update expiration date for virtually every Chromebook ever, but a good rule of thumb is to buy the newest machine you can to maximize your support.
How much should I spend?
Chromebooks started out notoriously cheap, with list prices often coming in under $300. But as they’ve gone more mainstream, they’ve transitioned from being essentially modern netbooks to the kind of laptop you’ll want to use all day. As such, prices have increased: At this point, you should expect to spend at least $400 if you want a solid daily driver. There are still many cheap Chromebooks out there that may be suitable as secondary devices, but a good Chromebook that can be an all-day, every-day laptop will cost more. But, notably, even the best Chromebooks usually cost less than the best Windows laptops, or even the best “regular” laptops out there.
There are plenty of premium Chromebooks that approach or even exceed $1,000 that claim to offer better performance and more processing power, but I don’t recommend spending that much. Generally, that’ll get you a better design with more premium materials, as well as more powerful internals and extra storage space. Of course, you also sometimes pay for the brand name. But, the specs I outlined earlier are usually enough.
Samsung’s new Galaxy Chromebook Plus is one of the more unique Chromebooks out there. It’s extremely thin and light, at .46 inches and 2.6 pounds, but it manages to include a 15.6-inch display in that frame. That screen is a 1080p panel that’s sharp and bright, but its 16:9 aspect ratio made things feel a bit cramped when scrolling vertically. Performance is very good, and the keyboard is solid, though I’m not a fan of the number pad as it shifts everything to the left. At $700 it’s not cheap, but that feels fair considering its size and capabilities. If you’re looking for a big screen laptop that is also super light, this Chromebook merits consideration, even if it’s not the best option for everyone.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/best-chromebooks-160054646.html?src=rss
Integrating quantum computing into real-world computer applications is an ongoing problem, as the platforms are architected fundamentally differently. BlueQubit, a San Francisco-based quantum software startup founded by Stanford alumni, thinks it might have the answer. Its Quantum Software as a Service (QSaaS) platform attempts to tackle the above problem by providing end-users with access to […]
Steam Replay, Valve’s take on Spotify Wrapped for games you’ve played through Steam, is available now for your perusal. Valve’s offered the year-end presentation since 2022, and it can be a pretty revealing glimpse into how time-consuming most games have become in the last two years (or how much one game can really stick in your craw).
You can access the data dump directly through the Steam app, your Steam Deck or the web. For 2024, Valve tracked the number of games and demos you’ve played, the number of achievements you’ve unlocked, your longest gaming streak and the games you spent the majority of your time playing. The company also collected data on how much of your time spent playing was on Steam Deck, which genres you tend to prefer and shared some details on how the median Steam users plays. For example, the median Steam user only played four games this year, and unlocked 13 achievements.
Valve
According to my Replay, the majority of my time on Steam this year was spent playing 1000xRESIST, Arco, Animal Well and Balatro. Since I’ve basically treated the Steam Deck like a console from the moment I bought one, it’s also where I spent 100 percent of my time using Steam in 2024. I suspect that’s unusual for the average user, but it’s really the only surprise I found combing through Valve’s data.
If you dig up anything interesting in your Steam Replay, Valve has made it easy to make your Replay public so you can share with friends. If you’re particularly proud of how much you’ve completed in 2024, you can also attach an overview of your stats directly to your Steam profile.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/steam-replay-2024-is-available-now-so-you-can-compare-your-balatro-playtime-with-friends-234027828.html?src=rss
The company's AI software can improve the human element of emergency response.
LPETTET/Getty Images
Motorola Solutions uses AI to help address delays in 911 emergency calls and improve response times.
Its Vesta NXT software helps 911 call handlers gather and summarize data for quicker communication.
This article is part of "CXO AI Playbook" — straight talk from business leaders on how they're testing and using AI.
Motorola Solutions is a Chicago-based provider of technology and communications solutions focused on public safety and enterprise security. It has about 21,000 employees worldwide.
Situation analysis: What problem was the company trying to solve?
The National Emergency Number Association estimates that 240 million 911 calls are made in the US each year. But fragmented emergency-response systems across various agencies and organizations can lead to dangerous delays.
"You hope to never call 911, but when you do, it needs to work," Jehan Wickramasuriya, the corporate vice president of AI and platforms at Motorola Solutions, told Business Insider.
He added that call takers' jobs can be demanding and unpredictable, and they're often under intense pressure. "There can be a high level of stress if there's an active shooter or domestic disturbance," he said. "They're trying to keep a caller calm and simultaneously find out if they need medical help." Meanwhile, he said, callers may be "speaking so fast that it's difficult to understand and retain everything they say."
Jehan Wickramasuriya is the corporate vice president of AI and platforms at Motorola Solutions.
Motorola Solutions
Pinpointing a caller's location adds a layer of complexity. Mobile 911 calls are typically routed based on cell-tower locations rather than the caller's actual position. This requires calls to be redirected, adding several seconds to response times.
"At the end of the day it's a data problem," Wickramasuriya said, "because a lot of information needs to get transmitted in each call."
Motorola Solutions is using AI to consolidate this data in a single platform.
Key staff and stakeholders
The company structures its AI research team around specialized AI domains, such as computer vision and speech and audio processing, rather than individual product lines.
Wickramasuriya said the core AI team consisted of about 50 scientists, developers, and engineers who collaborate closely with hundreds of product managers, designers, and user-experience specialists.
Motorola Solutions also works with various cloud and technology vendors on its AI-enabled products and services.
AI in action
In June, Motorola Solutions launched Vesta NXT, software designed to help 911 call handlers manage emergency calls. It brings data from various public-safety systems onto one platform, helping the handlers gather and summarize information.
The tool uses AI to surface details including the caller's location and, for callers who have opted to share their medical profile from their phone, any underlying health conditions. It can also suggest the best entrance to a building. "That's important information for first responders," Wickramasuriya said.
The software has translation and transcription capabilities, helping English speakers and non-English speakers communicate. AI also helps call handlers manage nonemergency calls — by streamlining the reporting of issues like abandoned cars or stolen property, call handlers can focus more on critical emergencies.
Most important, AI can improve the human element of emergency response. "AI is working in the background to help the call taker attend to the person on the other end of the line," Wickramasuriya said.
Did it work, and how did leaders know?
Motorola Solutions says roughly 60% of 911 call centers in the US use its call-handling software. It's transitioning existing Vesta 911 users to its new system with the AI features.
The company says these AI tools are already translating millions of minutes of audio each month and have helped lighten emergency-call handlers' workloads partly by resolving nonemergency calls and connecting callers to other resources.
Lee County is the first Public Safety Answering Point, which is a call center that handles emergency calls and coordinates responses, to use the VESTA NXT. Motorola Solutions said administrators there found the AI-generated searchable text transcripts and real-time summaries of 911 calls that call handlers can share with dispatchers and first responders helped save time and alleviate stress for call handlers.
What's next?
Wickramasuriya said the company was focused on improving Vesta NXT.
He said the goal was to "expand the usefulness" of the software by integrating it more deeply into existing workflows, including by developing features that connect first responders directly with dispatchers and call takers.
Another aim, he said, is to help understaffed 911 call centers "understand their staffing needs and identify which call takers are handling high-stress situations and address stress and fatigue among call handlers."
The company behind the news app Flipboard just launched something called Surf, which is sort of like an RSS feed for the open social web. The app allows users to create feeds that pull from the open social web, including services like Mastodon and Bluesky. It also sources content from blogs, podcasts and YouTube videos.
Flipboard CEO Mike McCue calls it a “browser for the social web” and that description makes a whole lot of sense. Surf supports a whole bunch of open protocols, including RSS, Bluesky’s AT Protocol and ActivityPub. That last one is used to power decentralized platforms like Mastodon, Threads, Pixelfed, PeerTube and Friendica, among others. This follows Flipboard itself moving to the fediverse, which allowed for full interoperability with Mastodon and other decentralized networks.
The app has been in development for nearly two years and lets users build custom feeds using a combination of sources. If you wanted to follow a niche topic like, say, 3D printing, you could add notable people to a feed, along with hashtags, specific RSS feeds, preferred podcasts and more. As of the initial beta launch, Surf comes with 30,000 predefined topics to explore. Custom feeds can also explore multiple topics at once, to personalize things.
Flipboard
The app’s home page includes a wide swath of curated feeds to follow that are organized into sections like Featured, Trending, Communities and Expert Voices. Feeds are configurable in a number of ways, which lets users include or exclude stuff like replies, reposts or mature content. Thankfully, the order of the feed is also fully adjustable, with an option for a Twitter-like timeline.
This sounds pretty cool right? One of the main problems in this new era of the social web, in which the old guard has lost so much steam, is the lack of a centralized hub. This looks to solve that problem to some extent.
Now a spot of bad news. Surf is technically available right now, but only as an invite-only, closed beta. If you can get a hold of one of those invites, the app is available for both iOS and Android, with a desktop client coming soon.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/flipboard-just-launched-surf-which-is-sort-of-like-an-rss-feed-for-the-open-social-web-184015833.html?src=rss
Mark Heaps is the chief technology evangelist for Nvidia challenger Groq
Groq
Groq is taking a novel approach to competing with Nvidia's much-lauded CUDA software.
The chip startup is using a free inference tier to attract hundreds of thousands of AI developers.
Groq aims to capture market share with faster inference and global joint ventures.
There is an active debate about Nvidia's competitive moat. Some say there's a prevailing perception of a 'safe' choice when investing billions in a technology, in which the return is still uncertain.
Many say it's Nvidia's software, particularly CUDA, which the company began developing decades before the AI boom. CUDA allows users to get the most out of graphics processing units.
Competitors have attempted to make comparable systems, but without Nvidia's headstart, it has been tough to get developers to learn, try, and ultimately improve their systems.
Groq, however, is an Nvidia competitor that focused early on the segment of AI computing that requires less need for directly programming chips, and investors are intrigued. The 8-year-old AI chip startup was valued at $2.8 billion at its $640 million Series D round in August.
Though at least one investor has called companies like Groq 'insane' for attempting to dent Nvidia's estimated 90% market share, the startup has been building its technology exactly for the opportunity that is coming in 2025, Mark Heaps, Groq's "chief tech evangelist" said.
'Unleashing the beast'
"What we decided to do was take all of our compute, make it available via a cloud instance, and we gave it away to the world for free," Heaps said. Internally, the team called the strategy, "unleashing the beast". Groq's free tier caps users at a ceiling marked by requests per day or tokens per minute.
Heaps, CEO and ex-Googler Jonathan Ross, and a relatively lean team have spent 2023 and 2024 recruiting developers to try Groq's tech. Through hackathons and contests, the company makes a promise — try the hardware via Groq's cloud platform for free, and break through walls you've hit with others.
Groq offers some of the fastest inference out there, according to rankings on Artificialanalysis.ai, which measures cost and latency for companies that allow users to buy access to specific models by the token — or output.
Inference is a type of computing that produces the answers to queries asked of large language models. Training, the more energy-intensive type of computing, is what gives the models the ability to answer. So far, the hardware used for those two tasks has been different.
After the inference service was available for free, developers came out of the woodwork, he said, with projects that couldn't be successful on slower chips. With more speed, developers can send one request through multiple models and use another model to choose the best response — all in the time it would usually take to fulfill just one request.
Roughly 652,000 developers are now using Groq API keys, Heaps said.
Heaps expects speed to hook developers on Groq. But its novel plan for programming its chips gives the company a unique approach to the most crucial element within Nvidia's "moat."
No need for CUDA libraries
"Everybody, once they deployed models, was gonna need faster inference at a lower cost, and so that's what we focused on," Heaps said.
So where's the CUDA equivalent? It's all in-house.
"We actually have more than 1800 models built into our compiler. We use no kernels, and we don't need people to use CUDA libraries. So because of that, people can just start working with a model that's built-in," Heaps said.
Training, he said, requires more customization at the chip level. In inference, Groq's task is to choose the right models to offer customers and ensure they run as fast as possible.
"What you're seeing with this massive swell of developers who are building AI applications — they don't want to program at the chip level," he added.
The strategy comes with some level of risk. Groq is unlikely to accumulate a stable of developers who continuously troubleshoot and improve its base software like CUDA has. Its offering may be more like a restaurant menu than a grocery store. But this also means the barrier to entry for Groq users is the same as any other cloud provider and potentially lower than that of other chips.
Though Groq started out as a company with a novel chip design, today, of the company's roughly 300 employees, 60% are software engineers, Heaps said.
"For us right now, there is a billions and billions of dollars industry emerging, that we can go capture a big share of market in, while at the same time, we continue to mature the compiler," he said.
Despite being realistic about the near-term, Groq has lofty ambitions, which board CEO Jonathan Ross has described as "providing half the world's inference." Ross also says the goal is to cast a net over the globe — to be achieved via joint ventures. Saudi Arabia is on the way. Canada and Latin America are in the works.
Earlier this year, Ross told BI the company also has a goal to ship 108,000 of its language processing units or LPUs by the first quarter of next year — and 2 million chips by the end of 2025, most of which will be made availablethrough its cloud.
Have a tip or an insight to share? Contact Emma at [email protected] or use the secure messaging app Signal: 443-333-9088
Steffan Tomlinson (right) joined Vercel's board in December 2024. Guillermo Rauch (center) is CEO, while Marten Abrahamsen (left) is CFO.
Vercel
Vercel said it added Steffan Tomlinson to its board.
Tomlinson is the CFO of Stripe and has experience taking tech startups public.
He used to be CFO at several other tech companies, including Palo Alto Networks and Confluent.
Vercel, an AI startup valued at more than $3 billion, just bulked up its board with the addition of a finance executive who has experience taking tech companies public.
Stripe Chief Financial Officer Steffan Tomlinson will serve as a director on Vercel's board, the startup said on Tuesday.
Tomlinson was previously CFO at several other tech startups, guiding Palo Alto Networks, Confluent, and Aruba Networks through the IPO process.
Stripe, one of the world's most valuable startups, has long been mentioned as an IPO candidate. Vercel is earlier in its lifecycle, however the AI startup has been putting some of the early pieces in place to potentially go public someday.
"Steffan's experience leading developer-focused companies from startup to public markets makes him an ideal addition to Vercel's Board of Directors as we continue to put our products in the hands of every developer," Vercel CEO and founder Guillermo Rauch said.
Steffan Tomlinson (left) joined Vercel's board in December 2024. Guillermo Rauch (center) is the CEO, while Marten Abrahamsen (right) is the CFO.
Vercel
Last year, Vercel tapped Marten Abrahamsen as its CFO. He's been building out Vercel's finance, legal, and corporate development teams and systems while leading the startup through a $250 million funding round at a $3.25 billion valuation in May.
"Steffan's financial expertise and leadership experience come at a pivotal moment for Vercel as we scale our enterprise presence and build on our momentum," Abrahamsen said.
GenAI growth
The generative AI boom has recently powered Vercel's growth. The startup offers AI tools to developers, and earlier this year it surpassed $100 million in annualized revenue.
Vercel's AI SDK, a software toolkit that helps developers build AI applications, was downloaded more than 700,000 times last week, up from about 80,000 downloads a year ago, according to NPM data.
The company's Next.js open-source framework was downloaded 7.9 million times last week, compared to roughly 4.6 million downloads a year earlier, NPM data also shows.
Abrahamsen said they are building a company to one day go public, but stressed that there's no timeline or date set for such a move.
Consumption-based business models
At Stripe and Confluent, Tomlinson gained experience with software that helps developers build cloud and web-based applications — and how these offerings generate revenue.
"Steffan's track record with consumption-based software business models makes him the ideal partner to inform strategic decisions," Rauch said.
Vercel is among a crop of newer developer-focused tech companies that charge based on usage. For instance, as traffic and uptime increase for developers, Vercel generates more revenue, so it's aligned with customers, Abrahamsen told Business Insider.
Similarly, Stripe collects a small fee every time someone makes a payment in an app. Confluent has a consumption-based business model, too.
This is different from traditional software-as-a-service providers, which often charge based on the number of users, or seats. For instance, Microsoft 365 costs a certain amount per month, per user.
Tomlinson also has experience working with developer-focused companies with technical founders, such as the Collison brothers who started Stripe.
Meta’s Threads app has now grown to 300 million users, with more than 100 million people using the service each day. Mark Zuckerberg announced the new milestone in a post on Threads, saying “Threads strong momentum continues.”
Zuckerberg has repeatedly speculated that Threads has a “good chance” of becoming the company’s next billion-user app. Though it’s still pretty far off of that goal, its growth seems to be accelerating. The app hit 100 million users last fall, and reached 275 million in early November. Elsewhere, Apple revealed that Threads was the second-most downloaded app in 2024, behind shopping app Temu, which took the top spot in Apple’s rankings.
The coming weeks could see some major changes for Threads as Meta looks to capitalize on that growth. The company reportedly has plans to begin experimenting with the first ads for threads in early 2025, according to a recent report in The Information.
Threads isn’t the only app trying to reclaim the “public square” as some longtime users depart the platform now known as X. Bluesky has also seen significant growth of late. The decentralized service nearly doubled its users base in November, and currently has just over 25 million users. (The company has never revealed how many of its users visit the site daily.) Though still much smaller than Threads, Meta seems to have taken inspiration from some of Bluesky’s signature features in recent weeks, including its take on starter packs and custom feeds.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/metas-threads-has-grown-to-300-million-users-234138108.html?src=rss
Google may have only recently begun rolling out its Veo generative AI to enterprise customers, but the company is not wasting any time getting a new version of the video tool out to early testers. On Monday, Google announced a preview of Veo 2. According to the company, Veo 2 “understands the language of cinematography.” In practice, that means you can reference a specific genre of film, cinematic effect or lens when prompting the model.
Additionally, Google says the new model has a better understanding of real-world physics and human movement. Correctly modeling humans in motion is something all generative models struggle to do. So the company’s claim that Veo 2 is better when it comes to both of those trouble points is notable. Of course, the samples the company provided aren’t enough to know for sure; the true test of Veo 2’s capabilities will come when someone prompts it to generate a video of a gymnast's routine. Oh, and speaking of things video models struggle with, Google says Veo will produce artifacts like extra fingers “less frequently.”
Google
Separately, Google is rolling out improvements to Imagen 3. Of its text-to-image model, the company says the latest version generates brighter and better-composed images. Additionally, it can render more diverse art styles with greater accuracy. At the same time, it’s also better at following prompts more faithfully. Prompt adherence was an issue I highlighted when the company made Imagen 3 available to Google Cloud customers earlier this month, so if nothing else, Google is aware of the areas where its AI models need work.
Veo 2 will gradually roll out to Google Labs users in the US. For now, Google will limit testers to generating up to eight seconds of footage at 720p. For context, Sora can generate up to 20 seconds of 1080p footage, though doing so requires a $200 per month ChatGPT Pro subscription. As for the latest enhancements to Imagen 3, those are available to Google Labs users in more than 100 countries through ImageFX.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-new-ai-video-model-sucks-less-at-physics-170041204.html?src=rss
If you're looking to buy a TV in 2025, you may be disappointed by the types of advancements TV brands will be prioritizing in the new year. While there's an audience of enthusiasts interested in developments in tech like OLED, QDEL, and Micro LED, plus other features like transparency and improved audio, that doesn't appear to be what the industry is focused on.
Today's TV selection has a serious dependency on advertisements and user tracking. In 2025, we expect competition in the TV industry to center around TV operating systems (OSes) and TVs' ability to deliver more relevant advertisements to viewers.
That yields a complicated question for shoppers: Are you willing to share your data with retail conglomerates and ad giants to save money on a TV?
Microsoft has cut two of Skype’s central premium features: credit and custom phone numbers. Instead of credits, the company is now pushing subscriptions — priced regionally and globally, depending on your needs. As for using a phone number other than your cell’s, there’s no longer an alternative on the platform.
The first wind of the change came from a volunteer moderator replying in Microsoft’s Skype forums to a user who wanted to know why they couldn’t buy new credits. “We have just received new information from Microsoft,” said Skype moderator Ruwim. B, who rocked a sweet Yoda profile pic. “Skype has stopped purchase of Skype Credit for all users. The only option available now are monthly calling subscriptions.”
When another user chimed in to ask for confirmation that this meant there was no way on the entire platform to send SMS messages once you’re out of credits, the moderator wrote, “Unless they decide to add an ongoing SMS texting subscription, you will no longer be able to send outbound SMS texts from Skype.”
Screenshot by Will Shanklin for Engadget
Microsoft confirmed the changes in a statement to TechCrunch, saying the company “continuously evaluate(s) product strategy based on customer usage and needs.” The spokesperson clarified that existing Skype numbers will still work and existing credit can still be used, but once you’re out of credits, that’s it. You can now only buy a subscription instead of credits, and you’ll have to seek out other platforms offering a virtual phone number you can answer over VoIP.
Skype-to-Skype calls have always been free on the platform — and still are. If that’s all you use the service for, nothing should change. When calling out to landlines or supported mobile numbers (with remaining credits or a subscription), you can still use the service’s Caller ID feature, which displays your real cell number to the receiving party. So, axing Skype Number only affects you if you want to call or message non-Skype lines or if you want to display a custom number (like one with an area code local to the country you’re calling) when doing so.
The product sits alongside Google Voice as a service that once seemed primed to take on the new mobile world but instead settled into niche status. As alternatives like Zoom, FaceTime and WhatsApp rose to capture the bulk of the pandemic-era demand for internet calling and messaging, the Microsoft-owned Skype played second fiddle even within the company. Microsoft invested a lot more in promoting its preferred calling platform, Teams.
You may have noticed that Microsoft doesn’t advertise Skype as it did in the first few years after buying the company for $8.5 billion in 2011. It no longer makes a habit of touting Skype’s user base in earnings calls (or anywhere else). As TechCrunch notes, the last mention was in a blog post from last year that said, “More than 36 million people use Skype daily to connect through phone calls and chats across borders and around the world.”
It isn’t clear whether those numbers are still current, and we also don’t know how many relied on the premium features that have gone away. Regardless, we can assume there’s still a healthy chunk of folks around the world relying on the platform’s paid features to at least some degree. Those using anything but free Skype-to-Skype calls are now left to weigh a subscription’s cost or shop around.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/skype-phases-out-credits-and-phone-numbers-182520063.html?src=rss
At long last, iPhone users have access to Apple's AI image generation tools, Genmoji (for customized emoji) and Image Playground. But based on our testing, these Apple Intelligence features aren't fully baked. In this episode, Devindra and Cherlynn discuss why these AI tools aren't very useful and dive into some of Apple's most egregious image generation fails.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!
iOS 18.2 AI image generation arrives half baked. Genmoji are fun, but weird – 1:13
OpenAI’s Sora video generation model was finally released – 37:17
GM kills its Cruise robotaxi project – 45:43
Google’s Gemini 2.0 is now available for preview – 49:51
Tiktok is running out of options to avoid a ban in the U.S. – 57:36
Working on – 1:00:04
Pop culture picks – 1:02:20
Credits
Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Cherlynn Low Producer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/engadget-podcast-apples-genmoji-are-ai-disappointments-123031877.html?src=rss
Shares of ServiceTitan surged 42% during its U.S. market debut on Thursday, boosting the company’s valuation to $8.97 billion—over $3 billion higher than its targeted valuation of $5.16 billion just a week ago. The stock opened at $101 on Nasdaq, […]
Epic Games has struck a deal with Telefónica to have its mobile storefront pre-installed on millions of compatible Android devices. As such, those who buy a phone from a Telefónica network such as O2 or Movistar in Spain, the UK, Germany and Spanish-speaking Latin America will immediately have the app, which offers access to Fortnite, Fall Guys and Rocket League Sideswipe. Epic will bring third-party games to the storefront as well, while the partners plan to offer mobile gamers on Telefónica's networks extra perks over the next year or so.
Telefónica has more than 392 million customers. As such, this deal could bring Fortnite and Fall Guys to an even bigger audience.
Epic debuted its mobile games store a few months ago after years of wrangling with Apple and Google over the duo's purported smartphone and tablet duopoly — and having to give the companies a share of revenue from in-app purchases. Among other things, Epic accused Google of blocking OnePlus from offering users a way to install Fortnite without having to go through the Google Play store.
However, Epic has had mixed results in its legal battles with Apple and Google. It won an antitrust case against the latter, with a judge determining last year that Google had an illegal monopoly on app distribution and in-app billing on Android devices. The judge also ruled that Google's distribution deals with other games companies were anticompetitive. But it largely lost a similar case against Apple.
The Epic Games Store mobile app is available on iOS in the European Union (where Apple was forced to open up iOS to third-party app marketplaces) and around the world on Android. Epic also plans to bring it to iOS devices in the UK in the second half of 2025.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/epic-games-app-store-will-be-preinstalled-on-millions-of-android-phones-175158241.html?src=rss
Google's latest push into extended reality is taking shape. While the company isn't entirely ready to show off any products just yet, it has laid out a vision for a unified Android XR ecosystem that will span a range of devices — such as virtual reality headsets and mixed reality glasses — in partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm.
This is evidently Alphabet's latest attempt to compete with the likes of Meta and Apple on the extended reality front. The company has dabbled in this arena in the past with the likes of Google Glass, Daydream and Google Cardboard, programs that have found their way to the Google Graveyard. Android XR seems much more ambitious, and having some big-name partners on board from the jump indicates that Alphabet is much more serious about extended reality this time around.
Google has been beavering away on XR behind the scenes despite shutting down some of its higher-profile projects in that realm. "Google is not a stranger to this category," Sameer Samat, president of Android Ecosystem at Google, told reporters ahead of the announcement. "We, like many others, have made some attempts here before. I think the vision was correct, but the technology wasn't quite ready."
One area where Google thinks that technology has advanced to the point where it's ready to try again with XR is artificial intelligence. Gemini will be deeply integrated into Android XR. By tapping into the power of the chatbot and having a user interface based around voice and natural conversation, Google and its partners are aiming to deliver experiences that aren't exactly possible to pull off using gestures and controllers.
"We are fully in what we refer to as the Gemini Era, and the breakthroughs in AI with muti-modal models are giving all of us totally new ways of interacting with computers," Samat said. "We believe a digital assistant integrated with your XR experience is the killer app for the form factor, like what email or texting was for the smartphone."
Google believes that smart glasses and headsets are a more natural form factor to explore this tech with, rather than holding up your smartphone to something in the world that you want Gemini to take a look at. To that end, the wide array of XR devices that are popping up, such as VR headsets with passthrough (the ability to see the outside world while wearing one) is another factor in Google's push into that space.
We'll get our first real look at Android XR products next year, including one that Google is developing in partnership with Samsung. The first headset, currently dubbed Project Moohan (which means "infinity" in Korean), will feature "state-of-the-art displays," passthrough and natural multi-modal input, according to Samsung. It's slated to be a lightweight headset that's ergonomically designed to maximize comfort.
Renderings of the Moohan prototype (pictured above) suggest the headset will look a little like the Apple Vision Pro, perhaps with a glass visor on the front. Along with the headset, Samsung is working on Google XR glasses, with more details to come soon.
Google
But nailing the hardware won't matter much if you can't do anything interesting with it. As such, Google is now looking to bring developers into the fold to create apps and products for Android XR. The company is offering developers APIs, an emulator and hardware development kits to help them build out XR experiences.
On its side of things, Google is promising an "infinite desktop" for those using the platform for productivity. Its core apps are being reimagined for extended reality as well. Those include Chrome, Photos, Meet, Maps (with an immersive view of landmarks) and Google Play. On top of that, mobile and tablet apps from Google Play are said to work out of the box.
On YouTube, it looks like you'll be able to easily transition from augmented reality into a VR experience. And in Google TV, you'll be able to switch from an AR view to a virtual home movie theater when you start a film.
A demo video showed a headset wearer using a combination of their voice and a physical keyboard and mouse to navigate a series of Chrome windows. Circle to Search will be one of the many features. After you've used the tool to look up something, you can use a Gemini command to refine the results. It'll be possible to pull 3D image renderings from image search results and manipulate them with gestures.
Google
As for AR glasses — essentially next-gen Google Glass — it seems that you'll be able to use those to translate signage and speech, then ask Gemini questions about the details of, say, a restaurant menu. Other use cases include advice on how to position shelves on a wall (and perhaps asking Gemini to help you find a tool you put down somewhere), getting directions to a store and summarizing group chats while you're on the go.
Thanks to advances in technology, AR glasses look much like regular spectacles these days, as we've seen from the likes of Meta and Snap. That should help Google avoid the whole "Glass-holes" discourse this time around given that there shouldn't be an obscenely obvious camera attached to the front. But the advancements might give cause for concern when it comes to privacy and letting those caught in the camera's cone of vision know that they're perhaps being filmed.
Privacy is an important consideration for Android XR. Google says it's building new privacy controls for Gemini on the platform. More details about those will be revealed next year.
Google
Meanwhile, games could play a major factor in the success of Android XR. They're a focus for Meta's Quest headsets, of course. On the heels of its various missteps with Stadia, Google is hoping to make it as easy as possible for developers to port their games to its ecosystem.
Not only that, Unity is one of the companies that's supporting Android XR. Developers will be able to create experiences for it using the engine. Unity says it will offer full support for Android XR, including documentation and optimizations to help devs get started. They can do that now in public experimental versions of Unity 6.
Resolution Games (Demeo) and Google's own Owlchemy Labs (Job Simulator) are among the studios that plan to bring titles built in Unity to Android XR. The process is said to be straightforward. "This is as simple a port as you’re ever going to encounter," Owlchemy Labs CEO Andrew Eiche said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Unity has teamed up with Google and film director Doug Liman's studio 30 Ninjas to make a "new and innovative immersive film app that will combine AI and XR to redefine the cinematic experience."
Since gaming is set to play a sizable role in Android XR, it stands to reason that physical controllers will still be a part of the ecosystem. Not many people are going to want to play games using their voice.
But that's the key: Android XR is shaping up to be a broad ecosystem of devices, not just one. This strategy has paid dividends for Google, given the spectrum of phones, tablets, cars and TVs that variants of Android are available on. It will be hoping to replicate that success with Android XR.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/google-lays-out-its-vision-for-an-android-xr-ecosystem-160001103.html?src=rss
United Airlines announced that it is integrating the Share Item Location feature from Apple into its mobile app. This development could make it easier to track down baggage equipped with AirTags or a Find My network accessory when it somehow winds up in Paris rather than arriving with you in Perth.
The United integration will allow passengers to send information about their bag's location directly to the company's support staff in the mobile app. If a traveler isn't using the United app and their bag takes a detour, they will receive a text notification from the airline prompting them to submit a Share Item Location report.
Share Item Location is part of Apple's iOS 18.2, which just began rolling out this week. When the resource was initially introduced in the public beta, air transport tech company SITA said that it would use the feature in its WorldTracer system for tracking airline baggage, so this isn't the first time travel brands are realizing the potential of Share Item Location. However, it will only be available to customers who are using an iPhone running at least iOS 18.2.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/united-airlines-will-integrate-apples-share-item-location-feature-into-its-mobile-app-130049823.html?src=rss
