Audible, owned by Amazon, launched three AI-powered features: a character guide that identifies speakers in real time and offers character bios, interactive stories, and supplemental imagery for locations mentioned in books. The character guide debuts with the Audible Original 'Dracula' on October 1, alongside '1984' and 'Exoplanet,' while the location-imagery feature launches first in 'The Cultural Tutor' by Sheehan Quirke.
Plex has rolled out social discovery tools to its Android TV app, including Discussions, Lists, Reviews, Reactions, and Follows, allowing users to interact around content instead of relying solely on algorithmic recommendations. The update also moves the app's primary menu to the left side of the screen. This follows a similar rollout on Apple TV in mid-September.
Apple released a new version of its Invites app for iPhone, adding full-resolution Shared Albums that non-Apple users can join, expanded Image Playground options including photorealistic backgrounds, and email-link verification for guests instead of entry codes. The update also includes bug fixes and performance improvements and is available now on the App Store.
Apple confirmed two upcoming watchOS 27 features for the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4: Siri Recap, which ambiently logs conversations and generates Apple Intelligence summaries that auto-delete after seven days unless saved, and Live Rewind, which lets users double-press the Digital Crown to see a text snippet of the last 15 seconds of speech. Both features are part of Apple's broader Audio Intelligence push and will arrive later this year, with Apple publishing separate privacy white papers for each.
Amazon announced a major update to its Alexa Plus AI assistant, adding a dedicated hub on Fire TV devices, improved reasoning, and the ability to factor in cultural context and viewing history when answering questions. The assistant will also gain support for follow-up questions and threaded conversations, and will extend to the Fire TV mobile app. Amazon says some features roll out in November, with others arriving in 2024.
Airbnb unveiled a fall update introducing a Travel Map that lets users see friends' past and upcoming trips, reviews and wishlists, with adjustable privacy controls for sharing trip details. The update also adds neighborhood summaries built from guest and host data, plus AI-powered search, filters, listing descriptions and customer support tools launching first in the US. Airbnb is also expanding its Services section with meal delivery in Europe and laundry, baby gear and local activity rentals in select US cities.
Airbnb's fall product update adds an AI search toggle letting users search listings by text or voice, with dynamic filters and AI-generated property summaries and comparisons. The update also expands in-app services like meal delivery, laundry, baby gear, grocery delivery, and ski/boat rentals in select locations, alongside new social features encouraging bookings for experiences like food tastings and workshops.
American Express has introduced an expense-management platform featuring artificial intelligence tools, launched alongside a new corporate card offering. The rollout targets businesses managing employee spending and travel expenses.
Android Authority found evidence in a recent Google Photos build of a new plus-shaped button that would let users add clothing to their virtual Wardrobe without resetting it entirely. Currently, tapping the button causes the app to crash, but the outlet also found hints of upcoming options to try on eyewear and regenerate outfits that don't render properly.
9to5Mac's daily podcast episode for September 29, 2026 covers recent Apple news, including the iOS 27.0.1 software update and reported features expected on a device referred to as iPhone Duo. The episode is part of the outlet's regular weekday podcast series summarizing top Apple stories.
At its Dev Day event, OpenAI unveiled a plugin/extension architecture that lets developers build interactive apps inside ChatGPT's chat interface, alongside new agentic assistants called Dots and updated AI models. The company also introduced ways for users to carry their ChatGPT identity into third-party apps and use existing AI usage allowances there. OpenAI says ChatGPT now has 1.2 billion weekly users and will begin surfacing app suggestions mid-conversation.
Apple is developing iOS 27.2, which extends the Dual Capture front-and-back camera feature to Group FaceTime calls, previously limited to one-on-one calls in iOS 27. The update also splits Apple Podcasts' Up Next queue into separate 'New Episodes' and 'Continue Playing' sections, and brings user profile support to the iPhone TV app for the first time, a feature previously exclusive to tvOS.
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