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Google Adds Button to Generate Error-Laden AI Podcast About Your Search Results Instead of Just Reading Them Like a Functioning Member of Society

Google has released a baffling new AI feature that turns your web search into a podcast. Why anybody would want to enable the feature is unclear. Why be plagued by misleading and hallucinated AI Overviews search results when you can have a robotic voice read them out loud instead? Have we really lost the ability as a species to parse written information, nevermind original sources? The opt-in feature — which currently lives inside Google's experimental "Labs" section and has to be manually tur

Android 16 is out on all eligible Pixel phones, with new live update notifications feature

As usual, the new Android release comes to Pixel phones first, but others like Motorola and Samsung are doing testing. Google has released Android 16 to the masses, as it's now available for compatible handsets. The company says new devices will come preloaded with the OS in "the coming months." As usual, it's first coming to Google's own Pixel phones. The update includes several notable features. The biggest one might be live updates in notifications. This means that stuff like ride-shares an

Patreon to Take Bigger Cut From New Creators Starting This Summer: Here's What to Do

Patreon is changing its business model, and new creators will soon feel the difference. Starting later this summer, Patreon will increase the percentage it takes from newly launched creator accounts. While existing creators will keep their current revenue share, those joining the platform after the change will give up a larger portion of their earnings to Patreon. As of now, Patreon takes an 8% cut or a 12% cut from creators, depending on their selected tier, though the 8% plan is the most popu

Instagram tests a reposts feature

Instagram is testing the ability for users to repost posts, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Monday. The move doesn’t come as a surprise, as the social network was spotted developing the feature as far back as 2022. Some users have reported seeing the feature on their accounts, with one noting that users will be able to repost their own content in addition to other users’ posts. Of course, not everyone will be on board if Instagram decides to roll out the change officially, especially si

Google issues apology, incident report for hours-long cloud outage

Google apologized for a major outage that the company said was caused by multiple layers of flawed recent updates. The company released an incident report late on Friday that explained hours of downtime on Thursday. More than 70 Google cloud services stopped working properly across the globe, knocking down or disrupting dozens of third-party services, including Cloudflare , OpenAI and Shopify . Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Meet and other first-party products also malfunctioned.

Samsung details all the new health features you’ll get with One UI 8 Watch

Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority TL;DR One UI 8 Watch will introduce several new features. These new features include Bedtime Guidance, Vascular Load, Running Coach, and Antioxidant Index. A limited number of users will have access to these features through a beta program. One UI 8 Watch isn’t out yet, but Samsung is providing some details on features we can expect to see. Some users will even get to try these features early, as they’ll be included in a beta program. In a new blog post, S

Threads is testing out a way to hide spoilers

Meta is testing a way to hide spoilers on Threads, according to a new post from Mark Zuckerberg. The feature lets you obscure text or an image so that they're only viewable once they're tapped or clicked. In the current version being tested, you have to highlight your chosen text or tap on the image and then tap "Mark spoiler" to hide it. Inside the Threads app there's even a swirling particle animation that covers text and images before flittering away when you tap on them. Meta Meta suggest

Apple’s Music app in iOS 26 gains my favorite feature from the Mac

One major theme of Apple’s software this year is unification, as seen in the new Liquid Glass design and more cross-platform feature parity. In the realm of improving app feature parity across platforms, there’s a great new capability in iOS 26’s Music app that had previously been exclusive to the Mac: playlist folder creation. Playlist folders can now be created in Music app on iPhone and iPad More so than most Apple apps, the Music app has a complex history of offering different functionalit

Your Samsung Galaxy Watch is about to get a big upgrade for free - try 4 cool new features now

Kerry Wan/ZDNET It won't be long before Samsung unveils its new lineup of Galaxy Watches at its July Unpacked event. Until then, the Korean tech giant is giving us some hints at what's to come on these new smartwatches with its One UI 8 Watch updates. From a running coach feature that appears to take notes from Apple Watch's "Workout Buddy" to a bedtime suggestion feature that calibrates your optimized sleep time based on activity and historical rest, here are some of the features Samsung will

This new ChatGPT trick lets you download your Canvas work as a PDF in seconds - here's how

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET OpenAI has updated Canvas, a writing and coding assistant integrated into ChatGPT, allowing users to download and export files directly. In an X post on Thursday, the company announced that Canvas users can now download text files as PDF, DOCX, or Markdown, while code can be exported to the appropriate file extension (.py for Python, .js for JavaScript, .sql for Structured Query Language, and so on). Also: Is ChatGPT Plus really worth $20 when the free version off

JBL’s ANC Earbuds Now Over 4x Cheaper Than AirPods Pro 2, Best Buy Exclusive With Limited Stock

When it comes to everyday tech, few things see as much use as a good pair of earbuds. Whether you’re tuning in to a podcast on your morning commute, powering through a workout playlist at the gym, or zoning out on a walk with some ambient sound, a comfortable, reliable pair of wireless buds can quickly go from “nice-to-have” to “can’t-live-without.” But with so many options out there, it’s easy to feel like you have to spend a fortune to get something decent, especially if you’re looking for ext

Patreon is raising its fees for new creators this summer

The standard plan will be the only option for new creators moving forward, in lieu of the Pro and Premium plans. After August 4, creators setting up a paid membership page on Patreon will have to pay a 10 percent fee on their earnings under the platform's new standard plan. While Patreon currently offers Pro and Premium plans, which carry fees of 8 percent and 12 percent of creators' income, respectively, it's merging the two into a single option moving forward. The price increase only applies

Your Samsung Watch is about to get a big upgrade for free - try 4 cool new features now

Kerry Wan/ZDNET It won't be long before Samsung unveils its new lineup of Galaxy Watches at its July Unpacked event. Until then, the Korean tech giant is giving us some hints at what's to come on these new smartwatches with its One UI 8 Watch updates. From a running coach feature that appears to take notes from Apple Watch's "Workout Buddy" to a bedtime suggestion feature that calibrates your optimized sleep time based on activity and historical rest, here are some of the features Samsung will

Best Meat Thermometers for 2025

James Bricknell/CNET The most important part of any thermometer testing is accuracy. We weight this criteria most heavily when compiling entries to the best list, and it is the most scientific of the tests. We use a medical-grade thermometer as our baseline for accuracy and test the meat probe variance to that temperature. Ice water testing Testing the accuracy of a thermometer usually involves a cup, some ice cubes, and water. Due to the nature of water it can be a liquid and a solid at 32F

New AirPods Pro 3 Coming in 2025? Rumors, Leaks and Everything We Know

It's been almost three years since Apple updated its AirPods Pro, and all signs point to a new version releasing sometime in 2025. Last year was a bit of a mixed bag: Apple introduced the all-new AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Canceling, but only gave its AirPods Max a light refresh with USB-C charging and new colors. This year, as companies navigate the impacts of the Trump tariffs, the Cupertino company could throw another curveball. Here are the latest AirPods Pro 3 rumors and what

Patreon is raising its fees for new creators soon

Patreon has announced an update to its pricing, consolidating its Pro and Premium plans into a single offering starting August 5th. The new plan will take 10 percent of creators’ earnings, rather than the current eight percent for Pro and 12 percent for Premium users. That will mean a price increase for many new users, though existing users won’t see any increase, nor will anyone who signs up before the change takes effect. And for access to all the features from the old Premium tier, you’ll nee

Reddit will help advertisers turn ‘positive’ posts into ads

is a news editor covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme. Reddit is launching a new feature for advertisers that slots positive posts from Reddit users right under their ads. The new alpha feature, called Conversation Summary Add-ons, “dynamically integrates positive content from Reddit users directly below an advertiser’s creative, putting community conversations front-and-center in the user experience and blending AI-driven effici

Patreon will increase the cut it takes from new creators

Patreon, a creator monetization platform that offers membership programs and digital goods, announced on Monday that it is changing its pricing structure. Currently, Patreon takes an 8% cut or a 12% cut from creators, depending on their selected tier — though the 8% plan is far more popular. The new pricing plan instead offers one universal tier, which keeps 10% of creator earnings. Existing Patreon creators need not worry — this price increase will only affect creators who publish a new Patr

Apple’s killer one-time code autofill feature gets even better in iOS 26

Apple is always adding new features to its software, but every now and then a change arrives that it’s hard to live without. One such killer feature lets you autofill two-factor authentication codes, and it’s getting even better in iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe this fall. Autofill expanding to third-party messaging, email, and browser apps When I think about key Apple features that stand out as truly special, a handful come to mind. Wi-Fi network sharing with just a tap, iPhone Mirroring on the Mac,

You can turn your Google search into a podcast now - here's how

Google / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Last fall, Google unveiled a new feature for NotebookLM -- an option to turn your research into a fake podcast that helps you easily digest information. Now, your favorite faux podcast hosts are coming to Search. Also: How to remove your personal info from Google Search - it's quick and easy When you search for something in Google, you'll now see an option to make a podcast summarizing the information. It's for more in-depth queries, not straightforward

A handy charger for every Switch Joy-Con you own is just $20

Theis the company’s budget gaming laptop lineup, and it’s usually a great model to look for a deal on. There are numerous configurations, and at least one of them is usually selling at a steep discount. Today’s pick is at Best Buy on a 15.6-inch model that has a 144Hz 1080p screen, AMD’s Ryzen 7 7445HS processor, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, an Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics chip, and a 512GB SSD. Originally $899.99, this laptop is $699.99 right now. That’s a great price for a first gaming laptop. If either the

Now it’s easier than ever to download Spotify playlists to your Apple Watch

If you’ve ever forgotten to download Spotify playlists to your Apple Watch before a walk, run, or cycle ride, a new feature should make life much easier. Instead of having to manually download to the Watch, you can use any Apple device to queue up playlist downloads, which will happen the next time you open Spotify on your Watch. The same feature also allows you to queue downloads for any other Apple device, like an iPad … Spotify lets you download playlists to up to five devices at a time, bu

You can turn your Google Search into a podcast now - here's how

Google / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Last fall, Google unveiled a new feature for NotebookLM -- an option to turn your research into a fake podcast that helps you easily digest information. Now, your favorite faux podcast hosts are coming to Search. Also: How to remove your personal info from Google Search - it's quick and easy When you search for something in Google, you'll now see an option to make a podcast summarizing the information. It's for more in-depth queries, not straightforward

I often replace my premium headphones with this classic Bose pair - and never regret it

ZDNET's key takeaways The Bose QuietComfort Headphones are available in seven colors for $349, and are often up to $100 off. They are true to the QuietComfort namesake, providing excellent noise cancellation and all-day comfort. However, like all of Bose's over-ear headphones, the QuietComfort have a short, 24-hour battery life. View now at Bose I have an arsenal of premium consumer headphones. The Sony XM6, Apple AirPods Max, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, Beats Studio Pro, Sonos Ace, and more all

How Mixtape reminds us that your mixtapes were your life | Johnny Galvatron interview

It took Johnny Galvatron and his small team of neophytes six years to make The Artful Escape, a musical narrative game that debuted in 2021. With Mixtape, the team has been working on it for about two years. Annapurna Interactive published the game from Galvatron, a former star from the Australian band The Galvatrons, even though it focused on a somewhat cursed genre of music games. It did well enough for Annapurna, despite its recent troubles, to publish Galvatron’s second game. With Mixtape,

Summer Blackout To-Do List: 9 Things to Keep Everyone Cool and Safe

Climate Central reports that from 2014 to 2023, the US experienced 60% more power outages during the summer season than it did from 2000 to 2009. This can be due to the increased use of electricity for air conditioners, wildfires, severe weather and downed power lines. Being prepared for a summer blackout is especially important because, according to the US Energy Information Administration, the average blackout is over 5 hours. That means over 5 hours without air conditioning, which can lead t

I'm a full-time Canon photographer, but this Nikon camera had me reconsidering my choices

ZDNET's key takeaways The Nikon Z50 II is a fantastic camera for beginners and intermediate photographers, with a starting price of $906. The build is sturdy and adaptable to various shooting modes. You'll have to settle with a Micro HDMI port and operation speeds that can be a bit faster. View now at Amazon As the spring months are coming to a close and summer officially begins, many folks are planning time for family to build and capture great memories for years to come. Of course, photogra

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A New Obesity Pill May Burn Fat Without Suppressing Appetite

An experimental obesity pill that works in a different way from the wildly popular Ozempic may help people lose weight, according to results from a small, preliminary human trial. Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs reduce food intake by stimulating a feeling of fullness. They act on the brain to promote satiety and on the gut to slow the movement of food through the stomach, helping people feel full longer. As a result, people on the drugs lose weight because they eat less. But a new drug may be ab

The 6 Best Blow-Dry Brushes (2025): Round, Oval, and More

What About Thermal Brushes? You might have seen two different kinds of brushes while shopping that promise blowout results. In this guide, the term blow-dry brush is exclusively used for devices that blow hot air out of the bristles onto wet hair to dry and style your hair. Meanwhile, devices for dry hair are called infrared or thermal brushes, as they use infrared heat instead of hot air to style your hair in a smooth blowout. Blow-dry brushes are only meant for wet hair, while thermal brushes

Topics: blow brush dry hair heat

Scientists Discover Startling Trick to Defeat Insomnia

Image by Getty / Futurism Studies Insomnia is a curse we wouldn't wish on our worst enemy — and scientists have discovered a startlingly simple lifestyle change that appears to be very statistically effective at preventing it. In a new study published in the journal Sleep Health, researchers from Columbia and the University of Chicago report that eating a full day's serving worth of fruits and vegetables strongly appears to help people sleep more soundly throughout the night. Interrupted slee