GoKawiil
Tech News
Ring has announced its debut smart lock, which includes a built-in supercapacitor that users can recharge manually via a small crank. A few turns of the crank provide about 20 seconds of power, enough to unlock the door if the battery has died or been removed entirely. Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff demonstrated the device, which also features a backlit touchscreen keypad.
Google has made its SynthID Detector portal, hosted at synthid.com, publicly available after limiting it to select testers for over a year. The tool lets anyone upload a photo, video, or audio file to check for AI-generated watermarks, and can identify SynthID signatures from Google, OpenAI, NVIDIA, and Kakao, with Apple support planned. Users can sign in with a Google, Apple, or OpenAI account to use the service.
Google has opened a public website, SynthID.com, that lets anyone check images, video, or audio for invisible SynthID watermarks. The tool now recognizes watermarks from partner platforms including OpenAI, Nvidia, and Kakao, with Apple support coming soon, rather than only detecting Google's own Gemini-generated content as before. Google says Gemini alone has embedded SynthID in over 180 billion images and videos and 240,000 years of audio.
Many major retailers are reducing their investment in self-checkout technology due to its inefficiency and operational issues. Companies like Walmart, Costco, and Kroger have increased staff at these lanes, while Dollar General and Target have limited or removed kiosks entirely. Amazon also exited its cashierless store model following reports of remote checkout management.
Eight Sleep, a company focused on sleep monitoring and health diagnostics through its smart beds, secured $200 million in funding, boosting its valuation to $1.5 billion. Co-founder Alexandra Zatarain emphasized the company's goal to turn beds into early health detection devices, inspired by her father's battle with cancer. The company is already profitable and aims to revolutionize health monitoring by integrating diagnostics into everyday sleep environments.
The Meta Quest 3S with 128GB storage is available at a reduced price of $297.49 through the end of Amazon’s October Prime Day sale, down from $349.99. The headset features the same chipset as the Quest 3 but has slightly lower display quality, making it a cost-effective option for casual VR users. Buyers also receive three months of Horizon Plus for access to a broad selection of games.
Microsoft has introduced the Surface Laptop Ultra, a high-end Windows laptop featuring Nvidia’s new RTX Spark chip, marking Nvidia’s entry into Arm-based PC processors. The device underwent rigorous testing at Microsoft’s Redmond lab before launch, aiming to compete directly with the MacBook Pro in performance and capabilities. The Ultra also supports gaming and offers a sleek design similar to Apple’s space gray options.
A commentary piece, drawing on the author's own experience using AI tools while designing her book cover, argues that women use workplace AI less than men due to differing expectations, less discretionary time, and harsher judgment when they do use it. The author frames this as evidence of a broader systemic problem rather than simply a technology adoption gap.
Ring announced its first smart lock, which lets owners generate emergency power by manually cranking the thumbturn if the battery dies. The lock supports fingerprint, keypad, and app-based unlocking, costs $249, and ships in three finishes starting Q1 2027. Ring also revealed new 4K cameras with its Retinal Vision standard for improved low-light footage, plus a $69.99 Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam 2K.
Google has made SynthID Detector, previously limited to journalists and media professionals, publicly available at synthid.com. The free tool detects AI watermarks in images, video and audio from Google, OpenAI, NVIDIA and Kakao, requiring users to log in with a Google, OpenAI or Apple account. Support for detecting Apple Intelligence-created images is expected soon.
Ring plans to release a new Smart Lock priced at $249, featuring a hand-crank mechanism that generates emergency power via a small motor and supercapacitor. A few turns of the crank produce about three volts, enough to run the lock's fingerprint reader, keypad or app connectivity for roughly 30 seconds. The device otherwise runs on a battery Ring says lasts a year per charge, and will ship in Black, Silver and Brass finishes sometime in early 2027.
Cisco is rolling out an update to its Webex platform centered on a new tool called Dialog, an "agentic harness" meant to coordinate AI agents handling customer interactions across people, agents and backend systems. The update also lets workspace users invite AI agents directly into meetings, calls and spaces to perform multi-step tasks, such as pulling statistics into a live presentation, and includes onboarding processes that expose agents to employee handbooks and procedures, with Splunk providing monitoring.