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Google releases pint-size Gemma open AI model

Big tech has spent the last few years creating ever-larger AI models, leveraging rack after rack of expensive GPUs to provide generative AI as a cloud service. But tiny AI matters, too. Google has announced a tiny version of its Gemma open model designed to run on local devices. Google says the new Gemma 3 270M can be tuned in a snap and maintains robust performance despite its small footprint. Google released its first Gemma 3 open models earlier this year, featuring between 1 billion and 27 b

iOS 18.6.1 now available, here’s what’s new

As expected, Apple is rolling out iOS 18.6.1 to iPhone users today. This update, along with watchOS 11.6.1, introduces a “redesigned Blood Oxygen feature” for Apple Watch Series 10, Series 9, and Ultra 2 in the United States. What’s new in iOS 18.6.1? As we reported this morning, Apple is rolling out a new version of the Blood Oxygen feature for Apple Watch users in the United States. This comes over 18 months after Apple began selling the Apple Watch without the Blood Oxygen feature in Americ

Apple Watch blood oxygen workaround arrives just in time

With the release of watchOS 11.6.1 and companion iOS 18.6.1, Apple managed to restore blood oxygen readings for U.S. owners of Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2. The method is slightly less convenient, as it shifts processing data and displaying results to the iPhone, but it restores a capability that had been entirely removed since late 2023. The timing works in Apple’s favor. That’s because Apple Watch Series 8, Ultra 1, and earlier owners who are on the fence about upgrading to S

Apple Pumps Out iOS 18.6.1, Redesigning Blood Oxygen Feature on Some Devices

Apple released iOS 18.6.1 on Thursday after the tech giant mentioned this latest update to its mobile software in a blog post earlier today. The update introduces a redesigned blood oxygen experience to iPhones paired with certain Apple Watches, but not much else. You can download iOS 18.6.1 by going to Settings, then tapping General. Next, select Software Update, then tap Update Now and follow the prompts on your screen. People with an Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 ca

Google unveils ultra-small and efficient open source AI model Gemma 3 270M that can run on smartphones

Want smarter insights in your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletters to get only what matters to enterprise AI, data, and security leaders. Subscribe Now Google’s DeepMind AI research team has unveiled a new open source AI model today, Gemma 3 270M. As its name would suggest, this is a 270-million-parameter model — far smaller than the 70 billion or more parameters of many frontier LLMs (parameters being the number of internal settings governing the model’s behavior). While more parameters

Gemma 3 270M: Compact model for hyper-efficient AI

Today, we're adding a new, highly specialized tool to the Gemma 3 toolkit: Gemma 3 270M , a compact, 270-million parameter model designed from the ground up for task-specific fine-tuning with strong instruction-following and text structuring capabilities already trained in. The last few months have been an exciting time for the Gemma family of open models. We introduced Gemma 3 and Gemma 3 QAT , delivering state-of-the-art performance for single cloud and desktop accelerators. Then, we announce

BMW Championship 2025: TV Schedule Today, How to Watch, Stream All the PGA Tour Golf From Anywhere

We're down to the final 50 players as the quest for a place in the season-ending Tour Championship continues this weekend in Maryland with the BMW Championship. Keep reading to find out the best live TV streaming services you can use to watch each day of the tournament live wherever you are in the world, and how to use a VPN if they're not available where you are. Acting as the second leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, this weekend's action at the Caves Valley Golf Club has 2,000 FedExCup points av

Apple releases watchOS 11.6.1, here’s what’s new

Apple has released watchOS 11.6.1 for Apple Watch, reintroducing the Blood Oxygen app for certain customers in the United States. The update works in tandem with iOS 18.6.1, also released today, and marks the first time the feature has been available on new watch hardware since late 2023. Until now, launching the Blood Oxygen app on affected Apple Watch models displayed a blunt message: “The Blood Oxygen app is no longer available. Learn more in the Health app on your iPhone.” That limitation a

Google Will Now Blur Nude Photos in Your Messages. Here's How to Turn It On (or Off)

Some Android users are starting to see blurred images on their devices while using Google Messages. It's part of a Sensitive Content Warning system announced last year that is now rolling out on Android devices that obscures images containing suspected nudity. In a Help Center post, Google explains that when the feature is turned on, these warnings can detect and blur images with nudity and generate a warning when one is being received, sent or forwarded. "All detection and blurring of nude ima

Philips Hue ‘Bridge Pro’ leaks with ‘more capacity,’ turns lights into motion sensors

Philips Hue appears to be preparing a new “Bridge Pro” setup that turns your smart lights into motion sensors, while also supporting more devices. The existing Philips Hue bridge is a core part of any Hue setup. The bridge connects to your network and communicates with each product, and is part of the reason Hue tends to be more stable than hub-less smart home offerings. But the hardware hasn’t been updated in a while, and a common complaint is that it can only support 50 devices at a time. Th

Topics: bridge hue new page smart

Blood Oxygen monitoring returns to the Apple Watch after US ban - see which models get it

Nina Raemont/ZDNET ZDNET's key takeaways Blood Oxygen is back for affected Apple Watch models. Will be reinstated with the latest iOS and WatchOS updates. Apple redesigned it to resolve an import ban over patent infringement. Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers. After a lengthy pause due to legal issues, Apple is finally bringing back the Blood Oxygen monitor for affected Apple Watch models in the US. Models getting th

JetBrains working on higher-abstraction programming language

JetBrains, creator of the popular Kotlin programming language, is developing a new programming language intended to make AI and code much more controllable and transparent. In a July 23 interview with InfoWorld, JetBrains CEO Kirill Skrygan elaborated on company plans for an as-yet-unnamed language that would describe a program at a higher level of abstraction. He reflected on how computer code originally was written in Assembler and moved to higher levels of abstraction with C and C++, then on

Gemma 3 270M: The compact model for hyper-efficient AI

Today, we're adding a new, highly specialized tool to the Gemma 3 toolkit: Gemma 3 270M , a compact, 270-million parameter model designed from the ground up for task-specific fine-tuning with strong instruction-following and text structuring capabilities already trained in. The last few months have been an exciting time for the Gemma family of open models. We introduced Gemma 3 and Gemma 3 QAT , delivering state-of-the-art performance for single cloud and desktop accelerators. Then, we announce

Google Messages can now blur nude images on Android

Google is rolling out a new safety feature for the Messages app on Android. As spotted by 9to5Google , the company is making Sensitive Content Warnings more broadly available after beta testing the option since April . Google announced it last October. The feature can detect and blur images that include nudity. However, it’ll only work if you’re signed into a Google Account in the Messages app. When Messages detects and blurs such an image, you will be able to choose between several actions. Y

I tried Meta's new Oakley smart glasses in my production studio - my verdict as a content creator

Jason Howell/ZDNET Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers. When I saw that Oakley and Meta's collaboration on the HSTN Limited Edition smart glasses with improved 3K video for $499, I was excited they might be the perfect pair of POV glasses for the studio. Oakley's sport-forward design isn't my favorite, but I could easily overlook any aesthetic shortcomings if they nailed my primary use case of easy, hands-free recording fo

I brought Samsung's new rugged tablet on a mountain lake trek - here's how it fared

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro ZDNET's key takeaways The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro is available starting at $659 for the 128GB version, with 5G models starting at $769. It's an exceptionally rugged tablet with removable dual batteries and software updates for eight years. RAM is a bit limited at 6GB, and the included S Pen doesn't support wireless Bluetooth functions. View now at Samsung Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium bro

Launch HN: Cyberdesk (YC S25) – Automate Windows legacy desktop apps

Hi HN, We’re Mahmoud and Alan, building Cyberdesk ( https://www.cyberdesk.io/ ), a deterministic computer use agent for automating Windows desktop applications. Developers use us to automate repetitive tasks in legacy software in healthcare, accounting, construction, and more, by executing clicks and keystrokes directly into the desktop. Here’s a couple demos of Cyberdesk’s computer use agent: Completing a lightning fast file import automation into a legacy desktop app: https://youtu.be/H_lRzr

Apple Reintroduces Blood Oxygen Feature Ahead of Apple Watch Series 11 Launch

Apple is gearing up to unveil the Apple Watch Series 11 next month alongside the iPhone 17, but it has an early treat for some existing Apple Watch owners in the US today. Thursday marks the surprise reintroduction of the Apple Watch blood oxygen feature, redesigned for some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 owners. The feature will be available via a software update that's rolling out now. If you own one of these models and don't currently have access to the feature, you

The Apple Watch Is Finally Getting Blood Oxygen Sensing Back

If you have an Apple Watch Series 9, 10, or Ultra Watch 2 that you bought in the US in the past year, you'll finally get the blood oxygen sensing feature back via a software update later today, according to Apple. To make sure you get the feature, update your paired iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and the Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1. Sensor data will be calculated in the app, and you will be able to see your blood oxygen in the Respiratory section of the Health app. If you bought your watch before 2024

Gemini’s getting a nice usability upgrade for its text responses (Updated)

Rita El Khoury / Android Authority TL;DR Google is working on an easier process for sharing text responses from Gemini. The new workflow can be initiated by double tapping or dragging to select specific text, and users can bypass the “Select text” option. However, this new method won’t work on text in a list, only the text before or after it. Update, August 14, 2025 (10:42 AM ET): After first identifying Google’s work towards bringing Gemini a greatly improved interface for text sharing a fe

Google Home finally adds full temperature scheduling for older Nest thermostats

Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority TL;DR Google is finally starting to roll out the long-awaited temperature scheduling features for the 3rd Gen and E Nest thermostats in the Google Home app. This addresses the last major reason many users were forced to keep using the old Nest app, which was previously required for this function. While the new feature is now live for some, users should note that their old schedules from the Nest app will not automatically carry over. Back in April, Google

iPhone 17 Pro could redefine Apple’s Pro color strategy

After two years of titanium iPhone Pro models and many more years of stainless steel, Apple is rumored to be switching to aluminum for the iPhone 17 Pro. Titanium, instead, will be used on the ultra thin iPhone 17 Air. That may seem like a step away from premium materials for the Pro model. For anyone bored by variations of gray for Apple’s best iPhones, however, it appears to be good news. The reason comes down to color. Apple has done a decent job making a range of colors out of stainless s

AWS launches AI agent marketplace with a hackathon and $100k in prizes for developers

Kmatta ZDNET's key takeaways The new agents marketplace will launch in beta next month. The companies will also launch an educational hub for IT clients. Developers could win a chunk of $100,000 for building agents. As is often the case with hyped-up new technologies, interest in AI agents among business leaders is soaring -- some CFOs report committing 25% of their AI budgets to them. However, practical understanding of how to implement and use them effectively remains somewhat fuzzy. A ne

"None of These Books Are Obscene": Judge Strikes Down Much of FL's Book Ban Bill

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. View All posts by Kelly Jensen Judge Carlos Mendoza of the U.S. Middle District Court of Florida has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in a major case related to book banni

Blood Oxygen Tracking Returns to U.S. Apple Watches Today After 5-Year Patent Dispute

Good news: Apple Watches sold in the U.S. after January 2024 lost their built-in blood oxygen tracking because of a patent dispute with medical company Masimo, but the feature will return via a software update coming out today. In a Newsroom post, Apple says it’s introducing a “redesigned Blood Oxygen feature for some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2.” The reworked blood oxygen feature will be pushed out on iPhone and Apple Watch via an iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 soft

You can pivot this wireless smartphone power bank to charge an Apple Watch, too

is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. If you’re firmly in the Apple hardware ecosystem, Kuxiu’s K1 wireless power bank could be more useful to you than other portable MagSafe batteries. You can stick it to the back of your iPhone to keep it charged when you don’t have access to power, but rotatin

Philips Hue’s new bridge could turn your lights into motion sensors

is a senior reviewer focused on smart home and connected tech, with over twenty years of experience. She has written previously for Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, BBC, and US News. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Smart lighting company Philips Hue appears to be launching a new version of its bridge, the first in a decade. According to a product page briefly published on Hue’s website and since removed, the Hue Bridge Pro will be faster, have m

Verge readers can get a $25 exclusive discount on the Boox Palma 2

If you want a convenient way to stay well read without amassing a library of physical books, an e-reader may be the right solution. The Boox Palma 2 impressed us with its pocket-friendly size and ability to run Android apps. A bundle including the Boox Palma 2 and a case is $299.99 ($29 off) at Wellbots. From today until August 21st, Verge readers can save an additional $25, and get free shipping, by using the promo code VERGE25 at checkout. Verge Editor-at-Large David Pierce liked the Palma 2

New Gemini features will give the chatbot a better memory, but also selective amnesia

Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR Gemini will be able to reference past conversations without requiring you to save them individually. A new Temporary Chats feature will let you keep certain conversations out of the chatbot’s memory and training data. The features are aimed at providing more personalization, as well as privacy for certain chats. Gemini is a powerful AI assistant, but you usually have to remember to save certain chats if you want to reference them later. However, thanks to

Apple launching ‘redesigned Blood Oxygen feature’ on Apple Watch in the U.S. today

Apple has announced that it will release a software update for iPhone and Apple Watch later today with a “redesigned Blood Oxygen feature” for Apple Watch users in the United States. This comes over 18 months after Apple began selling the Apple Watch without the Blood Oxygen feature in America due to a patent dispute. The new feature will be made available as part of iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 updates. In a statement to 9to5Mac today, an Apple spokesperson said: “Apple will introduce a red