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Tech News
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei was featured in a 'Weekend Update' segment on Saturday Night Live, joining a string of recent high-profile appearances including a dinner with President Trump. The coverage frames him as an increasingly visible public figure associated with warnings about AI risk.
YouTube automatically plays follow-up videos after a selected clip ends, choosing them based on a viewer's watch history. The setting is enabled by default for adult accounts, but users can toggle it off or back on in the app or website settings within a few steps.
Pioneer has entered the MagSafe accessory market with the SDA-SC600, an air vent phone mount featuring Qi2 wireless charging and a built-in cooling fan. The kit includes a metal ring adapter for non-MagSafe iPhones and Android devices, an air vent adapter, and a USB-C cable, plus subtle RGB lighting as a design touch.
A GrapheneOS user running a Pixel 8 for about a year found that OsmAnd, the OpenStreetMap navigation app, runs noticeably slower than on other Android devices. Investigation traced the lag to GrapheneOS's hardened memory allocator, which can be disabled per-app via the app's info screen under 'Exploit protection,' restoring normal speed after a restart.
Amazon is selling the Arlo Essential XL Wireless Security Camera 2K (3rd Gen) for $59.99, a 25% cut from its $79.99 list price, matching the lowest price seen this year. The wire-free outdoor camera offers 2K video, a 130-degree field of view, color night vision, and a larger battery Arlo says lasts roughly four times longer than its standard Essential model. The discount requires an active Amazon Prime membership.
Hurricane Polo is expected to impact a broad swath of the southwestern and central United States with severe weather, even though the storm itself is not forecast to make landfall. States in the region are preparing for the effects of its remnants.
Flip-phone startup Dumb.co asked applicants for four internship roles to submit handwritten cover letters after receiving a flood of AI-generated submissions that felt impersonal. The company received nearly 900 applications through Handshake, with about 70% including handwritten letters, and 200 to 300 candidates also mailed in physical applications, according to customer success manager Marlee Pelton-Fuentes.
Anthropic released Claude Sonnet 5.5, replacing Sonnet 5 as its medium-sized model, a week after debuting Opus 5.5. The company says the new model runs over 30% faster and uses fewer tokens while keeping Sonnet 5's pricing of $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens. Sonnet 5.5 is also the first Sonnet-tier model to ship with cybersecurity safeguards similar to those used in Anthropic's top-tier Opus models.
Google has released version 1.0.981607934 of the Pixel Buds app, adding Gemini-powered voice control over earbud settings such as EQ presets, ANC mode, conversation detection, and touch controls. The feature requires the Gemini app and is rolling out now via the Play Store.
Apple recently launched AirPods 5, bringing active noise cancellation down to a lower price point than before. However, AirPods Pro 3 retain several features not found in the cheaper model, including in-ear tip design, built-in heart rate monitoring during workouts, and hearing health tools such as a hearing test, hearing aid function, and hearing protection.
Google published a support page for Chrome Enterprise and Education customers stating that ChromeOS software support will continue through 'mid-2034.' The page frames the timeline as Google positions its new Android-based Googlebooks as the eventual successor to Chromebooks. The 2034 date had previously appeared in a court filing, but this marks its first public appearance on an official support document.
A developer working with a batch of old Android 6.0.1 devices describes turning to lightweight, de-googled software after finding the experience surprisingly enjoyable. When attempting to publish a text editor called Tabby on the Play Store, the app was rejected and Google attached a screenshot from an unrelated app containing explicit content as justification; an appeal was denied without explanation. The developer suspects the issue may stem from Google's automatic listing translations linking to a dubious site, and plans to distribute apps via F-Droid and itch.io instead.