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Sonos hosted an Open House event on September, unveiling its next wave of hardware after CEO Thomas Conrad hinted in July that the company had spent two decades building what he called an operating environment for AI in the home. The event, not livestreamed, was covered by Engadget staff on-site through a live text blog, with speculation swirling around potential new speakers, headphones, or app fixes.
A teardown of Google app version 17.54.10 reveals two new buttons being developed for the Gemini home screen: "Chat," for standard conversations with Gemini, and "Assign," which routes messages directly to Gemini Spark. This follows an earlier discovery of a similar "Assign Task" feature that has yet to launch for users.
The piece is a fictional 'day one' briefing addressed to Apple's John Ternus, satirizing the company's ongoing struggles across hardware, services and AI. It jokes about delayed Siri upgrades, price hikes on new iPhones, rebranding an AirPods camera as a 'sensor,' low morale on the Vision Pro team, and new EU App Store commission rules taking effect in a month.
Tim Cook has ended his 15-year tenure as Apple's chief executive, handing the role to hardware chief John Ternus. Cook took over from Steve Jobs in 2011 and oversaw major shifts including the expansion of Apple's services division and the move from Intel processors to Apple's own custom silicon in Macs.
Google confirmed that Device Help, a Gemini feature that lets users describe what they want their phone to do and have Gemini adjust settings automatically, isn't limited to the Pixel 11 series. A Google employee showed the feature working on other Pixel devices running Android 17, and said support will expand to additional devices over time.
Phil Schiller, who has led Apple's App Store since 2015 and joined the company in 1987, has stepped down from that role, according to Bloomberg. He'll remain at Apple as a Fellow working on unspecified projects, a title insiders view as a precursor to full retirement. Carson Oliver, a 14-year App Store veteran, will take over daily operations, and the App Store is shifting from marketing to Eddy Cue's services division.
Phil Schiller has reportedly stepped down from running Apple's App Store and product launch events, according to Bloomberg, though Apple has not made a formal announcement. He will remain at the company as an Apple Fellow working on unspecified projects, while App Store oversight returns to Eddy Cue, who led it before Schiller took over in 2015.
MapQuest has become the top navigation app in Apple's App Store after hundreds of thousands of downloads in recent days. The surge follows the company's statement that it will not rename Lake Ontario to 'Lake America,' despite a Trump executive order calling for the change.
MapQuest declined to rename Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' despite a Trump executive order pushing the change, while Google Maps updated its listing to comply. The decision triggered a surge in downloads, pushing MapQuest to No. 4 overall on the U.S. App Store and No. 1 among navigation apps, with usage spiking 50 times above normal.
Phil Schiller is stepping back from overseeing the App Store and Apple's product events, roles he held even after moving to an Apple Fellow title in 2020. The App Store will now fall under Eddy Cue's services division, with Carson Oliver managing daily operations, while Nola Weinstein takes charge of events reporting to communications VP Kristin Huguet Quayle.
MapQuest announced it would not rename Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' despite a Trump executive order directing federal agencies to update the name. Following the decision, MapQuest's iOS app jumped to No. 4 among all US App Store apps and became the top-ranked navigation app, with hundreds of thousands of new downloads and usage climbing to 50 times normal levels.
After Google renamed Lake Ontario to align with President Trump's push to call it 'Lake America,' MapQuest publicly refused to make the same change on its maps. That stance went viral on social media, driving MapQuest's mobile app to the top navigation app spot on Apple's US App Store and into the top ten overall, with strong gains in Canada as well.