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Tech News
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.
Google has added the ability to import purchased Google Play Books directly into Gemini Notebook, letting users query and analyze book content alongside other sources like documents and videos. The feature initially covers about 100,000 titles from publishers such as Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, and O'Reilly Media, plus special notebooks created with over 15 bestselling authors. This launch marks the start of Google's broader Expert Intelligence initiative, which will eventually expand to other products, third-party subscriptions, and textbooks.
Google has made Dreambeans, an AI-powered app that mines Gmail, Calendar, Photos, YouTube and search history for personalized suggestions, available to free Google Account holders in the US after previously charging for it. The app uses Google's Personal Intelligence feature to generate a limited daily set of 10 to 14 story-like recommendations, each illustrated with AI-generated artwork rather than stock photos, and includes a chat tool for follow-up questions and feedback controls to refine future suggestions.
A hands-on comparison of Google's new autonomous AI assistant Gemini Spark against Perplexity Computer finds that Spark's main advantage is deep native integration with Google Workspace apps like Gmail and Drive, letting it execute multi-step tasks without external connectors. However, the reviewer identifies at least one area where Perplexity's approach outperforms Spark, based on extended use of both tools.
A tech columnist reports that AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude become noticeably less useful over long-term use as they accumulate stored memories from past conversations. Outdated, one-off, or hypothetical exchanges get retained and later influence unrelated responses, degrading the quality of answers even after an initial 'sweet spot' of personalization is reached. The fix involves periodically reviewing and deleting old memory entries through each platform's settings menu.
Google has updated its Flow AI video studio with a new model, Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash, that adds finer editing controls such as first- and last-frame interpolation and longer scene extensions of up to 40 seconds. The update also lets creators produce cheaper, faster 360p drafts before rendering final output in 1080p or 4K, with video references to help keep characters and visuals consistent.
Google is letting eligible college students claim a full year of its $19.99-per-month AI Pro plan at no cost, provided they verify enrollment through SheerID. Buyers of certain hardware, including Chromebook Plus, standard Chromebooks, and the Pixel 11, also qualify for several months of free access, and some plans can be shared with others.
Google has updated NotebookLM, its AI-powered research and note-taking tool, to let users upload books and reference their content directly within the app. The update also allows users to convert book material into different formats, such as summaries or study guides, using the tool's AI capabilities.
Google has quietly updated its developer documentation to reveal that just seven Android phones currently support Gemini Nano 4: the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, Pixel 11 Pro Fold, and Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 8, Z Fold 8, and Z Fold 8 Ultra. These are the only devices officially equipped to run Google's latest on-device Gemini Intelligence features.
Google is letting Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) users import select owned ebooks from Google Play Books directly into notebooks for analysis. The feature, called Expert Intelligence, covers over 100,000 titles from publishers like Penguin Random House and O'Reilly Media, and includes partnerships with 15 bestselling authors. Users can then apply Gemini Notebook tools like Audio Overviews and Infographics to the imported book content, and combine multiple titles in one notebook.
Barret Zoph, who co-founded Thinking Machines with Mira Murati after leaving OpenAI in 2024, returned to OpenAI in January but departed again after just five months leading enterprise AI sales. He has now joined Google as vice president of research, where he previously worked, to apply his reinforcement learning and post-training expertise to Gemini.
Google has released Gemini 3.5 Transcribe, a new speech-to-text model that converts raw audio into clean, formatted text while handling background noise, jargon, and disfluencies better than prior systems. It's available to developers via the Gemini API in Google AI Studio and the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, split into a real-time streaming option and a pre-recorded audio processing option.