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Google's Pixel Buds Pro 2 are discounted to $169 at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store, tying their previous low price. Google states the sale runs through 11:59PM PT on November 8th, though some color options are already sold out at certain retailers.
Android Authority found a hidden, in-development version of Gmail's Ask Gemini tool in app version 2026.10.26.1009152371.release that replaces the current bottom sheet with a pill-shaped floating overlay resembling the standalone Gemini app. The overlay includes an expandable grab handle, voice input with a stop button, and a plus menu offering options to add files from Drive or adjust Gemini search settings.
Google's Threat Intelligence Group and Mandiant found that attackers are stealing API keys and exploiting exposed LLM endpoints to resell unauthorized access through services called LLM mixers. Victim organizations have seen fraudulent usage spike past 1,000 requests per second, with some racking up over $100,000 in charges in a single day and cumulative losses reaching $1 million. One service, Jet Night, reportedly passed nearly $1 million in token costs to a single victim after executing more than 500,000 API calls in under eight hours.
OpenAI consumer product lead Adam Fry said at a Monday press event that ChatGPT's search query volume has reached roughly 20 percent of Google's. Fry defined a search as any query triggering a web search, excluding simple definitions or how-to answers, and did not disclose the source of the Google comparison figure.
Android Authority's Edgar Cervantes reviewed the Huawei Watch D3, a €449 square-cased aluminum smartwatch, after several weeks of use. The review highlights its premium build, comfortable 40g case, strong battery life and health-tracking features, while noting it lacks official Google support due to the ongoing US trade ban on Huawei.
The Gemini-powered Google Home Speaker, which launched in June as Google's first new smart speaker in years, is now discounted by about $20 to roughly $79 in all four colors across Best Buy, Walmart, and Target. The sale marks the lowest price yet for the device, which supports Matter, includes a Thread border router, and can serve as audio output for the Google TV Streamer 4K.
Google has launched Gemini 4 Carbon, which Artificial Analysis now ranks as the top AI model on its Intelligence Index V5 suite, narrowly surpassing Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5 by one point and besting OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra and Meta's Muse Wonder Full. The model also leads a separate Artificial Analysis test measuring hallucination rates and factual recall, though its score of 54 out of a possible 100 shows even the top model remains far from fully reliable. Google is initially rolling the model out to cyber defenders via its Fairwind program, with broader access to follow later.
Google told The New York Times that K-12 schools which opt out of its Gemini AI tools will also lose access to Google Search entirely, unless administrators explicitly turn the features on. The change was detailed in a Tuesday education update, where Google said Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom, and Search will all be off by default and bundled together as a single setting.
Google told the New York Times it will disable Google Search for school accounts that choose to ban AI features entirely, because the company has tied Search and its Gemini AI/AI Overviews products together. Google education VP Chris Phillips said students at such schools would instead see a message saying search is unavailable.
According to Korean outlet Chosun Biz, Samsung's first Android XR smart glasses, reportedly dubbed 'Intelligent Eyewear,' will launch in South Korea and the US by mid-December. The report says the glasses will initially skip China, Japan, and Europe, with wider availability possibly coming in 2027. Earlier reports had pointed to a late-November debut in South Korea.
A coalition including Google Threat Intelligence Group, TrendAI and Japan's National Police Agency disrupted a botnet of more than 1.3 million Android TV boxes and projectors spanning over 200 countries. Google says Shenzhen-based manufacturer Videostrong Technology deliberately built a backdoor called XCPE into device firmware and sold access to criminal affiliates, who installed malware modules to route traffic through unsuspecting owners' home networks. The group also took down command-and-control domains tied to affiliate modules and said it has cut ties with Videostrong, banning it from shipping devices with preloaded Google apps.
Google has been automatically attaching a verified phone number to every Google account signed into the same Android device since a September 2025 Play services update, without notifying users first. The behavior came to light only recently as users noticed it, and it ties together accounts a person may have intended to keep separate, such as work and personal profiles.