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Android Authority's Insights team found code for an unreleased Android Auto feature that would use an animated raccoon character, paired with a temperature caption, to show weather conditions on the dashboard. Columnist Andy Walker argues the cartoonish design clashes with Android Auto's usual large, legible, high-contrast interface elements meant to be read quickly while driving.
Google has made generally available a feature allowing Android-based Google Meet room hardware to join Microsoft Teams calls, and Android-based Microsoft Teams Rooms to join Google Meet meetings. The rollout began October 1 and is reaching eligible Google Workspace customers within one to three days. The feature applies only to dedicated meeting-room devices running Android/AOSP, not to the Meet or Teams apps on phones or tablets.
Multiple users say their Google accounts work fine across other services but fail to log into YouTube in web browsers, hitting errors regardless of browser, device, or cleared cookies. The same accounts reportedly still work on YouTube's mobile and TV apps. Reports have surfaced over roughly two weeks and have been escalated by forum Product Experts, though Google has not publicly confirmed the issue.
OpenAI has introduced a virtual try-on feature in ChatGPT that lets users upload a selfie or full-body photo to see how clothing items would look on them, powered by the ChatGPT Images 2.5 model. Users can also upload clothing links or outfit photos to find similar products and try those on virtually, while a new Favorites list and folders let shoppers save items they like. The features are rolling out on mobile and web, with reference photos reusable or deletable via settings.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple's upcoming smart home camera, internally called J450, won't record video for playback. Instead it reportedly uses a low-frame-rate sensor, facial recognition and infrared sensing to detect activity and trigger automations, rather than streaming or storing footage like HomeKit Secure Video cameras.
A GitHub repository has published design files, firmware, and build instructions for a novel physical keyboard called the Gboard Conveyor Belt Version, dated October 1, 2026. The release includes KiCad schematics, PCB layouts, firmware source, and 3D-printable STL files for the case and mechanism, alongside a build guide. The project explicitly states it is not an official Google product, distinguishing it from Google's actual Gboard mobile app.
US District Judge Amit Mehta threw out separate antitrust lawsuits filed by Chegg and Penske Media against Google, both alleging that AI Overviews and related features harmed their website traffic. Mehta found that Google had no formal agreement with either company to send them search traffic, so antitrust law did not apply to the dispute. The same judge previously ruled against Google in the DOJ's broader search antitrust case, though penalties there were lighter than prosecutors sought.
US District Judge Amit Mehta dismissed lawsuits from Penske Media Corporation and Chegg that accused Google of using AI Overviews to siphon traffic from their sites and harm ad revenue. Mehta ruled both companies failed to show Google violated antitrust law, stating that an expectation of search traffic is not an agreement Google broke.
Google sent a prototype orbital compute satellite, built by Planet Labs, aboard a SpaceX rocket from California, marking the first time one of its Tensor Processing Units has flown in space. The test will check whether the chip can sustain a kilowatt of continuous power, manage heat, and run AI models in short bursts without failure. Google's Travis Beals, who leads the effort called Project Suncatcher, said a more advanced two-satellite demo with laser communication links is planned for next year.
Google will run a week-long Play Fest from October 13 to 19, merging Google Play discounts with a Play Points rewards program for the first time. Users can redeem points in sweepstakes for prizes like exclusive merchandise, tech gear and tickets to major sporting events, while purchases during the event earn boosted points, with Play Pass subscribers getting double points and book buyers up to 15x points.
Google announced its new frontier AI model, Gemini 4 Argon, on Wednesday, ten months after Gemini 3's release. The model is initially being made available only to cybersecurity defenders in Google's Fairwind program, with wider subscriber and free-user access to follow later. Google says Gemini 4 Argon handles coding, multimodal tasks and reasoning, and performs especially well on business tasks like software engineering, cybersecurity and legal/finance work.
Google released Gemini 4 Argon, which the company says improves coding, cybersecurity and complex-task performance, matching OpenAI's cybersecurity benchmark scores and leading on software engineering tests. Its launch pricing of $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens mirrors OpenAI's discounted GPT-6.1 Sol model. The release comes as Meta's Muse app and OpenAI's new Dots personal agent draw heavy consumer attention, while Anthropic's CEO has called for slower AI development pace.