GoKawiil
Tech News
Android Authority's review of the Pixel 11 Pro XL highlights HiLight, a feature that assigns glow colors to specific contacts similar to old notification LEDs. The reviewer found the concept appealing but the execution confusing, requiring navigation between multiple apps and menus just to assign a color to a contact.
Researchers from Google and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign tested large language models on variations of the classic Knights and Knaves puzzle, where truth-tellers and liars must be identified from their statements. The models frequently failed when puzzles were slightly altered from familiar training patterns, defaulting to memorized answers instead of reasoning through the new version. A similar pattern showed up on a benchmark called SimpleBench, where humans easily spot subtle twists that trip up even leading AI systems.
Code found in Google Photos version 7.90 reveals plans to standardize how long deleted photos and videos remain recoverable, setting a single 30-day trash window for all media. Currently, backed-up items stay in trash for 60 days while non-backed-up files are removed after 30 days. The feature is not yet live for most users, but testers were able to activate it early.
Robotics startup Generalist has raised nearly $200 million more in an extension of its Series B round led by 8VC, pushing its valuation to $3 billion and total round funding to $600 million. The company, founded in 2024 by ex-Google DeepMind and Boston Dynamics engineers, builds AI foundation models meant to control multiple types of robots, with its Gen 1.5 model reportedly learning new tasks from short video clips.
Chris Malone, who led OpenAI's data center buildout since March 2025, has left the company, according to CNBC. Malone previously worked as a distinguished engineer on infrastructure at Meta and Google before joining OpenAI to help manage its roughly $600 billion compute spending plan through 2030. OpenAI says it has reorganized its infrastructure team and maintains strong leadership despite the exit.
A veteran reputation-management consultant with 25 years of experience says businesses often make the mistake of focusing solely on removing a defamatory post rather than rebuilding the accurate narrative that persists across Google, AI search tools, and public perception. He outlines that false claims can spread beyond their origin, get cited by other outlets, and shape AI-generated summaries long after the original post appears.
A poll conducted among readers asked what Google should prioritize for the Pixel 12, and a decisive 64% chose better hardware alone. About 19% wanted equal focus on hardware and AI, a similar share preferred more competitive pricing, and fewer than 2% wanted AI prioritized on its own.
Anthropic has given Claude Cowork the same memory system as Claude's chat interface, so tasks and context carry over between the two. Instead of summarizing chats after they end, Claude now logs topics to memory in real time, and users can view, edit or delete these entries under a Topics section in Memory settings. The feature is live for Free, Pro and Max users on web, desktop and mobile.
Researcher David Buchanan demonstrated that C2PA, the standard meant to cryptographically verify photos come straight from a camera, can be defeated on Android devices. He shows that root exploits, including a currently in-the-wild one-click attack (CVE-2026-43499) against fully patched Google Pixel phones, let attackers bypass Android's Key Attestation and Play Integrity protections that C2PA camera apps rely on, allowing arbitrary files to be signed as if they were genuine camera captures.
Google Home users report that automations set to trigger from TV events, like powering on or off, are failing to activate. Reports so far point to TCL televisions, though it's unclear if other TV brands are affected. Google has acknowledged the issue publicly on Reddit but has not yet issued a fix.
The Pixel 11 Pro Fold ships in just two colors and retains Google's asymmetrical hinge design, resulting in a noticeable crease and uneven thickness when unfolded. It features two bright OLED displays capable of 3,600 nits and 120Hz refresh rates, runs on the new Tensor G6 chip with up to 1TB storage, and adds a minor color-LED notification feature called HiLight.
Google is quietly rolling out Motion Assist, a feature that overlays moving dots on the screen edges to counter motion sickness while using a phone in a vehicle. The dots shift direction based on data from the accelerometer and gyroscope, mimicking how the outside world would appear to move if you looked up. It's appearing on Pixel devices running Android 17 through a staged Play Services rollout, with no separate app or update required.