Google has launched Gemini 4 Argon, a frontier AI model built for deep reasoning in finance, coding, creative writing and cybersecurity tasks. Independent benchmarking firm Artificial Analysis found Argon matches OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra on its Intelligence Index at roughly 60 percent of the cost, with a notably lower hallucination rate of 15 percent. Google says it is already using Argon internally for quantum computing research, codebase migrations, and data center memory optimization, where it freed up 300 TiB of memory.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-01
Google has relaunched its Pixel Referral Program for the US Google Store, giving buyers a 10% discount when they check out with a referral code. Referrers earn $50 in store credit per successful referral, capped at $500 for 10 referrals, with codes valid until November 4. Participation as a referrer requires an invitation from Google and prior opt-in to Pixel marketing emails.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-10-01
Android Authority's Richard Priday writes that Google is launching a new line of high-end laptops called Googlebooks, positioned as a desktop evolution of Android meant to eventually replace ChromeOS. According to the piece, the initial lineup starts at around $1,000, with no cheaper entry-level models offered at launch.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-10-01
Google has listed its new Antigravity development platform on the Play Store, but the app is built exclusively for Googlebook OS devices rather than Android phones. Android Authority sideloaded the APK onto a Pixel phone and found the interface poorly scaled, with setup failing at a Terminal VM configuration step due to a permission error.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-10-01
According to a Bloomberg report, Apple will unveil a new smart home lineup on October 13, including a square six-inch smart display (code-named J490/J491), an updated HomePod mini, and a faster Apple TV 4K. The display reportedly uses facial and voice recognition and runs software blending elements of iPadOS, watchOS, and iOS's StandBy mode, with the whole lineup built to showcase Apple's revamped Siri.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-10-01
Google Japan has revealed a DIY keyboard design called the 'rotating Gboard keyboard,' which places 29 keys on a moving conveyor belt instead of a fixed layout. Users type by waiting for the desired key to roll past rather than moving their fingers to reach it. The design isn't for sale, but Google has released open-source blueprints so people can build their own.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-10-01
Multiple Pixel owners, including users of the Pixel 10 Pro XL, Pixel 8a and Pixel 8 Pro, say the September 2026 software update has broken their lock screens, preventing correct PINs or patterns from registering. Affected users describe patterns resetting mid-gesture and PIN entries being rejected after only the first digit, leaving them unable to access their phones. Troubleshooting steps like Safe Mode, cleaning the screen or reinstalling the build have not fixed the issue for at least one user, who resorted to a factory reset.
techspot.com
· 2026-10-01
Google has been expanding its AI tools into school classrooms, with students and educators reporting both benefits and drawbacks. Some students described AI assistance as slowing their own thinking, while reports point to falling test scores alongside concerns about cognitive and emotional dependence on the technology.
wsj.com
· 2026-10-01
Google has launched Gemini 4 Argon, a new AI model it says excels at defensive cybersecurity work, including autonomously finding, validating and patching software vulnerabilities. The model is being made available initially only to select partners through Google's Fairwind security program, while Google staff are already using it internally for coding tasks like debugging and codebase migrations. Google says Argon also handles video and chart analysis and outperforms rival models from OpenAI and Anthropic on benchmarks cited from the startup Vals.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-30
Google introduced Gemini 4 Argon, a new frontier AI model it says tops or ties rivals GPT-6 Astra and Claude Opus 5.5 on 13 of 18 disclosed benchmark categories. The model is initially limited to trusted cyber-defense partners and select pre-release testers, with wider rollout planned later. Google also says Argon supports up to 1 million output tokens, a sharp jump from the prior 64,000-token limit.
tech.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-30
Security researchers have identified a campaign in which threat actors create malicious custom GPTs within ChatGPT and abuse legitimate OpenAI and Google domains to lure victims. The technique follows a ClickFix-style approach, tricking users into executing steps that ultimately deliver a remote access trojan (RAT) to their systems.
darkreading.com
· 2026-09-30
Google has begun rolling out Gemini 4 Argon, describing it as its most capable AI model yet. Access currently is limited to a small group of testers focused on cybersecurity defense, with plans to later expand availability to Google AI Ultra subscribers. Google released benchmark data showing strong performance across coding, legal reasoning, and business/economic tasks.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-30
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