A developer working with BMS, a combat flight simulator, describes contributing accurate AM radio physics to a community-built replacement for the sim's existing voice chat program, IVC. The goal is to properly reproduce phenomena like AM radio's lack of a 'capture effect,' where two overlapping transmissions can both be partially heard, unlike the current IVC tool which reportedly just produces a generic noise when pilots talk over each other.
bitbashing.io
· 2026-09-27
Android Authority found new code strings in Pixel Buds app version 1.0.981607934 referencing a 'Mute & unmute' feature. The strings describe a single tap on either earbud to mute or unmute during a call, with a footer noting the feature would be limited to Pixel devices using the Phone and Google Meet apps.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-25
Google has released Live Avatar, a new addition to its Gemini 3.8 Live and Live Extended Thinking models that pairs real-time video personas with the platform's voice dialogue capabilities. The avatars can lip-sync, show facial expressions, and hold fluid conversations while using Gemini's reasoning to fetch data and trigger tool calls mid-dialogue. The feature is limited to Gemini Enterprise customers, who can choose from preset avatars or build custom ones from reference images via enterprise allowlisting, with all output watermarked using Google's SynthID.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-25
A poster on Hacker News describes over a year of calls that never register on their iPhone as missed calls, occurring across carriers, locations, wifi calling settings, and contact types. Switching from Verizon to T-Mobile did not resolve the issue, and troubleshooting steps like resetting network settings had no lasting effect. The poster speculates that carriers may be deprioritizing voice call reliability as fewer subscribers depend on traditional calling.
news.ycombinator.com
· 2026-09-24
In an interview at the Nrth conference in Toronto, ElevenLabs co-founder and CEO Mati Staniszewski discussed the AI voice company's growth, saying it is pacing at $600 million in annual recurring revenue and is reportedly valued at $22 billion by investors, four years after founding. He said the company powers phone support for clients including Klarna, Deutsche Telekom, Cisco, and Adobe, and increasingly competes with businesses that once trained on its technology, such as Decagon.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-24
Google has released Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS and Flash-Lite TTS, new text-to-speech models that can generate custom voices from text descriptions, replicate a voice from a 30-second sample with permission, and follow directions for accent, pacing, emotion and multi-speaker dialogue. The models support over 100 languages and more than 2,000 ready-made voices, and are rolling out in Gemini Notebook and Google Vids as well as to developers via Google AI Studio and the Gemini API.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-24
OpenAI announced three updates to ChatGPT Voice mode. The feature now runs on the company's GPT-6 model family (Astra, Sol, and Luna), supports plugins such as email, calendar, and Slack, and works with ChatGPT Work across web and mobile.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-09-23
OpenAI announced that ChatGPT's mobile app now supports voice-triggered agentic workflows, letting users create documents, draft emails or summarize Slack messages through the Work tab. Plus and Pro subscribers get expanded capabilities including building sites, presentations and using a cloud browser, while Free and Go users can access plugins and connected apps. Users can also switch between text and voice mid-conversation and resume tasks started on mobile on desktop.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-23
Google has launched Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS and Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS, new speech generation models supporting over 100 languages. The models ranked first and second respectively on Hume AI's Overall Quality Index, with Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS also topping Hume AI's Voice Design Benchmark and its accent modeling category. Google says the models improve on long-form content and dual-speaker screenplay control compared to the prior Gemini 3.1 Flash TTS.
blog.google
· 2026-09-23
Garmin has released a software update giving the Venu 4 all-day fall detection, which sends live location alerts to chosen contacts if the wearer falls. The update also adds hands-free 'OK Garmin' voice control and running tools like Quick Workout and Run Coach plans to devices including the Fenix 8 series, Venu 4 and X1, and Vivoactive 6. The rollout is underway now via Garmin Connect or Garmin Explore and may take a few weeks to reach all eligible devices.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-23
Riot Games has postponed the launch of team voice chat for League of Legends, which had been announced for NA/OCE regions in the upcoming 26.20 patch. The League of Legends Dev Team said on social media that the feature was pushed back to meet quality standards, but did not give a new release date or specify the reason for the delay.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-22
A Wonder Tools newsletter roundup highlights 20 Google Docs capabilities that many regular users overlook, including voice typing, instant translation, smart chips, and AI-assisted proofreading. The piece frames these as practical productivity boosts hidden within a tool most people already use daily.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-22
GoKawiil