Techmeme
December 11, 2024, 3:35 PM

Top News

Bloomberg:
Google releases its new flagship model Gemini 2.0 and plans to test it in search and AI Overviews, saying 2.0 makes “it possible to build agents that can think”  —  Company expects AI assistants will follow its users around the web  —  Google debuted a new version …
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Google unveils the lower-latency Gemini 2.0 Flash model, which can generate images, audio, and text and use 3rd-party apps and services, rolling out in January  —  Google's next major AI model has arrived to combat a slew of new offerings from OpenAI.  —  On Wednesday, Google announced Gemini 2. Flash …
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Google unveils Deep Research, an AI tool to let its Gemini chatbot scour the web and write a detailed report, available in English for Gemini Advanced users  —  Google has just revealed a new AI tool called Deep Research that lets you call upon its Gemini bot to scour the web for you and write a detailed report based on its findings.
Ina Fried / Axios:
Google unveils an updated Project Astra, which can record and summarize videos recorded using an Android app or prototype glasses and answer questions  —  Astra can then summarize what it sees and answer a wide range of questions, drawing on an array of Google services including Search, Maps, Lens and Gemini.
Michael Nuñez / VentureBeat:
Google unveils Trillium, its sixth-gen AI chip powering Gemini 2.0, with 4x the training performance of its predecessor while using significantly less energy  —  Google has just unveiled Trillium, its sixth-generation artificial intelligence accelerator chip, claiming performance improvements …
Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Igor Bonifacic / Engadget:
Apple rolls out iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2, adding major AI updates, including Image Playground on iPhone 15 Pro, 16, and 16 Pro, Genmoji, and ChatGPT integration  —  ChatGPT integration is also included with this update.  —  Apple has begun rolling iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 to iPhones and iPads.
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Alexander Maxham / Android Headlines:
Sources: Google Pixel 9a will cost $499 for the 128GB model with Tensor G4, 8GB of RAM, a 6.3" screen with 2,700 peak nits, 5,100mAh battery, 23W wired charging  —  We're getting closer and closer to the Pixel 9a being announced by Google.  While we've already confirmed a number of specs about the device …
The Information:
Sources: Apple is working with Broadcom to develop its first AI server chip, codenamed Baltra and set for 2026 mass production, a milestone for its silicon team  —  Apple is developing its first server chip specially designed for artificial intelligence, according to three people …
TechCrunch:
Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer:
A global outage has hit Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, starting at approximately 12:40pm ET; Meta says it's working to resolve a “technical issue”  —  Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp suffered a massive worldwide Wednesday afternoon, with services impacted in varying degrees based on user's region.
Kurt Wilms / YouTube Official Blog:
YouTube says viewers streamed 1B+ hours of content daily on TVs in 2024 globally, including 400M+ hours of podcasts monthly; sports content watchtime grew 30%  —  The living room was the place to be for entertainment this year: We watched J Balvin and Lana Del Rey rock Coachella …

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Earlier Picks

Scharon Harding / Ars Technica:
Aaron Holmes / The Information:
Emma Roth / The Verge: