TechCrunch
Google takes Dreambeans to India in bid to bring AI-generated personal stories to the masses
Google's Dreambeans, its latest AI experiment, now supports 13 Indian languages.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
Tech News
The latest tech headlines from TechCrunch, The Verge and Ars Technica, updated every few minutes. Every story opens on the publisher's own site.
- TechCrunch
Apple may try to increase revenue by doing…something with third-party AI apps
Apple hinted at ways that it could spur revenue through third-party "opportunities" during its Monday night earnings call.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- TechCrunch
Ukraine’s new pocket-sized gadget turns Russian drones’ cameras against them
A Kyiv startup’s pocket-sized, 10-ounce receiver lets Ukrainian troops watch the video feeds of Russian drones, though Russian moves toward digital video and AI-guided drones that emit no signals could make the victory short-lived.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- TechCrunch
Y Combinator’s Garry Tan uses AI agents so much, he spends up to $200K a year on tokens
Y Combinator Garry Tan has, in the past, jokingly admitted that he's suffered from "cyber psychosis” and barely sleeps sometimes because he’s so excited to be working with his AI agents. On a new episode of Walter Isaacson’s podcast, The Builders, set to publish on Tuesday, Tan put a price tag on…
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- TechCrunch
Hinge tests a cheaper plan as users become more fed up paying for dating apps
At a time when people are increasingly tired of dating apps, Hinge is testing a cheaper subscription plan.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- Ars Technica
"At Home in Space" opens, caps Air and Space Museum renovation
The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum has all of its "space" back open.
Tech · Read at Ars Technica ↗
- TechCrunch
Apple says it’s ‘hard to predict’ when iPhone Duo constraints will improve
Apple says iPhone Duo production is ramping up, but it still can't say when supply will catch up with demand as shipping delays stretch into next year.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- TechCrunch
Trajectory raises $45M to make AI model training accessible to nontechnical experts
The one-year-old startup is now valued at $300 million.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- TechCrunch
Apple’s inventory surges 154% as memory chip costs climb
Apple says unprecedented memory chip costs will continue to rise, raising questions about future device prices as its inventory climbs to $14.5 billion.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- The Verge
Apple is ‘not able to predict’ when it’ll have enough iPhone Duos to go around
Apple CEO John Ternus doesn't have a timeline for when iPhone Duo supply constraints could lift. During an interview with Reuters, Ternus said the company is "working hard to get it to as many customers as quickly as possible, but at this point, we're not able to predict when supply and demand…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- Ars Technica
Why large dogs age faster than small ones, and other October research highlights
Plus invisible tattoos, medieval skeleton gets an ID, trapping a single antimatter particle, and more.
Tech · Read at Ars Technica ↗
- TechCrunch
Anthropic warns that it’s very close to RSI capability, aka self-building AI
RSI is the point at which AI grows so good at training itself that it spawns a dramatic acceleration of AI capabilities. To the AI doomers, RSI represents the cataclysm from which there is no return.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- The Verge
Apple set an iPhone sales record even without a new standard iPhone
Apple had a record-breaking quarter for iPhone sales - despite not releasing a standard model during its latest refresh. In its fourth-quarter earnings report released on Monday, Apple says it earned $57.58 billion in iPhone revenue, marking a 17 percent jump from the same time last year. The…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- Ars Technica
Third person dies of bird flu since virus started jumping to livestock
The threat is still considered to be low, but the virus continues to spread.
Tech · Read at Ars Technica ↗
- The Verge
Meta will end Quest 2 OS updates in 2027
Meta is planning to release the last OS update for its Quest 2 and Quest Pro VR headsets by March 2027, the company announced today. The last OS update for those devices is planned to be v213, and after that, Meta will continue to ship security patches and critical bug fixes through the end of […]
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- The Verge
One of Google’s Android partners turned 1.3 million set-top boxes into a botnet
Google says one of its Android manufacturing partners secretly built a backdoor in 1.3 million devices and turned them into a botnet. The company says it has now dismantled the backdoor and "cut ties" with the manufacturer, the Shenzhen, China-based Videostrong Technology Co., which has been…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- The Verge
One of Google’s Android partners turned 1.3 million set-top boxes into a botnet
Google says one of its Android manufacturing partners secretly built a backdoor in 1.3 million devices and turned them into a botnet. The company says it has now dismantled the backdoor and "cut ties" with the manufacturer, the Shenzhen, China-based Videostrong Technology Co., which has been…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- The Verge
BMW is taking on Tesla’s FSD with urban driver assist starting in 2027
BMW says that it will expand its navigation-guided, partially automated driving capabilities into urban environments starting in 2027, launching first in Germany with other markets to follow. The new system can help steer, speed up, and slow down the vehicle on both highways and city streets using…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- Ars Technica
Googling "Zelda" today offers a glimpse of how search worked in 1998
"The flow of time is always cruel."
Tech · Read at Ars Technica ↗
- TechCrunch
Germany says lawmakers’ iPhones may have been hacked with spyware
German lawmakers and a filmmaker are among the people who received notifications from Apple warning that their phones may have been hacked.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- TechCrunch
Web host Squarespace lays off 19% of its employees
The website builder said that the job losses are part of a broader restructuring of its organization.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- The Verge
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is $100 off, matching its best price to date
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is the company’s most capable smartwatch. Whether you intend to put its many tracking features to the test, or you simply want the longest battery life of any Apple Watch, it’s currently on sale for $699.99 ($100 off) in multiple colors at Amazon, matching its all-time low…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- TechCrunch
New York Times and other outlets sue web browser Brave over alleged content scraping
The New York Times is suing privacy-focused web browser company Brave for allegedly scraping the outlet’s copyrighted and unlawfully distributing it to its own customers, like Anthropic and Perplexity.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- Ars Technica
Most of our measures of a key cognitive process don't agree
A big study with very little beyond negative results still gets published.
Tech · Read at Ars Technica ↗
- TechCrunch
Snap settles lawsuit accusing platform of fueling teen depression and eating disorders
The plaintiffs said they started using YouTube as young as age 3 and other social media platforms at around age 9 and developed compulsive usage habits that they attributed to features such as autoplay and infinite scrolling.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- The Verge
Ford promises not to sell your driving habits to data brokers
Ford vowed to never sell customer driving data to third-party data brokers as part of a new privacy promise aimed at setting the automaker apart from competitors that have faced legal and regulatory blowback for sharing telematics with data brokers without authorization. As part of its new…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- The Verge
Anthropic clamps down on Claude’s AI video game clones
Anthropic has updated Claude Code's system prompt to prevent the AI tool from being used to recreate existing video games, as reported by Tom's Hardware. Retro gaming is currently being overrun with AI-made decompilations, recompilations, and ports, but while Anthropic will still let people use…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- The Verge
Xbox’s former COO has ‘serious concerns’ about her abrupt departure
Xbox's former chief operating officer, Helen Chiang, suddenly left Microsoft less than two weeks ago after being promoted into the role in July. I wrote in my Notepad newsletter last week that it seemed very weird for Chiang to suddenly depart Microsoft after 21 years with a surprisingly short…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- Ars Technica
Coming in 2027: Apple’s $1,000 home robot for FaceTime and switching on lights
Apple robot backed by CEO John Ternus may have hefty price tag and limited uses.
Tech · Read at Ars Technica ↗
- Ars Technica
Claude’s new rules against game cloning won’t stop the AI copying boom
The tsunami of imitators is way bigger than any one model maker can stem.
Tech · Read at Ars Technica ↗
- The Verge
OpenAI pitches data center power plants as a way to protect nearby areas
In an announcement on Monday, OpenAI says it will pilot its "Grid Protectors Program" at an upcoming data center in Effingham County, Georgia, where the company promises to free up to 1,000 megawatts of power during extreme weather or emergencies, enough to power air conditioners in around 700,000…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- TechCrunch
In one of the largest deals in tech history, Marvell buys Lumentum for $115B
Marvell's planned purchase of Lumentum is one of the biggest acquisitions in tech history. And they both have the same strategic investor: Nvidia.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- The Verge
The New York Times and other publications sue Brave web browser for AI scraping and bypassing paywalls
The New York Times and a group of other publications have filed lawsuits against the company that makes the Brave web browser over alleged unlawful scraping to train AI and also letting users bypass their paywalls, as reported by Reuters. According to a complaint filed by the companies that run…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- TechCrunch
Readwise takes on Amazon’s Kindle and Goodreads with its new app for book lovers
Readwise Books combines an ebook store, reading tracker, detailed reading stats, and AI features in a bid to challenge Amazon's ecosystem.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- Ars Technica
China publicly discloses plan for a lunar landing within three years
The plan does not include a mission similar to Apollo 8 or Artemis II.
Tech · Read at Ars Technica ↗
- The Verge
Apple’s ‘Ultra’ smart home robot might have to wait until 2028
Apple has reportedly delayed the launch of its rumored smart home robot until next year at the earliest or possibly even 2028, according to The Information. It says the robot's hardware "has been finished for around two years," but that the software isn't ready. The device's software team has…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- The Verge
Squarespace is laying off 19 percent of employees
The website-building platform Squarespace is laying off 19 percent of its employees as it works to "simplify" its operations, Squarespace spokesperson Jeff Seedman says in a statement to The Verge. The job cuts will affect around 300 of Squarespace's 1,800 employees. "The changes are intended to…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- TechCrunch
SpaceX reportedly wants to buy Boost Mobile to compete with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon
SpaceX has been looking for new ways to use its Starlink network, and a tie-up with cellular operator Boost Mobile could give it the terrestrial access it needs.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- TechCrunch
42AI comes out of stealth with $62.5M and a world model that can ‘predict human behavior’
Here's a question straight out of sci-fi: What if AI could predict what you were going to do before you decided to, even in a completely new situation?
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- TechCrunch
Elon Musk throttles Grok Bot limits due to ‘unsustainably high’ costs
Musk recently referred to Grok Bot as having "the fastest growth of a product that I've ever seen in my life."
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- The Verge
Why Peacock is making a huge bet on YouTube
Today, I’m talking with Matt Strauss, who is now chairman of the NBCUniversal Media Group. This is Matt’s second time joining me on the show, and there’s been a whole lot of organizational and structural change at NBCU since the last time he and I spoke just two years ago — pure Decoder bait.…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- Ars Technica
F1 in Mexico City: Yet another Ferrari fiasco, but that’s not all
There was plenty of drama on and off the track for Formula 1 this weekend.
Tech · Read at Ars Technica ↗
- The Verge
Vivo’s first Pro Max phone proves its Ultra is still in a league of its own
When I declared this spring that Vivo's X300 Ultra had the best cameras in any phone, two things made it stand out in my mind: its excellent main camera with a narrow 35mm focal length and what remains the most capable ultrawide in any phone worldwide. You won't find either in the new X500 Pro […]
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- The Verge
Could data center backlash flip Florida?
Patti Zirhut, a lifelong Republican, has been studying her ballot for weeks. Zirhut eagerly voted for President Donald Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024, but she isn't toeing the party line this year. "My ballot is all mixed up," she says. She's voting for some Republicans, some independents, and even…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- The Verge
YouTuber Druski is going to make exclusive content for Netflix
Netflix today announced a multiyear deal with the YouTuber, comedian, and influencer Druski, and he'll create original content "exclusively" for the streaming service. The announcement is the latest in Netflix's efforts to bring creators onto the platform, having previously landed deals with…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- TechCrunch
Omen AI adds liquid know-how in $16 million Aquatic Labs acquisition
Two startups tackling the data center water problem are joining forces in a $16 million deal.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- Ars Technica
The world has a new plan to save nature, but it still needs the money
A new action plan aims to rescue 2030 nature targets as financing remains inadequate.
Tech · Read at Ars Technica ↗
- TechCrunch
Ninja’s first-ever microwave just replaced two of my kitchen appliances at once
The Ninja Crispi Microwave stands out for its FusionCrisp technology, which combines the speed of a microwave with the crispy results you'd expect from an air fryer.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- TechCrunch
Northwood Space raises $375M Series C at a $2B valuation from a16z and DFJ growth
Space infrastructure company Northwood Space on Monday said it had raised $375 million in a Series C round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and DFJ Growth, valuing the company at $2 billion.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- TechCrunch
A fresh wave of cyberattacks has hit Europe’s supermarket refrigerators, destroying food across countries
This is the second wave of cyberattacks to hit supermarket refrigerators in a month, spoiling food and disrupting supplies.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- The Verge
The 16GB Raspberry Pi 5 got another ‘unavoidable’ RAM price hike
The Raspberry Pi 5 with 16GB of RAM now costs $385 after an $80 price hike, the latest in a string of increases driven by the ongoing RAM shortage. This configuration launched at $120, and now costs over triple that price. The 16GB versions of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 also got a $40 […]
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- The Verge
SpaceX’s big mobile carrier plans could reportedly involve buying Boost Mobile
SpaceX has discussed a deal with Boost Mobile to launch its own service through the budget-friendly carrier, according to a report from the Washington Post. The deal, which comes as SpaceX aims to make Starlink a "major" mobile carrier, reportedly involves the Elon Musk-owned company acquiring…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- TechCrunch
2 days till TechCrunch Founder Summit: Boston founders don’t need a Silicon Valley address to build something big
TechCrunch Founder Summit happens on November 4 in Boston for a founder-focused agenda and impactful connections. Save up to $100 or get discounts with group passes.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- The Verge
Affinity’s creative studio is now available on iPad for free
Canva is giving digital creatives a new way to design, illustrate, and edit photos on their iPads, and it doesn't have to cost them a thing. After relaunching the Affinity creative suite as an all-in-one desktop app last year, Canva has now introduced Affinity for iPad, which provides the same…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- The Verge
Affinity’s creative studio is now available on iPad for free
Canva is giving digital creatives a new way to design, illustrate, and edit photos on their iPads, and it doesn't have to cost them a thing. After relaunching the Affinity creative suite as an all-in-one desktop app last year, Canva has now introduced Affinity for iPad, which provides the same…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- TechCrunch
OpenAI is finally merging ChatGPT’s chat and Work tabs
OpenAI said that ChatGPT and Codex will draw usage from the same allocation pool after this change.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- The Verge
More European supermarkets are getting their freezers hacked
Grocery stores across Europe have been hit by another wave of suspected cyberattacks, reporting sudden changes in the temperatures of their fridges and freezers. Major supermarket chains across Belgium, Sweden, Luxembourg, and Estonia were affected according to local reports shared by Bloomberg…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
- Ars Technica
This $48 e-paper display can be whatever you want it to be
This DIY e-paper display works in two official ecosystems or on your own server.
Tech · Read at Ars Technica ↗
- TechCrunch
Ford launches a ‘privacy promise’ and explains how and why it uses customer data
Ford said it's making an "explicit commitment" to its customers that "their vehicle data is safe" with the company.
Tech · Read at TechCrunch ↗
- The Verge
Jackery made its portable power stations even smaller
Jackery announced a new portable power station that uses the safer and longer-lasting lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries the company first introduced in 2023. But what makes the new Explorer 100D stand out is that it's Jackery's smallest power station to date, measuring only 4.6 by 3.4 by 3.4…
Tech · Read at The Verge ↗
