Tech

Gemini 3.1 Pro is rolling out starting today in the Gemini app and NotebookLM. According to Google:

YouTube is starting to test its conversational AI tool with a “small group of users” on smart TVs, gaming consoles, and streaming devices. The tool, first introduced in 2023, lets you ask questions about the videos you’re watching.

The company had paused production on the TB800 EQ in December because of a tracking issue when the trackball was handled from a certain angle. In an email to The Verge, spokesperson Ken Hagihara confirmed that it isn’t coming back. Bummer. I liked the TB800 and its many scroll wheels.

An update to the Rivian mobile app released today introduces a companion app for the Apple Watch. From your wrist you can lock and unlock doors, vent windows, activate the alarm, adjust the cabin temperature using the Apple Watch’s crown dial, and monitor your vehicle’s battery status from your watch face.

Plaintiff attorney Rachel Lanier told Judge Carolyn Kuhl this morning that after she’d admonished against using smart glasses in the courthouse, they learned that one person was still wearing them in the hallway where jurors were present. After alerting Meta’s counsel, Lanier said they were told the glasses weren’t recording.

Starting on May 3rd, 2026, five Formula 1 races, including the Miami, Monaco, British, Italian, and United States Grands Prix, will be shown in “select IMAX locations” across the country. The showings will take place in at least 50 IMAX theaters as a result of a new partnership with Apple.

First announced at CES 2025 and then launched on Kickstarter last October, Hyper’s HyperSpace TrackPad Pro has been delayed indefinitely. An update on its Kickstarter page blames “overseas supply chain issues” and since a new delivery date isn’t known, the company is offering refunds to backers or credits for its online store plus an extra $50.

Amazon reported $717 billion in sales for 2025, edging ahead of Walmart’s $713.2 billion. Walmart was previously the world’s largest company by sales for over 10 years. However, as Bloomberg notes, Amazon’s cloud computing business made up a large portion of its sales — without AWS revenue, Walmart still outpaces Amazon.

In an article for Techdirt, Wayback Machine director Mark Graham raises concerns about the impact of publications preventing the site from archiving their content due to AI scraping:

After debuting exclusively in Japan last August, the Hello, Mario! app is now available for the Switch 1 and 2, as well as iOS, iPadOS, and Android mobile devices. You can poke and tug on Mario’s face and select objects for him to interact with, but the app’s appeal is mostly limited to kids.

Amid reports that Meta is preparing to release a smartwatch later this year, one Verge commenter has already figured out what the social media giant is going to do with all that new data.

According to The New Camera, a customer walked into a DJI Authorized drone store in Malaysia to show off the new baby steadicam. The store in question seems to have taken its own videos off Instagram and TikTok, but New Camera uploaded this copy. There’s a slim chance we could get this one in the US.

The US has been working on an online portal at “freedom.gov” that would let Europeans see content their governments have banned, Reuters reports. A planned launch last week was apparently delayed, and State Department officials have expressed concerns about the project.

The Continuous Audio Connection setting in the tvOS 26.4 beta uses Dolby MAT to reportedly address audio dropout and sync issues when switching formats. Sonos users on Reddit say it also fixes level problems with 5.1 PCM content.

The roughly $1.2 billion deal, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, gives eBay a social, creator-driven secondhand fashion marketplace popular with Gen Z and younger millennials. The platform feels more like scrolling Instagram outfits than browsing listings, which could help modernize eBay’s image.

Charles Porch, who helped land Instagram’s biggest partnerships — including the launch of Beyoncé’s self-titled album on the social network — will now serve as OpenAI’s first VP of global creative partnerships.

The funding will go toward Meta’s pro-AI super PACs, including two new ones: Republican-focused “Forge the Future Project” and Democrat-focused “Making Our Tomorrow,” the New York Times reports. The PACs will back politicians who are friendly to AI and push back against legislation that could limit the growth of Meta’s AI business.

Meshcapade’s team will join Epic Games’ AI Research team and contribute to technologies for Unreal Engine and the hyperrealistic MetaHumans.

The Extended Support Release for Firefox version 115, the last version available on Windows 7 and 8, will no longer receive security updates after this month, Neowin reports. The loss of support comes three years after Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 and 8 in 2023.

A new report from 404 Media today featured a leaked email from Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, who leads the camera maker inside Amazon, saying back in October that he has grander ambitions for the company’s controversial Search Party feature beyond just finding lost dogs.