Apple is lowering its developer fees in China following discussions with the Chinese regulator. From March 15, the commission rate for standard in-app purchases (IAPs) will be reduced from 30 percent to 25 percent on its mainland China App Store storefront for both iOS and iPadOS.
In a Developer blog, Apple also said that developers belonging to its App Store Small Business or Mini Apps programmes will also have their fees reduced by 3 percent, from 15 to 12 percent. This applies to the commission rate for IAPs and in-app subscription renewals after the first year.
"We strive for iOS and iPadOS to be the best app ecosystem and a great business opportunity for developers in China," Apple said in the post. "We are committed to terms that remain fair and transparent to all developers, and to always offering competitive App Store rates to developers distributing apps in China that are no higher than overall rates in other markets."
Apple says developers are not required to agree to the terms by March 15 to start receiving their benefits, seemingly making the transition as smooth as possible to avoid further regulatory intervention. It will no doubt be taken as a significant win for Chinese businesses, and comes a year after reports that a state watchdog was investigating the fees Apple enforces on developers it hosts on the App Store.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/apple-is-reducing-its-app-store-commission-fees-in-china-131221192.html?src=rss
Apple's new family of laptops might have a cringeworthy name, but don't let it fool you. Despite the MacBook Neo running on a built-for-iPhone A-series processor and being limited to 8GB of RAM, it delivers on what Macs do best. It has a capable screen, keyboardand trackpadand its overall build quality should embarrass other laptop-making rivals that have compromised on those areas with their $600 laptops.
Don't expect a gaming rig – it struggled predictably to run Lies of P, but for most of the things you need a laptop for – especially for students and desk workers – it handles them with aplomb. Yeah, I said aplomb.
Check out our full Neo review by Devindra Hardawar – surely you're intrigued by the idea of a $600 MacBook?
Project Cyberdeck is Rabbit's attempt to make a PC tailored for vibe coding. The company began working on Project Cyberdeck after its CEO, Jesse Lyu, saw how extensively his software engineers were using Claude Code. Unfortunately, existing cheap, lightweight machines had bad keyboards and other limitations. So Rabbit is making its ownand it's taking a big serving of inspiration from the tiny, almost pocket-sized laptops that VAIO made back in the late '00s and early 2010s.
In a bid to distract from corporate reshuffles, fears of generative AI game slop and a pretty poor showing against the PS5, Microsoft is getting ahead of its rival. At GDC 2026, the company said that it planned to get Project Helix dev consoles in the hands of game devs as soon as 2027.
Jason Ronald, vice-president of next generation for Xbox, reiterated that the new system would be capable of playing both Xbox console games and PC games. (Sony's decision to halt porting its games across to PC makes more sense. ) Ronald said it would incorporate a custom AMD-made system-on-a-chip, offering "a magnitude leap in ray tracing performance and capability".
The owners of Facebook are buying Moltbook, the hyped Reddit-like social network for AI agents that has only been around since January. The company hasn't disclosed the terms of the deal, but Moltbook and its creators will be joining Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) when the deal closes.
And that definitely doesn't sound like a cabal of comic book villains that fights the Justice League.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost four years since Apple gave the MacBook Air a serious glow-up. The 2022 model was a total redesign that bumped its performance with the M2 chip and also improved a number of key components. It was also the first MacBook Air to drop the signature tapered design, and Apple added a 15-inch model one year later to boot. Since then, Apple’s primarily focused on making sure it has a new chip every year — we’re already up to the M5, if you can believe it.
As such, the latest MacBook Air is an expected update that doesn’t change the game. Not that it needed changing: it’s been our favorite ultraportable laptop for years now. But the Air’s place in Apple’s lineup has changed with the simultaneous introduction of the $599 MacBook Neo. And unfortunately, Apple didn’t keep the $999 price that last year’s M4 MacBook Air hit; it’s back up to $1,099, the same price as the M2 and M3 models. Now that there’s the new, inexpensive MacBook Neo out there, who is the MacBook Air for? While I haven’t used the Neo yet, I’m pretty comfortable answering that question: it’s still for almost anyone.
The essentials haven’t changed
While the latest MacBook Air is physically unchanged from its 2022 revision, I don’t have a problem with that. I find the Air to be the Platonic ideal of a laptop that most people will be hard-pressed to find issues with. The 13.6-inch (or 15.3-inch, if you opt for the bigger size) display isn’t the most cutting edge screen out there, but it’s still sharp, bright and colorful. It’s stuck at a 60Hz refresh rate at a time when many PC manufacturers are using faster screens, but for the Air’s audience I don’t think that’s a problem. I may be miffed that the iPad Air similarly only has a pedestrian 60Hz refresh rate — but I think it’s less crucial on a Mac, where you’re not literally touching the screen (at least for now).
Other minor quibbles include the fact that Apple still hasn’t put a USB-C port on the right side of the computer in addition to those on the left, and the screen notch is still weird if you focus on it too much. But other than that, I can’t really come up with any issues here. At 2.7 pounds, the Air isn’t the lightest laptop out there, but I’ll take the extremely solid feel of the unibody aluminum case over a lighter and possibly flimsier plastic.
MacBook Air M5
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
The keyboard and trackpad remain delightful, as well. My main laptop is a 14-inch MacBook Pro, and I can perceive the Air’s comparatively thinner case when typing on it. It’s not bad at all, it just feels slightly different. But after a short adjustment period, I really didn’t think about it and typed away without a care in the world. It’s baffling to me that a company that made a keyboard this good also made the horrific butterfly keyboards of yore, but fortunately that era is far in the past. The haptic-powered trackpad is huge, smooth and responsive, just like the ones on all other recent Mac laptops. Altogether, the input experience is great, and I rarely find myself really feeling like I need an external keyboard or mouse. I know people have strong feelings about that, so do as you wish, but it’s not really something I think about anymore.
The MacBook Air’s speakers and webcam are also still excellent. Last year, Apple upgraded the 1080p webcam in the Air to a 12-megapixel Center Stage model that can follow your movements to keep you in frame or switch to a “desk view” that shows a top-down viewpoint of the area in front of the laptop. The old 1080p webcam was already pretty solid, and while this one doesn’t magically repair your wrinkles, it’s definitely more versatile and detailed. The speakers, meanwhile, remain one of those things that Apple has absolutely nailed with this generation of its laptops. They’re relatively loud and well-balanced, providing far better sound than I’d expect from such a thin enclosure.
MacBook Air M5
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
Enough power to last for years
All of this is well-known, though. The big change this year is the M5 chip, which has been available for a while already in the MacBook Pro and iPad Pro. So, we have a good idea of what to expect here as well. I’m testing the 13-inch model with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage that costs $1,299. It’s hard to perceive a difference between the M5 and last year’s M4 in my normal routine (dozens of tabs, Slack, Lightroom, Apple Music streaming and a bunch of lightweight apps like Bear notes, Todoist and so on). And based on my history with Apple’s M-series chips, the M5 will be a great performer for years to come. My work-issued MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro chip still runs like a champ almost five years after it was released, for example.
That said, users who do more than the basics with their laptop and have one with a chip older than 2022’s M2 will likely find the M5 Air to be a nice upgrade. Geekbench 6 benchmarks show the M5 is 11 percent and 17 percent faster than the M4 Air in single-core and multi-core tests (both with 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSDs). There were bigger GPU gains this year, with the M5 scoring 31 percent higher than the M4.
Few people out there are likely looking to upgrade from an M4 Air. But the M5 could be a noteworthy upgrade from the M3, depending of course on your workload. The M5 is 31 percent and 43 percent faster than the M3 in single- and multi-core testing. And the GPU is a whopping 56 percent faster as well. If you’re interested in doing things like video editing, music creation, gaming or AI tasks, you’ll definitely appreciate these performance gains.
MacBook Air M5
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
Finally, these benchmarks illustrate the gap between the MacBook Neo and the Air. The M5 is about 24 percent faster than the A18 Pro in the single-core test, but it demolishes the Neo’s chip in multi-core (105 percent) and GPU (144 percent) performance. This just reiterates what we already know — the Neo is best-suited for basic tasks, while the Air should have more than enough power until you get into more specialized use cases.
And while no one will mistake the MacBook Air for a gaming laptop, Apple has had increasing success at getting developers to bring big titles to the Mac. Games like Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Cyberpunk 2077, Lies of P, Control and Resident Evil Village, along with indies like Neva, Stray and Balatro, are available here. That’s not to mention the many quality games worth checking out on Apple Arcade. All this is to say that Macs may still not be the premiere gaming platform, but people who don’t have access to a PlayStation, Xbox or more powerful gaming PC can still try a lot of great games on the platform.
Thanks to the M5, these games play pretty well to boot. I tried Cyberpunk 2077, one of the more notoriously demanding games out there, and had a stutter-free experience. Most graphically intense Mac games default to a “for this Mac” setting so you don’t really need to worry about optimizing settings. Cyberpunk 2077 stayed pretty well locked at 30 fps in my experience — obviously not as good as what you’ll get on a high-end PC or PlayStation 5, but I never felt like I was having a degraded experience. It was smooth, responsive and looked gorgeous. Getting that kind of performance from an ultraportable like the MacBook Air is hard to complain about.
Finally, battery life was close to Apple’s expectations. The company promises 18 hours of streaming video playback or 15 hours of web browsing. In my test, I looped a locally-stored 4K video file with my screen at half brightness and got… exactly 18 hours of playback before the laptop died. I’m sure it would have been less if I was streaming the video, but still. Under my usual working conditions running a variety of apps, I got more in the 10-hour range, which is more than good enough for me.
MacBook Air M5
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
Wrap-up
Even with the MacBook Neo showing its chops despite its relatively humble hardware, I think the MacBook Air is by far the best Apple laptop for most people. Sure, Apple’s continued insistence on limiting screens with higher refresh rates to its most expensive hardware is increasingly frustrating. But other than that, the MacBook Air punches above its weight in just about every aspect — particularly when it comes to performance. The M5 is extremely powerful now and should make this year’s Air a useful computer for five years or even longer, depending on what you do with it. The MacBook Air is so mature and well-engineered at this point that it’s not the most exciting thing to review. But if you use one for a bit, it’s easy to appreciate just how good of a laptop it is.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/macbook-air-m5-review-same-but-faster-120000685.html?src=rss
Adobe's long-time CEO has shared that he plans to step down. Shantanu Narayen has been the chief exec at the tech company for 18 years, a tenure where he led Adobe in the major shift to become a software-as-a-service provider. The exact timeline for his exit is still up in the air, as Narayen will depart when the board of directors names his successor. He will remain on the board as its chair after leaving the CEO post.
While Adobe was not the first to take the SaaS route, it was one of the first major tech operations to do so. Software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and Lightroom from the brand have been mainstays in creative fields for years, so the launch of the Creative Suite subscription, which is now called Creative Cloud, was a pretty revolutionary change for its customers.
In an memo to employees, Narayen reflected on his nearly two decades at the helm. Adobe has grown from about 3,000 employees to more than 30,000, while its financial performance has leapt, revenue skyrocketing from less than $1 billion to more than $25 billion. He also looked toward the future and the seemingly-inevitable presence of artificial intelligence.
"The next era of creativity is being written right now — shaped by AI, by new workflows and by entirely new forms of expression," he wrote. "Adobe has never waited for the future to arrive. We’ve anticipated it. We’ve built it. And we’ve led it. What gives me the greatest confidence isn’t just our technology — it’s our people. Your ingenuity, resilience and commitment to customers are what will define this moment."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/adobe-ceo-shantanu-narayen-plans-to-step-down-after-18-years-212705623.html?src=rss
We've been seeing all sorts of warnings about how RAMaggedon is nigh. The latest horseman signalling a disaster is the International Data Corporation, which had already cautioned that things were looking bad at the end of 2025. Today, the organization further cut its forecasts for the PC market in 2026, anticipating that global shipments would fall 11.6 percent. The previous report projected that this year would see a falloff of up to 8.9 percent due to ongoing memory shortages. And the new figure was set before the escalation of conflicts in Iran and across the Middle East, which could further deflate computing and other industries.
"Memory shortages will persist well into 2027," Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, said in the latest forecast. "While we anticipate some easing of prices beginning in 2028, the market is unlikely to return to the pricing levels seen in 2025."
This market report echoes price changes and official statements from all corners of the tech and computing sector. So far this year, we've already seen surging memory costs impacting HP, Samsung, Valve and Framework. Don't be surprised if many other major players follow suit.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/ramaggedon-not-expected-to-ease-this-year-as-idc-cuts-2026-pc-market-forecast-again-200000498.html?src=rss
Bumble is testing an AI dating assistant called "Bee" that it hopes will get users on dates without them having to swipe through profiles, Bloomberg writes. The company announced the AI assistant during its fourth quarter earnings, and intends to use the AI in a new experience it calls "Dates."
When a user opts in to Bumble's Dates feature, Bee performs an onboarding chat where it learns about the users' "values, relationship goals, communications style, lifestyle and dating intentions," and then attempts to find other users who share some or all of those traits. Once Bee finds someone compatible, both users are notified in the app that they could be a great match, and receive a summary generated by Bee explaining why. From there, they can chat and see if things lead to a real-life date.
As is often the case with pie-in-the-sky AI features, Bumble has even bigger plans for how Bee could be used in its app, including as a tool for collecting anonymous feedback from user's previous matches or as a way to receive suggestions for dates ideas. AI will also apparently enable Bumble to move away from binary yes or no swipes on profiles and towards a system where users connect over "chapter-based" profiles that are more reflective of their life story.
Bumble is testing Bee internally and plans to launch the AI and its Dates feature in beta soon. The company is far from the only dating app experimenting with integrating AI recommendations and summaries. Tinder uses AI to recommend profile pictures to users, and now offers another feature called "Chemistry" that combines insights gained from personal questions and access to users' Camera Roll to make more informed matches. Meanwhile, Grindr's "Edge" subscription tier offers AI summaries of past chats and connections, and stats on whether a user is actually compatible with a new match.
It's too early to tell whether AI makes a meaningful difference in the dating experience for users, but if it keeps them using an app or paying for a subscription, it's likely a worthwhile experiment for Bumble, Tinder and Grindr.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/bumble-is-the-latest-dating-app-to-add-an-ai-assistant-181729994.html?src=rss
Anker’s Soundcore projectors have become an attractive option for buyers thanks to models like the P1 and Nebula X1 that combine performance and portability. Now, the company has added "affordability" to that equation with its latest model, the $369 P1i. Instead of being detachable like on the P1, its speakers fold out toward listeners, promising better and louder sound than most cheap projectors.
The P1i also delivers 1080p video, Google TV for streaming and the same easy screen fit setup as other Anker projectors. However, unlike some portable models, it lacks a built-in battery for true portability. Overall brightness is lower as well at 380 lumens compared to 650 on the P1. Despite those issues, the P1i is an outstanding budget projector that’s ideal for impromptu indoor screenings and outdoor party use.
Features and design
With its relatively small size (8.9 x 7.2 x 8.0 inches) and slight five pound weight, the Soundcore Nebula P1i can be perched nearly anywhere and is easily toted around by the soft handle on top. It’s almost too light, as even a slight bump can displace it and ruin the picture. It does have a tripod mount, though, which makes it easy to set up outside or install on your ceiling.
Fortunately, the P1i is perhaps the easiest projector in this price range to align with your wall or screen. It has Anker’s Smart Instant Setup that automatically adjusts the autofocus, keystone correction, screen fit and obstacle avoidance. For my 120-inch roll down screen, I just had to set the P1i about 11 feet from the wall, make sure it was fairly level and then tilt the stand so it pointed at the screen. Then, I just ran the smart setup which instantly gave me a correctly set-up image.
The P1i is not a laser projector but its LED light source lasts even longer, rated for over 30,000 hours. It runs fairly cool compared to a bulb or laser model, but it still has a fan that kicks on from time to time. One annoyance is that the fan seemed to engage even when the projector was turned off, so I found I had to unplug it to stop that.
Steve Dent for Engadget
Connectivity-wise, the P1i has a single HDMI 2.0 port with ARC (Audio Return Channel), along with a USB-A port for external media and a 3.5mm auxiliary audio output. The projector allows for a maximum input of 4K at 60 fps (it outputs 1080p at 60 fps), so it’s only good for light gaming. Plus, you’ll want to keep in mind that if you do any keystone correction, gaming latency quadruples from 20ms to 80ms. It also supports Wi-Fi 5 for streaming and Bluetooth 5.1 to connect extra speakers.
Google TV is built in for streaming and projector control, which is a nice feature for a projector under $400. It provides a large library of apps via Google Play along with a familiar interface. You also get Netflix’s official application with support for 4K Dolby Vision without the need to plug in a streaming device, plus there’s Chromecast support and Google Assistant for voice control. The downside is that the interface can occasionally be sluggish. As for those foldable speakers, you can aim them up, down, forward or backwards, and they support Dolby Audio at 10 watts each.
Image quality
Image quality is decent but not outstanding, about what you’d expect for a projector at this price. While it’s very sharp in the center, the edges are fuzzier, particularly if you’re tilting the projector up or down and using plenty of keystone correction. With just 380 lumens of brightness (I measured it at just over 300 lumens in standard mode), it’s best to use the P1i in a dark room or at night — if there’s any ambient light, you won’t be able to see much detail.
The P1i offers multiple picture profiles, including Standard, Vivid, Sports, Movies and Games, along with a Conference mode for maximum brightness. I found that the “Vivid” setting gave me the best mix of color accuracy and brightness.
Steve Dent for Engadget
Color accuracy is a strong point, with natural looking, nicely saturated hues. Surprisingly, the P1i supports 10-bit HDR to help improve color accuracy and max out what little brightness there is, though it’s a gigantic stretch calling a 380 lumen image (around 50 nits) "HDR." I tested the P1i on my usual roster of content, including Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Andor, Dune 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home, and found the colors to be pleasing and realistic. If they’re not quite to your liking, you can make fine adjustments manually.
Sound
The primary selling point of the Nebula P1I is those fold out speakers. However, considering Soundcore’s reputation for solid audio performance (take the Nebula X1 Pro for example), sound quality was a bit disappointing. It’s relatively tinny with very little bass, providing a less-than-theatrical experience. Those speakers can go pretty loud, though, and midrange sounds like voices are very clear.
Fortunately, there are a couple of solutions. The P1i has multiple EQ settings, including Movies (with enhanced bass and treble), Music for the most natural sound and Outdoors to ensure clarity in open and noisy spaces. The best of those, I found, was Movies, as it mildly improves the lows and highs. There’s also a “custom” mode that lets you fine-tune the equalization. I was able to get acceptable sound quality when I boosted the bass to nearly the maximum level.
The other option, of course, is to pair the P1i to some Bluetooth speakers. I did just that with Soundcore’s external speakers sold as an option with the Nebula X1 and the sound quality was much improved. Of course, that would remove much of its convenience and increase the price for better sound.
Wrap-up
Steve Dent for Engadget
Anker’s $400 Soundcore Nebula P1i is an excellent option for buyers looking for a portable projector to use outdoors or in the place of a second TV, though it suffers from subpar sound and picture quality. Competitors like XGIMI’s MoGo 2 Pro offer similar brightness, built-in speakers and Google TV. And if you have a bit more in your budget, Anker’s $800 Nebula P1 is brighter and easier to set up. Finally, for those looking for battery portability for camping or other activities, take a look at XGIMI’s $500 Halo+ or the $530 Anker Nebula Capsule.
The P1i is great for simple nighttime movie screenings outdoors. If you feel like watching a movie or series in bed, you can bring it into your room, project the picture onto a wall and enjoy your streaming service of choice. You may not be disappointed with the overall picture quality, though you may wish for slightly better sound.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/soundcore-nebula-p1i-projector-review-an-affordable-option-with-accurate-color-and-loud-sound-180034925.html?src=rss
Microsoft has unveiled Copilot Health, an AI-powered tool it claims can help make sense of your medical records, health history and fitness data from wearables, should you grant it access to that information. The company said it will be in a "separate, secure space" in the Copilot app and that the idea is to help provide you with more context and insights so you can ask your doctor the right questions when you see them.
Copilot Health is designed to help you better understand your medical information as a whole, Microsoft says. It is not "intended to diagnose, treat or prevent diseases or other conditions and is not a substitute for professional medical advice," the company pointed out in a blog post.
The tool can pull in activity, fitness and sleep data from more than 50 devices, including Apple Watch, Oura and Fitbit. Through HealthEx, it can access health records that include visit summaries, medication details and test results from more than 50,000 hospitals and provider organizations in the US. It can tap into lab test results from Function, should you allow it to do so.
Copilot Health can take all those details and apply "intelligence to turn them into a coherent story," such as helping you pinpoint the reasons why you don't sleep too well, the company suggested. It can access real-time provider directories in the US to help users find clinicians based on factors like location, specialty, spoken languages and insurance coverage.
Microsoft says that, across AI-powered consumer products like Copilot and Bing, users ask more than 50 million health-related questions every day. "We’ve improved the quality and reliability of answers by elevating information from credible health organizations across 50 countries, as verified by our clinical team using principles independently established by the National Academy of Medicine," the blog post states. "Responses include clear citations with easy links to source material, alongside expert‑written answer cards from Harvard Health."
As far as privacy is concerned, Microsoft says Copilot Health data and conversations are siloed from the broader Copilot app and there are extra access and safety controls in place, including "encryption at rest and in transit." You can delete your information and cut off the app's access to health records and wearable data at any time. Microsoft also notes that it won't use your Copilot Health information to train its models.
The company explained that Copilot Health was informed by its responsible AI principles. Microsoft built the tool in collaboration with its own clinical team and with the expertise and feedback of more than 230 physicians from dozens of countries. "Copilot Health has achieved ISO/IEC 42001 certification, the world’s first standard for AI management systems, meaning an independent third party has verified how we build, govern and continuously improve the AI behind this service," it noted.
Microsoft has opened up a waitlist for those interested in trying Copilot Health. The tool will initially be available in English in the US for those aged 18 and over. The company is working on adding support for more language and voice options and it will announce availability for those and other territories down the line.
While users will be able to try Copilot Health for free at first, Microsoft plans to charge for access via a subscription, according to The New York Times. The company has not yet disclosed pricing details.
The Copilot Health announcement comes just a couple of days after Amazon expanded its Health AI tool beyond One Medical. It's now available on the Amazon website and app. Prime members in the US have the option to chat about certain conditions with a One Medical provider via direct message at no extra cost. Earlier this year, OpenAI announced that it was testing ChatGPT Health. Anthropic has healthcare tools as well.
Given how tough it is for many folks to access affordable healthcare and the fact their data and health records are often spread across a number of providers, some might believe there are benefits of using such tools from AI companies.
However, there's a big difference between tracking your sleep or calling your doctor after an Apple Watch detects signs of atrial fibrillation and entrusting all of your medical information to a chatbot. There are also issues like AI hallucinations and chatbots providing users with straight-up bad advice, as well as the possibility that an LLM-based tool might downplay or exaggerate potential risks.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsofts-copilot-health-can-use-ai-to-turn-your-fitness-data-and-medical-records-into-a-coherent-story-152000621.html?src=rss
Google has announced that GFiber is merging with Astound Broadband, in an agreement that sees Astound’s parent company Stonepeak become the majority owner, with Alphabet retaining a minority stake.
No financial specifics were detailed in a press release, but the new combined business will be an independent provider led by GFiber’s executive team, who Google says will use its "expertise in high-speed fiber innovation to manage the combined network footprint." Astound already serves over one million customers across the US, and by joining forces Google says the two providers will be able to grant better internet access to more communities.
GFiber, formerly known as Google Fiber, has been around for nearly 15 years, and currently offers speeds of up to 8Gbps on its $150/month Edge 8 Gig plan. A 20 Gig service was expected to leave early access later in 2026.
The fiber broadband service is part of Alphabet’s "Other Bets" portfolio, which also includes Waymo, Verily, and Wing, a combined segment that recorded an operating loss of $16.8 billion in 2025, CNBCreports. The company’s deal with Stonepeak is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in Q4 of this year.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/googles-gfiber-internet-business-is-merging-with-astound-broadband-132832086.html?src=rss
In recent weeks, Google has been busy adding AI features to all of its most popular apps. Following Gmail and Chrome, Maps is now the latest service to get a Gemini makeover, with a redesign of the driving experience headlining the update.
Google is billing the new "Immersive Navigation" mode as the most significant update to driving directions in Maps in about a decade. Now instead of displaying a 2D map of the area around your car, Maps will render the surroundings in 3D. Google believes this transformation will make it easier for drivers to orient themselves, with the new view giving greater depth to nearby landmarks like buildings and overpasses.
Behind the scenes, the company's Gemini models power the experience, deciding how to render elements to remove distractions. Pulling information from Google's Street View database and aerial photos, Google says its models are also smart enough to know when to highlight road elements like crosswalks, traffic lights and stop signs to ensure you don't miss an off ramp or important turn. At the same time, Google has made the voice guidance in Maps sound more natural. For instance, when you're driving along the highway, looking for where you need to get off, the voice assistant will say something along the lines of "go past this exit and take the next one." I imagine this will be especially helpful when driving in a foreign country with unfamiliar road names.
The new intelligence Google has built into the redesigned navigation experience extends to alternative routes. Now, when the app suggests taking a different way of getting somewhere, it will detail the associated tradeoffs with that route. For example, it might tell you it might take longer to travel but you'll encounter less traffic along the way. Before you start your journey, Maps will now also provide a Street View preview of your destination and recommend where to park.
This being a new release in Google's self-proclaimed Gemini era, the company has naturally found a way to add its chatbot to Maps. Inside the app, you'll find a new icon labelled Ask Maps. Tap the icon, write a natural language prompt and Gemini will use all the information contained within Maps to craft a response.
Google is pitching the feature as a way to get information no traditional map can provide. For example, you could ask Gemini to find you a place where you can charge your phone and grab a cup of coffee, all without having to wait a long time in line. Google suggests finding the answer to a specific question like that would have previously required sifting through countless reviews. Not so anymore. The results Gemini produces through Ask Maps will contain personalized results based on places you searched for and saved in the past. You can also act on any recommendations Gemini surfaces, making it easy to book restaurants, save locations and more.
Google is starting to roll out the new immersive driving experience today in the US, with availability to expand over the coming months to Android and iOS devices, as well as CarPlay, Android Auto and cars with Google built-in. Ask Maps, meanwhile, is rolling out to Android and iOS devices in the US and India, with desktop support coming soon.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-maps-brings-a-3d-map-to-your-driving-directions-123000843.html?src=rss
