Samsung’s Galaxy Glasses Skip the Screen and Bet Everything on Gemini

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Wearables, Google, Artificial Intelligence,

The whole fantasy of smart glasses has always been the same one: a computer on your face that nobody else notices you are wearing. Samsung's new Galaxy Glasses, shown off at Unpacked, take that idea about as far as it will go. They leave out the one thing you might assume a pair of smart glasses needs, which is a screen you can see through.

Instead of putting anything in your field of view, the Galaxy Glasses lean entirely on cameras, audio, and Google's Gemini assistant. This is the first pair built on Android XR, the platform Samsung and Google have been teasing for what feels like ages, and it is aimed squarely at the Ray-Ban Meta crowd rather than anyone still waiting on Iron Man overlays. You look at something, you talk to it, and it talks back.

Click to continue reading Samsung’s Galaxy Glasses Skip the Screen and Bet Everything on Gemini

Gemini 3.6 Is Google Buying Time in the AI Race

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Google, Artificial Intelligence,

Every few weeks, one of the big AI labs drops a new model and asks you to care. Google's latest ask is Gemini 3.6, and the honest pitch is sitting right there in the release: it is cheaper to run than the last one. That is it. That is the headline feature.

Which is not nothing, if you are the person paying the bill. Google calls 3.6 its workhorse model, the one meant to balance quality against cost, and it does deliver real savings there: up to 65% fewer output tokens than 3.5 Flash in some cases, and about 17% fewer overall. Tokens are how these models get billed, so fewer tokens means a smaller invoice for the companies wiring Gemini into their apps. For everyone else, it is the kind of improvement you feel in a spreadsheet, not in a conversation.

Click to continue reading Gemini 3.6 Is Google Buying Time in the AI Race

Samsung Put Google’s Research Brain on Your New Foldable. Does It Belong There?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Artificial Intelligence,

NotebookLM has quietly become the app that power users swear by, the thing you open on a laptop that already has thirty tabs fighting for space. It reads your sources, connects the dots, and answers questions about them. So here is the odd part of Samsung's latest Galaxy Unpacked pitch: that tool, now rebranded Gemini Notebook, comes preloaded on phones you fold in half.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Z Fold 8, and Z Flip 8 all ship with it built in. On paper that sounds like a real upgrade over yet another chatbot shortcut. In practice, it raises a simple question worth asking before you get excited: is a deep-research desk tool something you actually want to reach for on a phone?

Click to continue reading Samsung Put Google’s Research Brain on Your New Foldable. Does It Belong There?

Google Search Wants to Finish the Job: AI Mode Now Talks to Instacart, Canva, and YouTube Music

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet, Artificial Intelligence,

For as long as any of us have used it, Google Search has been the place you go to figure out what to do next. Where to eat, what to buy, how to fix the thing under the sink. Google now wants it to be the place you actually do those things. This week it started rolling out new connections in AI Mode that wire Search directly into Instacart, Canva, and YouTube Music, so the answer and the action finally live in the same window.

The pitch, in Google's own words, is to "reduce the steps between planning a task in Search and completing it in another app." In practice that means you can plan a backyard barbecue in AI Mode, watch it turn the menu into a grocery list, and push those ingredients straight into an Instacart cart without opening a single new tab. It is a small convenience with a big ambition behind it, and it tells you a lot about where Google thinks Search is headed.

Click to continue reading Google Search Wants to Finish the Job: AI Mode Now Talks to Instacart, Canva, and YouTube Music

Google’s Gemini 3.5 Pro Is Stuck, and the Reason Is Uncomfortably Human

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Software, Artificial Intelligence,

Back in May, on stage at I/O, Google told everyone Gemini 3.5 Pro was basically a month away. It is now the back half of July, the model still is not here, and the reason is the one thing Google would least like to admit out loud: its flagship AI cannot write good enough code yet.

That is the short version of a Bloomberg report, built on interviews with ten current and former employees, that has quietly turned into one of the more revealing stories in AI this year. Google tweaked the training data late last month to sharpen the model's coding chops. The results, per one person, were disappointing. So instead of shipping, Google is holding the line and reworking, which is the right call and also a slightly alarming one.

Click to continue reading Google’s Gemini 3.5 Pro Is Stuck, and the Reason Is Uncomfortably Human

You Won’t Look At Apple’s Siri AI The Same Way After Watching This (Video)

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Google, Software, Videos, Artificial Intelligence,

Here's the story you probably heard: Apple fell behind on AI, panicked, and quietly handed Siri over to Google. So when a much smarter Siri showed up at WWDC, the case seemed closed. Siri was just Gemini wearing an Apple logo. It was a tidy narrative, repeated everywhere, and it turns out to be wrong.

During WWDC, I was invited to a closed-door media briefing with Craig Federighi and his team. Craig took the Google question head-on, first walking us through how a typical chatbot app like ChatGPT or Gemini works, then explaining what Apple built instead. His conclusion was blunt: "The amount of Google Assistant we use is none." No Gemini client code in iOS, none of the models Google deploys to its own customers, and not even Google Search as the foundation of Siri's world knowledge.

Click to continue reading You Won’t Look At Apple’s Siri AI The Same Way After Watching This (Video)

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Long-Term Review: Still Worth It?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Product Reviews, Videos,

Imagine a phone so thin it rivals the latest iPad Pro, yet it's packed with Google's AI smarts and folds seamlessly in half. That’s the Pixel 9 Pro Fold—a cutting-edge device that redefines elegance and functionality in the foldable smartphone market. But does its second iteration live up to expectations? Let’s dive in and explore everything that makes this device stand out, from its impossibly slim design to its powerful AI integration.

Ultra-Slim Hardware That’s a Marvel of Engineering

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold feels like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. At just 0.2 inches thick when opened, it’s one of the slimmest smartphones ever created, rivaling the thinness of the iPad Pro. Google achieved this feat with ingenious engineering, particularly the hinge mechanism. This hinge folds completely flat, ensuring smooth transitions between phone and tablet modes. It’s a small but impactful detail that enhances everyday usability.

Weighing in at 9.1 ounces, the device strikes a perfect balance between portability and durability. While it’s not the lightest foldable on the market, the weight distribution makes it feel sturdy and premium in hand. If you’ve ever struggled with a clunky foldable, you’ll appreciate the sleekness that Google has achieved here.

Click to continue reading Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Long-Term Review: Still Worth It?

Geared Up: AirPods Pro review, foldable Motorola RAZR, and the Pixel 4’s Shortcomings

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Features, Google, Transportation,

The AirPods Pro have been out for a week, and we bring you our hands-on (and ears-on) thoughts on Apple’s noise-cancelling earbuds. Motorola is about to bring back the RAZR, this time with a foldable display! Are folding clamshell smartphones about to make a comeback? We also talk about the woes of the Google Pixel 4, wondering if Google actually wants its smartphone line to do well in the market, or if they have other goals with their handhelds. Tesla is going to finally announce and reveal its Cybertruck in just over a week - we speculate on what we can expect!

LINKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW

• AirPods Pro: Top 5 Features
• Hands-on with AirPods Pro
• Geared Up on YouTube
• Jon Rettinger on YouTube
• Andru Edwards on YouTube

SPONSOR: National Car Rental - skip the line with the Emerald Club. Go National. Go Like a Pro.

Listen to the episode in the player above or subscribe to Geared Up in your favorite podcast app to listen on the go:

• Apple Podcasts
• Google Podcasts
• Spotify
• Stitcher
• Pocket Casts
• Overcast

Geared Up: Why is the Google Pixel 4 So…Weird?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds,

Google’s new Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL are now available, and in this episode Andru & Jon each bring you their thoughts on the newest flagship Google smartphone. Find out what sets the Pixel 4 apart from other smartphones on the market, as well as where the Pixel 4 falls short. Ultimately, if you’re in the market for a new smartphone, find out if the Pixel 4 is for you!

LINKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW

• Geared Up on YouTube
• Jon Rettinger on YouTube
• Andru Edwards on YouTube

SPONSOR: National Car Rental - skip the line with the Emerald Club. Go National. Go Like a Pro.

Listen to the episode in the player above or subscribe to Geared Up in your favorite podcast app to listen on the go:

• Apple Podcasts
• Google Podcasts
• Spotify
• Stitcher
• Pocket Casts
• Overcast