Technologies

AI Is Going to Wrap Itself Around You, From Your Glasses to Your Car

In an exclusive in-car chat at the Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, Qualcomm CMO Don McGuire paints me a picture of a personal ecosystem of ambient AI.

Qualcomm’s Chief Marketing Officer Don McGuire and I are sitting inside a giant AI machine — the electric, sensor-packed 2025 Mercedes GLC. He’s telling me that cars will become «digital living spaces,» and I can see what he means. If I had to pick one car to live in, it would definitely be this one.

The car is a showcase of Mercedes’ partnership with Qualcomm, which has contributed its Snapdragon Digital Chassis platform to the car in order to create an immersive cockpit capable of AI-driven voice interactions. We sit back in our luxurious leather seats and watch a brief recap of McGuire speaking on stage at the company’s Snapdragon Summit via YouTube on the GLC’s giant infotainment screen. «Yes — I could quite happily hang out in here all day,» I think.

While we enjoy this digital living space on wheels stationed outside of the Summit conference halls on Maui, McGuire explains to me how the car — just like our phones, and just like the smart glasses and watches and rings we’re increasingly wearing — is set to become part of a personal ecosystem of ambient AI.

As the company that makes the chips that go inside everything from the top Android phones, to laptops, to wearables and yes, cars, Qualcomm is thinking several years down the line when it comes to AI. It’s been at the forefront of enabling AI agents that can process complex tasks, taking the initiative to suggest, predict and accomplish tasks on our behalf. Putting these agents inside cars, the thinking goes, would lift the burden on us, turning them into interactive havens of productivity, fun and relaxation.

«We can’t think of a more hands-free, natural-language, voice-interactive, agentic experience than a vehicle,» McGuire says.

Whether you’re driving, sitting in traffic, waiting for school pickup or just having a moment of downtime in your car, the combination of multiple screens, cameras and microphones means you can interact both with things inside and outside of the car, he adds.

You could request that an AI agent rearrange your schedule based on traffic predictions or ask it questions about a restaurant you see and allow it to book you a spot for your next date night if the reviews are good, for example.

When your AI car becomes your AI glasses

I’m interested to understand how exactly the car will seamlessly fit into the burgeoning ecosystem of AI-enabled devices. I ask McGuire how he envisions the car that we’re in will interact with another AI-driven piece of tech, such as the Oakley Meta smart glasses he’s sporting.

«We’ve had a little bit of a debate on this,» he tells me. His feeling is that if you’re walking down the street using your glasses to engage with an AI agent then you get into your car, the most obvious thing is for the car to take over that agentic experience from the glasses, as it has all of the sensors and cameras needed to understand everything going on around you.

«What we don’t want is confusion between the two, and I think the safer bet is to take the glasses off so you avoid distraction and you’re fully immersed in the driving experience,» he says. «It’s probably a safer, more intuitive experience if the car becomes your glasses.»

As with so many existing pieces of technology, AI does seem to be breathing new life into cars — giving us fresh ways to interact with them and elevating them beyond machines that get us from A to B.

One example that particularly impressed McGuire is the way BMW, in partnership with Qualcomm, has integrated symbiotic drive into the iX3, as announced earlier this month. The idea, he says, is «that driver’s assistance is not really linear, or it’s not really a stop-start, but it should be more fluid and it should move with you.»

If you need to take your hands off the steering wheel for a moment to take a bite of your burger or swat away a pesky insect, the car can take over on the fly and then hand control back to you when you’re fully back at the wheel.

AI is breathing new life into the familiar

With familiar products like glasses and cars evolving to take on more complex roles in our lives, I ask McGuire how we should be prepared for our devices to change. Not so long ago, he says, everything was a peripheral, with the phone at the center.

«Now those peripherals themselves are becoming smarter, and they’re gonna have capabilities to do things on their own, whether they’re still tethered or whether they’re not tethered,» he adds.

Headphones are another example of a product that once had a single use — to listen to audio — and are now, with the addition of Snapdragon Wear chips, gaining new skills and capabilities, including as conduits for interacting with AI. As the chips improve, more capabilities will be added allowing for more standalone experiences, says McGuire. «It gives these devices that were maybe unilaterally good for one function new life.»

He’s also excited by what could eventually be possible for AI devices. Like with cars and wearables, it will be driven by sensors, he says: «AI is going to be ambient in a lot of ways.» It might not even be called a «device» if it’s something woven into your clothing or worn on your person, he posits.

«There’s lots of ideas out there floating around,» he says. «You’ve got OpenAI and Johnny Ive working on stuff. You’ve got others.»

Glasses, while still at a nascent stage, will be a quickly growing product category, especially off the back of Meta’s success, he says. But McGuire still thinks there’s something beyond that will deliver on the promise of personal and ambient AI.

«The phone’s still the phone, the watch is still the watch,» he says, «but what is that thing that’s going to be next that creates a whole new scenario for you as you’re moving through your day and you happen to not have your phone with you?»

Qualcomm’s role in all of this is to push the boundaries of technology and build the platform for what will be possible, he adds. The company then works with partners to bring those platforms to life through the devices we all know and love now and those we will know and love in the future.

«Oftentimes we do reference designs to just give a flavor,» says McGuire. «Seeing is believing, for some people to spur that creativity. And then sometimes people bring ideas to us and then we help elaborate on those ideas.»

Mastering the AI learning curve

Future-facing concepts, especially where AI is involved, can sometimes feel a little too nebulous and overwhelming for people to wrap their heads around, I point out. McGuire acknowledges that there will be an adoption curve that will depend on the experience of using new technology being easy, fun and genuinely useful to people.

«The more you make it natural, the more you make it fluid and the more you make it personal and safe and private for the person… you’re going to reduce the barriers, which then drives the willingness to try,» he says.

Those using Meta’s glasses tend to enjoy the convenience and practicality of being able to listen to Spotify without headphones and capture pictures without getting their phones out, he adds. AI, he expects, will follow the same curve.

How you feel about AI probably differs based on where you are in the world, says McGuire. He fears there’s often misunderstandings about its different manifestations — from the personal (agentic, on-device experiences), to the physical (robotics), to enterprise and industry.

«AI is not just one thing,» he says. «The closer it is to the human where the data is actually generated, the more personal it can be, the more private it can be and the faster it can be.»

It’s an optimistic image — one in which AI not only serves us but impresses us.

I consider the car we’re in and imagine how it would feel to hand over to AI the many burdens and anxieties I often experiences while driving: timing; scheduling; weather conditions; pedestrian safety; cyclists; finding a podcast to listen to; wondering where I can stop for a decent coffee; remembering I haven’t replied to an important message; realizing I never made that reservation; fearing I’ll forget all of this by the time I get home.

I can envisage the feeling of relaxation that would come with driving a luxury SUV that could anticipate and assist me with my every whim. The barrier falls. I can confidently say, I am willing to try.

Technologies

Sony WF-1000XM6 vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro Earbuds: A Photo Finish

Technologies

The Apple Watch Series 12 Could Bring Back a Throwback iPhone Feature

Everything we’ve heard so far about the rumored Apple Watch Series 12.

We’re hot off a busy March Apple launch with seven new products, including an iPhone 17E, updated MacBook Pros and a colorful MacBook Neo that’s about to rattle the Chromebook market. As we set our sights on the next big hardware launch, the Apple Watch Series 12 is already on the horizon.

While there haven’t been any concrete leaks yet, there’s plenty we can infer based on Apple’s past launches and typical release patterns. There are also a few lingering rumors that could finally land this year, including a possible nod to a long-removed but not forgotten iPhone feature.

Apple Watch Series 12 launch date

If there’s one thing Apple tends to keep consistent, it’s the timing of its fall hardware event, where it typically unveils its newest flagship iPhones and Apple Watch models.

Apple typically holds this event on the second Tuesday of September (usually the week after Labor Day). By that logic, Sept. 15 seems like the most likely candidate for Apple’s 2026 fall event. Because it lands a bit later in the month than in previous years, there’s also a slim chance Apple moves it up to Sept. 9 (Labor Day week), as it has before.

As in previous years, preorders would likely open on the Friday after the event, with availability following a week or so later (assuming no production delays).

Pricing and availability

Expect pricing for the new watches to stay roughly in line with the current Series 11 lineup, which starts at about $400 (42mm Wi-Fi model). Though price hikes aren’t completely off the table, with lingering tariff increases and the potential for supply chain issues.

How many Apple Watch models will we get?

A Series 12 is all but guaranteed — we’ve had a new Apple Watch model arrive every year since its launch. What’s less certain is whether Apple will refresh the entire lineup again this year. The Apple Watch SE and Ultra models don’t follow the same annual update cycle, and because both the SE 3 and Ultra 3 were refreshed in 2025, it’s less likely that Apple will update both again this year.

If Apple does add another model alongside the Series 12, the Ultra would be the more plausible candidate. Apple isn’t one to hold out on new features for its high-end models when warranted. Or if it follows the pattern set with the Ultra 2, the company might just roll out a new color model for the Ultra 3.

Design upgrades on the Apple Watch Series 12

There are rumblings of a redesign in the works, but given how sparse the chatter has been, my guess is we won’t see a major design overhaul this year. Expect the same silhouette, similar colors and materials. What could change: screen technology. A more energy-efficient display — potentially an improved LTPO panel with better brightness, as seen on the Series 10 — could help claw back some battery life without adding bulk.

Battery life and processor

The Series 11 and Ultra 3 got a significant battery bump over their predecessors: at least 6 hours more by Apple’s numbers and roughly an extra half day (or more) in my real-world testing. And the Ultra 3 also got charging speed worthy of its name, like its newer siblings. But there’s still a lot of room for improvement on both battery life and charging speed.

With no major clues hinting at bigger batteries yet, I’d bet we see more incremental gains (if any) on the Series 12. Improvements could come from better screen technology, software optimizations, and more efficient processors.

In theory, the processor name usually matches the watch number, suggesting an S12 chip this year. But since the Series 11 and Ultra 3 are still running on the previous year’s S10 chip, the next upgrade could technically be an S11, making this year’s naming a bit awkward.

New health features on the horizon

Apple has already dipped its toes into blood pressure monitoring with hypertension notifications on the Apple Watch (Series 10, Series 11 and Ultra 3). The feature alerts owners when it detects signs of abnormally high blood pressure, but it stops short of providing an on-the-spot read. This could be on the table for the fall of 2026.

Other wearable health companies like Omron and Med-Watch have proven that wrist-based blood pressure measurement is possible, though it’s not as reliable as a traditional cuff and may require new (bulkier) hardware to bring to the Apple Watch.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has been testing the feature internally but has encountered accuracy issues. And even if Apple pulls it off for this year, it might measure only baseline trends similar to Samsung’s blood pressure feature on the Galaxy Watch 7 and Ultra (not supported in the US).

Glucose monitoring is another long-running rumor that’s on the table, but according to Gurman, it’s even further from a finished product than blood pressure and realistically wouldn’t appear before 2027.

Biometric authentication: Touch ID or Face ID?

Rumors of a camera on the Apple Watch have been around for a few years — not for selfies, but potentially for Face ID or AI-based image recognition.

Apple Intelligence on the iPhone introduced a visual search tool that uses the camera to identify objects and places in real time, and it might be a matter of time before this feature eventually makes its way to the wrist. Meanwhile, wearable-focused processors like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips already support cameras and even livestreaming. Apple is known to use its proprietary chips, so it’s unlikely this would impact Apple’s timeline, but it shows the technology is there, and we may see it down the line on the Apple Watch. Just not this year, according to Bloomberg.

A more feasible near-term option could be Touch ID. Macworld recently spotted lines of internal code suggesting Apple has been experimenting with biometric authentication for the 2026 Apple Watch lineup. According to the report, the code references «AppleMesa,» which is Apple’s internal code name for a watch-based Touch ID. It’s still unclear whether the sensor would be integrated under the display, like we see on Android phones, or built into the side button or the Digital Crown.

Watch OS 27 wishlist

Now that Apple has standardized its operating system names to match the year ahead, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the next big update for the Apple Watch will be WatchOS 27.

With a major redesign already in the books (5 New Apple Watch Features Coming With WatchOS 26), we’re not expecting a dramatic visual change this time around, but there’s plenty on the wishlist, including better battery management tools and more customizable gesture controls. Apple could also expand Workout Buddy from metric-driven encouragement into more concrete training territory. This could bring it closer to what Samsung is trying with its AI-powered Running Coach.

Lastly, I’d welcome a more robust symptom tracker tied into the Vitals app similar to Oura Ring’s Symptom Radar that can flag early signs of illness.

Other Health app updates

The next version of WatchOS 27 could also bring changes to the Health app. According to a report from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, Apple has been working on a top-secret initiative code-named Project Mulberry, aimed at revamping the Health app with an AI-powered health concierge that could unify your health, fitness, and medical data in one place.

However, the project has recently run into some obstacles. Bloomberg’s latest report suggests Apple has put the effort on hold (at least for this year). That still leaves room for improvement on the Health app front with a potential redesign to the main dashboard that would make spotting trends easier.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 10, #533

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for March 10, No. 533.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition features a lot of team names, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy one to solve. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Play ball!

Green group hint: Not front.

Blue group hint: Certain NFL player.

Purple group hint: They play at Smoothie King Center.